- Author: Melissa -

Hi there! I'm Melissa & I am a firm believer in taking cookies out of the oven 2 minutes under the recommended cooking time. I also love to travel, cook, shop, craft, and live an all around positive lifestyle. Come say hi!
Blogging, Link Love

Feel Good Friday; vol. 23

Friday Link Love

              from the post, Classic English Pimms Recipe Has time felt like it's been on super speed mode to anyone else lately? I blinked and I went from the beaches of Cancun, Mexico to a wedding in the woods of West Virginia with fall in full effect. While in reality, these two events happened 4 months apart from one another, it feels like yesterday. I think time feeling as though it's "flying" is due to the 9-5 lifestyle. Everyone on Monday talks about how they cannot wait until Friday, then when Sunday rolls around, we're all questioning where the week went. It's alarming how quickly life is actually passing us all by, waiting for the next day or counting the minutes until the weekend. from the post, What…

My Life, My Playlists

Music Monday, ser. 1 : 10 Songs I’ve Had on Repeat This Week

Music Monday || sharing my top 10 songs of the week

                  During work, I tend to switch from listening to audio books (check out what I'm listing to on Audible!) to music. Currently, I've been on a huge YouTube + Soundcloud kick so thought it was the perfect time to bring out a new series! Today, I'm introducing series 1 of Music Monday where I'm going to be sharing 10 songs I've had on repeat throughout the previous week. I absolutely love music recommendations and finding new tunes to listen to throughout the day, so please share with me what you've been listing to below in the comments! I'm one of those people that listens to pretty much every genre and constantly switching music moods, so I welcome any and all recs. You may just be…

21 Day FIx, Dinner, Holiday Eats, Lunch, Recipe Box, Snacking, Tailgating Must-Haves

Asian Veggie Spring Rolls with Homemade Sweet + Spicy Peanut Sauce

"10-Recipes-to-Bring-to-your-Memorial-Day-Party"

                          If I had to choose one food group to live on forever, I think Asian cuisine would win the battle. In an attempt to eat out less, I've been trying to make some of my classic favorite dishes at home (hello, talking about you, skinny teriyaki 'fried' rice), and these Asian inspired veggie spring rolls with a homemade sweet + spicy peanut sauce were my most recent battle. I'm not sure why, but making my own spring rolls always seemed extremely intimidating. I'm not going to lie, the first time trying to figure out the rice paper was a total flop, but utilizing a non-stick wood serving tray as my rolling table actually ended up being my best friend. After I…

Friends & Family, My Life, Travel Adventures

Life Lately + Coffee Talk ; vol. 2

Life Lately || What's been going on + some life updates

Hey there! It has been a hot minute since I last updated you guys on my life + what's been going on so I thought I'd take some time today and do a coffee talk. Coffee talks are basically life talks but with us sipping some virtual coffee together. ;) So grab a cup of joe (or a glass of sangria, nobody judges here during coffee talks) and let's get down to it! -Coffee- It's only fitting that I start off this coffee chat with my latest go-to order. Now that fall is officially here (woo woo!) I've switched up my typical Starbs order (grande iced skinny vanilla latte with coconut milk) for something more festive. Since it's still high 90s here in Florida, I take fall where I can find it, and coffee…

Friends & Family, My Life, Travel Adventures

Wedding Weekend at Knotty Pine Lodge in Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia

Knotty Pine Lodge in Fraziers Bottom West Virginia

It's happening!! I'm officially in the prime age where my Facebook timeline is flooded with engagement love, wedding bliss, and even a few sprinkles of babies! I absolutely adore it. Weddings, babies, sparkly rings... they're all completely my thing. This past weekend, one of my best friends from college, Danielle, got MARRIED (!!!) to her best friend, Max. The ceremony was held at the Knotty Pine Lodge in Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia. It was a magical weekend + so beyond beautiful. To commemorate the weekend, I put together a video of some of our favorite pictures + video clips from the weekend away in the mountains. Check it out! [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFw2t1xJ1LM[/embed] Congratulations, Max + Danielle!

Blogging

Exciting Updates- I’m on a Blogcation!

exciting-Updates

photo captured from a recent trip to Amelia Island Hi, loves! This post is short & sweet to explain my recent silence over here on GPL. I've been hard at work searching for designers, layouts, and ideas for an overall blog refresh and rather than working on constant new content, that has been on my priority list. I'm happy to say that I've finally narrowed it down + am planning on starting the conversion by the end of this weekend! Due to that, GPL should still be 100% workable, but I won't be able to upload content until the redesign + migration take place. I should be back in business & the swing of things in less than 2 weeks (max!!) but I wanted to let you all know because I know I hate…

21 Day FIx, Lunch, Recipe Box

Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich 

Vegan Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich || If you're looking for a hearty meal (vegan or not) look no further! This amazing sandwich can be made in 5 minutes, is packed with nutrients, and GOOD for you food!

I'm pretty sure if they had support groups for people who loved Facebook food videos, I'd be the first one to sign up. I really love this new trend of short recipe clips flooding my timeline and am constantly jotting down ones that I 'neeeed to try asap'! Now if only someone would create a Pinterest-esq site for these quick food videos so that I could store them in a more effective way directly on Facebook... The other week, Buzzfeed Tasty posted a video featuring an avocado chick pea sandwich and I was super inspired. I absolutely love sandwiches that feature "salads". My infamous skinny fruit + nutty chicken salad recipe is a crowd favorite, but ever since going vegetarian almost a year ago, I've been hunting down subs for my past favorites. Once…

Book Reviews, My Life

What I’m Listening to on Audible; vol. 1

What I'm Listening to on Audible || sharing my thoughts and insights on the audio book, You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Has anyone else here hopped aboard the audio book train? I really love to read, although, with the hustle and bustle of life, it's typically the first priority of mine to go out of the window. I downloaded Audible on a whim one day after one of my friends raved about listening to a book on her commute to work and my life is forever changed. I typically listen to books that are motivating whenever I'm in the car and my motivation has already vastly improved. There's something about listening to an inspiring role model first thing in the morning that really gets you geared up to get sh!t done in your day, I guess. ;) My latest audio book obsession has been You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. I actually loved it so…