School starts back up today...

It's my last spring semester of college which is insane,

I feel like i started college yesterday.

When i started school I was a fish out of freaking water, I had never been away from home before yet there i was taking that walk up to my dorm as my parents drove away to go back home.

I remember being ok for like 10 seconds and then i totally had a HUGE meltdown...

I was ridiculously depressed for like the first month of school...

It didn't help that my hair was like BLACK {not my best decision}

I like to call that time in my life the {Emily Goth Stage}

I tried to pull myself out of school the first day, i threatened my parents that if they didn't come get me i would leave, i would withdraw....well they put me in my place pretty quick haha

As you can see i ended up sticking it out and you know what it hasn't really been THAT bad :)

I met my best friend Sam Sophomore year..

I went to Paris Junior year...

Made about 10 best friends including Jessica my other bestie/roomie

I mean it was SO hard at first but i have never been so happy to go through with something!!!

So if your going through something that seems impossible, take a breather because it's probably not as bad as it seems. Enjoy the time you have been given because you don't know when it won't be yours anymore. Never take for granted the opportunities you get in life because they could be the best experiences you will ever have!! :) 

So today as i start my last first day of the Spring Semester I am grateful for this school and my family and friends, and i now know i can do anything with the help and encouragement from people around me. And with the strength i have built up in myself to get through whatever life puts in my path!!! 

Have a great monday and first day back if your in my neck of the woods!!

-Emily

The 1990s was not the best decade in fashion. 

Track suits, leggings & over-sized shirts, scrunchies and backward baseball caps 

made up the bulk of my wardrobe as a child.

Let's be honest, I was style icon. 

For this Fashion Friday, I thought I would share a few photos 

of my amazing fashion sense as a child. 

You're welcome. 

Talk about the epitome of street style: windbreaker pants, credit union t-shirt and lots of bling.

After a long day of chasing pigeons around the park, a girl needs her beauty rest.

I think I had a track suit for every day of the week. They made hide and seek difficult because you could hear me running from a mile away.

Because wearing your hat backwards is a lot cooler. And I look like I just 

came back from a Fresh Prince casting call.

I think I was angry about my comb over.

Samantha and Emily did not escape the style of the decade either.

Samantha likes to think that the Spice Girls and Kathie Lee Gifford were

her fashion influences growing up.

And this is why we're friends.

Don't you wish you had known us as a child? 

We were pretty hilarious. 

-Jess

Tyra Banks scared the fear of the devil into me when I was 14 years old. I was watching her super educational talk show after school like usual when she started talking about skin care routines & how important they are.

The voice of reason. 

 But the thing that stuck out to me the most was when she said that once you hit the age of 18, your skin starts to deteriorate. I was like “whatttttt?! That’s only 4 years away! How can this be?!” It’s true, y’all. Once you hit that magic age of 18, the collagen in your skin starts to break down, forming tinyyyyy wrinkles. Well, this was just not going to fly, so at 14, I started experimenting with different preventative routines. Through much trial and error, I think I’ve found one that works for me right now, but is subject to change at any time.

Apple Cider Vinegar is a superstar. I love this stuff! I use it as a toner morning and night & couldn’t be happier. Make sure you get raw, unfiltered, organic with the “Mother” ACV, or else it’s not the same. Just put a little bit on a cotton ball and wipe over your clean face & wait until it dries to do anything else.

I usually just use whatever moisturizer I have on hand for in the mornings. Right now, it’s Clean & Clear Morning Glow Moisturizer, but that’s only because I like the way it smells. Haha.

At night, after using ACV, I use St. Ives Timeless Skin. It says you can use it in the mornings, but I found it too greasy to use with make-up. It’s like $5 at Target & Dr. Oz says it’s like the best thing ever, so there’s that. It’s probably my favorite night cream that I’ve used so far.

Then, right before I get in bed, I smear Vaseline all under and on the sides of my eyes {but not on the eyelids, cause that makes it hard to blink… or so I’ve heard}. It feels kind of weird at first, but once you’ve gotten used to it, it’s hard to go a night without.

Wrinkles terrify me. I have one on the left side of my mouth that I’m waiting to get Botox’d ASAP {judge me, tell me it’s wrong, whatever}, but until then, I’ll  stick with this routine.

What skin care routine works for you? Let’s help each other!

-Samantha

I would also like to say "Happy Birthday" to my best friend, Kate. You may know her as the Duchess of Cambridge. I'll call you when I'm in London, girlllllll! Hope you liked my present!


I was not compensated in any way for this post about these products. If you would like to change that, please visit our Contact Us page. Kthanks. 

It was about this time last year that we were preparing to leave for Paris....

I remember looking at our group Facebook page to see what my fellow travelers were discussing...

I specifically remember Jess posting this video called a Take away show.

She mentioned how it would be so cool to see one.

Once i watched the video i was hooked!!!!

These bands are hands down some of the most talented people on the planet, and they're just walking around the streets of these super neat cities playing music...it's called a Take Away Show and once you see one you HAVE to see more!!!

We actually never saw one in person but i wish we had, this one in particular is the group that stuck out most to me, they are phenomenal and well they are in Paris...So that obviously makes me love them even more!!! :-)

Check this out and become addicted...

Let me know what you think about the Take Away Shows 

and especially let us know if you've ever come across one!! :)

OH i also found this one....Mumford and Sons Take away show in Paris...swoooooon!!!

For more Take Away Shows go HERE

ENJOY :)

-Emily

No matter how much preparation you put into travel plans, 

things can (and will) always go wrong. 

Samantha, and myself if we're being honest, like planning with military precision. 

And to her credit, we never missed a train or plane in the two weeks

that we traveled. So, hats off to her for that.

I'm going to share with you two of our best stories from free travel about plans 

not working out quite the way you planned them. Both of these stories take place 

during the first few hours of each of our week-long trips.

Our motto for free travel became "Under-prepared and Overconfident."

We finally made it to Milan.

Basically everything that could go wrong travel wise happened to us on the first morning. 

We thought about getting an overnight train from Paris to Milan but that would put us getting to Milan at 5:30 AM and lugging our backpacks around all morning would get old fast. So we decide to catch the first train out of Paris…at 6:15 AM. 

We think that the metro opens at 5, which would give up plenty of time to get to Gare de Lyon in plenty of time for Sam to double check the platform and all that information but as time starts ticking away while we are standing outside of a clearly locked Glaciere station, we start to worry. 

Our only options are to either a) walk (which is not really a valid option) and b) hail a taxi. 

So we divide up and try to flag down one of the 3 cabbies driving around Paris at 5:30. 

Long story short, we are able to make it to the train on time, and all is well in the world. 

Continuing on the way to Milan, there are issues with forgetting to validate the transfer ticket from Zurich to Milan because they do not have the same validating machines in France and Switzerland, wanting to grab lunch in Zurich quickly and forgetting that they are trying to be cool and not use Euros, and ending with train worker strikes in Milan. 

Needless to say, we were happy to find get settled into our hostel that afternoon. 

Field of yellow flowers we stopped at on a bus tour through the Wicklow mountains on our UK trip. Two minutes after this photo it started hailing. Just our luck.

The second story happened on our roundabout way of getting from Paris to London. 

Travel tip: DON'T FLY OUT OF TOURS, FRANCE. EVER.

The trip had a bumpy start. But what trip doesn't  As always we were way over-prepared to arrive at the Tours airport early. Like 4 hours early. And the airport wasn't even open yet. There was a bus that went from the train station to the airport, but it didn't leave until about 30 minutes before our flight, so naturally we take a cab because we want to be there early. Little did we know that ours was the only flight out that day and the airport wasn't open. (Our cab driver was probably laughing at us as he drove away.) 

So the 4 amigos, loaded down with clothes and random souvenirs for three months, park it on a bench and watch Downton Abbey for a while. And then the cold sets in. And the airport still isn't open yet. And then this strange looking man starts walking towards us. He is a mixture between Russel Brand and Justin Bobby from The Hills. He’s kind of precious. And he asks if we are flying to Lutton, too. I immediately get excited because he looks like a fun character. 

So he joins us and says that he had to catch a cab to the airport because his parents didn't have enough room in the car for him to ride with them. And he only has a shopping back for luggage and a quilted jacket with dress pants cuffed up showing white knee high socks with black tennis shoes. He walks around looking for somewhere to go to warm up. He find a tractor (“you know that yellow thing with four wheels over there”) that is unlocked and he would totally guard it for us if we wanted to take turns sitting in there for five minutes or so to warm up. No thanks, Al (our name for him.)

The Tours, France airport is the definition of sketch. Because of “renovations” there are wires exposed from the ceiling and plastic lawn chairs for seating in the waiting area. This is what you get for flying budget airlines. I don’t know what ever happened to Al. Once we got inside and before we went through security, he had fallen asleep and I don’t know if he ever made it on the plane. The rest of the week we kept expecting to see him staying at our hostel or walking around town. 

Do you have any stories of when travel plans went awry? 

-Jess

I'm not gonna lie to you guys; I like to think of myself as a pretty classy person. Like the type that would choose Chick-Fil-A over McDonald's. You know what I think is one of the fanciest foods ever? A poached egg. When's the last time you saw one of those on a menu that didn't serve salmon? Exactly. If I'm being honest, I'll tell you that I didn't even like eggs {scrambled, over easy, fried, poached, etc} until like three years ago. They kind of have a gross texture, especially when they're cold. Ughhh. So after perusing Pinterest the other morning, I became inspired to try my hand at a poached egg. It wasn't easy, & it took a couple tries, but once you master it, it's the coolest thing ever. I am now kind of obsessed with poached eggs {I've had 8 over the course of 3 days...}. So you're pretty lucky to have me to teach you how.

- Boil 3-4 inches of water in a saucepan 

- Crack egg into small bowl & add a drop of vinegar

- **** The most important step: just before you drop the cracked egg into the boiling water, stir the water with a large whisk in a clockwise motion until it reaches whirlpool levels. This helps the egg keep its shape.

- Drop the egg into the whirlpool & reduce water to a simmer

- Wait 3.5 - 4 minutes

- Remove the egg with a slotted spoon & place on a paper towel to absorb the extra water

- Admire your new talent cause you're awesomeeee!

My photo editing site crashed, so here's an unedited picture of what it looks like. 

Lemme know how yours goes!

-Samantha


PS- Make sure to follow us on here. That is if you like awesome stories & funny people. 

Dearest Downton lovers, as you may have heard season 3 is already finished in the UK, which means those of us left behind in the USA are having serious withdrawals. Yes, it is a fact that we will have to wait another 3 days (which feels more like three years) for the Season 3 premiere. Which starts THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Downton has a special place in my heart,  mostly because I started watching it in Paris, so now every time I watch it I have flashbacks!! Reason number 2 is that we {The Paris group}
watched it together from the very first episode of the series,
and we watched it in the Parisian flat of our Lovely Lynns {trip parents, best friends, professors}
We would take the metro to Montparnasse and walk to their flat, then climb up the 100 flights of stairs and hang out in their living room eating snacks and drinking coffee or Orangina :)
{or water in my case}.

Now it's finally time for season 3 and we're keeping up with tradition, we're going to venture to their house in Searcy, Arkansas to watch every episode, every Sunday night :-)

Here is the new trailer for season three to wet your appetite for what’s coming Sunday...
I’m sensing a little bit of drama...just a little bit...
Can’t wait for season 3 but alas, we have to...
stay strong fellow downtoneers, our time will come soon!!!!!!!

What are you most excited to see in Season 3?

-Emily