Celebrities are People, Too.

And just like that, I am done done done with the GRE and all the torturous preparation that has gone into it for the last four months. It’s been a rough road, and I’ll be the first to admit that I am the absolute worst at standardized tests, but I scored well enough to get into every grad program I’m going to be applying for! Let’s get real, I have a long way to go before acceptance anywhere, but it feels so good to have something checked off the list. 

In other news, for those of you who don't know, I'm currently a server at a restaurant in the "bar hopping district" (as I like to call it) of Tampa. I was working my usual Friday lunch shift and just as the rush was dying down, I was sat with another table, a cute couple. A damn good looking couple. I greeted them as I usually would, introduced myself, to which the guy replied, "HEY Sam, how's it going?" I gave him a second look and thought, "huh, he's good looking. I feel like I should know him or something. He's probably a baseball player. Huh. I don't know." I took their drink order and walked away.

"Would you know what Derek Jeter looked like if he were to walk in?" I asked my coworker.

"Yeah, he's sitting at your table."

OH OKAY.

[Disclaimer: not my photo.]

So yes, I did indeed know who he was. After discreetly texting Ryan to tell him the big news (he's a huge Yankees fan), I found out that I was also serving Hannah Davis. If you don't know who she is, plop yourself in front of the TV for a half hour or so and you're bound to come across the newest DirectTV commercials featuring a girl and her talking horse. Hint: she's the girl. 

"Pictures or it didn't happen," Ryan texted. HA! Despite the fact that I know I would absolutely lose my job if I broke that level of professionalism, I didn't even want to take a picture. I mean, let's be honest, of course I did. But at the end of the day, celebrities are just people trying to enjoy their lunch on a Friday afternoon. And better to be the girl who kept her cool than to be the girl screaming his name as he walked out the door to get a quick selfie. Seriously, that happened. So embarrassing.

And yes, he tipped very well and was extremely polite, as was she. And for a second, I didn't mind the fact that I was a server again. In fact, it felt pretty cool. 

Enjoy your Monday! Or at least try to. Come on, be nice to her. Monday deserves love, too.

It's tomorrow, it's tomorrow!

In just about 24 hours, I'll be sitting my happy ass down to take the GRE. It's crazy to think that it's already been three months since I quit my job to start studying for this test [mostly] full time. Some weeks I was more dedicated than others, but I'm hoping that the hours I've managed to put in thus far will pay off, and then I can have a real month of summer with zero worries before school starts back up at the end of August. Wishful thinking, right?

In other news, I finally finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, which marks a whopping 2/10 books read for my summer to-do list. But not to worry! I have until September until summer is officially over. Technically, I have until January if we're talking Florida summer. Anyway, I should have a review of Dark Places up some time next week. Up next: The Art of Racing in the Rain. I've heard phenomenal things about this book, and it's been sitting in my bookshelf for a hot minute, so I figure I'll give it a whirl.

Okay so basically there was no real point to this post. Truthfully, it's just a sad excuse for me to beg you to send me "good vibes," "good luck," "chocolate chip cookies," etc. in preparation for the test tomorrow. I know I can always take it again, but if I don't have to drop another $200 to do so, I won't really be upset about it. Touching on my post from earlier in the week, yet another way to save money: don't bomb the GRE. Okay, great.

Have a great weekend! Thankfully I'm heading to a friend's birthday dinner mere hours after the test, so you better believe that, win or lose, home girl will drink to that.

How to save TONS! of money each month.

July has hardly started and it's already been an expensive month. As the old saying goes, "life happens," and it's just been a busy couple of weeks going out to dinner with friends, picking up little knick knacks here and there for our future apartment, and planning my roommate's bachelorette festivities for next month. I've never been one to stick to a budget, but now that I'm all of 24 years old, I figured if not now, when? Thus, I came up with a few concrete ideas that I thought you all might be interested in. After all, who doesn't want to save a bit of cash? Read on and find out how to save tons (TONS!) of money each month:

Learn to hate alcohol. Specifically margaritas. Turn down any and all invitations to go out to dinner with friends because we all know it will only end in 48+ ounces worth of margaritas. And margaritas can get expensive, even on happy hour. In a nutshell, become allergic to margaritas and you will save money.

Don't have a car. Seriously, walk everywhere. This will help you lose weight too, and then you can cancel your gym membership and save even more money. If you live in Florida where it gets to be 100+ degrees in the summer, even better. The more you walk, the more you sweat, the more you lose weight, the more you don't spend $300 to replace spark plugs.

Stop being likable. If you're likable, you develop friendships, and if you develop friendships, those friends want to hang out with you. If you make friends with the right people, all they want to do is drink margaritas with you, and it all goes downhill from there. Review number one and repeat.

Find a nice hole in the ground and then live there. This will save you a lot of money on rent, and I'm pretty sure you don't have to take out a mortgage (double check on that for me). Now you won't even be remotely tempted to buy anything whilst strolling through Marshall's home section because you have no need for new bath towels. Because you don't have a bath.

...I literally just told you that I suck at budgeting, what makes you think I could provide you with a real list of ways to save money? You're silly. But for real. Any ideas on how to make a budget and stick to it?

5 Things to Consider During Your Apartment Hunt.

It's my favorite time of year again - apartment hunting time! Am I the only one who gets super pumped about looking for a new place to call home? If the real estate industry wasn't as unbearably saturated as it is (especially in Tampa), I probably would have considered it as a career path. But I digress - I just love apartment hunting!

It's been just over a year since I moved out of my parents house and into my first big-girl/non-student living apartment, and our time in said apartment will be coming to an end in early September. After careful thought and consideration, Ryan and I both feel ready to take the leap and move in together once my lease is up, so the last few weeks we started looking about our area of interest with real intent.

I don't really consider myself to be "Type A," but there's nothing I love more than a good list. As soon as we started getting serious about our search, I compiled a list of the complexes I want to visit into a color-coded Excel spreadsheet, complete with square footage, pricing, and pet deposit fees. Because if I don't, who will?

If you're hunting for your first apartment, or your tenth, here's a few things I try to keep in mind before signing my name on the dotted line:

one | Pricing. For most people, rent is a major component when it comes to selecting a place to live. Typically, you should spend no more than 30% of your take-home income on rent. Keep in mind, "rent" in this case actually means the total cost of rent, utilities, insurance, etc. So if you take home $40,000 a year, you should aim to spend $1,000 per month on rent and all of your utilities. Basically, have a price range in mind and stick to it.

two | Amenities. This could actually help you out in the pricing department. Does your potential apartment have a fitness center in the club house? Cancel your $30 per month gym membership and use your apartment's gym for free. One of the apartments Ryan and I were looking at had an iPad linked to a big screen TV with 50+ work out videos and necessary equipment. It was like having a computerized personal trainer.

three | Fees. I'm guilty of forgetting about new move-in fees when it comes to a fresh apartment. It could vary depending on where you live, but I know for us it'll cost about $250 just to turn on electric. Pet fees will throw you for a loop, too. Some apartments allow "deposits," aka where you get your money back at the end of your lease, but many require a fee, meaning a flat rate that you don't get back...ever. Bye bye, $400. Not to mention application fees, first and last month's rent up front, etc. Also important to ask: what's included in your rent? Water? Trash? Basic cable?

four | Safety. If the complex isn't gated, that's a deal breaker for me, but it might be different for you. As a woman (or just as a human being in general), feeling comfortable enough to walk my dog outside alone at night is a huge factor. If finding a place in a decent neighborhood means sticking to the top end of my budget, then so be it!

five | Parking. This is especially important if you're looking into renting a condo or town home. Many residences like these provide only one guest parking spot per tenant. No thank you! It wouldn't be a bad idea to ask about night time parking conditions, either. And again, this could fall into the safety category. If the closest/most convenient parking spots are going to be taken come 9 p.m., you should feel comfortable enough to walk across the complex without a safety concern.

If all goes according to plan, we should be signing a lease by the end of this week! So exciting. Do you have any deal breakers when it comes to looking for a new place to live? What in particular do you look for? Let me know in the comments!

Welcome, July!

July. July. JULY.

June was so good to me in every way. Good money at work, good(ish) progress with the GRE practice, good times with wonderful people, all topped off with a phenomenal birthday. I managed to check almost everything off my to-do list for the month: Einstein had his first session with a trainer, I started going to the gym more frequently, and I'm sitting my happy ass down to take a GRE practice test today.

July will be the month that I slay the GRE, the month Ryan and I decide where we're going to be living for the next year, the month my roommate's wedding related shenanigans begin. It will be the month that I pick up all the shifts because between bridal showers, bachelorette parties, moving, and school starting up, that extra cash flow is going to be so necessary. It makes my head hurt even thinking about it.

Much like June, however, I'm still planning on jam packing the month with fun stuff, along with brainstorming new content and trying to figure out how to really handle my Nikon (starting with photographing my roommate's bridal shower!). Oi. Can life slow down? I really need life to slow down.

Side note: any exciting plans for the 4th? I was one of the lucky few selected to be working on the slowest day of the year. CAN I GET A WOOP WOOP?