I Hate Doing These Posts...

...mostly because I hate admitting that I've been a horrid, inconsistent blogger. I'm so sorry, y'all. On that note, it's roundup time!

I promised I would recap Country Thunder for you, and I have to say, it was a super fun weekend. Two of my friends and I drove up each day which was not as bad as it sounds, plus I got to use my own shower each night. Huge plus.

{First day with one of my Poms teammates!}

{Riding the bull on Day One!!}

{Day Two with another teammate!}

{Day Three}

The performers were awesome. Keith Urban rocked it out on the first night, and Brad Paisley was a huge hit. But my favorite was definitely Jake Owen on Sunday night to wrap it up. 

Next highlight of the last few weeks was the Poms Barbecue. It was weird with it being the first of many "lasts" this year, but I had so much fun with my friends regardless!

 {SENIORS!}

 {My best friend and fellow captain}

 {Most of Varsity}

{The Five Best Friends}

{With 4 of our 5 wonderful new baby sophs}

This last weekend, Mama, Little Sis, and I took an impromptu trip up to Saugatuck, Michigan, complete with horseback riding, ice cream from Kilwin's, and stand-up paddleboarding! By the way, I'm obsessed with paddleboarding–so much fun and a killer workout.

{On the pier}

{Horseback riding!}

On the college front, my applications to both Alabama (ROLLLL TIDE) and LSU have been completed, and my Common App is just about done, so three cheers for being ahead of the game!

Last big announcement, the new and improved Smart Girls Group relaunches September 1st! Mark your calendars, ladies, because we have an awesome new issue of the Guide coming out as well as a new and improved Loop! Everything is going to be bigger and better and we are so happy to see our sisterhood grow.

XO

UDA Elite Camp Recap

This past week, I spent Tuesday through Friday at Illinois State University for a Universal Dance Association Elite Camp with my poms team. Each year, we take our varsity and junior varsity squads downstate to spend four days training intensely to qualify for the National Dance Team Championship in Orlando. I am exhausted, but it was by far the best week of camp I've ever had!

The first night, we competed our Home Routine against other schools. This was a routine we had already learned and polished, and it turned out quite well.

{Opening Pose!}

{Post Home Routine Performance: Captains + Coach}

The JV team also performed a Home Routine, and we were lucky enough to have most of our alumni who were seniors last year come support us!

{Post Home Routine Performance: Varsity (Pink), JV (Purple), and our incredible alumni!}

Both JV and Varsity were evaluated for our routines and received blue ribbons!

{Varsity with our blue ribbon! Naturally, I'm rocking a bow.}

On the second day, each dancer attending camp split up to learn different routines to be evaluated individually on the last day. I learned a Level IV mix routine combining jazz, pom, and hip-hop sections and a Level V jazz routine. Day Two is definitely the hardest physically and mentally, because you spend hours learning and internalizing choreography and doing it full out tons of times! It's important to know the routines very well in order to get blue ribbons to help your team qualify for nationals!

Day Three involved review of both routines, as well as technique classes, team routine evaluations (we got a blue ribbon there too!), and All-American evaluations. Five girls from our squad–me, the other two captains, and two other seniors–came early on Day Two and Day Three to learn an extra routine (plus our own section of choreography showcasing our best tricks) to be evaluated on for All-American recognition. All five of us were selected as All-Americans!

{One of my favorite pictures ever!}

Day Three also included a crazy themed afternoon to let off some steam and just have fun. The theme this year was "Summer Flashback," so naturally, we dressed up as 80's dancers!

{My best friend/fellow captain and I in our flashback outfits}

Day Four was evaluations for our individual routines. Our girls picked up almost all blue ribbons, qualifying us for Nationals! I was also selected by the staff to receive an invitation to apply to be on UDA Staff next year, a huge honor. Unfortunately for me, I'll have to wait until next year because I won't be 18 by the deadline. But still, being invited had been a dream of mine, and it came true!

Because we dance up to twelve hours each day at camp, it's super important for us to stay hydrated. It's a pain to wait in line at the water jugs and it's also super inconvenient when your water bottle runs out, so I painted monogrammed water jugs in our school colors for me and for one of the JV captains who I'm super close with.

It was quite the project, but they turned out great! I had never painted a cooler or a jug before, so Pinterest and The Cooler Connection Facebook Group were extremely helpful. We love them!! And we only had to fill them once each morning at breakfast!

I honestly couldn't have asked for a better, more fulfilling camp experience for my senior year. I absolutely love camp, and I am so blessed to have gotten everything I've wished for at camp this past week. I'm heartbroken that I can't apply for staff for next year, but I'll definitely be putting in an application once I turn 18!

XO

Friday Five

1. The Lilly summer collection is perfect. I have no words. Actually, I have a few, and they'll be in a post coming up next week!

2. It's finally May, aka the beginning of spring and one of my favorite months! I'm excited for some gorgeous weather coming our way and finally being able to wear all of my favorite sundresses and shorts.

3. I have found the perfect lipstick from Tarte Cosmetics. The Pure color is the perfect "your lips but better" shade that can be worn morning to night and it goes on so smoothly and stays on! I hardly ever reapply after I do my make-up in the morning and that's only because I'm a little OCD about always having my lips freshly done, but it's never really necessary!!

And how pretty is that tube?

4. Next week is crazy. Two AP Exams, my last round of Poms tryouts, and my school's Spring Fling concert are packing it. But this is why I love May; there's always something going on!

5. And finally, my most important bit of news. I met with my Poms coach today, and after three years on the varsity squad and lots of hard work, I'm going to be a captain next year, along with two of my best friends! I'm thrilled and excited and completely overjoyed. This has been a goal of mine since freshman year and I feel like all of my hard work is paying off. It's such an honor, and I can't wait for next season to start!!

XO

See You Next Week!!

The day is finally here; my Poms team and I fly out to Orlando this afternoon to compete in the UDA National Dance Team Championship!! This means no Friday Five tomorrow, but I'll definitely do a full Nationals recap sometime next week!

We've worked so hard this season and I am beyond ready to compete for the last time this season! I can truly say that I love each girl on my team, and I'm incredibly close with most of them. This year has definitely been the best of my years on Poms, and I know that I am very blessed, not only to dance with these girls, but to count them among my best friends.

We're ready to bring home some trophies!!

XO

Friday Five

1. I'm currently dancing at the state dance team competition! Prelims are today and if we rank in the top ten by the end of the night, we'll be dancing at finals tomorrow!

2. Dry shampoo is my new lifesaver. I've been using a volumizing kind from TRESemmé and it has changed my life.

3. I've found a dress for the Turnabout dance in March! I'm borrowing it from a friend and I don't want to say too much about it...but it's pink!

It's also super body-con, which brings me to my next item...

4. I've decided that after Nationals, I'll be going on a cleanse. I wanted to do one as a New Year's Resolution, but January is such a stressful time for me already with finals and being in the full swing of competition season that it just wouldn't be healthy or safe. The last half of February is pretty mellow though, and it's right before Turnabout, the Poms Fashion Show, Spring Break....basically perfect timing. I'm definitely planning on posting extensively about my experience on the cleanse.

5. Less than a week (six days!!!!) until Nationals. The next Friday Five will be posted from DisneyWorld! WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!

XO

Friday Five

My first post of 2013! As part of my resolution to be a better blogger, I figured that doing a Friday Five would be a good way to keep myself posting more consistently.

1. Last week I said RIP to my trusty riding boots from freshman year. Sad, I know, but it was about time for them to go. This morning, I ordered these beauties from Frye!!

I've been wanting these for so long and I can't wait for them to come in!

2. Lifeguard Press is having a huge sale on all their Lilly items through midnight tonight. If I wasn't all stocked up, I'd be taking full advantage of this one. 

3. Today marks the start of my final weekend of winter break, aka time to start doing all the work my lovely AP teachers assigned us over break and to start studying for my final exams in two weeks. Wonderful, no? I'm heading over to the library today to work on an essay and some notecards due the Tuesday I get back.

4. After dropping my phone so many times, my favorite case is chipped and breaking. I'm in the market for a new case, but I'm having such a hard time deciding! Vineyard Vines vs. Southern Proper vs. Kate Spade....oh my.

5. It's exactly four weeks until I'm headed down to DisneyWorld for the UDA National Dance Team Championship!! I had such a great time last year, and am so so so excited to make some more fabulous memories with my team.

Under the Stadium Lights

Ladies and gentlemen, high school (and college! Geaux Tigers!!) football has returned, making yours truly a very happy girl. Football season is, quite honestly, my favorite part of the whole school year (besides Nationals weekend!). I love the atmosphere and spirit of the school, the electric feeling I get running out to the fifty-yard line for halftime, and walking around every Friday seeing everyone decked out in blue and gold. Friday night was opening night in our stadium, on our brand new turf field!!

50-yard line on the new field!

Like many people, I am a tiny bit obsessed with the turf. It's better to play on (I'm going off what I hear from the football team), better to dance on, and, while we're being honest, so much better to look at! 

Some of the team. 

We won the game by a landslide, and had a pretty great halftime show, if I do say so myself. All in all, it was a fantastic night!!

Also, this year we got new uniforms! Pictured are our gameday uniforms, that we wear to school and to the game before halftime, but we also got new competition uniforms too!

My official Poms picture for this season with a closeup of our brand new gameday uniforms! The little white dots are crystals, natch.

The white bow has become part of my gameday standard, along with my favorite Urban Decay gold glitter eyeliner. It's been a bit of a gameday routine/ritual for me since freshman year, and it's just not the same without it!

Do you love football season as much as me? Who are you cheering for?

XO

All photos courtesy of a Poms Mom:)

UDA Elite Camp

I'm back! It was a fantastic three and a half days with my team, and a very successful trip for us!!

We drove down early Monday morning and got to Illinois State University around 9:30 in the morning.

Obligatory bus trip selfies. Typical.

Monday night we performed our Home Routine, which was a beautiful lyrical number that our choreographer set for us right after tryouts in May.

Varsity (Blue), JV (Black and White), and last year's seniors after we performed Home Routine!!

We got a blue ribbon on our Home Routine, which is the highest ranking you can get. It was also the first Home Routine blue ribbon our team has ever gotten, so we were very proud! Even better was having last year's seniors surprise us and come down and support us for our performance.

We also got a blue ribbon on the Team Routine we learned the first day of camp, and got all blue ribbons (with the exception of one red ribbon) on our individual B and C routines!

Wednesday night, we took some time to relax and have fun at the Summer Splash themed Crazy Night Party!

 Varsity in our Crazy Night outfits

Me with one of our fantastic captains at Crazy Night!!

Varsity and JV at the "beach!" The sand volleyball court in front of the arena was just too perfect to pass up on a photo op.

Before we performed our Home Routine, one of the seniors told us to just go out there and "Make It Happen." We have since decided to adopt that phrase as our team motto for the season, and I know that there's so much we can accomplish as a team. We have the talent, the work ethic, and the team unity, we just need to put it all together and make it happen! We had a great week, and being at camp with everyone just made me so excited for this season!

XO

North Shore Prep

Nationals Recap!!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I spent last weekend in lovely Orlando, Florida for the UDA National Dance Team Championship. I had a fantastic and fun time with my team, and we got 15th in the NATION in the High Kick category!! I'm so proud of these girls and so glad we had such a fantastic season!

When we arrived Thursday, we spent the day at Magic Kingdom. We had so much fun just hanging out and relaxing before the hard work began. Then Friday, we spent the day at EPCOT practicing hard from 9 to 3.

Saturday, we had Semi-Finals at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Our Kick costumes were gorgeous! Of course, I loved the pink and green:)

Our Pom performance was also great!!

We advanced to Finals in Kick and got to dance again Sunday at the HP Fieldhouse in the the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

We had a great performance and placed 15th in the NATION!!!!!

Monday, we flew back home after spending some time tanning at the hotel's pool. It was hard to leave, but I'm so glad we had such a great season and such a great time at Nationals. We've grown so close these past few months, and these girls are such an important part of my life. This was a special season for me, since it was my first year on Varsity (and as one of three sophomores!!) and I'm so excited to see what next season will bring!

XO

North Shore Prep

School Spirit

I am so ready for this week to be over. Since it was Spirit Week for Homecoming at my school, we've had fun dress up days every day, so every single day this week has felt like it should be a Friday. And because my school is possibly the most spirited place in the world (which I LOVE!), tomorrow's going to be an all-day party that continues through the night with our pep rally and street dance.

Every Friday with a football game is Spirit Day, and everybody rocks their blue and gold. When we have home games, the Poms and cheerleaders wear their uniforms and everyone else sports Pep Club (Yes, that exists at my school. Yes, I am a member =]) t-shirts, crazy glitter, and anything else to add to their spirit. It's fantastic. There's a feeling of togetherness that everyone feeds off of.

The Friday before Homecoming is even better. Because it's Homecoming, everyone goes crazy. Lightning bolt tattoos are handed out in the morning, there's blue and gold everywhere you turn, and you can honestly feel the excitement and electricity in the air. It's great because all of our teachers and staff are into it too, and we usually have a fairly easy day of classes.

I have a lot of school spirit. More than most people, and I guess it's to be expected from me. I'm on Poms, I love watching football and basketball, I love being involved, and–I'll admit it–I'll take any excuse to wear my favorite gold liquid glitter eyeliner.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner

The Homecoming Pep Rally is my favorite part of the whole Homecoming weekend. Honestly, it's probably one of the most fun events of the entire year. It's really the only time that the entire student body gets packed into the Titan Dome, the Varsity Poms dance (I'm SO excited for my first Pep Rally that I'll be spending out on the floor and not in the stands!), the cheerleaders do their routine, and the Homecoming Queen and court is announced. After the Pep Rally (which starts at nine) is over, everyone goes out to one of the courtyards for a huge party and to work on the floats for the parade the following morning.

So yeah, I love my school. Tomorrow, I'll be rocking my Poms uniform and my lightning bolt tattoos, and later I'll be dancing the night away at Pep Rally and the street dance.

Go South!

XO

North Shore Prep