The Sunshine Fondation 🌞

Hey guys! This semester has it's up and down's. This was the first time I've ever participated in a program wile juggling my school work, so I wanted to let you guys in on what the Sunshine Foundation means to me. Sunshine foundation has a great mix of volunteers all over the U.S from Colorado, all the way to West Virginia, and Philadelphia. . They hold our volunteers truly close to our hearts so they provide volunteer luncheons, annual talent shows, and a day to get together and provide feed-back and more ideas for potential projects in the near sunny future. In the luncheons they provide food and story-telling time for the children and adults. They hold it once a year according to the location you are in. The talent shows are the most entertaining because it’s a great way to raise awareness and money for children who are chronicaly ill, or physically challenged. Students from Gwenedd Mercy get to show their hidden talents in front of the school, and it goes straight to dream-lift. This is a great evening for friends and family to come together and raise money for this special cause. they also provide a sunshine chapter seminar which is a day where our volunteers come together and spend the day sharing thoughts and ideas of different ways we can improve on our organization. Not only do we want families feed backs, but it’s most important to have the volunteer’s outlook on things as well. I joined Sunshine because I wanted to make a difference in these children's lives and truly reach out and do something about this cause.             

Argentina flavor

Over this past weekend I got together with my boyfriends family to cook some home made traditional Argentinian dishes. My boyfriend's mom was kind enough to let me in on some family recipes, and of course she helped me cook some up. Three dishes that I learned how to make were called Choripan, Empanadas, and Matambre arrolodo. Whats interesting about the first dish is that it is portrayed to be a street food in the Argentinian culture. In America we enjoy hot dogs before a big game, but in the Argentinian culture they enjoy Choripan before any soccer game. This popular "street food" is a fun dish that she likes to make for her children before a big soccer tournament, but she decided to bring them out now for the heck of it. It is basically a hoagie but on the inside it contains pork, beef, grilled sausage, topped with chimichrri. You can also add peppers, and caramelized onions to give it some spicy flavor. The next dish is my favorite dish which are the Empanadas. It is a very fast and a affordable meal to cook up. They are deep fried bread stuffed with jam or sweet potato paste. You can also dip them with sweet cinnamon. The last dish that I wanted to share with you guys is the matambre arrolodo. This meat is a tender thin beef stuffed with vegetables. This has got to be the best meat I have ever tried. Whats great about this beef is that it's easy to roll up, and you can eat it with almost any dish. Argentinian food is great for a perfect Sunday night dinner, just like I had mine with the Ramos family! 

Empanadas!

Surprise gift!

It is now April, and where did all the time go? Seems like yesterday it was Christmas Eve; how bitter sweet. This past weekend was my best friend Tara's birthday party where she had it at the Radison. It was really one of the best birthdays I've ever been to. I had such a great time hanging out with old friends and family. After the party me and her three friends went back to her house to hang out some more. Tara told us that she will be right back because she needed to go grab her charger from her car. When Tara came back I saw three big gift boxes with all three of our names on it. I was shocked to say the least because after all, it is her birthday, not ours. She hands us each gift individually and we could not resist to tear the boxes apart. As soon we opened it, it said on each of our  notes, "will you be my bridesmaid?!" All of us could't stop laughing and smiling, it was truly one of the nicest most shocking thing we did not see coming. I had no idea she was engaged, so it came to be a huge surprise. We all hugged her so tight, I think she probably lost circulation from the tightness of our grip. Afterwards she pulled me to the side and personally asked me if I could help her plan the wedding. I of course said I would help out as much as I can. I was truly honored to be asked that, and this role suits me perfectly because of my previous experience with helping my sister, and of course my passion for event planning. This has been the best night I had for a while and I'm so glad to not only be in my best friend's wedding, but to also be a part of her planning process! 

Guest Speaker 😀

So today in class we had a guest speaker come in and talk a little with us about his job and what it takes to actually work within the social media field. Not the type of social media that I post, or that you post once or twice a day, but really some deep routed stuff. His name is kwan Morrow, and he was an average guy who was just like me a couple of years ago who actually sat in the very same seat as I. He graduated from Penn State Abington with his bachelors in Corporate Communications and I already felt familiar with him and knew that he was once in the same boat as myself. He has a good business going for himself in digital relations that has a lot to do with the social media aspect of the class I am currently taking. He presented a slide show of different ways he engages with clients and how the importance of social media is much major than what it actually is. His team designs, and execute programs as a marketing tool for other websites. They also build relationships with their audiences and influence other marketers to join their team as they grow within the bushiness. To me, this was very interesting to learn. I think this is a great way to really get my hands dirty and take a deeper step into the social media world. As he was done his presentation he ended the class on a good note that he is willing to accept any interns that want a paid internship with his company. He left a couple of business cards out and I right away grabbed one. I think I will do some more research and maybe this can potentially be another internship for myself as I make my way into my senior year of college. 

Making progress 👆

Hey everyone. In previous blog posts I've been talking about getting my foot through the door with working in the fashion or event planning industry. Trying to figure this out on my own is stressful to say the least, but I have accomplished just that. With my job at blooming dales as a customer service professional in seasonal accessories I landed a little bit of an internship with my human resources here in the willow grove mall. Of course, this isn't exactly what I had in mind, but at this point in my life I'm super thrilled with landing this opportunity. In my internship I will be shadowing two great leaders in my store that have a lot of knowledge with the back end of the office. My job consists of filing new hires paper work, help setting up with the interviews, receiving and making phone calls with other big HR companies, and helping out with any of the customer service needed. I think what the best part about my internship is already knowing most of the policies because of my experience of working in the store. Sure, it's a short time that I've only been working here, but hopefully I can learn more as I continue to make progress, I'm excited to do more hands on things like setting up interviews for clients, as well as filing new clientele paper work. Hopefully, at the end of my internship I could potentially land a job within the HR company. I know this is just the beginning to my dream job journey!  

Food for thought... Greek edition!

Hey guys! Over the weekend I went to an amazing Greek restaurant called Zorbus for my fathers 54th. It was absolutely amazing, and I just wanted to share with you guys some of the dishes we tried. In my previous blogs I have mentioned dishes that I know how to cook and that I have some type of connection with. Greek food is new to me, so I really wanted to explore that world with you guys and let you in on some of the cool platters that caught my taste buds. The first dish we tried was an appetizer that was called, "Mediterranean falafel balls". This is definitely an appetizer that will get you full in the first bite because of how filling they are. I asked my waiter what they were made of and he explained they were made with dry chickpeas, also a tad bit of gorbanzo beans.They are also low fat and great to put in soup! With my main course I had soulvlaki which is a traditional Greek food. This dish is made with meats such as lamb and beef, topped off with some grilled vegetables. The best part about this dish is the warm crispy pita bread they serve it with. With the pita bread you can dip it in multiple sauces that include hummus, tahini, or skordalia which is my favorite sauce because it is made with garlic, and potatoes. Finally, my favorite part is here which is a desert I can't wait to share with you all; it's called baklava. This is the all-time popular Greek dish. Baklava is made with dough, layered with butter, and topped off with honey syrup. That was the first time ever I wanted seconds for desert, and usually I cant even eat desert to begin with. Thanks foodie lovers for reading, until next time with some more, fun, cool, authentic dishes. 

Soulvaki 

Falafel balls 

Americas next top WHO?

Hey guys! It feels like a life time since I've been on here, so my apologies for leaving you guys hanging. Spring break was nice and all, but now it's time for me to swing myself back into reality. I know that I've been blogging a lot about fashion and how it intertwines with my future career, but I really wanted to vent to you guys about my favorite show and who the winner of cycle 23 is. If you guys haven't watched (watch out because I will say a spoiler right now) India is the winner of America's Next Top Model! I have been rooting for this girl since day one. Her style, walk, fierce green eyes, and not to mention her steller personality declared her America's next top model. Through-out the season she was a total under dog, but what really grabbed my attention from India was her personality. The other women in the house were always nasty and giving (not constructive criticism) but very harsh comments that were down right rude. India melted the judges away and saw right through her as one of the most genuine contestants. Not only was she her own cheer leader, she always rooted for the other women in the house to do well. Also, her sense of style was drop dead rocker fabulous. It was sheek, sexy, and of course flirty. I think her style was unique and some of the girls envied that about India. This cycle had to be one of the most creative seasons because the whole panel was different, and Rita Ora took over Tyra Bank's position. Sorry if you haven't already seen it, please watch it! I know I ruined it for you by spoiling who the winner was, but please don't shy away from this season. Thanks guys!