My Favorite Accounts On Instagram

Instagram has tons of accounts I love but I'm only going to list people that I check on daily. These are mainly fashion bloggers:

1.) Tara Milk Tea
https://www.instagram.com/taramilktea/

Tara Whiteman is an Australian art and design student who is now a blogger full time. Her instagram has a variety of flat-lays, fashion posts, travel, and food photography. Every post is amazingly beautiful so she is definitely my number one!

2.) Xenia Van Der Woodsen
https://www.instagram.com/xeniaoverdose/

Xenia is a German blogger from Hamburg. Her style is amazing and she is often traveling so I can't help but include her instagram on this list.

3.) Chantel Jeffries
https://www.instagram.com/chanteljeffries/

Chantel is an American DJ from Florida. She also has a YouTube channel which is how I found out about her initially. I love her charming personality and good sense of humor.

4.) Alexis Ren
https://www.instagram.com/alexisren/

Alexis is an American model who now has her own athletic brand and she's always traveling the world. She's very down to earth and open with her followers, which I personally respect and find makes her relatable.

5.) Josephine Skriver
https://www.instagram.com/josephineskriver/

She is my favorite Victoria Secret model - her personality is bright and her confidence I find really inspiring.

George Washington's Birthplace

Last summer when we had a British guest and we took them to see George Washington's Birthplace. I never blogged about it and I thought I would share my experience.

George Washington's birthplace is a historic landmark (& national monument) and is taken care of by the National Park Service.

If you want more information visit: http://www.nps.gov/gewa/faqs.htm

The main page describes it as: 

"In the heart of the Northern Neck of Virginia stands a tribute to America’s founding father, George Washington. Although only here a short time, the ideas that Washington learned here, helped shape the man he would become and forever alter the destiny of the United States of America."

Not many people have heard of it, because it is a very small place to see. He was born in a very modest house compared to others in the area (like Stratford Hall - I'll be making a blog post on that later!)

These are some of the photos of the information center (brick) and the memorial home (white).

The thing is - this Memorial house is only a replica of the actual house. No one knows for sure what the house actually looked like. The reconstructed house is based off of how most middle-class colonial Virginia planters homes looked like around 1730.

The house might be small - but the view was really nice. This place is secluded and not over-crowded with tourists (like it is at Mount Vernon or Gunston Hall).

Pope's Creek Plantation is about 80 miles from Washington, D.C. and I think if you live in the metropolitan area, it's a great day trip. There is also Westmoreland State Park and Stratford Hall which are only a few minutes away and great places to see as well!

I've also decided to add a song that I've been loving at the end of each of my blog posts. What do you guys think of that? Feel free to leave a comment!

x,

Margaret

Song of the day:

"I wanna get better" - Bleachers

My New Years Resolutions for 2013

Now that the New Year has started - I thought I owed my humble little abode a blog post on my resolutions!
This is a picture I took at the beginning of 2012: It's a beautiful time of year! :) It's the start of a new beginning.

The year of 2012 has been one of the most dramatic experiences of my life:
-I graduated High School
-I turned 18 and became an official adult!
-I voted for the first time
-I bought my first vehicle
-I got my braces off!
-I realized how hard following your dreams can be
-I applied to colleges, and I got acceptances and declines!
-My brother got his driver's license
-My little sister turned 12!
-I moved 3,000 MILES across the country to California!
-I lived on my own for several months
-I came much closer to figuring out what I want to do as a career
-I had my first semester going to college
-I made some of the closest friends I have right now

I could go on but the bottom line is:

I GREW UP!

This is the first time I'll be making resolutions as an adult, and I want to actually keep to them. To do so, I made it really simple: To be more athletic, accepting, and appreciative.

These are all broad things, so I just want to go into a bit more detail about what I mean.
Athletic: To exercise everyday, even if that means scrubbing the floors or washing the windows. Possibly take up a dance class? I've already signed up for Yoga!
Accepting: I've been very judgmental of people in the past without getting to know them, and I'd like to change that this year. Anyone can be a great person, anyone can be a bad person. You can't judge someone based upon looks or stance, you have to meet them for yourself and base your opinion off of your own encounter. I can't be quick to judge!
Appreciative: This is the big one! Many people today, my generation especially, believe that things can just be handed to them, and want the best of the best without having to work for it. (I've been like this at times too!) Having high expectations leads to heavy disappointment. Material goods only go so far! Society nowadays depicts them as everything. "Ohhh She has a Cartier ring!" or "I wish I had money for a Prada bag..." Material goods only go so far! I've really learned this year that you can't buy happiness. This year I'm going to take time out of my day to be thankful for what I have in my life.

And of course, losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt! ;)

I know there are great things to come in 2013.

xx,
Margaret

Getting through Homesickness (3 steps!)

Homesickness is something that everyone goes through at some point in their lives. Many kids first experience it when they have their first sleep over, but most people don't fully experience it until they leave home and go off to college. I was one of those kids.

When I first came to California, I was so excited and everything around me seemed so amazing!

However, my mom had gone with me, and it felt like a vacation at first. (We were staying at hotels while looking at apartments for rent, and trying to find decent housing for me before my class started.) It wasn't until the last few days that I realized "Omg.. My mom isn't going to be stay here with me. I'm going to be on my own!" Most people would be over-joyed at having relief from their parents. I, however, was dreading it. Now I would have to pay the utility bills, buy my own groceries, and pay the rent! These are things that I never imagined having to do, certainly not things I was looking forward to.

It wasn't just that, I think what made my homesickness worse was the fact that we were on different sides of the CONTINENT. 3,000 MILES AWAY! When I thought about how I wouldn't be able to come home on weekends, and I wouldn't be able to come home even on Thanksgiving, it just made the entire thing worse. Here I was in a huge city, and I didn't know a single person. I went into a panic.

Now I've been here in Southern California for over two months, and I can positively say that I've gotten used to life here, and I do miss my family, but I'm not crying in a corner about it. These are a few things that have helped me, and I wanted to share them with you! Hopefully I can help people that are going through something similar. :)

1.) Find an activity to do when you miss your family. Maybe you like to paint or sew? You can always send your creation back home so a part of you will be with them. Or go out and explore the area. I ended up finding a hobby, and for me, this was BLOGGING. <3 It takes up most of my free time, and it's something that I deeply love! This also helps you from focusing on home too much.

2.) Make sure you have a friend. For me, this is my room mate! You will be homesick much more often if you're lonely. Having some friends provides a distraction from feeling bad, and it also gives you people to talk to about it who can comfort you and make you feel better. Without friends, I don't think I could have made it as far as I have. I would have missed everyone back on the East Coast!

3.) Call Mom, Dad, Sis, Bro, Cousin, Grandma or whoever and keep in touch. It's important to accept that fact that you aren't home anymore, so keep your calling limited! Calling too much will make you feel part of the happenings even though you're not, and will eventually lead to more homesickness. When I spoke to my parents everyday, I thought more about them, and then missed them even more.

P.S. 

Keep a positive attitude! Think of all the great things that are happening right now. Maybe you're away at college or starting a new life? (like me!)

 Focus on making a new home instead of missing an old one. And if you're only gone temporarily try to enjoy what you are experiencing now. When you return, you will not want to look back and see that all your time was spent in misery.

I'm only here until December- so I'm trying to make the best of it!

I wish anyone else going through this the best of luck!

Sincerely,

Margaret

xoxo