itsAlyx: sunset

Happy Friday, everyone!
Wow, it feels like it's been forever since I've done a Favorite Things Friday post, but here I am, on a Friday, with a post all ready to go! Be amazed.

1. Midwestern sunsets. You can hate on the hills and prairies all you want, but I promise that the midwest has some of the best sunsets I have ever seen. Hands down.

2. White Collar. Holy balls. I LOVE this show. And no, it is not only because Neal Caffrey (aka Matt Bomer) is dead freaking sexy. It's an interesting show with a great story. But... just for you, here is a picture of Mr. Sexy-face himself. And no, I don't care about that stupid 50 shades of gray book, so don't comment about how he'd make the perfect guy character.

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3. Finding old pictures of me strangling my cat. Mike got his iPhone fixed and we went through pictures and found this gem. It looks like I'm strangling my cat, but I promise I wasn't. He liked the cuddles.

4. Fresh salads. This one has a raspberry vinaigrette and poppyseed dressing, grilled chicken, strawberries, craisins, lettuce, and feta cheese. So. Good.

5. Awesome blogs. I love awesome blogs. And I have a bunch over there on my sidebar. I want to introduce you to some today! Of course I give you a little bit of background info on each blog (written by myself).

I found Alex's blog when we were both living in Germany, and have read it ever since! She's awesome, and I'm really sad that I didn't get to meet her while I lived there. She just got back from a trip to Turkey, and it looks like it was such a blast!

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I've been following Ashley at her blog After Nine to Five for a loonnnng time, so I was really excited when she told me she and her husband were starting a blog. They do all sorts of fun features, and I love their "Things I'm Grateful for Friday."

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I found Lori's blog a few months ago, and am so glad I did! She lives in Georgia, and I'm thinking she needs to do a vlog, because I really want to hear her accent. Anyway, she's absolutely adorable, has a great sense of style, and is such a sweetheart!

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Bri is awesome (just like her blog). She used to work for Nascar in North Carolina, but just made the move back to Texas. She has the most adorable dog (who likes to go for the occasional swim and sit by the pool while sipping margaritas - she's a posh puppy) and is such a sweetheart! I've loved getting to know her!

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What are some of your favorite things this week?

PS: IF YOUR NAME IS AMY M., You won the giveaway. Email me within 48 hours, or I'll have to pick a new winner.

Howdy friends!
Remember that one time that I decided on a whim that a huge bloggy gift exchange would be totally awesome? And that I would call this huge bloggy exchange Christmas in July? Well... I'm makin' it happen, and two awesome girls have offered to help me out. You can visit them here and here (and you can see their pretty faces in the picture below).

Anyway, I'm going to open up registration for this on Monday. There will be more details then, but until then, just know this:

It's a blogger gift exchange with a budget of $10-$20. Everyone is welcome to participate, and if you're international, you will be matched with someone on the same continent so as to reduce shipping costs.

So... make sure you come back on Monday to sign up! This is just a heads up to let you know that it will be happening!!

Moving on...

Once upon a time, I went to Ibiza, Spain and told you about a few of the things we did. I skipped a lot of other things, though, and I'd love to document them, so here's one of them.

Es Vedra

Es Vedra. Some say that it's right next to the tip of the lost city of Atlantis, jutting out of the ocean. Others say that it has spiritual powers. Even if neither of these things is true, it's still an amazing sight, one that is definitely worth the hike (which, by the way, is not long or difficult at all). Fun Fact: It's the 3rd most magnetic place on the face of the earth.

The 1st time we went to Es Vedra - Day 4 in Ibiza

We visited Es Vedra twice, both times at sunset. The first time would have been good, but it started to rain right before the sun started to set, so we missed out. We had heard such good things about this location at dusk, so decided to come back on our fifth day in Ibiza. We did not regret it - not one bit.