Coffee Shop on the Corner (Class Blogging #3)

Time for part three of my IMC class blogging! This week's topic was on businesses that 'go to the edge'. Basically, businesses that can kind of keep their prices up and still see a lot of business because of their street cred. I wrote on a coffee shop back home, so enjoy!

Back home, I work at one of the bigger, busier malls. I love my job, but I equally love my breaks. And, how convenient it is to work right across from a small, locally-owned coffee shop. Now, I'll preface this by saying that I don't like coffee. But, I love what coffee shops offer aside from coffee. This one especially.

It's called Dilworth Coffee, and it is the cutest, most quaint little coffee shop. There is a Starbucks down the corridor, but I can't bring myself to skip out on going to Dilworth. As I mentioned above, I don't drink coffee. But, yet, here I am on every 15, 30, 60 minute break, waiting for either a strawberry smoothie or some sort of warm pastry. The atmosphere is incredible. What is so interesting to other people (and to me) is that when I mention it, people do mention the coffee, but more people mention the smoothies or the great array of pastries. They've created this constituency of people that is so unique in that while most people do order a coffee, I see a startling amount of pastries and smoothies come out of that shop. And, the best part? I know almost every single person that works there--even after I've been away at school for a month or two, I'll come back and they'll ask me about classes and I'll ask them about pets, family, school, what have you. It's a sweet little relationship, and it's not one one could plausibly make at a busy Starbucks.

It is a bit pricey, but these days, what coffee shops aren't? I am more than willing to pay a little more for a great smoothie and a perfectly sweet slice of pound cake. If this place suddenly closed, I don't think I'd be the only person upset by the news. Even though it's no more than 800 square feet, there's always a lengthy line sprouting from the cash register. My breaks would be a lot less enjoyable if the lovely baristas behind the counter didn't make me a perfect strawberry smoothie every day!

Do you guys have any shops you'd hate to see go?

Story Time!: Sleepy Potatoes

So, I have had the worst day ever, and I thought maybe you guys would like the run-down, since it's somewhat of a hilarious story.

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I am really tired. After a fire alarm at 3:30 this morning and my roommate’s alarm going off for 30+ minutes, I didn’t sleep well.

So, when I’m tired, I get loopy. Like, really loopy. When Caroline + I got back from getting breakfast, I was eating my pumpkin muffin totally normally, then I saw that my roommate (alarm roommate) has a huuuuuge bag of potatoes on top of the fridge.

If you’ve been following me since summertime, you know my love for The Martian. And, in the story, potatoes are very, very vital.

So, I got excited and hurried over to grab the bag of potatoes, only to realize that the bag was opened. Shit.

I only dropped one potato, so Caroline told me to just shove it back in the bag and put it up on top of the fridge again. Through lots of giggling and negotiating, I just shoved the potato back into the bag and tossed it on top of the fridge again like she suggested.

All’s well, right?

Nope.

I heard keys jingling and thought maybe she was coming back from class so I just shut up, but then I heard the bathroom door close, and, yep. I’m fucked.

I completely yelled out the fact that I dropped it (not to mention, Caroline and I were bitching about her alarm, too), and she probably definitely heard it.

And that is why I am hiding in my room forever.

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UPDATE: I have managed to avoid her as of 3 PM, so I'm hoping I can extend that into tomorrow, when she might (read: hopefully) forget about it.

'The Martian' Review!

I don't often write book/movie reviews, but I felt like this was needed!

I went to see this movie last weekend (10/4) when it came out, and I couldn't get enough--so I saw it again this past Monday (10/12)! Which coincidentally, was Mark Watney's (21st!!!) birthday. Awesome.

Anyways, spoilers ahoy! Don't read past the jump break if you haven't seen the movie/read the book yet!

Stand Tall For What You Believe In (Class Blogging #2)

Here's the second blog post in my run of IMC blog posts!
This week, we were tasked to write about a time where we didn't buy something because of belief, worth, or cost. It was a hard topic to write about, but I think I like where I took it:

I will be the first to admit that I often buy on impulse. I have a lot of clothing I don't wear that much, and I've got more shoes than I can count! But, even as an impulse shopper, I do consider what I'm buying and what I'm actually getting out of the item. I'm a relatively short girl--about 5'3"--and there's always one thing I hear more than anything else: "You know, if you wear heels, you'll be taller!". It's a frustrating thing to hear, but for a while I considered getting one really nice pair of four-inch heels.

I shopped and shopped for a pair that I liked, but I couldn't find any that jumped out at me. None of the brands made me believe that this was the shoe I absolutely had to have. None of them made compelling enough stories that would spark any kind of interest. All heels look the same, too, by the way. There's little to no variation, so trying to find something that was different than everything else proved to be a whole new problem. I like to consider myself unique, and I want what I wear to convey that as much as possible (though, some days, you just have to go to class in Nike shorts and a UNCW tee).

There was this one brand that kept popping up that were pretty inexpensive. They were sort of comfortable and pretty basic, but not worth it. They looked just like every other heel I tried on, but they were about $50 cheaper. Sure, they would save me a lot of money, but they weren't as comfortable as some other shoes I had tried on. There wasn't a definte story behind them that I could believe, either. They were just cheap shoes, and to me, not worth the money I'd spent on them.

I ended up having to buy heels for a wedding, but the second time around, I knew more what I was looking for. I stuck with a brand that I knew I could get behind and feel confident wearing, even if the cost was a little higher. They were worth the money that I was spending, whereas the first pair just were not.

So, there's my answer! What's something you guys have bought on impulse? Or, maybe something you haven't bought?

August/September Favorites!

Sorry this is a little behind schedule and quite short! I've just started back up at university, so it's taken some time to get myself situated. I've combined August + September, since I thought that'd be easier!
Anyways, let's get going!

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the martian, andy weir.

This. Book.

Honestly, I haven't had a lot of time to read for myself the past year or so, and I decided to remedy that! In all seriousness, I haven't read such a good book in the longest time. It took me three days to finish this. A book on average takes me about a week or two weeks--between work and running errands and school, I rarely have time, and I get bored easily. I couldn't put this down! Interesting thing about the author: he's actually an engineer. All of the science in the novel is completely real (well, not completely, but the numbers are right, from my understanding), and it envelopes you into this amazingly well-fleshed out reality... I want the movie right now! Seriously, if you haven't read it, go find it and read the first chapter. I doubt you'll put it down.
(Also, the movie is amazing. But, more on that in my October Favorites!)

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Next, we've got some dry shampoo!

not your mother's dry shampoo, $5.

This stuff is a lifesaver, my gosh! I usually take showers in the morning so my hair is fresher, but I've got an 8 AM class this semester, and waking up that early makes me want to cry. So, I've been taking showers at night, but sometimes my hair looks gross or doesn't quite have the volume I want. This dry shampoo takes care of all of that! It makes greasy hair (mine is usually alright for two days before it's greasy) textured and like new! I was really impressed when I tried this product, since my go-to method used to be just baby powder to get rid of the greasiness. 

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Oh, god. Candles.

(left to right: sweater weather, $23; flannel, $23; pumpkin pecan waffles, $23.)

I'll be honest. I really only like Bath + Body Works candles. But, hear me out: FALL IS THE BEST TIME FOR SCENTED CANDLES. You can literally get any scent you like in candles nowadays, but Bath + Body Works does such a nice job making their candles nice and true to what they should smell like. Using these three as an example, Sweater Weather smells like a new sweater on a crisp day. Flannel smells like a boyfriend's flannel shirt with some of his cologne left on it. Pumpkin Pecan Waffles smell like freshly made waffles!

Seriously, incredible.

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And, I couldn't forget the OUAT premiere!

jennifer morrison as emma swan, aka the dark swan.

This season so far has been insane--and we're only an episode in! I'm so, so excited to see how everything unfolds, and without giving you too many spoilers, it is so amazing. So captivating, and I really love seeing JMO try her hand at being a villain for once!

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So, yes, those are my favorites this month + last month! Sorry it's short--I promise my October one will be fuller!