Hello friends! How is everyone's week going? This week has been such a nice 'break' week for me. After graduation, I headed home to Ft. Myers to literally just chill out. I move on Sunday, so I have been really enjoying some down time and hanging out with all of my Florida family. May is always such an exciting month, and this year even more so. I graduated, my sister graduates high school at the end of the month, and then there are three family birthdays this week: my mom, grandpa and grandma.

My grandpa's birthday is May 5, so he has a tradition of getting his free birthday meal at Iguana Mia amongst the masses of people who go there to celebrate Cinco De Mayo - which I could NEVER understand. Iguana Mia is just a chain, but I guess people really want to celebrate with non-authentic enchiladas and Coronas. Anyway, he always enjoys it despite the long wait times. He's 83 and still partying!

Yesterday was my mom's 50th birthday - another big one. We went to Season's 52 in Naples for dinner, one of my all time favorite restaurants EVER. P.S. the dress I'm wearing is from Forever 21 and I love it because I can make it dressy or super casual. And they're cut off but I finally found a pair of nude heels by Dolce Vita that I LOVE.

She's having a party this weekend because why stop celebrating? I started with a Caesar salad ordered the oak-grilled filet mignon with yukon mashed potatoes and a red wine sauce as my entree (I get it every time) and it was incredible.

After that, we ordered a bunch of their mini deserts. I got the carrot cake and peanut butter chocolate one but my favorite was actually the Mocha Macchiato one! They're heavenly. The waiter told us people just come to the restaurant to sit at the bar for a glass of wine and a flight of deserts. Not a bad idea.

And today I just finished a tough group fitness class and I am heading out to go to the beach with a couple close friends! Lots of exercise, sun, family & good food this week - all of my favorite things.

And I'll leave you with something to laugh at...

- Rach

Hi! I am annoyed I haven't posted in a about a week because I made a goal to myself to keep up to about three posts a week, but the past week and a half has just been CRAZY. I've been occupied with trying to finish these last couple classes of undergrad (where the HECK has the time gone?!) and just trying to enjoy the time I have left here because I am only in Gainesville for one more week and a half. And it is so bittersweet.

Today was the last day of classes. I actually didn't have any classes today. Just one yesterday and it was an exam that I probably didn't do so hot on (I KNOW I didn't do so hot on.) Anyway, the past week was awesome and unfortunately I don't even have pictures to share. What kind of blogger am I? I promise I am trying to get better at this. Michael came to visit and stayed for the week! He was here on work because his company (Men's Health Magazine) was able to use locations around UF's campus for an outdoor video shoot. Go Gators! I will be sharing those videos when they're released! Our week was busy and fun as I still had class and work and he had to work, but we fit in a lot! And we were very well fed...

The weekend consisted of a lot of brunches and a lot of beer!! We squeezed in brunch at Mi Apa, Peach Valley Cafe and The Flying Biscuit. Saturday morning we dropped in at Crossfit Lead for yoga with the beautiful YoginiLei (Leila) and a class that nothing but kicked my ass. It's a great gym, great coach and awesome atmosphere but I'm literally still sore. I'm not a crossfitter at all, don't think I ever will be, but it's always fun to try new things.The workout was a super hard partner workout and my least favorite exercise was a run carrying a kettle bell on my shoulder (torture.) Favorite exercise was the overhead walking lunges - those are more my speed ;).

After what felt like burning a million calories, we ate a huge brunch and then went to the Hogtown Craft Beer Fest, which was so much fun. There was 300 beers to sample, food trucks and it was a beautiful day. It was nice to disconnect for a little bit and spend time with Michael and his parents since I've only seen them a handful of times in the past year. Luckily that's all about to change...

As each day goes by it kind of hits me a little more that my time at UF is almost over and as much as I get sad thinking about it, I also get really excited for what's next. I accepted a job at an advertising agency in Philadelphia and could not be more excited and ready for this new adventure. I can't wait to write all about it! I feel so thankful for all of the opportunities that have come my way and it is still so surreal that I am moving and starting a real job up NORTH. Who am I? Why do I still feel 16 years old sometimes?? What is winter even like? Will I survive?

So that's kind of life lately! I hope to have more workouts, recipes and other healthy content up on here shortly when things slow down a little bit in the next week.

What are your post-grad plans? 

Is everyone ready for graduation?

Happy Hump Day! This post consists of some random thoughts as I sit here drinking this amazing latte from Cymplify...

Job Hunt

I have a job interview today. This is one out of two that I've had so far and I've applied to about 50. Who's in the same boat? Isn't it fun!! This weekend is a bit freed up for me so other than enjoying the amazing weather (supposed to be in the 70's this weekend!) I plan on applying for about 30 more. It's a hefty goal but I am getting real determined because April is around the corner. I also recently started my free trial of LinkedIn Premium, which has been making the job search a little easier. Thank you, LinkedIn!

Instagram Layout

Instagram released a new app this week called Layout. If you are obsessed with Instagram like I am this is pretty exciting! It's a new photo editing app that allows you to get really creative with photography layouts. It's very easy to use! You can create a custom layout or use one of many layouts that the app provides. Read more about it here.

Healthy Skin

Lately my skin has been looking and feeling really healthy to me and I thought I would share a few things I have been doing differently! I have always had pretty healthy skin, but it's usually really dry, sensitive and easily irritated. I don't use a lot of skin care products but there's two that have made a big difference lately!

Vitamin C Oil - I have been applying this every night after I wash my face and I absolutely love it! It is a little oily, but it has made my skin extremely smooth and hydrated when I wake up every morning. It has a ton of antioxidants that are beneficial for skin. It reduces inflammation, promotes the growth of collagen and diminishes the appearance of sun damage. Miracle oil! According to Dr. Oz, it can drop a decade off of your face. Not sure how much truth is in that statement, but I have definitely noticed a positive change!

Lush Love Lettuce Exfoliating Face Mask - A friend lent me some of this to try out last week and I absolutely love it!! It's awesome. Totally natural ingredients, smells awesome and makes my skin feel amazing. Because of the natural ingredient list, it needs to be refrigerated, and when you apply it, it feels cool and soothing. Unfortunately there is not a Lush store in Gainesville, but as soon as I am near one I am going to pick up some more.

This Newfie Video

I have an obsession with big dogs. Half of my Twitter and Instagram news feeds consists of dogs. I cannot wait until I can have my own Golden Retriever/Huskie/Aussie/Newfie/German Shepard/All of the above. So I'll leave you with this adorable video that I've watched way too many times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdRUyN6Kfo