Happy Halloween!!

BIG GAME WEEKEND!

This is a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE football weekend for my teams!!!

GO FLORIDA GATORS BEAT GEORGIA BULLDOGS!!!!

I wish so much I was getting to go to this game! It's so weird not to be going! I always go! To all of you who are going: enjoy my beautiful hometown of Jacksonville (Beach) and let me know if you need any restaurant suggestions or things to do! Requirement: Must be in orange and blue!

GATOR CHOMP THEM BACK TO ATHENS!

GO MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS BEAT KENTUCKY WILDCATS!!!

GO GATORS AND STATE!!

We don't hate on y'alls traditions!

Mississippi State has gotten a lot of media attention recently from the SEC for the artificial noisemaker rules. Last summer, State was granted permission to allow cowbells into our stadium only, as long as we followed guidelines on when to ring the bells (during SEC games). It's been pretty obvious as a student that the cowbells are being rung whenever students feel like it. While I think students should "respect the bell" as the campaign calls it, I think other interesting views from football analysts, SEC commentators, and students/fans of other SEC schools need to be called out.

I've heard the cowbell called obnoxious, rude, "country", redneck, stupid, and an "unfair home field advantage". Now I apologize for sounding rude, but y'all don't think being called "Tiger Bait" and having drinks thrown on you at LSU is rude? Gator chomping at Florida? That the "Woo Pig Sooie" at Arkansas is annoying? "Roll Tide" doesn't get old?

I don't.

I'm not an Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ole Miss, or Vandy fan. But I do respect their traditions. It's what makes each school unique. This is what makes the SEC.

And I would expect that the fans of these schools would respect ours.

Maybe it's because they don't know the story of the cowbell...

A jersey cow walked onto the field in the early 1900s during an Ole Miss vs. MS State game. State came from behind and won the game. The cow was viewed as a symbol of good luck. The cow was eventually replaced/represented by the cow bell, handles were welded on to make ringing easier, and cowbells became a Mississippi State tradition.
Everyone decorates their own cowbell. That's what makes them special to each person.
Lots of times they are passed down from generation to generation.
This is what makes us unique.
It's a symbol of who we are, and Mississippi State's hospitality. Here is Ray Goodrich and Kristina Akra of SEC Gridiron Live ringing bells at our tailgate.
We even have an iPhone app!

So next time you go to make fun of the cowbell, call us country, redneck, rude, whatever....remember what the cowbell means to us. And remember that we respect your traditions and would expect that you would respect ours. And this goes for my Florida Gator love as well. Stop making fun of the Gator Chomp. Or the "We are the boys of Old Florida". It's what we do. Get over it. Same with the Vols. I love Rocky Top.

Go be a part of your school. The traditions you love is what makes you LSU, Bama, Auburn, wherever. And this is what makes us Mississippi State, Gator Nation.

GO GATORS!

AND GO STATE!!!!!!

Arnold Palmers = Obsession

Ashley + Arnold Palmers in a can = Obsessed

Iced tea + Lemonade

Comes in Regular, Lite, and Zero

Comes as little packets you can shake into your water bottle

I don't know who invented this

But I love them haha

Happy Monday!

Forever 21 Score

I'm not typically a fan of Forever 21. Lots of girls look adorable in their clothes and seem to have great finds. I am not one of those girls! Haha....but I was so excited to find this gem:

The Jacquard Floral dress from the Love 21 section of clothes. I love how feminine it is, I love the pink and gray together, the cut is also really classic and not too short or low cut. The price was also great. I can't wait till it arrives in the mail!

I have a friend visiting this weekend for our Homecoming game! I will have good pictures for y'all next week of this weekend and I'm also carving pumpkins next week so pictures of those too!

Go Mississippi State Bulldawgs!! (Thank the Lord the Gators have a bye week haha! They need a break to improve before the big Georgia game next week :) )!

Have a great weekend!

The Gator-Bulldawg Dilemma

For those of y'all who have been reading my blog for awhile, or even those who are new followers, (it's pretty obvious just by looking at my blog haha) you know I love my Florida Gators and Mississippi State Dawgs...but what do you do when they play each other??

Last year, Mississippi State hosted Florida in Starkville. I had been a State grad student for almost 3 months at this point, and loved State, but still wore orange and blue to the game. Florida was the predicted winner, and took a win home to Gainesville that weekend. Dan Mullen was a new head coach at State and the team was rebuilding and learning a lot last year. This year, Florida hosted State at the Swamp. I definitely took this opportunity to return to my home turf and really loved being back in Jacksonville Beach this past weekend. I got to go shopping, go to the beach, and see my family. I also loved that some friends were able to see my beautiful city of Jax Beach and the Swamp!

Saturday morning we ate breakfast on the beach.

Here I am...wearing a Mississippi State sweatshirt and Florida Gator shorts!

After breakfast we did a little shopping in Bealls and Target then got ready and headed to Gainesville.

Here are some pictures:

Me with Albert and Alberta

Me and George with Albert and Alberta

Dang I love Florida. Look how pretty the Gator walk is!

George, me, Justin waiting on the Dawgs

Go Gators!

The Swamp is amazing...like no other stadium. I'm so lucky to have had so many amazing memories here...and I'm only 23! Many more to come!

Dan the Man! Go State!

Urbs.

3rd row seats are pretty sweet

My boys from Ol' Florida and my boys in Maroon and White.

The outcome of the game was not only a total shock, I was left with completely mixed emotions. As a lifelong Gator fan, I had decided to stick to my roots and wear orange and blue to the game. Mississippi State was coming off a 3 win streak vs. Georgia, Houston, and Alcorn State. Florida was coming off 2 losses to Alabama and LSU. This was a big game. SEC predictions thought that should State beat Florida, they would most likely see a top 25 ranking this week, and a 5-2 week 7 would most likely mean bowl eligibility within the next couple of games. However, Florida neeeeeeeded this win. Not only for the season stats, but also for morale. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation. When Florida missed the field goal that would have tied the game and forced overtime, I wanted to jump and celebrate and at the same time cry in disappointment. What a bittersweet win. I love State with all my heart and am so absolutely proud to be a Bulldawg (with a #24 ranking), but the Orange and Blue loss runs a little deeper. But like the song says, "In all kinds of weather we'll all stick together for F-L-O-R-I-D-A".

Thank the Lord they don't play each other next year.

Gooooo Gators and Bulldawgs! Couldn't be prouder to have 4 beautiful colors in my blood-blue. orange, maroon, and white.

OH YEAH JERSEY SHORE YEAH

It's that Caramel Apple time of year!

Nothing to me screams fall more than caramel apples and other apple desserts. Since I'm planning on making some caramel apple treats this weekend, I thought I'd share some fabulous caramel apple ideas with y'all!

First and foremost, caramel apples themselves...this picture just speaks for itself. I have a recipe further on down the page!

Next, caramel apple cider. This is the perfect drink for warming up on cold autumn nights! Here's how I make mine:

I use apple cider (not apple juice) and add some caramel candies in a saucepan. I heat on medium heat and stir until the caramel melts and its hot. Then I pour it in a mug, top with whipped cream, and drizzle some cinnamon or caramel sauce on top. Adding spiced rum like Captain Morgan or Sailor Jerry's is also amazing!

Have y'all ever had a caramel apple martini?
If not I strongly recommend them! Here's how to make these at home:

Rim glass with cinnamon sugar mix (I wet the rim with apple cider first so it sticks)

Combine 1 ounce of Butterscotch schnapps, 2 ounces of vodka, and a splash of apple cider, shake over ice in a shaker, strain into glass. So delicious!

Speaking of amazing caramel apple treats, have y'all seen these yet:
Caramel apple Hershey Kisses! I saw them at Target in Knoxville when I was visiting Jim and actually picked up the Pumpkin Spice flavor, but after seeing how amazing they look I will definitely be trying these.
The pumpkin spice flavor was really good! They were very sweet so I only had a few at a time but absolutely helped my craving for pumpkin sweets.
They also make Candy Corn flavored Kisses also! I'm not a huge fan of candy corn but I bet these are great for those of you who do!

If you don't have time to bake any apple treats, your house can still smell like you just had an apple pie come out of the oven!

I bet if you combine this candle:
With this candle:
You would have a caramel apple scented home! I know Walmart actually sells a caramel apple scented candle (that smells amazing) but I couldn't find a picture of it.

Last fall, my roommate, her Pi Phi sister, and I made caramel and candy apples...
We used the caramel apple kit instead of making the caramel ourselves (which I do not recommend...the recipe I have below is simple and the results are much better).
Here's Randall and Katie Jo making candy apples!

Hahaha :)

Paula Deen's Caramel Apples!

6 apples with stems removed

14 oz package caramel candies, unwrapped

2 tablespoons of milk

Press a craft popsicle stick into the top of each apple. Butter a baking sheet (or use wax paper) and set aside. Either microwave the caramels and milk or heat by stovetop (I prefer stovetop), stirring occasionally. Coat the apples with a thick, even coat of caramel and set to harden on baking sheet. If you want to add chocolate chips, peanuts, pretzel pieces, anything to your apple, roll in topping before the caramel sets.

Super easy and really delicious!

Twitter-To Make Private or Stay Public?

Happy Friday everyone! So I need y'alls opinions. I'm currently planning on graduating with my Master's in May, and if you follow me on Twitter, you know I've been applying/interviewing for some jobs...

My Twitter account is currently public because I want those who follow my blog to be able to easily follow me on Twitter. I don't think I tweet anything that would be offensive to any prospective employer, but what do y'all think-should I make my Twitter private while I'm job searching and have those who want to follow request me? Or is that just a pain?

Enjoy your weekend!