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Saturday, December 31, 2016

Blogmas Day #31 - Kathleen and Emma

Hey guys! So this post could be a bit long, so I'm just going to get to it.

For the last few weeks Emma and I have been taking questions for a Q and A today. We only got one...

Awkward...

So I looked up some questions for bloggers, so we are going to do it! Lets go!

dint427 asked, "What is your favorite part about blogging?"

Kathleen:
I think my favorite part is the a) community, b) the freedom, and c) the ability to express yourself. This is kind of my creative outlet, I don't really paint that well, I can't write books, but I looove designing things... Which I haven't really done, but I have posted a few décor thingies. I might do more of those... I also find it hard to express myself through talking. Writing it out is easier for me. That's probably another reason I love music so much...

Emma:
I really love blogging because it gives me a "safe space" to express myself. Kind of like Kathleen said, a creative outlet. I love that I can write about literally anything and everything, and just share my thoughts with the world. Sometimes I feel like it's hard to have your voice heard in such a noisy world, and blogging helps me feel more... visable.

What's a nickname only your family calls you?

Kathleen:
My family calls me Beans. Because it rhymes with Kathleen. Like Kathleen Bean. Sometimes its Beanster, Beanerinies, and on the rare occasion, Beanster-ramavitch.

Yeah, it's a bit awkward.

Emma:
I actually don't have any nicknames. Yeah.. boring, I know. But some of friends call me Em.

What is one of your biggest pet peeves?

Kathleen:
Okay I have two really big ones. You know when it snows and you haven't raked, and so then there are leaves underneath the snow? I HATE THAT. It just looks so ugly and awful. Being a person with 4 huge oak trees in my front and backyard, its usually a yearly thing now. We will be raking this whole week just to get rid of them before winter REALLY starts. Yeah, it's the week after Christmas, this shouldn't be happening. I also go nuts when I'm loading the dishwasher, and I put something in the little place for the utensils, and it falls out. Then I have to move the whole thing, get my hands dirty, move the thing back and put the utensil away... Not a big deal, but I HATE IT.

Emma:
I have so many pet peeves. But the first one that comes to mind is fake people. I really CANT STAND fake people! I want to see the honest and true version of someone. Not the person they want everyone to think they are.. if that makes sense. I also can't stand when people walk horribly slow in front of you, like at the store or in the hallway at school. And they literally just won't let you around them. I'm a bit of a speed-walker, so it's awful.

Which way do you face in the shower?

Kathleen:
I move around a little, but for the majority of the time, my back is facing the shower head

Emma:
Normally facing the wall, with my back facing the shower head.

What is your favorite comfort food?

Kathleen:
Orange Chicken with fried rice, mixed together from this Chinese place down the street, or American Chop Suey. (I don't think I spelled that right)  It's a lot like Chili Mac, but more mac with cheese and peppers.

Emma:
Macaroni and cheese, FRIES, burgers, fast food in general. I know it's unhealthy but I just really love fast food.

That's all for today! I hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve!! Let us know what you are doing for New Years

Have a lovely day!

Kathleen
internationalbffs.blogspot.com
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Friday, December 30, 2016

#30 New Years! -Emma

Hey everyone! I can't believe Blogmas is over already! As Kathleen said, I had a great time doing Blogmas this year, and I'm sort of sad it's over, but at the same time, I'm happy I don't have to stress so much.

As you all know, 2017 is just around the corner. Today, I will be sharing with you all one of my new years' resolutions.

This coming year, one of my goals is to workout almost every morning. By almost, I mean around 5 days a week.

I do not mean going to the gym everyday, because I know I would fail at that with my busy schedule.

I just want to get some exercise in every morning. It helps get you motivated to start your day, and really just helps you have a positive attitude throughout the day.

To start off the year, I will be following the Blogilates Beginner's Challenge.


Blogilates is a YouTube channel owned by Cassey Ho, who is an award winning fitness instructor. Blogilates is the #1 female fitness channel on YouTube with over 300 million subscribers.

She has a blog, where she posts recipes, videos, challenges, and more.

I love to do the different challenges on her blog. There's really something for everyone.

Click here to check out the blog. To get to the challenges and monthly fitness calendars, just mouse over the calendars tab.

Anyway, that's what I will be following throughout the year. My goal isn't to lose weight, it's just to live a more healthy lifestyle.

If anyone decides to check out Blogilates, let me know in the comments below!

See you all soon!

Emma
twodorkswithablog,blogspot.com
lifeaccording2emma.weebly.com

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Blogmas Day #29 - Kathleen

Guys it's my last post by myself for Blogmas!!!! I'm a little bummed, but also a little relieved because you have no idea how many nights I have stayed up until 11 writing because I'm to lazy to do it when I should.

Hey guys! How are you? Getting ready for New Years? This time of year always REALLY excites me, because I love trying to make myself a better, healthier person. Half the time I always wind up eating ice cream, but I just love the feeling I get when I know I'm trying to be healthier. So today, to play with that feeling a little bit, I'm going to talk about New Years resolutions and how to make a good one for you. I'm also going to share my resolution and give you some inspiration if you don't have a resolution yet.

So first of all, you need to make it something that you don't really want to do. If you don't want to do it, it's probably something you need to do. Trust me, half the things I am doing in the New Year are things I don't really want to do. Usually you want the end result, but you don't want to go through the process of doing it... When I started playing piano, I hated it. I didn't like to practice, I just wanted to play the Beethoven and Mozart RIGHT AWAY. Now eight years later, I have this crazy huge passion for it, and end up staying at my teachers house for like and hour and a half when I should be staying for thirty minutes. So yeah. You will be SOOO glad you did it in the end.

Second, it needs to be possible. If you KNOW that you can't get to the gym every single morning because you have classes or work or whatever happens, DON'T SET A RESOLUTION LIKE THAT. You are pretty much setting yourself up for failure and stress. Promise yourself to go to the gym three times a week. If you do this, you a) won't be sore, b) won't fail, and c) won't be under stress because of that failure.

Now my favorite way to find some inspiration for New Years and changing my life in small little ways is to look on Pinterest for things like this:

Sorry they are really small so you might have to click on the actual picture to see it bigger. I honestly think that the 10 Tips for a Mindful Home are actually some really good ways to internalize your mind and really keep yourself happy and calm. I love these little things because they really do help.
This is my list of resolutions. I have realized that time seems to fly by in a really sad, annoying way and I never get time to look back at things and really pay attention to my surroundings. I also had to have a little bit of a healthy thing in their, so I will be eating lots and lots of fruit and veg for snacks...

I really hope you liked this post! Comment down below what your resolution is! Actually, if you are still reading, comment 'Sup in the box. I just wanna see. This will be really awkward if no one does it....

Kathleen
internationalbffs.blogspot.com
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

#28 What I Got For Christmas -Emma

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas! I'm sorry about forgetting to post on Monday, it just sort of slipped my mind with all of the Christmas festivities going on.

In this post I will be showing you all what I got for Christmas! Before I start, I want to say that I'm not bragging at all, I just really love doing hauls and I know other people love seeing hauls. So let's get started!

First, I got this Harry Potter poster from one of my
best friends, Carly. I have it hanging above my bed, it's super cool.
From Kathleen, I got this candle from Bath and 
Body Works. I love it so much, it smells so good.
Now I will be showing everything my mom got for me.
The first thing is this iHome bluetooth speaker that 
I've been wanting for a really long time. It changes colors
to the beat of the music. I've been using it constantly.
Next, I got an otterbox iPhone case. I've been
needing one of these forever so I was super happy about getting
one this year.
She also got me these super cute (and soft)
slippers from Pink. One of my best friends got the
exact same pair from her parents so that's pretty cool.
I got this super cute shirt from Pink. I'm IN LOVE with
it. She also got me some bras from Pink but I'm obviously not going
to show them just because that would be...awkward.
Lastly, she got me this awesome Stranger Things
poster. I have it on the back of my bedroom door and it
looks great. Sorry about the flash messing the photo
up a bit. xD
From my Grandpa, I got the Sims 4 City Living expansion pack.
I am soooo happy about this. I started playing it last night, and it's
so much fun.

Last but not least, he gave me some clothes! The tanks are
for when I start tennis again and for when I go to Florida for my birthday.
It's a little too cold to wear them here yet LOL.
I'm so thankful for everything I got this year! Be sure to check out Kathleen's post from yesterday showing what she got.

See you all soon!

Emma
twodorkswithablog.blogspot,com
lifeaccordingtoemma.weebly.com

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Blogmas #27 - Kathleen

Merry Christmas!!!! Today's post is going up a tad late because yesterday, neither Emma or I were "working." So I think Emma's post from yesterday is going up today as well. And then she will post tomorrow and I will post on Thursday and so on.

So today I am doing my mostest favoritest (bad grammar, I know) post of this month: What I Got for Christmas!!!! Now, I'm not trying to brag, I just genuinely like watching people unwrap presents, so for those of you out there who are like me, here we go!

So my Aunt gave me a gift card to Bath and Body Works, which I'm super excited about because I LOVE BATH AND BODY WORKS!

Sorry for the caps.
My grandma gave me a Target giftcard, which is AWESOME because target sells a lot of my favorite nail polish.
My other aunt gave me an Ulta gift card. I think I'm going to get some makeup brushes there.... I really like gift cards because then you can see, and touch, and feel, and smell whatever you want to get.
 I got this candle from Noelle over on International Bffs...
 This candle from Olivia, my sister...
and this candle from Emma! As you can see, I have already burned half of it.
My parents gave me this super cute backpack. It has a pocket in the front that could fit a tablet, but I don't think I would put one in there, just for safety. There are two smaller pockets on the sides for  little things like chap stick/makeup and/or snacks. The middle is a bucket pocket with a little zipper pocket on the inside for a wallet.
My sisters friend (who is kind of my friend now too) gave me this lemon sugar scrub she made. It has coconut oil in it, and it is AMAZING. It's like it scrubs and then moisturizes. I love it.
My parents then got me this super fuzzy North Face jacket, and oh my gosh, it keeps my soo toasty warm! I love it because I don't have to lug a hug jacket around if I'm just getting in and out of the car, and it's light and easy to carry on my arm.
The last thing I got, and probably my favorite, are these Peanuts pajamas. My Grandma got them for me, because I have been asking for Christmas Pajamas for awhile. They are really thick, nice flannel, and I just LOVE THEM. The only thing is, they are too small. So we had to get a size bigger. They literally had ZERO butt space. And I'm not necessarily curvy, so I don't really know what to think about the sizing... but they are super soft, so we can deal.

So that is what I got for Christmas! Comment down below what you got for Christmas, and also, any questions you have for us to answer on the 31st!!! We have to write that soon, so If I don't get any more, I'm going to have to take some from pinterest or something!

Kathleen
internationalbffs.blogspot.com
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Blogmas Day #25 - Kathleen

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukah! Whatever your religion may be (even no religion) I wish you the happiness and blessings of the season!

Today is going to be very quick, and very short, because today is a family day. All I want you to do is to watch this video. It's amazing, powerful, and just inspiring. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrLoWt2tfqg

Kathleen
internationalbffs.blogspot.com
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Saturday, December 24, 2016

#24 Christmas Eve! -Emma

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I can't believe Christmas is tomorrow! It came so quickly.

This post is going to be very short because I'd like to spend time with my family today :)

Last night, we finished baking cookies for this evening. We made chocolate chip, andes mint, and sugar cookies. I decorated all of the sugar cookies with icing. When we were finished baking I ate a few cookies and tons of icing, so I was on a sugar high.




Tonight, my family is coming over for Christmas Eve dinner. We always have homemade lasagna made by my grandpa for dinner every year. Its sooo good. After dinner, we all open gifts together. I open all of my gifts from my parents on Christmas Eve. I know that it's a little different, but I like it. Not because I get to open them sooner, but because there's just a nice warm and fuzzy feeling on Christmas Eve that I love.

On Christmas, we go to mass in the morning, and we are going to my Aunt's house for a Christmas party and gift exchange afterwards.

Let me know in the comments below what you do for Christmas/Christmas Eve! I hope you all have a great weekend with family and friends!

Be sure to check out Kathleen's post tomorrow!

Emma
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com
lifeaccording2emma.weebly.com

Friday, December 23, 2016

Blogmas Day #23

I put lights on my Christmas tree yesterday!!!! It looks amazing and we haven't even put ornaments on it!

Hello readers! Guess what!!!! Two days until Christmas!! If you count today because it is the morning... or we could say 2 more sleeps until Christmas...

Anyways!

I come to you today with Christmas Traditions around the world! Some of these are pretty well known (at least to me) and others aren't, so lets get started!

1. In Japan, the common dinner is not a glazed ham... it's KFC!
2. In England, and some of Europe, Boxing Day is a tradition. It falls on Dec 26th, and is much like Black Friday.
3. In Russia, Christmas is such a huge Holiday, they celebrate it twice! The first is on December 26th and the second is on January 7th.
4. In Australia, families often spend Christmas at the beach! It is so warm, why not?
5. In the Philippines, decoration start going up in September and are usually taken down in January.
That is all for today! Enjoy Emma's Christmas Eve post and I will be back on Christmas Day!!!

Also, keep those questions rolling for the 31st! And also, if you want to stay anonymous, just either tell us, or you can post the comment outside of your account.

Have a lovely Christmas Eve!
Kathleen
internationalbffs.blogspot.com
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 22, 2016

#22 Christmas Break -Emma

Hello awesome people!

Welcome to Blogmas day #22! I can't believe there's only a few more days until Christmas! I can't wait!

Once again, this post is a bit different from what I normally do. Today, I will be sharing with you my first few days of Christmas break. Kind of like a "Day in The Life" post, but for a few days, and I won't be including the details of my daily routine or anything.

I'm super excited, so let's get to it!

On Tuesday (the 20th) my friend came over
and we made a gingerbread house! I had never made one
before and neither had he, so I was super excited to try it out.
Here's a before decorating photo.

Here is an after decorating photo of the front of the house.
I know it definitely isn't perfect but I'm proud xD
After we made the Gingerbread house we watched 
The Fault in Our Stars. It's one of my personal favorites. 
We were going to watch Elf (to go along with the Christmas theme) 
but for some reason the DVD wouldn't work :(
On the 21st I went to Starbucks and Target with
a couple of my friends. (One of them is probably reading this
right now xD) I wore this super cute shirt I found at Forever 
21 that says Blogging All Day. I love it.
While I was waiting to leave to go to Target, I played
some pool and knockout on iMessage against my friends. 
As you can see, I did pretty well LOL.
Here's a photo of our Starbucks.
(We're typical)
So Carly got me this super cool Harry Potter
poster for Christmas. I love it so much. 
(Thanks again if you're reading this)
Later that night, I made some of these premade cookies.
They weren't very good but that's okay since we'll be 
making homemade cookies for Christmas in a few days.
Today (the 22nd), I sat around the house
all morning until about 2:00 in the afternoon. I 
had to go shopping for a dress for Christmas to
wear to mass and to a party on Christmas day. I found
this one at Aeropostale. I love it!

After we were done shopping, we headed to Eckert's
for dinner. Kathleen has talked about Eckert's in a few
of her posts, but it's basically a place where you can pick your own
homegrown fruits and you can also visit the 
country store and restaurant. They also have cooking classes and
concerts in the summer.
For dinner, I got the chicken strip basket. This is what I usually get
because it's really good. They also give you these awesome rolls
with apple butter.
Now, to finish off the night, we are baking some Christmas cookies
and afterwards I'm going to wrap some gifts!


I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! I would really love to make more posts like this, so let me know if you'd like to see more!

Emma
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com
lifeaccording2emma.weebly.com

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Blogmas Day #21 - Kathleen

Guess what I did today! I got my Christmas treeee!!!!!!

Hi guys! How are you! Christmas is 4 days away!!!! I'm so excited!!! Comment down below what you all love about Christmas! I think I really like the Christmas decorations. Except for the wooden ones. I don't really like those because they just look very... dull.

Anyways!

I got my Christmas tree today! So I thought I would take you along with me, because Christmas tree shopping is fun!

So first we went to Eckert's. Eckert's is a farm near us that does pick your own strawberries, pumpkins, apples, peaches, and blackberries. I think they are trying to start a pick your own garden vegetable section too. Anyways, they were started by the Eckert family a long time ago. It is a great family place to go in all the seasons. They have live bands and custard in the summer. They might sell hot cocoa in the winter.


We were looking at the trees, and as you can tell, they were really nice. But, they were very expensive. I think there was one that was 100 dollars. It was too much. Plus they were all pretty short. So we went to Lowes. You all should know what Lowes is. Basically, its a hardware store and a garden center. There trees were WAY cheaper.

Don't mind the blurred faces. My mom was really worried about our "cyber safety." I found this little tree and it was so cute!!! I didn't want to let it go because it was just as tall as I am! Which is pretty short, considering I'm like 5'4". But Olivia is in the picture with our tree. It is pretty tall, but short enough to fit in a house with 8' ceilings. It looks awfully warped in the front, but it isn't that bad. We just turn it in the corner. I'm pretty sure every one does that.
We don't have a rack on top of our car, so we had to put it in the back. One problem. It didn't fit in the back. So we had to leave the back open. It was a little scary, but it was only a 5 minute drive, and we held the tree so it wouldn't slip out.

We are just letting it fall overnight, and then I think we are going to put lights on it tomorrow. We wait to decorate it on Christmas Eve though, which I think is fun. Sometimes we put a train around the bottom, but I don't know if that will happen this year. I might do another post like this for when we decorate it. Maybe I will take pictures of my favorite ornaments.

I hope you enjoyed this post! I will be back on Friday with another post!

Kathleen
internationalbffs.blogspot.com
twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com