[In the Mix]: August 2014

So, of course, I made this playlist ahead of time before "Shake It Off" and "Mamacita" came out! Suffice to say, both will be making appearances on the September playlist! (I also meant to post this two weeks ago, whoops!) As the end of summer comes (or has already come for some of my friends), here's some last minute, fun, dance-along-in-the-kitchen songs to go out with a bang. 

Side note: Do any of you like to blast some fun music and dance around while you're cooking or cleaning up? I love it, but obviously not everyone does, including my family and pretty much everyone I've ever lived with. I suppose it's one of those things I look forward to when living by myself in Jeolla.

"Touch My Body"- I love this song, no matter how embarrassing it is to listen to! It's such a fun song, and it immediately gets me going a little faster in the gym when it comes on my playlist. Additionally, since they sing "body" about a trillion times, it reminds me to think about form and the bod I'm trying to achieve on the treadmill. 

"Bang Bang"- SUCH A FUN SONG. Also a good running song. The mix of Ariana, Jessie, and Nicki is sheer perfection, and I LOVED their performance on the VMA's. More Jessie J, Amurica, pretty please. 

"Love Never Felt So Good"- I'm an idiot, but I didn't realize this was a recently released posthumous song. It was pretty much perfect for summer and for groovin' along to in the car. 

"Ooh Ooh"- Don't make fun of me, but I totally watch Arirang's "After School Club," even though I'm pretty sure I'm above the age bracket. I usually skip the Google Hangouts because they don't interest me as much as the rest of the show. I started watching when I was getting into U-Kiss and learned that Kevin speaks English (and hosts ASC!). Suffice to say, I freakin' love Eric Nam. He's hilarious on the show (like outrageous-ahjussi funny, even if he's like four years older than me). I looked him up and discovered he also has a gorgeous voice. This song is his most recent single, and it's another dance along one. 

"I Do Not Hook Up"- An oldie but goodie. Are you sensing a dance-along theme to this playlist? 

"Glamour Bitch" Lyric wise, this song is pretty atrocious ("bling bling thong," anyone?), but for some reason I find it so catchy! Also, if you're wondering what happened to the brunette from A Teens, this was one of her solo efforts. Little high school dancing queen she is not anymore. 

"House Party"- I like very few country songs, and this is one of them. He's a fairly new artist, so look him up! 

"Partition"- This is a headphones-only song. Fantastic nonetheless. Bey sneezed on that beat and it got sicker. 

"Dora Dora"- The dance is kind of funny in a supposed-to-be-sexy-but-I-feel-uncomfortable way. The song is pure gold. I haven't taken the time to figure out what dora dora means, though. 

"Ven Conmigo"- It's the Spanish version of CA's oldie song, "Come On Over." I rediscovered it when I was organizing my iTunes library! 

"Sexy Back"- You might also be sensing a theme in my workout songs. You would not be incorrect. However, this song will never, ever get old. 

"Bubble Butt"- Like I said, theme... Anyhow, I only like the Korean version with GD and TOP. Probably because I don't know what they're saying in Korean, and it makes the song a little less dirty. 

"Sunset Glow"- My favorite Big Bang song! 

"Like I Can"- This man's voice is pure. gold. 

"22"- Because I turned 22 this month!!!!! 

"Ai Se Eu Te Pego"- It was played in clubs in Spain (it's Brazilian/Portuguese), and I still love it today. Plus Suju did a hilarious cover of it in their Brazilian concert. 

"Free Fallin'"- Another Korean cover of a English song. I pretty much love all versions ever created, this one is no exception.

[Social] 6. Go to an Amusement Park

Last week my little treated my G-little and me to Six Flags in New Jersey for our birthdays (mine was the 17th, my G's the 19th!). I haven't seen either of them since the beginning of summer/graduation, so it was an absolute BLAST. Also, the last time I went to an amusement park was two years ago when I visited friends in California! 

Six Flags is like a double edged sword. It's got the best rides in terms of Roller Coasters, but it will always, without fail, have obscene lines. Prepare to wait at least 45 minutes per ride if not more. It worked out for us because we got to catch up and waiting didn't seem nearly so long, but it does stink because you only can go on so many rides in a day! Also, it seems SF has some issues with cutters, and my little, in all her 5'2" glory, likes to call them out. Tall men who could probably beat us up or kids who literally turn and apologize to us, it doesn't matter. It made for some pretty funny moments. 

Anyhow, we, of course, went on the new ride, Zumanjaro. It was awesome but a little short as was Kingda Ka. I really enjoyed Superman just for the concept, and it lasted a bit longer! We also treated ourselves to Dippin Dots, and we ended the day with one of the ski line rides to take in the park at night.

Gah! I can't wait to go to another amusement park. I had forgotten how much fun they were!

[Style Files] For Fall

Fall is by far my favorite season! As you can see here, where I managed to repeat myself with the first sentence. I swear it wasn't on purpose! I don't mind it getting cooler and crisper. I love seeing the leaves change and the emergence of pumpkin everything. However, I do hate that fall turns into winter, but that's for another post. Last year I mentioned already having a lot of greens and browns in my wardrobe, but I find that this year the colors are a little different (and also, a lot of what I had 2 years ago or even a year ago no longer exist!). I was all about the royal blue and gray for Fall 2013, but this year I'm goin' back to the basics. I love cognac and leopard and olive green. To put a fresher twist on it, I love mixing them together. So here's on my Fall 2014 List:

• An Oversized Leopard Clutch- I'm on the hunt for an affordable one. I'm obsessed with finding it. I think the Clare V clutch is absolutely perfect. It's just a little out of my price range. I just love that I can imagine grabbing coffee with this thing in tow, bundled under cableknits and cargo jackets, but that I can also picture pairing it with a pair of killer heels and an LBD for a night out.
• Cognac Booties- I'm obsessed with peep toe booties! I like the thicker heel (I'm not a heel girl, really) for comfort and how casual these shoes can be. They look great with a safari style dress and a pair of skinny pants. They'll also go all year as they'll look just as good with spring and summer clothes!
• Cargo Jackets- The jacket style, vest style, olive green or khaki... I'm so obsessed with these. They just make an outfit so much more interesting. Definitely more casual--for the weekend trips or shopping days. Pair 'em over a sweater with a pair of dark wash jeans, flats or boots, and your favorite crossbody, and you're good to go.
• Bags with Meaning- After working retail for 4 years, I've built up a healthy handbag collection. After getting back into blog reading more, I've discovered so many companies that make their bags with some sort of meaning, and I think it makes them so much more special. Like the Palette back feature above. It's from Angela & Roi (I don't know why the Polyvore link is saying Bluefy and Fendi....), and its purchase helps support Kidney Disease fighters. A&R's whole business model is based on donating a portion of their sales to different causes based on the color of the bag you buy. I just love that! 
• Leopard Loafers- These are kind of classic for me now. I've had a pair in some variance for the past three years. They're basically perfect!

What's on your fall list?

[The Traveling Teacher] On Getting There

{via}

Oh my goodness, getting to the point of teaching abroad is a journey all its own. From the paperwork to the classes to the phone calls and interviews to the applications, it's a daunting enough task to turn even the most adventurous away. I started my process about mid-spring and have just received my official contract in the mail last week. Let me tell you, if not having patience is one of your traits, you might want to rethink things.

Anyhow, I'm starting this series on my blog to help document my time spent in South Korea! I don't want to completely turn this space into a TEFL Teacher blog (because there's a trillion that are more detailed and much funnier than I could ever be), but I do think I've learned a few helpful things along the way so far and anticipate learning much more in the future. To be perfectly honest, I'm going into this year wanting to float in life a bit. I've planned my academic career down to the T for the past 21 years of my life, and I want a chance to just...explore. I don't know what I plan on doing after the year is up or where I want to be, but I'm open to anything. I just want to keep learning and keep exploring and keep discovering. I'm not ruling out living in Korea long term, but I'm not ruling out teaching in other places or entering a permanent career track either. Just know, even while I'm in my "floating" time, I'm still paying off things like bills and student loans, so I'm not totally lost in life!

For the first part of this series, I thought I'd layout what I have done to reach this exact point-- a contract in hand, a visa trip on the way, and an official start date of October 15th:

[In the Mix] She's BACK

I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake.

Shake it off. Shake it off.

I just freaking love her.

22

I turn 22 today! 

xoxo,

Samantha Elisabeth

The Remix

This post is totally a throwback to one of the best songs of my childhood. I'm also going to list some lyrics and explain to you why the thought that this song is explicitly about sex never crossed my mind. Also, has anyone heard the original "Ignition?" Anyhow, here's my 8 year old break down of the lyrics:

• "Tryna get you to a hotel/ You must be a football coach/The way you got me playin' the field"- Wow, so the singer's a football coach. That sounds fun. It must be an away game since they have to go to a hotel.
• "Hot and fresh out the kitchen"- Geez, the kitchen must be smoky and hot. I hope they have ventilation. I set off my smoke alarm a lot too.
• "Mama rollin' that body/ got every man in here wishin'"- Mom must be really hot in the kitchen. Maybe something went wrong, and the guys are getting hungrier and hungrier.
• "Privacy is on the door/ Still they can hear you screamin' more"- I hate that! One time my friends and I were bouncing on the beds in a hotel room and laughing and shouting, and people could still hear us...Our parents were pretty pissed
• "I'm bout to take my key and/ stick it in the ignition"- I guess we're going home then? Since we're driving away from the hotel. I wonder if we won the game. Or maybe we're headed to the game from the hotel since...
• "Then after the show it's the (after party)/ and after the party it's the (hotel lobby)"- We won! That's why we're having a party right? 

And, of course, if I didn't really understand the lyrics, I just ignored them! I genuinely thought this song was one of the football coaches or players singing about their cool car! 

Getting Into Coffee

Link

So, I thought I hated coffee until about this year. I loved the smell and the look, but every time I tried a sip, I wanted to gag. Then, my little made me take a sip of her iced latte (from Dunkin, of course) at the beginning of this senior year, and all of a sudden I'm a bit of an addict. I still don't like hot coffee (I'd rather just have tea!), but over the past year I've been discovering coffee and its spin-offs through experimenting and constant trips to Dunkin or Starbucks or even McDonald's in a pinch! I thought I'd use this post as a bit of a guide for coffee newbies since there's so many fancy terms and such! Keep in mind, I'm basing this all off of the iced versions since they're still all I prefer!

T E R M S:

• Coffee- The most simplest of all, I suppose. Coffee obviously comes from coffee beans and is brewed in pots or in pods in a Keurig. It also comes in instant forms, which I drank if I needed some in my apartment! There's a difference between brewed and drip, but I'm honestly not sure of it. I couldn't even tell you which you get when you order it. However, brewed is typically 80-135 mg of caffeine in about 7 oz while drip is 115-175 mg. 
• Espresso- Espresso is made by forcing boiling (or nearly boiling) water through finely ground coffee beans (according to Wikipedia ;)). It's more concentrated than regular coffee as it's about 100 mg of caffeine in 1.5-2 oz.  
• Cappuccino- Since iced cappuccinos really aren't a thing (they "exist," but read this article), I don't know much about them. However, they are basically espresso + hot milk + steamed milk foam.
• Latte- Or caffe latte. The hot version is made with espresso and steamed milk, the iced version is made with espresso and chilled milk then placed over ice. In the latte's case, it is milk added to espresso.
• Macchiato- Like the latte, except the espresso is added to the milk. I don't know that I've tried too many macchiatos. The coffee flavor is stronger in the latte, so if you're totally accustomed to coffee tastes yet, I'd go with this first.
• Mocha- Mochas are like lattes except that there is chocolate added to the drink in the form of sweet ocoa powder. In the winter when I was absolutely freezing and the thought of something iced made me cry, I'd get mochas from McDonald's. 
• Americano- Americanos are made by adding hot water to espresso. I learned from Eat Your Kimchi that it came about because Americans in Europe would ask for water to be added to their "coffees" because they found the espresso too strong on its own. Iced is made with cold water instead of hot. It is also a lower calorie option!
• Frappuccino/Coolatta- Frapp at Starbucks, Coolatta at Dunkin. They are made with coffee blended in ice and topped with whipped cream. Usually, they come with other ingredients (like my favorite--the mocha frappuccino!). These are definitely more "treat" than "coffee," which I learned the hard way.... i.e. less energy and more weight gain. 

T I P S:

• Experiment! If you're shy about it, here's what I usually get: iced caramel or vanilla coffee with skim milk and no sugar, iced americano with skim milk (I add a little sugar on my own), or iced caramel latte with skim. I just tried the americano today, and it's actually quite good!
• Make it at home on your own: When I was at school, I used to make iced coffee in my big's Keurig or from instant coffee in my kitchen (which does not taste that great, in retrospect). All I did was put in one of the K-cups (there's so many to choose from!), add milk and sugar, and then dump the mixture in a cup with ice. I did it in the dining hall as well! It tastes much better to make it hot then put it over ice then try to put it on ice to begin with.
• Don't drink every day. I try not to! I don't want to get caffeine headaches, so I try to only drink it when I'm low on energy. And I only get a frapp if I'm treating myself. 

Good luck! Hope this was a good introductory to coffee.

RIP Robin Williams

"You're only given a little spark of madness, you mustn't lose it."

DIY Cronuts

Yesterday I met up with one of my longest friends from home (since middle/early high school!) and managed to convince her to do some baking. When it comes to hanging out in suburbia, there's not all that many choices, and I've been itching to try making cronuts at home since there's frankly no way in hell I'm waking up early to wait in line to buy them from a bakery. Since neither of us are particularly domestic goddesses, I wanted to keep the recipe as easy as possible, so I adapted this recipe from Baking Beauty. Maybe in the future when I'm more patient, I'll figure out a healthier recipe (like coconut oil instead of vegetable, handmade croissant dough instead of Pillsbury), but for now this recipe did the trick. And it was delicious. Like, if these DIY suckers made by Kate and me were this good, the real ones have to be divine. I'm still not waiting in line for them, though. 

Recipe (Makes 3 and a doughnut ball) 

• 1 Pillsbury Original Crescent sheet 
• Vanilla Pudding Cups
• Vegetable Oil

Glaze:

• 1 C Confectioner Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp Milk (maybe a little more)

No, really, this is it. 

Directions

1. Heat in pan about 2 inches of vegetable oil. Enough to cover the cronuts. Heat on medium heat to about 350. Be careful of making it too hot, were lazy and impatient, so we just put it all the up to high and it got too hot at first! 

2. Spread out the crescent sheet, then fold in half once. Then again. 

3. Using a glass cup, cut out to circles. Spread out the dough again and cut a third. You should have a little extra to roll into a ball.

4. Make a circle in the middle of the three circles you have. The original recipe cut out a whole in the center, Kate and I just stuck our fingers (our clean fingers, mind you!) in the middle and stretched the dough out a bit. 

5. Your oil should be heated! I put in our doughnut ball in first to test it out, which is how we figured out the oil was too hot. 

6. Then put the rest of the cronuts in and cook for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Wait for the outside to be a golden brown color. They shouldn't cook too quickly, if they start browning too fast, your oil is too hot.

7. Put them on a plate covered in paper towels to let the oil drain a bit. 

8. Cut in half and spread the vanilla pudding in the center.

9. Make the glaze! Mix the sugar, vanilla, and milk in a bowl until it's pretty liquidy. Honestly, you could probably cut this recipe in half because you're not going to use that much for 3 cronuts. The original recipe called for twice as much as this one, and we threw it all out!

10. Put the cronuts on a new plate and drizzle the glaze all over them.

11. Enjoy!

I tried to get Kate to get a picture with them, but it turned out blurry, so I'll save her the bad picture ;). In other news, though, this is probably the last time I'll see her for the next year! She goes back to Georgia for college, and I go off to Korea for the real world. However, given her major and university, she has a better chance of seeing (through glass windows and such) the Ebola patients than any of us do. At the very least, if Andi from the Bachelorette gets preggers, she might be able to meet her!

Seen on the Paris Lock Bridge

Ah I think this idea is absolutely romantic! However, reality wise I think I should be warning future visitors not to be adding their lock since apparently said bridge is starting to buckle under the weight... I don't think the lock bridge in Paris has to necessarily be for couples (my friend, Beth and I did a friendship one to be funny), but I know the Namsan Tower is definitely for lovaasss (which, given Korea's couple culture, is not a surprise). I didn't go last time I was in Seoul because I was forever lonely, but I think I'll make a visit this time around.. 

Anyhow the snapshot! As a romantic at heart I loved taking pictures of cute locks (like this heart one!) when I went to Paris in December 2012. The day was actually perfect too and sunny. I also wonder who Tim & Julia Jones are? Did they marry November 5, 2012 or visit here then? Maybe they were an older couple or a honeymoon couple? Ah the story possibilities! I've decided that once I've found my fella for life (or FFL as I like to abbreviate it), we'll get a bunch of the same, hispter cute lock and put it in random places all over the world where we travel. Totally random places with our initials and the date we arrived. Then we'll save the keys in a box to give to our children for their own travels. Because, as you may realize, I plan to be madly in love with my FFL forever, and he better like travelling and exploring as much as me.

Let's Be Frank

So, if you follow me on Instagram, you know I finally bought some frank body scrub! I literally just got done trying it out, and I'm so obsessed I'm writing this post now instead of waiting a month or so. Being obsessed with my skin and being in love with exfoliating (no matter how silly my tenth grade biology teacher said it is!), I was intrigued by this scrub, so I looked it up via its website, social media outlets, and some nifty frank body scrub review searches. 

You all know how much of a sucker I am for good marketing, and I'm totally obsessed with frank's social media strategy, done by their creators, Willow & Blake. I don't really think I've seen exfoliation have this sexy of a campaign, but it works. The biggest draw is most likely its Instagram (@frank_bod) as it has close to 400,000 followers and just over 3,000 posts. It goes between posting its favorite "babes" in bathtubs or swim suits to showing the different ways people have posted their own take on using the frank scrub. It encourages new users to use the #letsbefrank or #thefrankeffect hashtags for their pictures. Now, I'm not one to totally be bought with marketing, so I did my research to see what all the fuss is about, and what I found it is what convinced to buy my first package.

What does frank promise? It promises that it is an "all-natural coffee scrub for your body- an exfoliator that targets skin conditions such as cellulite, stretch marks, eczema, acne, and psoriasis. He's made with fesh coffee grinds and other natural ingredients." Okay, interesting, but not groundbreaking. However, I love that there's a separate instagram (@frankfeedback) to showcase some incredible before and after pictures to show just how well the scrub works on all the issues it promises to target. That's what totally sold me--these pictures uploaded by very real individuals. Scroll through and see!

Is it expensive? No! That's the best part. frank coffee scrub comes in three different types: the original (comprised (sweet almond, orange, etc) for $14.95, the coconut & grapeseed version for $17.95, and the cacao version for $16.95. Each package is about 7 oz, and using it 1-2 weeks should last you roughly a month. Also depending on where you live, you can get free shipping! 

My experience: I literally just used it, and I have never felt my skin feel so smooth. I even use those Italy cloths from Korea often (I had my friend grab me some when she went home over winter break!), and I'm all about DIY scrubs and whatnot. I've developed a few skin issues from the constant sun and chlorine exposure I had growing up (or I'm just anal about perfect skin...), plus I have serious stretch marks all over my hip and thigh areas from weight gain, so I was intrigued by the scrub's promises. After one use I love it! I can't wait to see what happens a month or so from now (I'm going to need to stock up in Korea!). I got the coconut & grapeseed one since I'm allergic to almonds and the other two have almond oil in them.

Basically, I took my normal bath in lavendar epsom salts for about 30-40 minutes. Then I drained the tub, put on some music, and closed the curtain to use the scrub. Let me just warn you, people aren't joking when they say "down and dirty." It's a messy scrub, and it'll get all over your bathtub! Don't worry, it smells absolutely delicious and that smell lingers on your skin afterwards. I spread it all over (face included) and waited ten minutes before rinsing it all off in the shower. I then put on lotion, and I'm sitting in bed feeling as smooth as a newborn baby's bottom. 

So, TL;DR try this scrub! You won't regret it!