Shreveport Farmers' Market.

The Shreveport Farmers' Market is the place to be when you're looking for fresh fruit and vegetables and many other locally grown, made or produced items. The Shreveport Farmers' Market attracts tons of people every Saturday to support our local farmers. I love going to the Farmers' Market because the ambiance and vibe of Festival Plaza is toxic. Everyone is happy and in a good mood, basking in the warm weather and exchanging conversation with friendly people. Everyone is so nice and all smiles.

I'm not much a vegetable eater, but that doesn't mean I walk away from the Farmers' Market empty handed. I love fruit and can't resist buying some strawberries every time I visit. Farmer's Market strawberries taste much better than the strawberries you find at Super Wal-Mart or other grocery stores. 

There are so many other things to buy at the Shreveport Farmers' Market too. There's popcorn, fudge, eggs, meat, flowers, butter, jelly, art, baby clothes, and so much more. On some days, you may even find wine from a local winery or even Geauxsicles! I had my first Geauxsicle from the Farmers' Market last summer, and it was so tasty. There's so much to see, and it makes you want to break out your wallet and buy everything! 
When I go to the Farmers' Market, I also plan to eat a meal. If I go early in the  morning, I'll have breakfast, and if I go later, I plan for lunch. There are tons of food vendors cooking fresh food right in front of you. This trip, I ate a delicious lunch at Aunt Frannie's Old Fashioned Fried Pies. I had a crawfish pie, and it was rather delicious. I wish I had gotten two though because I was still hungry afterward. I also wish the crawfish pie was spicy! Anytime I eat crawfish, I expect my mouth to be watering and my nose running (so cute) because it's so spicy, but this pie didn't seem like it had hardly any spices at all. But then again, it takes a ton of spice to stimulate my taste buds cause I'm weird like that.

During our lunch, we had some fun entertainment from a band of older gentlemen. They were smiling and having a good time on stage with translated to the crowd doing the same. 
My only purchases at the Farmers' Market this trip were strawberries and some salted caramel fudge. The fudge was so so delicious. I want to go back just to get some more!
Have you ever been to the Farmers' Market?

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Living with a Boy: An Update.

It feels like Jon and I have been living together forever, even though we just moved in together a few months ago. Let's just say it's been quite the adventure. We learn things about each other that we hadn't known (or noticed) prior. I've even started making a list of food Jon doesn't like (or "doesn't prefer," as he says). 
I feel like we settled in pretty easily together, which I guess makes sense considering we've been together for almost four years now. Everyone kind of started to freak me out saying that living together will be different and all of that other skeptical mumbo jumbo. I don't think people realize how special Jon and my relationship is, and by special, I mean that we don't operate like most couples, and I love that about us. 

BLOG LIFE VS XBOX LIFE Before we moved in together, I really thought that my blogging time would be cut tremendously, but there actually hasn't been much change in that department other than the fact that I usually blog at the dining room table instead of at my desk because my desk is in the guest room and I feel so isolated back there, and the puppies aren't allowed in that room. It's a madhouse. So I'm just all by my lonesome. If you were wondering if Jon gets jealous or sad or lonely when I'm giving my time to my blog, the answer is 'no.' We worked it out to when I'm blogging, he's playing video games. Seriously a dream come true. For both of us. 
Speaking of puppies...

We brought Molly to PetSmart for her first nail cut, and even though she kept pulling her paws away, she was such a brave little girl. How adorable is her face in this picture?!

Farah is officially not homeless. Jon got her a pink collar (that's after me talking him out of getting her a blue one. "People will think she's a boy!") and a dog tag. How cute is she?!

GROCERY SHOPPING Jon probably eats about three times as much as I do, and while he likes to eat (almost) everything at any time of day, I have food cycles. In college, I spent about two years eating pizza rolls about five times a week, but a pizza roll hasn't touched my tongue since graduation. I go through phases of liking certain foods, and there's no way for Jon (or me) to keep up with what foods I'll be craving. Right now, I never want to stop eating Zapp's potato chips. I hope this phase lasts for awhile, because we just bought a huge box of them at Sam's, and it would be tragic if my taste for them ran out before the box emptied. 
We go grocery shopping about twice a month, and we pretty much run out of food before we decide to go again. It's so weird because one day we'll have all this food, and then all of a sudden it's like we're back in college and don't feel like driving to the grocery store. We have an agreement that we go grocery shopping together though. Can you imagine Jon going to the store and getting everything that I don't like to eat? I'm a pretty picky eater, even though I like to pretend I'm not, and a girl's gotta eat. 
CLEANING Living with Jon has made me more lazy. Trust me, it makes me sad and I even get annoyed with myself. When it comes to life on my own, I'm all I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T, but when I'm with Jon, I seem to rely on him so much. It's always been like that. And he's always been super sweet about it. For some reason, I do things now that I never did when I lived at my parents' or with roommates. I leave water bottles everywhere and get annoyed with him when he leaves dishes in the sink, even though I'm equally capable of putting them in the dishwasher or when he doesn't fold the laundry when he was the one that washed them and I had no part in the matter. I wish I could explain my irrational brain, but there really is no explanation. 
SHOPPING Jon was such a trooper and spent a few hours shopping with me the other day. There was this bag sale going on at this store called Uptown Cheapskate where you can stuff as much as you can into one bag and it just costs $10. Heck yea, I had to go. I actually ran into the only other local blogger in the area (though she hasn't blogged since February). After that, we stopped at the mall to go to Forever 21, and then I dropped him off at home before I went to the other mall right next to our place to stop by Charlotte Russe. It was a big shopping day.

On the other side of shopping, we made a list of big and small purchases we want to make for our place, namely a bed frame, decor and other random things, and afterward, I felt so responsible. So far we've purchased oil burners and a tablecloth and placemats. I'm obsessed with our new tablecloth. Is it nerdy that for about three days, we would randomly look at the tablecloth and get giddy excited? It was like our first sign of being real adults. 
DATE NIGHTS We started getting into a pretty vanilla routine of me coming home, us watching Netflix and then we do our own thing before going to bed. We decided to stop being lazy and start actually doing things every once in awhile. We decided to have date nights once a week where we get out of the house and actually do something. This past weekend, we went to Painting with a Twist and had an absolute blast with the other people in the class. We each painted a part to a painting and now it's hung up on our wall. I would love to do that with him again. It was so fun!

Our finished paintings after Painting with a Twist. Jon's looks much better than mine, but I love how they look together.

Living with Jon has been an adventure to say the least, and I'm loving it. During the first year of our relationship, we had a lot of knock-down drag-out fights, but after awhile, we got so tired of that and decided it wasn't worth it. Now I can proudly say that all of our little tiffs have to do with laundry or the dogs or something equally silly. I'm so grateful that living together hasn't brought back those day-long fights with no speaking. I feel like it's actually strengthening our relationship and making me more excited to be married to him one day and spend the rest of our live together.
Okay, enough cheesiness.

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Watch Me by Lauren Barnholdt {Book Review}.

After I moved to Shreveport from Bossier City, I knew I was going to have to make some major changes in my life. One of those changes was a change in library. Okay, that may not seem major to some, but I've been going to that same library since high school, and this new library was a completely different parish, albeit, the commute to the library was much shorter, but still. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about his new library, but it turns out, I actually like it better. 

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Enough nerdy library comparison talk. I had actually never heard of Lauren Barnholdt before I stumbled upon her book in the YA section of this new library. I was looking at audio books, and the synopsis sounded interesting enough. It was about a girl named Ally Cavanaugh who is going into her freshman year of college who gets cast to be on a reality TV show called In the House. It's like the college version of Real World except episodes aired every single day and showed events that happened just a couple days prior. "Almost reality TV," I believe Barnholdt called it. Other members of the In the House cast are the stereotypical characters you'd find on a reality show such as this, the womanizer, the innocent girl, the girl who's a little slutty, the pretty boy. Ally was the girl who had a long-distance boyfriend. Her boyfriend, Corey, was attending a different school on a basketball scholarship. 
This book is predictable at best. When I first picked it up, I thought it would be similar to Lauren Conrad's series. When I first heard that LC was writing a book, I really didn't think I would ever read it. The only reason I did was because I was at camp, and I ran out of books to read, so I borrowed some from my campers, and I dove into that book and fell in love. You go, Glen Coco LC! Watch Me didn't capture my attention nearly as much. I actually almost stopped listening to it because the voice of the person reading the audio book was So. Annoying. It was really high-pitched and hard to listen to. I was grateful it was such a short book. 
I thought the main character, Ally, was also a bit annoying too. I couldn't figure her out. Sometimes she was smart-mouthy and a little bit on the b-word side, and other times she was naive and sensitive. There were certain parts of her character that I could relate to, but for the most part, I don't think she's someone I would want in my friends circle. 
It's not that Watch Me was a bad read (though I think I would have enjoyed actually reading it rather than listening to it), it's just that it didn't really have much depth. There wasn't one character that I just fell in love with or any part of any storyline that just made me want to keep reading. As I stated before, it was all very predictable, and I feel like the plot didn't really go anywhere. There was no drama or climax or stressful situation. It was just...there. And then it just ended. Even the bit of budding romance wasn't anything to get excited about. I feel like the last few chapters picked up a little bit and then ended. Everything that happened in those last few chapters should have happened toward the beginning and then we would have had a more interesting story on our hands. 

I give this book a 3 out of 5. I hate that this was the first impression I had of Lauren Barnholdt because I heard that some of her other books are rather decent. I can't say that I will be rushing to the library to get anything else by her though. 
For more from Lauren Barnholdt, visit her official website.

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A Giveaway for the Ladies! {CLOSED}

Okay, girls, we've all been through it. It's no secret how awful it can be every time she/he/it comes around every month. So I've teamed up with three beautiful ladies to help bring you a way to lessen the pain of it all. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this one!

What can you win by entering this giveaway? A bed buddy, nail polish, tea, salty snacks, tons of chocolate (including Sea Salt Ghiradelli) and a few other goodies!

Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter below! The winner will be chosen next week!

The Grand Adventures of Me/ Kristie's Blue Jeans/ Endless Bliss/ Looking for Love Online

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Shreveport Eats: Fresco.

I recently went to Fresco with a few of my girlfriends to grab some drinks. We hadn't gotten together since our trip to Gulf Shores, so a catch-up session was long overdue. We decided to go to Fresco because they have $5 marinis every night. Yes, every night. I was sold. 

It wasn't super busy when we went, which I loved. I loved the ambiance and vibe of Fresco. It was just quaint but still classy.

When I first arrived, the hostess was so nice. I was the first one to get there, and she sat me down at a table near the wall and recommended a few martinis. I almost went with a boring old Cosmo. Don't get me wrong, they're delish and help me hone in  my inner Carrie Bradshaw, but I always get Cosmos. I needed to branch out. She talked me into getting a pomegranate martini with a little upgrade to using pomegranate liqueur. It was so so tasty! And sweet, just like I like them. It made my $5 martini $6, but it was worth the upgrade. My glass was a little bit bigger than the $5 ones too, so that was nice.

Once my friends joined me and ordered their drinks, our server brought us this giant...thing. I completely forget what it was called, but it was so good! It almost seemed like a giant tortilla with parmesan cheese and spices. It was worth the mess it made all over the table. It also came with this green dipping sauce. I could have just eaten that!

Everything on the menu sounded good, but I ended up settling on the Shrimp Au Gratin. If someone told me I had to eat the Shrimp Au Gratin every day for the rest of my life, I wouldn't cry about it. It exceeded my expectation by far. I wanted more! Not because I wasn't full but because I wanted to get a to-go box and eat for a second dinner later. 

If you're ever in the Shreveport area and looking for a delicious meal at a not so crowded restaurant, I definitely recommend Fresco. Everyone we encountered was super nice, and the food was unforgettable.

The details: 5863 Fairfield Ave. Shreveport, LA 71106 318.869.4049 Website

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Living Truly Radiant with Arm & Hammer.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant.  All opinions are 100% mine. When people talk about the legend they want to leave behind, I always know that the one I want to leave is happiness. I want people to remember me as someone who lived life positively from day to day and let my true radiance shine through all of my actions. So when I heard about the Truly Radiant movement with actress, author and TV host, Alison Sweeney, I knew I had to get in on it!

I was thrilled to try these three Arm & Hammer products. Arm & Hammer is a brand that most people know and trust, and I am no exception. While I have used Arm & Hammer toothpaste before, I can't say that I really saw any visible improvement to my teeth, so I wasn't expecting anything special from their Truly Radiant line. Of course, they had to go and prove me wrong. These are the three products I was able to try from Arm & Hammer: Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant toothpaste, Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Whitening Booster and the Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Extra White Spinbrush.   For some reason, I've always liked to walk around and do other things while I brush my teeth. Brushing my teeth and completing other tasks can be impossible! I always have toothpaste running down my face (yea, get that cute visual). With this toothpaste, you definitely have to brush above the sink. It was truly a discipline. Other than that, it was great. Within a week, my teeth looked so much whiter! My boyfriend can back me up on that.  What are some of the benefits of this toothpaste (besides cleaning, strengthening and whitening my teeth, of course)?: 
-- Studies show that it removes 100% more surface stains than ordinary toothpaste (I definitely believe this. My teeth weren't the whitest before I used this toothpaste.). -- It smooths surface imperfections while restoring shine. -- It's the only toothpaste with baking soda, peroxide and active calcium (that's triple the whitening power!)   I wasn't sure what to do with the Whitening Booster at first. I'm not normally one to read (or follow) written directions, namely for electronics and especially not for anything toothpaste related. But I digress. I had to read the directions. You use the Whitening Booster and toothpaste together. When I first used it, it slid right off of the toothbrush when I put it under the water, so after that, I learned that you should put the Whitening Booster on before putting the toothpaste to prevent this little problem. Fun fact: the Whitening Booster is clinically proven to whiten teeth in just one week (and it really did whiten my teeth!) and contains 3x more whitening agent than a leading white strip.  I've always been a fan of electric toothbrushes. They just seem to get the job done better, and they leave your teeth feeling so smooth. The Truly Radiant Spinbrush is by far the best toothbrush I've ever used. The orange part at the top is elevated just slightly, and I feel like that little bit of extension helps to reach places that I would have missed with a manual toothbrush. They're also proven to remove 100% more plaque than a manual toothbrush. I love running my tongue over my teeth when I'm done brushing with the Spinbrush, because they're so smooth. It reminds me of what my teeth felt like after I first got my braces off.    Whitening my teeth is something I have always wanted to do, but there's no way I could justify buying a $50 pack of whitening strips. I've tried tons of different whitening toothpastes, and none of them seemed to do the job like Arm & Hammer's Truly Radiant line did.   Now that my teeth are finally radiantly, I can focus on bringing radiance into other parts of my life.  Here are a few ways that I like to live radiantly: -- Singing at the top of my lungs (even though I'm an awful singer) -- Complimenting people on their outfits (and secretly wishing I could spend more money on clothes) -- Telling the people I love that I love them -- Reading (that counts, right?) -- Dancing like no one's watching -- Going on unforgettable adventures -- Expressing myself through words (blogging, writing, journaling) -- Figuring out my passion (I'm only 24. I'm still trying to figure things out) -- Smiling more often -- Slowly getting out of my comfort zone -- Living life on purpose Click for more tips to bring out your inner radiance! Join the movement! How do you live radiantly?

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My Summer Playlist.

Happy August! It's almost my favorite season - fall! But before we move on to that, we still have a little bit of summer left to soak in (though in Louisiana, it seems like our summers last well into October). If you've visited my blog before, then you should know by now that I love music, and I love sharing my favorite songs with y'all. This summer has been filled with lots of adventures for me and along with those adventures have been lots of memories made with music attached. These are a few songs that have been getting me through my summer: 

SUMMER/LATCH MASH-UP by THE GARDINER SISTERS I shared one of my favorite songs by The Gardiner Sisters last week, but their YouTube channel is also filled with lots of covers. This is one of my favorite covers that they did, a mash-up of Summer and Latch. It's just so smooth and awesome. I can't stop listening to it!

BOOM CLAP by CHARLIE XCX I've been in love with this song since the first time I heard it. It's so fun and upbeat and just makes me want to turn the music up and jam in my car (which I always do when this comes on).

FANCY by IGGY Every time this song comes on the radio, I turn it way louder and belt out the lyrics. It's such a fun song to jam out to in the car or dance to with your girls. 

SING by ED SHEERAN The first time I heard this song, I wasn't so sure about it, but then I heard him sing it on Ellen and became borderline obsessed. It's so catchy and fun. I wish I could sing the lyrics, but I can't, so I just do the background "ohs" and tell myself it's the same thing. 

ON MY WAY by LEA MICHELE I really didn't think I would like Lea Michele's album as much as I do. I can actually listen to the whole thing and sing along to it. I love it! I thought that because I was used to her showtune voice on Glee, I wouldn't enjoy an album full of pop songs, but it was a pleasant surprise. 

RUDE by MAGIC! As much as I've heard this song this summer, I'm surprise I haven't gotten tired of it. It comes on the radio pretty much every time I get in the car, but I still jam out to it. 

MANDOLIN SUMMER SUN by JAMIE LYNN SPEARS A guilty pleasure song of mine. Yes, I did watch Zoey 101 back in the day. I started listening to Jamie Lynn's new album when I found out that she was coming to Shreveport. She'll be here for a small concert later this month, and I'm making plans to go see her. #notashamed

What songs are on your summer playlist?
This post is for the #SummerBloggerChallenge. This week's prompt: Summer Playlist. Write a post about the songs you are loving this summer. You could also include YouTube music videos or create and embed a playlist from Spotify or 8tracks.com etc.

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Meet my friend, Dana!
She is a new blogger that I met through the #SummerBloggerChallenge. She's an absolute sweetheart, so you should obviously check out her blog, Through Bright Eyes!

Hey lovlies! I'm Dana, the host of www.throughbrighteyes.com! Through Bright Eyes is a college lifestyle blog that has its fair share of Fashion, DIY, Budget tips, along with sorority and college advice. I'm currently a sophomore in advertising at The University of Illinois. I'm a serial thrift shopper and and advertising enthusiast, but more then anything I love to blog!

What song are you currently obsessed with? 

lately I've taken a liking to Beautiful Life by Tim Mcmorris. (It hasn't hit the charts but it's a perfect summer song!)

If you were stranded on a deserted Island who would you want to bring with you?

My sister. Because we think alike, and have been able to live in the same house together for 14 years so we should be able to co-exist on said deserted island. Also I never really get bored with her, and we can talk about whatever forever. We actually always joke about applying to the amazing race together, so shes the obvious choice in this scenario.

Name 3 things that make you happy.

Sitting on the U of I quad. (its my home :D)

Rain: listening to it, driving in it, running through it, I just love everything about it

Rabbits. I think buns are the most adorable animal to ever walk the earth. I really want a bunny :) (someday...)

For more from Dana, click the links below!

Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin

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