A Day in Washington D.C.

Hey everyone! This week has been so busy for me. I started the week off in Boston, Massachusetts for three days and two nights. Then on Thursday I headed to Washington D.C for two days and one  night. What's the reason for all of my traveling this week? College Tours! It's cool that I get to visit all of these new places, but it's just so tiring. So, today and yesterday I visited two colleges and did some wandering of my country's capital.

This is mostly a photo post...but oh well! I need to go back to Washington D.C. because I really want to see the Smithsonian Museum.

 Here are some of the monuments and places I saw in this city.

 There was some official business going on in The White House when I was there, so unfortunately this is as close I could get to the building. For some reason I pictured The White House with more privacy to roam. It was cool nonetheless to see where the presidents of the United States have lived.

 This is the Eisenhower Executive Office Building which is the biggest building I've ever seen. It's huge! The whole building is filled with different details, but the architecture is identical no matter where you look on the building.  This building has a long history and many presidents have handled official business in it. 

This is the Washington Monument. It commemorates the first President of the United States... George Washington (who also appears on our one dollar bills).

Later on...

My family and I ate at a restaurant called "Founding Farmers", it's a pun on the term "founding fathers." The restaurant was so good! We originally weren't going to go in, but it was worth it. I had fish and chips.

 Later on, we stopped at an ice cream store called "Captain Cookie and The Milkman". Basically you have a choice of eight different cookies, and ten different ice cream flavors and you order an ice cream sandwich. I ordered Cookies N' Cream between chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were warm and it was delicious. It's a big ice cream sandwich, but it was a nice way to end a week of college touring.

I hope you liked this post! 
Have you ever been to Washington D.C? 

                                                                                 xx
                                                                  Christina Madeleine

OOTD: Golden Gate Park

Hey everyone! It's been awhile. This month I have traveled to California, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C. In California, I was able to visit San Francisco, Monterrey, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbra with my singing group from school. On the second day of the trip we visited Golden Gate Park and did a whole tour of the city of San Francisco.

Here is my OOTD:

My Outfit:

Bomber Jacket- American Eagle 

Floral Shirt - American Eagle

Ripped Jamie Jeans - Top Shop

Sneakers - Adidas Superstars 

I've been super obsessed with bomber jackets, and I finally was able to buy one! Mine was on clearance from American Eagle and cost about 36 dollars.

         My friends and I took so many pictures by the Golden Gate Bridge because it was so sunny and beautiful that day. New York has been rainy and cold, and the sunshine was a change. I'm always unprepared for the weather when I go on trips, so there I was in long sleeves when it was very warm out.

I've been to San Francisco before ( you can check out that post here ) when I was 15, but this time I got to see even more and be with my friends. The Golden Gate Bride was so pretty, and interesting to learn about. Did you know that it was originally supposed to be painted black and yellow?

 After visiting the Golden Gate Bridge we went to Sausalito (more photos coming soon). I was trying not to be too "tourist-y" but I had to take photos in from of the Golden Gate Bridge!

 Check out my friend Nina (featured above!) on her blog: http://rainyday-writer.blogspot.com/

Lastly, this bomber jacket is officially my favorite jacket. The details of flowers on the back make it more unique. I like this jacket because it goes with any type of outfit especially jeans or leggings. I usually pair it with solid colors because then more attention goes to the jacket.

I am so sorry that I haven't been posting. I am on Spring Break, and I've been college touring. I know it's not an excuse to not be updating, but I have been motivated to blog again because more interesting things have been happening. Thanks for the support with this blog! I can't believe it's been almost 4 years!!

                                                                             xx
                                                               Christina Madeleine

Book Review: The Unexpected Everything

Hey everyone! I recently read the book The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. I am a fan of this author because I've read half of her books. Last year I read Since You've Been Gone, and what I particularly like about these books is how they are cute love stories that take place in the Summer. There is obviously conflict among the characters and such, but it's a very light read.

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Andie had it all planned out. When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

My Thoughts:

At first this book seems like it would be very long due to the extensive number of pages, and the hard cover, but the story goes so fast. Lately, I've read some books filled with heavy drama, and I needed a nice story that was more realistic to me. Also, it's the middle of the winter here, so I needed to be reminded what Summer was like.

The main character, Andy, at first seems very snobby. She talks about how she only dates guys for three weeks, and then breaks up with them. Since her father is a congressman, she is always super organized and it gets to a point where she is very anal about everything. The beginning of the book is her freaking out about her summer program, and how she has to have a plan for everything. I really didn't like her mentality. Once a twist of fate happens and she ends up staying in Connecticut for the Summer; her whole demeanor changes. The first time I started liking her was when she starts getting into a routine with her new job (you can see from the cover that it's dog walking). As the book goes on, Andy broadens her horizons with new experiences and that's definitely due to the boy she meets named Clark.

I am not a big fan of the other characters in the book, but Clark is definitely a personal favorite. I particularly don't like Andy's friend, Toby, because she spends most of the Summer pining after this guy who has no interest in her, but she's very possessive of him. The girls in the book all are interesting enough, but almost all of the conversations are about boys. Although relationships are a common topic among teenagers, Andy's friends made it almost a necessity to mention a boy in all conversations. Clark is a very well developed character because he breaks the mold of the typical people from the made-up town in Connecticut. I am not going to spoil anything, but he has a pretty cool job and he's very smart. His influence on the other characters make the book from very superficial to a cute love story/ summer story.

Morgan Matson is a talented writer, and I do want to continue reading her other books. I think a key characteristic in a good writer is that they can make you hate or love the characters, but be able to keep you involved with the book. The Unexpected Everything does have a message in the book, which is that life doesn't go according to plan. You might have your whole life written out in an organizer, but that might not be the way that it works out.  I recommend this book for people who wants a summer-y feel. This books is very young adult orientated, but it deals with enough topics that I feel that most people will enjoy it.

Some Favorite Quotes: 

“I could do this. If whole galaxies could change, so could I.”
 

You have to try. You have to take your chances. Go and attempt and see what happens. And even if you fail - especially if you fail - come back with your experience and your hard-won knowledge and a story you can tell. And then later you can say, without regret or hesitation... 'Once, I dared to dare greatly” 

“The idea that you could rethink the thing you'd always thought you wanted and change your plan - it was almost a revolutionary concept. That you could choose what would make you happy, not successful"

“Sometimes we get a little bit of a facade. We think we have people. Family, friends... but in the end, it's just you and the darkness. Everyone leaves eventually, my young friend. It's better, really, to learn early. This way, you can save yourself some disappointment.” 

Question: Have you read anything similar to this book?

I am sorry I haven't updated in almost a month! I have had so much college test prep to do. There's only eight days left in the month...so I'll try to catch up with some posts!

                                                                        xx
                                                          Christina Madeleine
 

I Learned To Ski!

Hey everyone! Over last weekend (January 13-15), I went on my school's ski trip to Okemo Resort in Vermont. I've never skied before this weekend, so it was a very eventful weekend for me. It took six hours to get to Vermont because of all the traffic. My friend and I took that time to watch the movie Shutter Island (I give it 10/10). I shared a room at a hotel with my friends, so the night was fun because we played about forty rounds of Cards Against Humanity.

This was my first time to Vermont, and I have to say it's so pretty. I stayed in Rutland County; it was so peaceful and the air felt so crisp.

There's a Waffle Cabin at Okemo that's on a mountain, and the only way to get to it is to take the chair lift to the top of the mountain and than ski halfway down. As a person who never skied before, it was kind of scary the first day I went because I didn't know how to stop half way down a mountain, but by the second day I was a "pro."

I give a lot of credit to my friends because before my lesson they took me on two slopes to teach me how to ski. They were pretty efficient and I love them for trying to teach me even if I might've fallen twice and teared up a bit (I was petrified!). On the second day, I went on a few of the easiest slopes with my friend (also a fellow beginner) about five times, but my classmates who were more experienced with skiing and snow boarding stuck around to help us out. It was a lot of fun to to be on the slopes with so many people that were willing to help me.

Overall, skiing was so much fun and I definitely want to go again. I bought my own goggles for the next time I hit the slopes, and eventually I'll get more of the paraphernalia. I was so scared to ski because I had never even seen skis in real life. In the two days, I learned a lot about skiing and how fun it is. The best parts about the trip was being with the girls in my class and realizing how amazing friendship is because literally the girls who usually ski black slopes (the hardest ones) took time to stay with me on the easiest slopes. Also, my friend Nikki and I were so proud of ourselves because by the second day we were able to ski by our own. Although this trip was only two days, it will last in my mind for a long time. Next year I'll be back at Okemo (but hopefully I'll ski before then!).

Question: Have you ever gone skiing?

                                                                            xx
                                                              Christina Madeleine

My Week in Photos 1/1-1/7

Hey everyone! I've seen many bloggers doing a series called "My Week in Photos", which if you can't tell is when they post some photos they posted from the week & a small blurb with what they did that week. I 've been meaning to do something like this for awhile because I take a lot of photos. I think I am going to try doing this type of post a few times a month. Since I am trying to do post twice a week, it would bring more variety to this website. Furthermore, this what I have done in the last week.

January 1, 2017

It was New Year's Day, so I decided to start on my resolution of getting + staying organized by planning out my whole week in my "Follow Your Dreams" planner.  I have to admit there is something nice about planning out your whole week, blogposts, homework, and homework.

Side note: I was organizing my planner right after watching Sherlock and it took me forever because I was still not over how good that show is.

 

January 3, 2017

It was my last day of break and I hadn't filmed or edited my video for my film class. The prompt was to make a video with no actors or spoken dialogue. My mind went to my dog, Bosco, who was sitting on the couch. I spent two hours of my Tuesday filming my dog in his superdog costume & trying to get him to act for me. In the end, the 2:30 video was a hit at my school. I have some photos of him during this time.

January 4, 2017

It was my first day of school after a 2.5 week break. That day wasn't the worst, but it was a big reality check on how important Junior year is. All I heard when I was in school were the words "SAT, "college," "tests," and "future." It was a very stressful day because all I can do is study hard and do all my work to give me an edge up in the future.  It also doesn't help that I took a 3.5 hour long practice SAT the night before school, so it was rough going back to school.My favorite part of the day was my art class where I started working on a new piece. Also, Wednesday was the day I was able to get the Q train at the Second Avenue Station in the Upper East Side. This station is absolutely beautiful and CLEAN, so it was different than most subway stations in New York.

January 6, 2017

Friday was a very busy day for me. I had school, but afterwards I went to the French Embassy bookstore with my friends, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, out to dinner, and then to my school's coffeehouse (kind of like a talent show with other single-sex schools in the area). 

January 7, 2017

Saturday was a day that I sleep in and catch up on work. How can I possibly be behind in my work after only three days of school!? In the morning, my father drove me to a new place in my area called "Baya Bowls" and I bought myself a pitaya bowl with kiwi, coconut shavings, honey, and pineapple. While I ate my breakfast I watched The Office (I only have 5 episodes left!), and then I worked on my homework. The rest of the day I did SAT prep, wrote an article for the Teen News Website that I write for called The Weekly Buzz (you should definitely check it out), and then wrote a blogpost. I know my life is sooooo interesting, haha.

 Do you like this type of post? What did you all do this week? Let me know in the comments. My life isn't crazy interesting (currently it's 20% school 20%homework 15%blogging 5%The Office 20% SAT prep 20% sleeping). I love to take photos, so I can definitely promise more insights on my life like this. 

                                                                          xx

                                                            Christina Madeleine

 

OOTN December 30: A Sweet 16

Hey everyone! On December 30, I went to a Sweet 16 for my friend Alex. It was one of the best the best parties I went to in 2016. Sweet 16s are usually big parties where everyone dresses up, so I found the cutest outfit and I wanted to share it with you all. My outfit wasn't expensive, but it still looked very classy (in my opinion).

My outfit:
Romper - Cue Boutique ( a local boutique in the area that  I live in) $30
High Heeled Booties - Buffalo Exchange (a thrift store in the Lower East Side of Manhattan) $24
Black Tights

I was in desperate need of a haircut, so the day before the party I had my hair cut and straightened. I rarely have my hair straightened (only about three times in the past year), so it was definitely a special occasion.

The outfit was very different than other things I have worn to Sweet 16s. When I first went to these parties, I wore dresses that were a bit longer and would make me feel like a princess when I spun. Then I went to a few birthdays in bodycon dresses (jncluding my own party), and lastly rompers became my item of choice. Not many people wear rompers, but I love them.
 

It wasn't planned that my friend, Nina, and I wore black, but it was the perfect time for a photo opt. 
 

Before the party, Emily and I took photos in our faux fur. My purple jacket was between $50 - $60 from Forever 21.

Question: What do you wear to birthdays/ sweet 16s?

                                                                       xx
                                                         Christina Madeleine