MONTHLY LOVE | AUGUST

Okay, you've caught me. I've been neglecting the blog. There are a variety of contributing factors that have distracted me from blogging, but all in all I've just been really busy. This mini break has been lovely, but I'm ready to resume normal blogging activities… next week ;). In the meantime, here are a few things I've been loving this past month!

THINGS I'M LOVING

PINTEREST | I created my Pinterest account years ago, but I really was never a fan. I found it distracting and never really understood it's purpose. Recently I was in some desperate need of inspiration and decided to take a peek at Pinterest. Needless to say, I'm hooked.

CHRISLEY KNOWS BEST | I'm not a huge fan of reality TV. I feel my brain slowly turning into mush every time I come across an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashains. However, my sister introduced me to one show that I just can't get enough of. If you haven't met the Chrisley's, I think you should. A southern family, every word that comes out of the Chrisley's mouths is hilarious. Especially the eight year old, talk about a sassy child.

HAZELNUT COFFEE | I know it's not autumn yet, but I'm craving the season! I can't wait for pumpkin spiced everything, scarves, and sweaters. But for now, I'll curl up inside and just pretend it's my favorite season with my Hazelnut Coffee.

SHAKESPEARE | I read a handful of Shakespeare plays in high school, but as I have stated before being forced to read something in high school is a lot different than reading something on your own. I just started reading Richard III and I LOVE it! I feel like I appreciate the genius of Shakespeare way more now that I am older and understand literature.

LOVELY LINKS

+ 50 Things to Do In New Orleans, you can find my post under #1!
+ Buzzfeed's If Call Cneter Employees Were Honest is the most accurate video ever. Anyone who has answered phones as a job should watch.
+ Like I said earlier, I've been using Pinterest a lot more! Follow me at sararosedavis.

Happy Friday!!

xoxo

MONTHLY LOVE | JULY

Happy end of July! If you're anything like me you've probably been spending the entire month inside trying to avoid the sun. Yes, I did dip in the pool a few times this month but let's face it, July in Texas is not ideal. This month I've been doing a ton of working and a ton of reading. I managed to book a few up and coming trips for the fall so stayed tuned for that! As for my monthly favorites, let's get right to it!

THINGS I'M LOVING

Spin Class | When I first moved back to Texas it was Spring, and I found myself running outside. However, May came and the torrential downpour that lasted for weeks on end prevented me from going outside to workout. When the sun finally showed itself again it was June and it was too hot to even sit outside let alone run. I stumbled across Revolution Studios on Instagram and I decided to give this spin studio a go. I had signed up for spin in college but it turned out to be a huge waste of money as I barely went. After my first class at Revolution about a month ago I was hooked. The instructors are SO motivating and the atmosphere is amazing. Yay for spin class!


Bath & Body Works Candles | One of the best things about living in America is I can burn candles again. My candle collection is overflowing thanks to Bath & Body Works. Every time I step into this store there are at least 8 new candles on the selves I haven't tried. My favorites right now? Praline Pecan Cobbler and Amsterdam Tulips & Windmills (stereotypes smell good, okay?).

Smoothies | If you haven't noticed it is hot outside. Like, ridiculously HOT. I'm taking 102F/39C hot. My favorite way to cool down at the moment is to grab a smoothie. I still haven't mastered the art of creating my own delicious smoothie at home (I'm not the most skilled person in the kitchen) so I have found myself frequenting Jamba Juice this month.

LOVELY LINKS

+ Now until the end of August use the code AGOLDENSUMMER to receive 15% off all ads purchased on Of Golden Roses!

+ When bae asks if you can dance, aka the best video I've come across this month by far. 

+ I'm so thrilled with the support the ss Great Britain is getting for its new attraction. If you don't know what the ss Great Britain is, it's an living history attraction that I had the pleasure of working for while living in Bristol. 

+ Shout out to Elle who has been posting some dream worthy travel posts this month! 

What are some of your favorites this month??

Happy Thursday!

xoxo

MONTLY LOVE | APRIL

THINGS I'M LOVING

National Geographic History Magazine | I miss the days of living in Bristol, the public history media capital of the UK, where I had unlimited choices of history reading material. I'm not one to pick up a magazine with any sort of celebrity on the cover (unless it's Emma Watson) and history magazines are so hard to come by here in the states. So when I was grocery shopping earlier this month I was shocked to see a National Geographic History magazine. The first ever issue happened to be this month, and I have to say the content is outstanding.

Kate Spade | Since moving back to Houston I've been really loving decorating my home office. Blogging is such a big part of my life and having a beautiful space to write is key for inspiration. That's where Kate Spade comes in. From agendas to stationary, Kate Spade has been my go to brand for beautiful office materials.

Fall Out Boy | Everybody went through a punk/rock phase. Mine was when I was 13, and my obsession was Fall Out Boy. I had seen them in concert twice before, but when I heard they were coming to the rodeo last month I just HAD to go. After seeing them live again I immediately downloaded their new album. American Beauty/American Psycho brings out the teen in me and I love it. If you are looking for something new to listen to, I highly recommend it. 

Audio Books | As I have mentioned before, my only new years resolution for 2015 is to read 50 books. While I am a major fan of traditional paper books (I need to get on board with Kindle, my bookshelf is overflowing) I downloaded my first audio book this month to listen to in my car during my hour long commute to and from work. Let me just tell you, audio books are way more entertaining than listening to the radio.

LOVELY LINKS

+ This month the lovely Van from Snow in Tromso stopped by to share with you life in Scandinavia, which you can read here. I've been reading her blog for ages and I was so happy to have her on my sidebar this month!

+ My friend Bobbi, a fellow sorority sister and American living in Bristol, did publicity for a hilarious Youtube mini series called Supreme Tweeter. Each episode is only about 7 minutes long so if you have a few minutes to spare check it out here!

+ I'm so happy with the results of my 2015 reader survey! Check out everything I learned here. 

BLOGS I LOVE: EXPATS IN EUROPE
Unlocking Kiki 
Relokate
The Overseas Escape 
Snow in Tromso 

Eat, See, Do 
Gunters Abroad

MONTHLY LOVE | MARCH

I can't believe how quickly 2015 is going by! So many things have happened this month, but I'm going to fill you in on my biggest life update… I GOT A JOB! After moving back to the states I frantically applied for every job under the sun. Finally, after a month and a half of applications and interviews I can finally say I am employed. I know I don't want to stay in Houston permanently and it's not in the field I imagined for myself (I have two history degrees, how did I end up in the medical field???) but I'm happy to be back in the city I grew up in at the beginning of my career. I won't indulge much of my work life on the blog as I don't want to mix my hobby with my professional career, however I will say I almost fainted on the first day! Apparently I'm the kind of person who will faint at the sight of blood, who knew! But enough about that, here are the things I'm loving this month!

THINGS I'M LOVING

Future Weekend Trips | Gone are the days of my day-cations around England. I miss hopping on a train and going somewhere new. However my love of travel doesn't have to end now that I'm stateside. Up coming weekend trips include Nashville and New Orleans!

Pretty Little Liars | I used to watch PLL years ago, however I stopped keeping up with it halfway through season 3. I started rewatching it again when I moved back to Houston and I'm obsesssssssssed.

Seafood | Shrimp, oysters, crab, crawfish. You name it, I've been eating it this month. Gulf coast seafood is the best.

Running | During my unemployed month I knew I needed something to do to keep me busy. So I began running. I've never really run before and to be honest it feels great! I love seeing myself improve and would love to run a marathon (one day in the very faraway distance).

Maxi Dresses | Having lived in the UK up until fairly recently, my summer wardrobe is practically nonexistent. This past month of amazing Texas weather has only proved to me that this summer is going to be brutally hot. My new favorite warm weather clothing? Maxi dresses. I'm obsessed. The only problem is finding dresses for my height (being 5'1 makes it impossible to shop)!

Weddings | A couple of weeks ago I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friends wedding! I'm super excited and can't wait to be a part of her special day!

LOVELY LINKS

+ Have you taken my reader survey? I'll be closing it on Friday, so if you haven't done it yet pleaseeeeee do! Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me by taking it, the results are really helping me understand YOU, my readers! :)

+ Of Golden Roses is now offering Sponsorships! Make sure to check out all the details if you're interested!

+ Catch up on all my Edinburgh posts! What a wonderful city.
+ The rodeo is a very Texan thing to do, so let me introduce you to a quick guide to Rodeo Houston!

BLOGS I LOVE: EXPATS IN THE UK

+ Rhyme & Ribbons

+ Chicadeedee

+ Found Love, Now What?

+ Team Starnes

Missed February? Catch up with my February favorites here!

What are some things you're loving this month?
xoxo

A September Catch Up!

As September ends and my favorite month begins, I thought it'd be the perfect time to introduce a new post series: Monthly Catch Ups! Monthly Catch Ups will be a summary of my month and what's on my mind! I still haven't figured out exactly how I want to format these, but things will fall into place as I write more and more of these posts!

Travel | Although I have spent plenty of time exploring the UK, I haven't spent any time on mainland Europe since moving to England a year ago! The summer before I moved here I got a full time job specifically to save for traveling. My masters took up a lot of time, but now that it's over I need to plan trips to the continent. Any suggestions for a good place to do a solo weekend?

Dissertation | I officially handed in my dissertation the first week of September! My finished title: The Great State Occasions of Henry VII. Although my dissertation was a LOT of work, I had fun researching Henry's state occasions. A lot of work went into each event to produce Tudor propaganda, and it made me appreciate Henry's attention to detail so much more!

Work | Since the finish of my masters, I've been able to work more hours. Currently, I'm working four days a week, and although I love my job, it doesn't qualify for a work visa. So, I'm currently on the hunt for a full time job that will allow me to stay in England past January!

Reading | I've been book crazy lately. I'm not sure if it's a side effect of finishing a masters, or the lack of wifi access I have in my new flat. Regardless, I have read some great (and not so great) books lately. To keep up to date with my reading list, friend me on Goodreads!

Autumn | Summer is officially over! Fall (or Autumn as J likes to correct me) is my favorite season, of the year! Pumpkin flavored everything, vanilla scented candles, scarves, and Halloween are some of my favorite things! I've pulled out all of my sweaters and I'm ready to cozy up under the duvet with a good book every night.

Happy Saturday!

xoxo