My France Wish List

I'm headed to France in 23 short days! I've got lots of things to do before I leave. I made a wish list of things I need to buy (hint hint, Mom...)--these are obviously absolute necessities.

Passport cover

Hello, it's super important that I have my passport at all times. It would totally be easier to keep track of if I had a cute cover like this one.

White pants

Someone once told me no one wears shorts in Paris (truth, or vicious rumor?) In any case, I'm gonna need something more summery than my usjh (abbrev of usual--thoughts?) denim.

LBD

Every girl's best friend. I have a fabulous one in my possession already, but I'm saving it for causin' some trouble in Vegas for my 21st.

Weekend bag

Barca is booked, and Amsterdam is in the works, so I'm gonna need something reasonably sized to take with me on my cheap plane flights. And it's obvi gonna have to be stylish too.

Sigh. I wish my taste yearned for less expensive things.

That's all I could think of for now. I think I've got most of the rest of my wardrobe covered, and I already have a suitcase big enough to make me look like a fool as I lug it around the airport.

Anything else I forgot? Any tips for a first-time major traveller?

Lunch on the patio

Today the weather was finally nice enough to be outside!

Paige and I dined on the patio for lunch. We had salad, carrots, and fruit.

Isn't the salad beautiful? We mixed lettuce, cucumbers, olives, banana peppers, and jalapenos, topped with salsa as dressing. SO GOOD, and even better that we were outside in the sun.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Monday!

Kendall's Graduation in Pictures

One of the things that is most endearing to me about my family is that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Seriously, regardless of how good an Archer's karma might be or how hard you've prayed for everything to be in its right place, something bad always happens.

Kendall's high school graduation was no different.

Despite how fab she looks in all these pictures, Kendall got released from the emergency room a mere 11 hours before her graduation ceremony started (meaning only 7 hours before she had to wake up in the morning.) She woke up with horrendous food poisoning and was sick all day Thursday. She went to the ER to get all hydrated and well again, and rallied for the ceremony and her party the next day.

A true champ that one is. And doesn't she look gorg?

A few weeks ago, my mom officially put me in charge of the little family party, so being the cray-cray that I am, I went to town. I literally spent 13 hours baking the day before, and spent the morning of scrambling around decorating. Totally worth it to make my sister happy :) and I think things turned out pretty good, right? I'm considering a career in party planning at the behest of the party guests :)

Husky cupcake recipe can be found here (super easy, I promise!)

On me: Dress Rachel Roy, Ring F21, Watch Michael Kors, Shoes Target

On Kendall: Dress Single, Shoes F21 (hair and make up done by yours truly)

Sunday Gratitude

Sometimes I am just struck by how amazingly blessed I am to have my friends and family in my life.

I spent the weekend surrounded by people I love and who love me, and for that I am tremendously thankful.

Today I just wanna pinch myself. My life is full of love, happiness, and smiles.

Five Things Friday

Today is a special edition of Five Things Friday,

because today is my little sister Kendall's high school graduation!

Taking a moment to make this all about me (typical...), I cannot believe I graduated three years ago! It feels like yesterday that I was waking up, curling my hair, and heading to school to graduate! (maybe one day I'll tell the story of how my graduation gown got stolen right before the ceremony...) So much has changed since then, but I still feel the same in a lot of ways.

Since this Friday is Kendall's special day, I am dedicating my five things to facts and useless trivia about my favorite 18 year old. Here it goes!

1.) Kendall was born on my second-and-a-half birthday. This means that every year, on each of our birthdays, we wish the other a happy half birthday. On February 2, I try to get half the attention ;) When we were little, my mom would get the half birthday girl a present too.

2.) For the past year, Kendall served as the State Vice President of the California Association of Student Councils. She was the second in command of a statewide organization at age 17...she's a bad ass, enough said.

3.) Kendall applied to 16 colleges (clearly she's a crazy person) and got into 14! I may be biased, but I'd say that's pretty damn impressive. She worked so hard in high school, and I'm so proud of her! She's headed to the University of Washington in the fall, and our teams face off on the football team in September! Can't wait.

4.) Kendall could eat Subway everyday. In fact, she probably has it almost everyday. This is an obsession of which I approve. Subway is tasty.

5.) You know how some people just aren't morning people? Well, Kendall takes that trait to a whole new level. Waking her up is highly inadvisable. I wouldn't recommend it to even a trained professional. Good thing she's about to go to college, which means setting your own schedule and not ever getting up before noon if you don't want to. Kendall's a girl who likes her sleep, that's for sure.

Congratulations Kendall! You're finally done with high school forever.

I am so proud of you and am excited to see all the things you accomplish.

I love you!

On the Healthy Living Soapbox

The other day my best friend demanded that I teach her my healthy living ways. Now, I’m the first to admit I wasn’t always so healthy. Up until around January, working out was something I had to do because it was necessary if I wanted to lose weight. That’s the mindset that I began my fitness journey with. Jordan, don’t have that cookie! You’re never gonna lose weight if you have it. Jordan, get your booty to the gym! How do you ever expect to lose weight if you’re this lazy?!

But then something happened. Some inner working I had been longing for finally clicked, and exercise and healthy eating became something I got to do, rather than had to do. And that’s when the weight finally started coming off. I exercised everyday because it made me feel good, and I ate healthy because I needed powerful fuel to get me through my work outs.

And I’ve continued this healthy lifestyle. People comment on my weight loss a lot, and while I am excited about fitting into old clothes and looking in the mirror and thinking “Damn girl!,” I’m mostly excited that I’ve become fully committed to making healthy life choices. And I figure if I can inspire one person to do the same, my purpose is fulfilled.

So, that’s what brings me to this blog post: what is it specifically that I love about exercise and healthy eating? This was a question I hadn’t really pondered, aside from the broad “I like the way it makes me feel.” In true Happy List fashion, I’ve compiled a list of the reasons why I have become nearly obsessive with health and wellness:

1. I love getting creative about my meals. My mom always keeps the kitchen stocked with fresh fruits and veggies, and I love being able to put them together. Last week I had egg whites with avocado, spinach, and tomatoes, and last night I made myself tomato and carrot juice. Eating only fresh foods allows me to make colorful and healthy combinations.
2. That feeling when you think your heart might pound out of your chest? I live for it. I love challenging my body and finding out it is capable of doing things I never would have guessed. If someone told me 6 months ago that I would be running regularly (and loving it), I would have laughed in their faces. But now I am addicted to the adrenaline rush. Runner’s high is such a true thing.
3. It helps me sleep. My mom has terrible insomnia, and in the fall I was getting early hints of it—not being able to sleep longer than an hour, sleeping the whole night but waking up exhausted—but when I’m jammin’ on my exercise and eating healthy routine, I sleep soundly through the night.
4. “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.” Enough said.
5. I feel good about myself.

So there you have it. I'm so happy with the changes I've made, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to make them without the inspiration of the blogging community. :)

Time for some exercise!

Happy June!

via

"If a June night could talk,

it would probably boast it invented romance."

-Bern Williams

What I love most about June is that it makes summer feel so official.

June is the month of popsicles, laying by the pool, and walking around barefoot. It's the time of aloe on a sunburn, ice clinking in a glass, and freckles appearing on noses. There is something so romantic and relaxing about turning the calendar over from May to June.

I'm so excited to see what this month brings!

Happy June everyone!