Ten Race Day Tips from a Daytona 500 Newbie

This weekend, Mike finally got his Christmas present!  In December, I surprised him with Daytona 500 tickets, which was our first race ever.  We loved the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, so I figured it'd be fun to check another major sporting event off our bucket list.  We drove down to Ponte Vedra Beach on Friday night and played golf with friends on Saturday.  Sidenote: if you are in the Ponte Vedra/Jax Beach area, we found THE BEST Mexican street food spot: Cantina Louie - check it out!  We decided to stay over in Ponte Vedra on Saturday night instead of a way over priced Daytona motel and drive to Daytona Beach first thing Sunday morning.  We spent the whole day there and got back to Charleston around midnight.  It was awesome experience, and before we went down, we got tons ideas for when to go/where to park/what to do from everyone we knew, so I thought I'd shared the best ones and what I learned with y'all today.

Tip 1 - Get your tickets early: I bought my tickets in September, and some of the best seats were already sold out.  Contrary to other sporting events, you want to sit as far away from the action as possible at Daytona.  From the top of the stands, you get a view of the whole track, whereas, right in front, you only get a view of the cars right in front of you.  We sat even with the entrance to pit road, and it was a great spot to see all the garages, too.

Tip 2 - Splurge for Fanzone wristbands: When I bought the tickets for Mike, I just bought our seats, and he made some add-ons later, including in-field UNOH Fanzone wristbands.  I was so impressed with how fan-friendly the whole day was.  We signed the start/finish line, watched the cars get ready in the garage, and even walked up and down pit road.

We had fun chatting it up with Kyle Larson's pit crew - thanks for the souvenirs, guys!

Tip 3 - What to wear: Dress comfortable, bring layers (it can be colder than you think under the stands), and wear closed-toed shoes.  Click here to check out a full post on what I wore.

Tip 4 - Pack your cooler: Public service announcement: NASCAR races are BYOB.  You're welcome.  They let you bring in a soft-sided 14x14x14 cooler, so we carried in a 12-pack, a few bottles of water, and a bunch of snacks.

Tip 5 - Bring a backpack: In addition to a cooler, each person can bring in a backpack that's no more than 17 inches long.  Stuff it with binoculars, sharpies (to sign the start/finish line), ear plugs, ponchos (umbrellas aren't allowed).

Tip 6 - Get there early and pay to park: Now you've packed and you're ready to get to the raceway!  Morning of the 500, the gates opened at 8am.  Everyone told us that it gets packed, so we arrived at 7:30.  We were shocked to be one of very few people there.  We got off 95 at the raceway, drove past it with no traffic, and parked at a restaurant just after it.  I've heard that the free parking can be chaotic, plus you need a bus to get back to the stadium, so we opted to spend $40 and walk right in.  We were so glad we chose this option afterwards when we zipped right out when the race was over.

Tip 7 - Rent a scanner and headset: Mike pre-purchased our rentals (each scanner comes with a noise-cancelling headset, and we rented one additional headset) and saved $20.  There are rentals spots set up all over to present your voucher, and it was really cool to listen to the drivers and their spotters throughout the race.

Tip 8 - It's not just about the race: Like I said, we got there early.  Like, we went right up to our seats at 8am and were the only people in our section.  We dropped our cooler and headed right to the Fanzone.  I would highly suggest getting there early like we did.  We had the best viewing of the mechanics working on the cars, the pre-race events with Gronk, LT, and Owen Wilson and sat right on the track for the Lady Antebellum show and drivers' parade.  There's also a ton of do outside the stadium, in the Midway area, and you can even exit and re-enter the stadium as much as you want to take advantage of everything.  My favorite "extra" was definitely the Thunderbirds flyover right before the start!

Pole winner, Chase Elliott and Mario Andretti

Tip 9 - Reapply Sunscreen: The race began at 2pm, and by that time, we had been in the sun for 8 hours.  I brought two bottles of sunscreen in my backpack, and we probably used a whole one throughout the race.  You get extra sun from all the metal reflecting in the stands, so don't forget the 'screen!

Tip 10 - Stay until the end: Traffic might stink - it's a sporting event with 101,500 people, but please, please don't think about skipping the last few laps!!  If you take advantage of tip 6, it won't be that difficult to leave.  Drive East on International Speedway Boulevard to Route One, and you can easily connect back with 95.

Well, that's it!  Like I said, we had the best time.  I knew that I was going to have fun, but I couldn't believe how into it I was.  Those cars rushing by are exciting, and especially listening to the drivers and their spotters on the scanner, you can see how much goes into one race.  While the Daytona 500 was probably a once-in-a-lifetime, we look forward to another NASCAR race, hopefully in Charlotte or Darlington, in the future.

Ten Life Goals Before Thirty

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CentrumFunFlavors #CollectiveBias

As we approach the end of the year, it's time to start thinking about New Year's Resolutions.  I told myself that unlike last year, I would start them before the new year.  On a grander scale this year, I'm starting to think about the big 3-0.  It's less than two years away, and while I want to make sure I'm enjoying my "youth," I also want to know that I'm prepared for whatever life might throw at me.  I've come up with ten goals for myself that I think will resonate with my fellow millennials:

1 ||| Create a daily health routine: Not only is it important to have your doctors and go to check-ups annually, but you also want to create a practice to stay healthy at home.  Beginning every morning with a healthy breakfast and multivitamin is a great place to start.  Centrum® MultiGummies® is a great-tasting, easy-to-take multivitamin supplement.  These multi-benefit multivitamins include 100% or more of essential nutrients, Vitamins B12, D, and E.  Centrum® MultiGummies® makes it easy for me to support my health while enjoying my busy lifestyle.*

You can purchase Centrum® MultiGummies® and everything else to stay healthy at Walmart!

2 ||| Stay active: Go for a walk or bike ride after work, or if you're looking for something more social, many cities have running clubs or young professional intramural leagues for sports like kickball, dodgeball, or softball.  I love playing on a team each week because it keeps me accountable and builds it into my schedule.

3 ||| Save each month: Instead of stopping at the coffee house every morning, make a cup of coffee before you go.  Put that money into savings and create a savings account.  Make sure you have at least 6 months of rent, bills, etc. saved up in case something ever were to happen and you couldn't work.

4 ||| Get a credit card: Start building credit, if you haven't already.  Make a few purchases on the card, but make sure you can pay it off each month.  This will show future lenders that you're responsible and reliable when you're ready to make that big home or car purchase.

5 ||| Own something: Either purchase something that you can make payments on to further improve your credit or buy it outright to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility.

6 ||| Travel: This might feel like it goes against the last three, but this one is important, too.  Life will never be the same after your 20s, so make sure you take advantage.  Once you're saved enough for an emergency stash, keep saving to enjoy a vacation or weekend getaway.

7 ||| Learn to cook: Even if it's just basic recipes, know your way around the kitchen.  This will also help you save money each month; cooking is much less expensive than ordering take-out or eating at a restaurant every night.

8 ||| Volunteer your time: Find an organization that aligns well with your beliefs and spend time helping.  Whether it's helping kids, animals, women, the environment, or the arts, find something that resonates with you.  Since we are all trying to save money, a donation might not be possible, but hours volunteering are always appreciated.

9 ||| Keep in touch: Find your mom's old address book and make sure you save everyone's phone numbers and addresses.  Send Christmas cards, call on birthdays, and make time just to say hello.

10 ||| Learn who you are: What do you value?  Who are you when no one is looking?  How do you handle a situation when you come face-to-face with success of failure?  Know who you are, create the best possible you, and appreciate yourself.

All of my millennial friends, what goals do you have for yourself over the next few years?  If one of them includes staying healthy, you can download Centrum® coupons by clicking here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

My take on Valentine's Day

Recently I have seen countless statements on Facebook like, "I hate Valentine's Day" or "Don't celebrate Valentine's Day because it's just an excuse for women to expect more and men to give more than they can afford."  I feel like, since this election, Facebook has become CRAZY.  If people aren't bashing some topic/holiday/candidate, they are bashing the people who are bashing those things [which isn't any better].  Oy vay.  It really got me thinking about my own feelings on Valentine's Day.

I can honestly say the only reason I still have a Facebook is to keep in touch with a few people from high school and college with whom I otherwise wouldn't communicate.  I personally, don't share too much on Facebook anymore.  The photos that used to go up on Facebook the day after an event or party are now posted here.  I now realize that one of the reasons I loved putting up photos on FB was to remember everything, but now that I can do that here with more text to actually explain them, I enjoy it much more.

Okay, now back to my initial rant.  If you do not agree with what I am about to say, I'm sorry you wasted your time reading this, but this is how I feel:

I think that Valentine's Day, at its simplest form, is a beautiful holiday.  Yes, I know, card and candy companies have exploited it, but I'm just talking about two people or a family having a day just to say 'I love you.'  I love sending little Valentines to people in my life, and I love receiving them.  It just makes you feel good and that someone is thinking about you.

Now onto my little family.  Mike and I don't lead extravagant lives, we lead busy lives.  He owns a house [a fixer-upper at that], we work crazy hours, and in our spare time we are either cooking, cleaning, fixing, painting, or making something.  When we need to relax, we sit in front of the tv, cuddle, and watch How I Met Your Mother or 30 Rock together.  We also live with three other people.  We spend just about as much time with them as we do with each other.  [Don't get me wrong, I LOVE our living situation at this stage in my life, it's so fun to always have someone to hang out with.]  The only times Mike and I go out to dinner [just us] are when I see a new Olive Garden commercial on tv or when one of our sets of parents take us out.  Even for Christmas presents, we bought each other boots, jackets, and hats.  We don't buy too many "nice" things.  He does come home with flowers for me every once in a while, and I can say that means more to me than any Valentine's Day flowers.  Okay, now don't get the wrong idea, we are very close and love each other very much.  We are just practical.  We enjoy doing all of these things together, and this is the lifestyle we love leading.

So what all of that means to us is that Valentine's Day is one of the two days of the year when we actually "splurge" on each other.  [In case you were wondering, our anniversary is the other one.]  Even if it doesn't happen actually on Valentine's Day [sometimes we plan a dinner the night after when restaurants are less busy if we forget to make a reservation], we make a reservation, get dressed up, and really enjoy each other's company.  We write each other long, beautiful cards, and might buy a little some impractical, just because.  Usually it's something we know the other person has wanted but would never spend the money on.  Last year, Mike bought me a charm for my Pandora bracelet.

For us, while we do enjoy getting each other something special that we normally wouldn't, Valentine's Day is more about stopping our crazy lifestyles for a day and actually taking time to be together.

I know that there are some crazy people out there that insist on getting a million things like jewelry, flowers, and candy for Valentine's Day, and I think they are silly.  On the other hand, those people who write off Valentine's Day completely, seem equally as silly for not embracing a holiday that, at it's core, should be about love.  Maybe they have enough time otherwise to spend with the person they love and they don't need one day to spend together, but for us, who seem to be constantly running in a million different directions, Valentine's Day is a great day to just be in love.

Oh, and of course it's an amazing excuse to bake. [These were my cupcakes from last year.]

Amd the lovely orchid Mike bought me last year for Valentine's.

Skin Frustrations

I've had acne for around 15 years.  When I was 10, I remember being the only kid with "zits."  I was lucky enough to never have out-of-control acne, but it has always been a constant battle for me.  I've tried EVERYTHING: Proactiv, Murad, Differin, Tazorac, Retin-A, anything and everything Clean and Clear, some pill that would have made my skin blue if I stayed on it any longer (??), yeah, everything.  As a 24 year-old, I've finally accepted my skin as it is, I've given up on make-up [and I think that actually might be helping it heal a bit].  I can actually count the number of times on one hand that I've worn make-up in the past year.  Is that weird?  

[I know this article/idea was supposed to be inspirational, but not going to lie, this article made me feel a little bad about myself.]

I've decided that what matters to me, now, is having clean-feeling skin.  Now here's my next problem.  I have also tried everything for that!  I have pretty dry skin, but it also gets oily throughout the day.  I like cleansers with scrubbing beads because they actually feel like they work, but they leave my skin so dry.  On the other hand, cleansers like this one I raved about back in April [we all make mistakes, right?], just leave my face still feeling oily.  

Over the last ten months, here is everything I've tried.  I'm currently using the CVS Deep Action cleanser in the middle.  The ones on the left I've used leave my skin crazy dry, and the ones on the right just don't feel like they do too much.  I've only been using Deep Action for a week or so now, so I can't be totally sure how I feel about it, but I do like the minty-fresh feeling it gives when it sits on my face for 30 seconds or so.

Only reason I've kept all of these is because I feel bad throwing things away that are half-full.

Because my skin has been so across-the-map lately, I found this wonderful lotion that I've been using for a few months.  It seems to balance out my skin well, whether it's feeling dry or oily.  As you can see, I really like store brand products, mostly because not much has worked for me, so I don't like spending money on products about which I'm skeptical.

This was a pretty personal post for me.  It feels good to get something off my chest that I've been struggling with for almost 15 years.  This is really why I love blogging - I can write out my feelings instead of keeping them bottled up, but I can also ask for help!

Do you have any face cleansers or remedies that just leave your face feeling great?  If so, please share!

Buttons, buttons everywhere!

On Friday I decided to sponsor Allie for the month.  I've never sponsored anyone before, so I thought I needed a new button to go along with it.  The photo in my old button is from when I studied abroad in France three years ago, and it was my first attempt at anything.  I decided a change would be fun.  So, here it is - if you are interested :)

old:

and new:

<div align="center"><a href="http://myborrowedheaven.blogspot.com/" title="borrowed heaven"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhP47FAKesUYYau9eZnSXXOixHJmZ7ci7X7WwkowGGVXR78bU7v2_sUxqCUCwf3Klu909_xFkHux0BfyWREribx8AWSCq3awMlcvcoRhN-xkzYwkPsxx-BTbozqBZTCaCDttD-_qurpLAi/s200/borrowed+heaven+button+%282%29+%28200x198%29.jpg" alt="borrowed heaven" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 Button-making was the worst-ever part of blogging when I finally decided to make my blog public.  LUCKILY, boyfriend is a software developer and studied computer science in college aka he's awesome at this stuff.  He was the BIGGEST HELP EVER and stored my photo for me while I had no idea how to do anything.  Now that [since I used up all of my photo space on Blogger and] I started storing my photos on G+ to put them on my blog [ask if you have questions about circumventing that problem] I know how to [sorta] make my own.

ALSO, my first time around I used Picnik - RIP Picnik.  You were amazing.

Most importantly, however, was this tutorial.  DP is a savior and has helped me a lot.

Basically, you don't want to know how I actually made my new button, but it involved not wanting to pay for photo editing, Microsoft word, screen shots, and a lot of guess-and-check.

Moral of the story, [more inspired after reading Cassidy's post about little bloggers], I want to help little bloggers.  You want a button?  Well, I'm here to help!  I'm not promising it'll be fancy, but it'll link to your blog!  And come on, for free, how can you go wrong??  Even if you want to try DP's tutorial for yourself and have questions, let me know!  

manicures or polish?

Another scheduled post... I got this manicure before going to Florida, and it really got me thinking - am I wasting my money?

I've been getting weekly manicures... well almost weekly... since the summer.  And now, after getting almost every manicure color under the sun, I'm trying to figure out - is it worth it?  With tip, I spend $16 each time I get a manicure.  One of the major reasons I love it, is because most of time I go with my roommate.  We are the only two girls in our house and we love our "girl time" away from the normal football, beer, and yelling haha.  Alright, here we go - tell me what you think.

Pros and Cons of Manicures:

Pros:

- time to relax

- they're way better at painting my nails than me

- that lovely hand wax

- the hand and back massages

- girl time with my roommate

- freedom of choosing any color of the rainbow each week

- if I don't go each week, I'm too lazy to take off my polish and my nails look awful

Cons:

- doesn't last more than a week

- I only get to use each polish color once

- each week costs double of what one bottle of OPI polish would cost

Do you get manicures? What do you think I should do?

my tips for christmas shopping year-round

i thought of this post because [in my book] it's officially christmas music season!  that season starts on veteran's day and in case you were wondering, christmas decorating season begins the day after thanksgiving.  oh, you cannot imagine how happy i am that thanksgiving falls so early this year!  mike and i are going on vacation starting december 1st, so luckily we have over a week to get our house decorated before we leave.

so, here are a few of my favorite tips for shopping and how i built the collection of gifts i talked about a few days ago.  

1. groupon and living social are the best.  look for deals to online stores as well as in groupon goods/the living social shop.  so far this year, i have bought half off gifts to kingofPOP.com and the body shop with which i plan to buy some fun gifts.

2. have gift cards for stores you don't go to often? turn them into presents.  for example: every year i get tons of dunkin donuts gift cards from parents.  there is no way i can use them all - so i go to dunkin and buy coffee, mugs, and trinkets to make my own gift baskets.

3. subscribe to your favorite online stores.  usually when you buy something, the store asks if you want to receive future emails.  if it's a store i might shop from in the future, then i subscribe.  the benefit is that you know about all of the best deals/sales first.

4. cafe press is a really cool place.  i do a lot of my shopping there.  they have every tv show, movie, or fun logo you can imagine.  i've shopped for gilmore girls and how i met your mother gifts in the past.  it's not just tee shirts; i love their canvas bags, beer steins, shot glasses, coasters, posters, ornaments, phone cases - you can find almost anything.  THE BEST way to shop there is with the funday flash sale.  sign up for their weekly updates and get an email every sunday around 8:30 with a special good through midnight.  last week was buy 1 get 1 on all drinkware.

5. use ship-to-store.  tons of online stores have it for free.  i've used it for payless and walmart recently.  i really enjoy not having to pay an extra fee while also having the convenience of shopping at home.

6. buy a few generic gifts.  if i see a really good sale, i'll buy a couple.  i have a stash of extra presents for yankee swaps, hard-to-shop-for people, or that unexpected gift-giver.  [this works well for groupon/living social too.]

7. scope out presents online then buy them in the store.  for places that won't ship to the store for free, look around online for what you want, make a list, and go into the store knowing what you want to buy. it cuts down on a lot of excessive and impulse purchases!

8. take notes! be observant.  when you go shopping with someone, notice what they gravitate to.  even if you can't afford that item, write it down.  it might go on sale or you might be able to find a similar one for a reasonable price.

9. dollar stores are great for cards, gift wrapping, and stocking stuffers.  all of their cards are 2 for $1, they have tons of gift bags/boxes, and they have so many stocking ideas: kitchen utensils, candy, holiday trinkets, and more!  [only thing to beware of is wrapping paper: look at the dimensions, it might actually be a better value to go to a bigger store and buy a huge roll rather than buying a few small roles.]

10. it's not about the money.  set a budget.  don't feel like you need to spend $100 on anyone to make an impact.  gift-giving is best when the person knows that you took the time to listen/know what they enjoy and act on it.

tips for vacation planning

happy halloween!  i will be sharing more about my halloween tomorrow [since it hasn't happened yet!].

i am so excited to be going on vacation with mike a month from tomorrow.  i have been a traveler my whole life.  i am an only child and my parents were both teachers so we shared vacations.  i was incredibly lucky that my parents would take me on trips every year during february and april vacations as well as in the summer.  they taught me how to be a prepared, quick, economical, and fun traveler.

here are some of the most important tips i have learned over the years:

1. booking your airfare: don't book on the first day you're planning your trip.  [if you can,] spend a week or two looking at prices to find the best one.  expedia, orbitz, and kayak are great and definitely use all of them.  however, they don't necessarily have every airline.  for example, always check southwest separately because they do not appear on any of those other websites.  

2. if you are taking time off from work or don't have to travel around school vacations, fly on weekdays.  it is usually much cheaper to come and go during the week.  

3. rental cars, on the other hand, can be booked up to the day you leave.  usually there isn't a fee to reserve a rental car, unlike airfare, and they can be easily cancelled. if you think you find a good rate, book it!  then keep looking for better rates.  you can never have too many reservations!

4. if you're traveling in the winter and need to make a connection, avoid changing planes in a cold place.  for example, from new england, i never fly to chicago or detriot for a layover.  i look for a southern hub like atlanta.  i don't want to worry about snow in more than one place.

5. use tripadvisor - with a grain of salt.  it can be a great resource to find reviews and average prices for hotels, but think about it: would you ever really write a review if you had a great experience at a hotel? probably not.  sometimes you will find more negative than positive reviews.  look at what the complaints are before you judge based solely on the 1-5 rating.  if i have no idea where i'm going, i usually like to go with a hotel referred by a friend or family member or a well-known chain like a hampton inn, courtyard, or ritz-carlton.  

6. think about using priceline to combine airfare and hotel.  a couple summers ago, mike and i stayed 7 nights at a beautiful hotel and flew across the country for $700 a person.  

7. in your checked baggage bring: toiletries to save money [but bring half-used toothpaste, small bottles of shampoo, and things you can throw away at the end of the trip to make room for the trip back], plastic bags for dirty clothes, and a separate beach bag for day trips.  lay out clothes in outfits by day so you don't bring way too many clothes.

8. pack an outfit or two for the climate you're traveling to in your carry-on bag.  in case you happen to lose your bag in transition, you won't have to spend tons of money on all new clothes.

9. buy a baggage scale for checked baggage.  $5 or $10 will save you a whole bunch of worry on the way to the airport. bring it with you, too, so you can make sure not to pack too many souvenirs!

10. search groupon and living social starting a couple months in advance for the city/area you're traveling to.  if you've been there before, look for restaurants and activities you might already be planning to go to, and if you have not, go to tripadvisor [idea #4] and check out some places you see groupons for.  it can definitely save you some money you were already planning to spend.

11. call and see if there is a refrigerator in your hotel.  if there is, think about making breakfast in your room or stocking lunch meats to make sandwiches for lunch.  that way you'll save a little money or be able to spend more money on dinners.  [i, personally, enjoy dinners out the most.] 

12. planning ahead vs over-booking: it's a good idea to have ideas for adventures, activities, and dinners, but it is a vacation so rigid schedules are unnecessary.  

if you notice, there aren't many tips for while you're there.  if you follow all of these suggestions, you will simply be able to enjoy your vacation while you're there.  

some of my favorite vacation moments with mike... 

san francisco

new york and disney world