SweetGirlSmirk

President Obama just got us all singing this weekend when he released his first (and second) Spotify playlist . I, of course, rejoiced that even the leader of the free world gets just how fun it is assembling your must have songs in pitch perfect order, making sure you don't tip your hand to too many guilty pleasures, and agonizing over which might actually have to be cut. It is an American pastime for the ages. It used to be mixtapes, actual cassette tapes cobbled together from staticy second hand recordings, radio requests, and if you were bougie you could record directly from another tape. Then it became the cd, which we all had to name, date, and doodle on because this was OUR HISTORY, man! it was the best of times, it was the worst of times Now, we get the Spotify playlist. My first playlist was birthed August of 2011, and completed sometime around October of 2011. Clocking it at over 3 hours of play, and including 56 songs, I obviously did not give a damn about edit...

Body shaming, body-positive, gender roles, patriarchy.... if I hear anything about any of these topics again I am going to rip my ears off, my eyes out, anything it will take to just make it stop. Yes, I am adding to it but I have had enough! I'm sorry, but we have over-corrected to the point of ridiculousness. That being said, I live like a feminist: 1. I love frilly dresses. If it is a piece of clothing that contains any lace of any kind it is a guaranteed fact that I will dream about it. 2. I love my Converse sneakers. I will wear them anywhere with anything, literally. And I will post pictures of said shoes in various places to Instagram. 3. I love dark eye shadow and glittery lip gloss. I know I look better with mascara and blush than without. 4. I have an entire drawer overstuffed with Phillies, Flyers, and Eagles t shirts. There is no better place to be than a ballpark on a gorgeous summer afternoon. 5. I crave salads and pumpkin spiced lattes. 6. I crave super hot bone...

I love to cook. I love food. I love eating. I love sharing food I love with others. What I don't love are things that take forever to prepare, with a list of ingredients that require an entire grocery store just to get through the appetizer. So, I love to come up with fun twists on simple or ready made food that make them pop without adding 3 hours and $560 to my budget. Today: the best darn deviled eggs I could imagine. I literally just made one egg this morning, so you'll have to adjust accordingly. I hard boiled the egg the other day, so it was nice and chilled (also, I feel like I could do an entire blog just on my journey of learning how to cook these darn things... seriously, why is it so difficult to do and remember how to do correctly?!). I cut it in half, scooped out the yolk, added like half a teaspoon of miracle whip, a generous amount of mustard, and mashed all that together and back into the egg. Simple, low cal, good, but yawn-worthy. Then I sprinkled on some ...

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Party planning is exhausting. You have a vision, you spent a gazillion hours on Pinterest, and you are ready to put it into place. Day of comes, how will people know what is in that sandwich? Who is that little kid and do they have a name on a customized favor? Are we doing cake or gifts first? The list goes on and on and what felt like a magical sweet sixteen is now you trying to run gracefully in heels before someone puts the mad libs in the wrong room. We have all been there. But there are too many birthday, graduations, showers in life to always feel so overwhelmed. The perfect party is all about planning. What goes where, what do you need to purchase, is it a balanced menu, what is needed for activities, when will they happen, and who still needs to RSVP can be solved with simple planning. I have ran so many parties, they are second nature to me, but I remember quite vividly those early ugly days. So, I am here to help. This is my party planning template. It is all here. Just ...

The last day of school is probably the most bipolar of them all. The kids have made friends and memories and achievements, and now have to leave that all behind. Will you stay in touch with friends? What if someone moves? What if I get the mean teacher next year? But, there is nothing but pure freedom for the next 2 1/2 months! No alarms, lots of swimming and exploring to be done, and so much laying around to be savored. It is a time for celebration of all the accomplishments, so of course they deserve a treat when they get home! But, it is still a weekday and planning ahead isn't always so easy. Enter the eternal favorite: the rice krispie treat. But no ordinary krispie treat will do on this big day! So, make the treat as normal, but before it is done cooling, shape it into the number of the grade they are entering (no goodbyes, time to look forward to all that lies ahead!), add some fun frosting, and voila! For full sentimental effect, write a letter and leave a s...

Songs make you dance, smile, laugh, cry, remember, and forget... and no one seems to get that like Frank Turner. If you haven't brushed up on this modern genius, he's an English dude with a penchent for hardcore punk and acoustic ballads and is basically the best wordsmith since Bob Dylan. Here's my top 10 songs of his, along with a lyric that I feel like should be sung as loud as possible every time it comes around. You can follow it on Spotify here! 1. Love Ire and Song (Live From Shepherds Bush) "Oh, but once we were young and we were crass enough to care. But I guess, you live and learn, and we won't make that mistake again. But surely just for one day, we could fight and we could win. If only for a little while, we could insist on the impossible." 2. Plain Sailing Weather (The Third Three Years) "The problem with falling in love in late night bars is that there's always more nights, there's always more bars. The problem with show...