Thursday Threes

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I have officially started training for my 1/2 marathon that I am planning on running this fall! I am so excited to be training because I love to run, but only when I have an actual purpose. I just got new shoes for training and I love them! Shoes also tend to motivate me. The goal is to run it under 2 hours, but we'll see how that goes. 

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Last week I have been in Florida on vacation with my family. We go to the same place every year, so much so that it feels like a second home. I have been loving going out to dinner with my family, sitting by the pool and not having anything I need to do. My favorite part has always been reading at the beach with my mom. It is so relaxing to listen to the waves while reading a "fluff" book.

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 I have been wanting a pair of jacks for so long and I finally got a pair! I waited to try them on in person so I could make sure I got the right size, and luckily the first store I went it had them! Everyone says that they aren't comfortable right away, but mine aren't as bad as I expected. I know I will be wearing these a lot this summer. (P.S. isn't the floor of my grandparents patio just the coolest thing?)

What have you been up to this week?

xoxo,

Maddie

Best of June

| Pocket Tee  (code: madeleineplatten16 for 10% off) | Book | Hat | Bralette |

           I feel like I say this for every month, but June has gone by so fast. This is probably because I worked so much that I only had about half of the month free. Either way I have been really enjoying "summer" things. I have loved sitting outside and reading books while sipping my sweet tea. (find the recipe here) I have primarily been reading Nicolas Sparks books because they are always so sweet and normally have a happy ending. 

         This summer I have made a point of trying new things. My biggest new thing is tennis. Through gym class I have found a love for tennis. I don't know whether it is because I am not stressed when playing or because I can see myself continuously improving but either way I love it. Another new thing I recently tried was bralettes. I was a little skeptical about them but my sister really wanted one so I figured I would try them out. Needless to say that I really like them so I would totally recommend. I went with one from Aerie because they were having a sale which made it $10 after my sister bought hers. It seems like a really good price for them, especially compared to others I have seen online.
            So far I have been loving June. It has been great not being in school and spending some time by myself. I am on vacation now and It is such a great way to end the month and start a new one.

What have you been liking this month?

xoxo,

Maddie

Outfit: Fourth of July Pt. 2

| Shirt | Shorts | Flannel (similar) (similar) | Shoes |

Fourth of July is so close I can almost feel it! This outfit is one of my favorites because it is so simple but you feel really good in it. The plaid adds a fun accessory to the basic red and white combo, but the best part is that if it gets a little cooler while watching fireworks or eating your brat, you can easily throw on the plaid. This plaid is perfect since it is red, white and blue. I got it for Christmas this past year and right away I thought about the Fourth of July. I couldn't find the exact shirt so I linked some similar ones in a reasonable price range. I won't be wearing this for the fourth, but make sure to check out what I'm wearing next week!

Make sure you check out Part 1 of this series here!

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Threes

Summer is definitely in full swing. This summer I am trying to make a point of trying new things and staying off of my phone. So far it has been working well, but mainly because most of my time is spent life guarding so I don't have too much free time to begin with. My annual summer trip is coming up so I am saving all the money I can so I can treat myself on vacation! Here's a peak into my past week:

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I recently decided to play tennis for my high school this fall instead of running cross country. Well for the last two weeks I have been in a tennis camp for the school. It's been so great to finally be playing and I have found that I love the sport, but the only issue is I'm not exactly good at it. We'll see how the season goes...

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Last Saturday was the first day of the farmers market and I was so excited. It is one of my favorite parts about summer. My city has a really big one (4 blocks long) so the food from vendors is so good. There is such a variety from egg rolls, to bison, to berries. See my post on it last year here. 

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My last birthday gift was finally given to me which was a trip to a local pottery place to paint. I love painting mugs here because they are HUGE which makes them perfect for drinking coffee in the morning or hot chocolate on a cold day. The worst part is having to wait a week before it is fired, but it is always worth it in the end. 

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Maddie

Sweet Tea

Sweet tea isn't something that people drink the the Midwest at all. Last summer was the first time I had made sweet tea and I absolutely loved it. My biggest issue was that there are so many different recipes online that I had trouble picking which one to make. This recipe from Food Network was what I ended up making. It is super easy and really tasty, which is why I decided to share it you all. 

Sweet Tea

Ingredients:

3 quarts cold water
4 pitcher size cold brew tea bags (12 Luzianne tea bags)
Sugar Mixture (see below) 
Lemon slices and Mint sprigs for garnish

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat, pour into a pitcher and steep the tea bags about 5 minutes. Mix the sugar mixture into the iced tea. Mix well. 

Pour the drink and mix over ice cubs in a glass. Garnish with 2 slices of lemon and a sprig of mint. 

Sugar Mixture

Ingredients:

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

  

Bring 1 cup water to a boil and add sugar. Stir to combine.

Let me know if you try this and what you think,

xoxo,

Maddie

Outfit: Fourth of July Pt. 1

|| Dress  || Shoes || Necklace (similar) ||

One of my favorite holidays, Fourth of July, is coming up so I'm going to be doing a series of posts about outfits for the day. Since Fourth of July festivities vary greatly each outfit will be for a different type of event, ranging from a day on the boat to a casual dinner out.

This outfit is such an easy one to throw on. I got the dress from Nordstrom's last month and it has quickly become one of my favorite dresses. Just adding a red necklace allowed me to make it red, white, and blue which is perfect for any outing for the fourth.

Next Sunday will have the next outfit!

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Threes

This last week has been one of the first times that I have been able to relax completely. It has been so nice to just sit down and do nothing. With that being said is is what I have been up to in the past couple of days:

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One of my best friends invited to go boating with last weekend and it was so much fun. Since we went in the late afternoon we got to see the prettiest sunset. But overall the best part was tubing with her. Even though we got tons of bugs in our faces, flying across the water is always a great idea. 

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This summer I really wanted to do something new. I decided to try calligraphy. I am no pro at it, but I think I'm getting pretty good considering that I have only been doing it for a week!

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I love summer because they is when there is fruit everywhere! I have been eating berries with almost every meal. My favorite is granola, milk and mix of berries.

Have a great week!

xoxo,

Maddie