6 Fall Shows I'm Excited For

1. Gotham

2. Utopia

3. Wayward Pines

4. The Whispers

5. Red Band Society

6. GracePoint

**Bonus**

The Walking Dead - Season 5

Thinking about my schedule for the months of September through December is already causing a bit of anxiety. One thing I am excited for are these new shows. Hopefully none of them turn out to be flops, like Sleepy Hollow. I've read the first impression of Wayward Pines but I'm still excited for it. It reminds me slightly of Twin Peaks (which I still need to rent/buy/watch completely). And it has Juliette Lewis (OMG!!).

What Fall shows are you looking forward to?

xoxo Gwen

Sorority File: 12 Must See GrΣΣk Flicks

Animal House

The House on Sorority Row

Revenge of the Nerds

Confessions of a Sorority Girl

Dying to Belong

Legally Blonde

Black Christmas

Greek

Sydney White

House Bunny

Sorority Row

Sorority Wars

For more great GrΣΣk flicks check out the Total Sorority Move list.

xoxo Gwen

Elaine Stritch

If you happened to miss the news... Elaine Stritch passed away last Thursday. She was a great entertainer, well known for her voice and roles on Broadway. If you haven't already viewed her documentary entitled Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me on Netflix now is the time!

 February 2, 1925-July 17, 2014

RIP Elaine.

Hampton Roads Staycation

By now we've all heard of a staycation. It's a great way to save money and still have a blast during the summer. Think of it like this, you're A: Giving yourself a tour of your hometown, and B: Going to all the places that you usually skip because of work, school, volunteering, etc. So what do you actually do on a staycation? That depends on where you live.

Virginia is for Lovers

Here are some ideas:
Visit your local museums.
Hampton Roads Naval Museum
1 Waterside Drive
Norfolk VA
757-322-2987
Open Daily 10 am-5 pm
Admission: FREE

The Chrysler Museum
245 W. Olney Rd.
Norfolk VA
757-664-6200
Open Sunday noon-5 pm, Monday (closed), Tu-Sat 10 am-5 pm
Admission: FREE

Go to the beach or pool.
Virginia Beach
Sandbridge

Get your bike out and hit the trails.
Virginia Bicycling Federation

Go to a Movie (or two, or three).
Rent a movie, watch something on Netflix, or go to the movie theater.

See a show.
Little Theatre of VA Beach
Little Theatre of Norfolk

Support your local sports teams.
Tides

Go shopping, take a nap, take a hike (literally), read a book, take an exercise class, host a barbecue, go to the park and have a picnic, go camping, eat at new restaurants, and spend time with your friends.

xoxo Gwen

2014 Summer Bucket List

Every summer comes and goes and as an adult it's hard to actually "enjoy" the summer like I used to when I was a kid. When I was a kid every summer my family would travel from South Carolina to Maryland and spend time with our grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. We tended to schedule our vacation around July 4th because my granddad always threw HUGE parties for 4th of July.

Now that I am an adult I see what my parents must have gone through to make that trip every year. As for myself I am taking summer classes (the sooner I can finish school the better, right?!), working, volunteering, and trying to get my apartment straightened up (again), as well as other things I have been neglecting.  This year has been extra hard on me whether others seem to think so or not. I'm still not where I would like to be in my life and I am trying to set goals for myself and realize things don't just happen overnight. I do have to make some difficult decisions this summer as well because when Fall rolls around I definitely want to be headed in the right direction.

One thing I have never done before is to sit down and write a bucket list. It almost seems too daunting to make a list of things I want to do in my lifetime. A 2014 summer bucket list seems so much easier and not quite as daunting. So that's what I have done. I thought up a handful of things I would like to do this summer. Some are easy and some require $ and more planning, but I think it's doable. There's also those things I did not include on the list.

Without further ado here is my relatively simple 2014 Summer Bucket List....

Visit the Chrysler Museum   June 20, 2014

Go to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens  June 29, 2014

Go to as many festivals as I can  ~~Bayou Boogaloo (June 21, 2014)

Go to a Concert

Spend time with my Big

Shop the Farmer's Market

Stay involved with the LTVB  June 1, 10, 11, 12, 23, 2014

Visit the D'Art Center

Read (a lot)  ~~The Husband's Secret (by Liane Moriarty), Mockingjay (by Suzanne Collins), Eleanor & Park (by Rainbow Rowell)

Pick fresh berries  June 22 & 28, 2014

Make smores over a fire

Craft (at least 2 things)

Go to the beach!

Go swimming

Go hiking

As added inspiration to be able to cross everything off my summer bucket list I have made it my desktop background and I will update my list as I can.

What are your summer time plans?

xoxo Gwen

Doodlers, Unite!

Next time you're "caught" doodling in class, a meeting, or the boardroom let them know you're improving your comprehension and creative thinking. If that doesn't work show them this video. Change their mind. Doodlers, unite!

xoxo Gwen

Orange Is the New Black

I believe I literally stumbled across Season 1 of the show when it was released. I read the plot summary and decided to give it a go. It quickly became an obsession. I watched episode after episode without realizing it was a Netflix original. I got hooked on the title sequence with "You've Got Time" by Regina Spektor.

Orange is the New Black follows Piper Chapman a 30-something woman sent to prison after being convicted of a decade old crime. Inside she meets quite a few interesting characters and her new story begins. I definitely loved the character building and the one liners. Season 1 was over quickly because once I started watching I couldn't stop myself from watching the entire season.

Last week season 2 was released and yes, I have watched the entire season already. It's just that good. I think I will go back and re-watch both seasons at some point. Heck, I might even start today. But yes, I will be one of those poor souls waiting around until 2015 for the next season.

So if you haven't binge watched this Netflix original yet and you think you'll just be able to watch one episode without watching another I challenge you to try. The first season focuses on Piper and her meeting everyone and finding her way in prison. Season 2 tells the back story of so many characters it has you falling in love with them even more than you did in season 1.

xoxo Gwen

The Fault In Our Stars {John Green}

Unless you've been living under a rock I'm fairly sure you've heard about this book, movie, quotes from the book, etc. It's really getting hype because most people (myself included) LOVED the book. This book alone influenced my purchase of Looking for Alaska. Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines are definitely on my buy ASAP list. So many books so little time.

Book Cover

So I read the book about 5 or 6 months ago. I know it was just after Christmas but not sure of the exact date. I of course picked it up at Barnes & Noble along with the popular Okay? Okay. shirt I posted on my Instagram here.
I seriously devoured this book. It was a combination between the author's writing style and the story itself. The story is sweet, charming, and sad. You've been forewarned. 16-year old Hazel Grace has cancer. While attending a cancer support group she catches the eye of a boy, Augustus.
I don't want to spoil it if you have not read it yet, or if you plan to see the movie which is in theaters TODAY! I definitely recommend reading the book though.

Movie Poster

So as I mentioned above the movie releases today. There is a high probability that I will be sitting in the theater this evening watching this movie.
Yes, it must be mentioned because it is in nearly every interview. Hazel Grace is played by Shailene Woodley (Beatrice "Tris" Prior of Divergent) and Augustus is played by Ansel Elgort (Caleb also in Divergent). In Divergent they were siblings, in TFIOS they are lovers. It happens. They are actors after all.

Official Movie Trailer

#TFIOS

xoxo Gwen

Glow Sticks

As I attempted to dig through my hall closet for one thing or another I ran across my stash of glow sticks. I bought them at the Dollar Store a few years ago. Of course I had to open up a tube, crack them and stare at the pretty glow of neon colors. As a kid the only time I got a glow stick was on Halloween night and it was a single yellow/green glow stick hung around my neck. Boring!

Now you can purchase glow sticks at WalMart, Amazon.com, Oriental Trading and several other places. They also come in tons of colors. So why glow sticks you ask....

Put them in balloons for a night time display

Add them to water bottles for bowling or to line your driveway

Crack 'em and dance

Party patio decor

Jazz up displays

Add fun to place settings

Add them to the pool for your midnight swim

Perfect for photo fun

xoxo Gwen

Friday Night Cocktail Hour {featuring Midnight Moon}

If you read last Friday's post you can see that moonshine has been my Friday Night Cocktail of choice. Today I will feature two more authentic moonshine recipes. Last Saturday I headed to my local ABC store and picked up a few liquors to make a couple cocktails, shots, and beverages.  Along with my pink lemonade vodka, screaming O's, and honey whiskey I bought a Mason Jar of Junior Johnson's Midnight Moon authentic moonshine in the apple pie flavor.

Apple Ale

2 oz. Midnight Moon Apple Pie over ice. 

Fill with ginger ale.

Midnight Mary

1 1/2 oz. Midnight Moon Original

3 oz. Bloody Mary Mix over ice.

Garnish with celery stalk.

Seriously their recipes are so easy because they have so many moonshine flavors to choose from. They have Original, Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Cranberry, and Strawberry.

Between the non-alcoholic drink recipes and the moonshine recipes I've been sharing you should be ready to have fun and make some summer memories you won't soon forget!

xoxo Gwen

Movie Talk: Maleficent

I have been waiting for this movie for what seems like forever. Now it is just three days from release. Angelina Jolie is one of my all time favorite actresses and I can not wait to see her in this role. As most of you know Maleficent is the villain from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

Maleficent (unlike the other fairies) was not invited to the christening of Princess Aurora. In order to punish Aurora's parents she puts a spell on Aurora to prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die on her 16th birthday. One fairy, Merryweather weakens the curse and makes it so that instead of dying Aurora falls into a deep sleep, and can only be awoken by a kiss from her true love.

The movie is told from Maleficent's point of view so we find out what happened before the Sleeping Beauty story.

"I was really moved by the script from first reading, It was like uncovering a great mystery. We all know the story of 'Sleeping Beauty' and we all know Maleficent and what happened at the christening because we've all grown up with that. But what we've never known is, What happened before?" ~Angelina Jolie

In Theaters May 30th

This curse will last until the end of time,

xoxo Gwen

Friday Night Cocktail Hour

I recently saw an episode of Bar Rescue with Jon Taffer featuring a failing bar named Characters renamed and re-branded into MoonRunners Saloon. I don't know how well they're doing now, but I do know that one of the signature drinks The Moon Runner sounds really good!  Stir one up tonight or any night. Share your pics with me on Instagram by tagging me @lavendermud.

The Moon Runner

1 oz. Moonshine
2 oz. Root Beer
2 dashes Vanilla Extract
0.5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Garnish with Lemon Peel

Check them out:

MoonRunners Saloon

1506 US Highway 70 W

Garner NC 27529

xoxo Gwen

Acting 101

I've been spending a lot of time at the theater lately. Last year I started volunteering as a way to get Daniel interested in auditioning. He originally went to college for theater and somehow along the way became a computer programmer. Needless to say I thought he needed a creative outlet and I saw volunteer opportunities for me and possible stage opportunities for him. Together we helped build the set for Black Tie and The Royal Family, did the opening night receptions for Black Tie, Good People, and last night I did the opening reception for The Royal Family. I have also ushered at several shows. Auditions came and went for Good People, but by the time The Royal Family auditions rolled around myself and several board members at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach convinced him to go for it. He landed a small role and has been rehearsing for the last several weeks. Last night was the opening show and it will continue Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 pm and Sundays 2:30 pm until their last show on June 8th.

My curiosity has peaked and I have read several articles about auditioning tips, auditioning tips, and even more auditioning tips.  Article after article I read I think this is something I want to try. The first step is to continue volunteering at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach. I will also fill out volunteer forms at the Little Theatre of Norfolk and the newest theater in this area, Double Dog Theatre. I also reached out to the director of LTVB's next show, Follies, offering my services back stage, etc. Lastly, I am considering taking Acting 101 in the Fall. It allows me the summer to think about it, and continue volunteering, etc. I was happy to see that Tidewater Community College offers a fast track theater certification degree. No, I will not be dropping ASL Interpreting, but I think I will take the intro acting class and see how I feel after that. I am sure the first class will give me a good idea if I really want to pursue it.

Meanwhile I will enjoy The Royal Family (May 16-June 8) and Follies (July 18-August 10).

Check out what the LTVB has planned for the 2014-2015 season!

xoxo Gwen

April Favorites

#1 Event:  Sorority Initiation

This was by far the most exciting, life changing experience of the month, possibly the year. Although the entire process was not smooth sailing. In the end it all worked out and I could not be happier. I joined an amazing sisterhood!

#2 Song:  Hey Brother by Avicii

This song came on the radio while I was driving to school one morning and then again when I was headed home after classes.  Ever since I have been obsessed.

#3 Movie:  Tapped (on Netflix)

See previous blog post for more information!

#4 Fashion:  Poplin-Crepe Dress

I have already worn this dress 3 times and I have only had it for a few weeks.  I have worn it around the house and out on errands, on Easter Sunday, and yesterday to a tea party. Super comfortable and cute.

Available at Old Navy

#5 Product:  EOS Shave Cream

I purchased this on a whim when I was out of my usual shave gel.  It goes on like a lotion and allows for a super close shave.  This is the only product I have ever used that I do not have stubble within 12 hours.  Scent is amazing as well.

Available at Rite Aid

xoxo Gwen

Virginia Zoological Park

On Wednesday I took a break from all the hustle and bustle of school, homework, meetings, and work and went to the zoo.  As a college student (with ID) I get in free and I love animals and the sun was shining so off to the zoo I went.
I think I got more pictures of flowers than anything else.  I was so happy to see flowers actually blooming after that terribly long winter we had.

Peacocks

Other Animals

Guinea Fowl

Turtles

Giraffe & his friend

Bongos

Water Birds

Snake

Overall it was a great day to be in the sunshine enjoying the animals.  There were still quite a few animals not on display. The Barnyard animals got an extended vacation due to renovations.  Hopefully I'll be able to make at least one more trip to the zoo this season and see some of the animals I missed on this visit.

xoxo Gwen