Our Little Trip to Provincetown

Hello beautiful people!

As school begins, it is very easy to yearn for summer days past. It is especially easy when you enjoyed cute little trips to Cape Cod! For me, this was a quick long weekend away with Boyfriend and his family.

Boyfriend lives in Duxbury, MA, which (in theory) is a quick drive away from the Cape... you know, when the traffic is at a minimum. We managed to take at least three and a half hours to get to the tippity top of Cape Cod: AKA Provincetown!

Our first meal of the vacation was a totally healthy, totally gluten-friendly meal at Burger King. I took my chances on bagged apple slices and some french fries and faced a lucky day without a cross-contamination-caused stomach ache. Boyfriend's grandma even gave me her Scooby Doo kid's meal toy!

I managed to not take any photos of our resort/hotel/place, but it was super sweet that his mother invited me to join them; even if it was only on the pull-out couch. (We stayed at Eastwood at Provincetown. It was super cute!) It was a totally gratifying experience, and I had an awesome time bonding with his family.

We took the rest of our Saturday there to enjoy where we were staying! We sat in the hot tub for a record-breaking 15 minutes, relaxed, and Boyfriend taught me how to improve my phenomenal pool skills; and by phenomenal I mean I have basically rudimentary skills. I suck.

Day 2 of our trip was set for me and Boyfriend to explore Commercial Street on our own. Being just over a mile away from downtown, we were dropped off that morning and walked back several hours later. Commercial Street is like its very own culture, but we loved every second of it.

We ate an early lunch at The Tin Pan Alley, and they successfully fulfilled my craving for a lobster roll, sans the roll. Unfortunately, they did not have gluten free rolls, but I was able to get the lobster salad served on top of a garden salad. The combination was perfect.

Our day was cute and cheery, regardless of the little drizzle that came down on us, but nothing compared to our favorite find of the day: The Nut House. The woman who served us was the proud owner, and they made the most beautiful chocolate covered finds on one half of the store. They offered ice cream and gelato, gluten free whoopie pies, chocolate covered peanut butter concoctions and quite literally so much more.

White Chocolate Covered Bam Bam Bar

I bought myself the Fruity Pebbles version of a Rice Krispie Treat, covered in smooth, sweet white chocolate. It was so sweet I couldn't even finish it in one sitting! Boyfriend got himself a chocolate covered Ding Dong (which we were pretty sure was homemade), and he bought his mother and Nana a chocolate smothered cookie creation made of two peanut butter cookies, a marshmallow, chocolate all over, and Reese's Pieces on top. They were super grateful that we had thought of them.

As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed our midday dessert. We sat in quiet contentment on this bench for quite a few minutes, contemplating which fudge shop we would stop in, and where I would find the cheapest shot glass, (I buy a new shot glass every time I travel somewhere new). The cheap score of the day was when I found a Provincetown shot glass in a fudge shop along our endeavor to find the best looking fudge at the best prices!

We popped in and out of many shops, enjoying our surroundings. Before we managed our adventure home, we picked up a smoothie at Grab 'n' Go Health Bar. I am having massive regrets that I didn't go back to this place because it was awesome. They had a paleo wrap, (meaning it was gluten free!!), zucchini pesto noodles, acai smoothie bowls, and a bunch of different smoothie flavors. Although it is essentially the size of a shack, I was immediately in heaven upon entering this place.

The following day we had the best weather of the week! Boyfriend and I shot some pool and then quickly head out to the beach, which was also a nearby walk away. I finished City of Bones while tanning my back, and Boyfriend fell right to sleep in the hot sun... unfortunately for us, this meant that we both burned.

Boyfriend before he fell asleep and got his first ever sunburn (featuring City of Bones!!)

The water was toe-numbing-cold, so we didn't make it much farther than mid-calf before surrendering and running back up to our sand flea infested blanket. The tide was going out, and the nicest part about having a great book was that in the time it took me to finish the last 40 pages, and without observing my surroundings at all, the tide had gone out tremendously. Boyfriend and I took a nice stroll on the sand bank, and enjoyed a bit of relaxed alone time for the two of us.

Aren't we cute? This relaxing was definitely what we needed. Nana asked to bring us all to dinner later that night, so the four of us ate at The Lobster Pot and enjoyed a truly terrific meal. The Lobster Pot had a separate gluten free menu and they made it incredibly easy for me to find many options: something that is always nice and not always available. I felt very close to his family after this.

The next day we had to cut our trip short due to traveling difficulties, but to our dismay, the ferry to Plymouth had been canceled due to weather. We were forced to take a bus for the first time in my life. While it was not the worst experience of my life, I do not anticipate taking another bus for quite some time. Our bus to Hyannis ended up being about 45 minutes late on arrival, causing us to miss our bus from Hyannis to Plymouth. We had to wait for what felt like days in the tiny, rained in Hyannis bus station.

The two of us made the most of it, with him scrolling through his Facebook feed and me reading a short nook book, but by the time we arrived back to his house, some seven hours later, we were beyond ready for a proper sleep on a mattress where you couldn't feel the springs.

I look forward to the next vacation the two of us venture on next, because regardless of the few set backs we ran into, traveling with him was such a wonderful experience.

Next stop, Newport!

Abby

Book Review: The Edge of Never

Howdy ho, Ranger Joe!

...Don't ask me where that came from, I was just trying to come up with a creative hello. I'm back with another book review! Today's blog post is reviewing the book The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski. I had purchased this book on my Nook when it was at a discounted price, (that tends to be the reason why I buy books on my eReader in the first place. I am poor).

The Edge of Never cover found on GoodReads

First of all, can we talk about this cover? The girl looks very Dianna Agron circa 2010 and the way the word "Never" is written makes it look super intense. I'm very satisfied with the way this book looks. However, I was always told not to judge a book by its cover, so this was not the deciding factor for me on whether or not I was interested in reading this book.

I purchased and read The Edge of Never sometime in June because the summary really drew me in. The book is about a girl named Camryn who is not satisfied with the way her life is headed, so she hops on a bus to nowhere--literally. She bus hops with no particular destination in mind and meets Andrew, a guy who saves her from some bus-lurking creep. Yes, this is your typical boy meets uninterested girl and makes her fall in love with him even though neither of them are ready for love; or so they think.

Andrew shows Camryn what life could mean for her, being the voice that tells her she is in control; if she doesn't like where she is going, she has to do something about it. But of course, Andrew has this deep-dark secret that Camryn literally doesn't find out about until about 10 pages to the end, which puts a serious damper on their relationship.

Altogether, I think this was a very cliche story, but I loved every second of it. 10/10 recommend. Almost two months later and I still frequently find myself thinking of this book. Something about Camryn and Andrew's relationship actually felt very realistic to me, regardless of their "Mary Sue" meeting.

Quote found on bookishtemptations.com

As stated in my previous book review on The City of Bones, I have a weird thing about words. This means that sometimes, the way authors phrase things tends to freak me out. I have a pet peeve about calling your significant other "baby" and once Camryn and Andrew are together-together, that's all they refer to each other as. Gag. Suddenly everything out of their mouths sound cliche and fake, and far too staged. Yes, I realize that it's a book so it doesn't have to be realistic, but to me it's pretty shudder-worthy.

Quote found on meetville.com

This particular quote had resonated with me, (I even recall tweeting it out, because we all know a tweet holds the official words of the heart). I think that the morals Redmerski included in her book were spot-on. Camryn had to own up to the things that were happening in her life, but she also had to let go and accept that better things could happen for her.

While this may not be some of America's best literature, it was at least a great summer read. It was just light enough that I sped through it in a day, but it had a plot line that didn't make me want to roll my eyes every few pages.

I am very excited to read the sequel, The Edge of Always, but it is $5.99 on the Nook, which, okay, I understand is really not that expensive, but that is like six $0.99 books that I could have devoured! I know that eventually I'll buckle down and buy it, especially because something very exciting happens at the end of The Edge of Never, and I am excited to see where it goes in the sequel! I can only wait so long, you know.

Thanks for reading!

Abby

Colony Grill Gluten Free Pizza

Hey, hey friends!

Today on Blonde Girl Meets World, I'm going to be talking about one of my favorite southern Connecticut pizza franchises: Colony Grill. If you like thin-crust pizza, then this is your place. Colony has a few locations in southern Connecticut: Stamford, Fairfield, and Milford.

Regular, non-gluten-free hot oil pizza from Colony Grill

I recently have started a gluten free diet after struggling with stomach problems for a little bit over a year. Cutting out gluten has been the only solution to limit my chronic stomach pains, so as difficult as this transition has been, my digestive system has definitely thanked me for less discomfort.

On this gluten free adventure, I have slowly been taste testing my fair share of gluten free pizza. Some are really good... and others are barely edible. It kind of depends. One thing I have also noticed is that it may vary day to day. This has been an observation from my recent excursion to Colony Grill in Milford.

About a month ago my sister and her boyfriend took me there to taste test their gluten free pizza. With killer gluten-filled yumminess, I figured this would be my new favorite pizza joint, especially considering the extra $4.50 per pie. The pizza I was given was flaky and gross. I was highly disappointed, but dutifully ate my leftovers for breakfast and lunch the next day, hoping that overnight it may have improved. It didn't.

I left that experience with my head held pretty low. However, it is a tradition that I get a hot oil Colony pie for lunch on the day of the Oyster Festival in Milford every summer. This past weekend I found myself yearning to try their gluten free pizza again, if not only for the sake of tradition. I told myself I would suffer through too-thin, flaky pizza if it meant having the great flavors of the toppings that Colony always supplies.

After much salivation over the passing pizzas, I was finally given a thick-crusted gluten-free hot oil pizza. Did I actually just write the words thick-crusted in a Colony pizza blog?! Well, thick-crusted for a Colony pizza that is. My stomach thought before my brain did, and I dug into the beautiful pizza before I could photograph my tray. But my taste buds exploded into deep pleasure when I bit into this heavenly creation.

This was nothing like the last pizza I had had at Colony. It was slightly under-cooked, which I personally found to work best for the pie, and it did not flake on the bottom at all. This was like a totally different recipe than I had experienced a mere month ago. The crust was strangely sweet, but they totally pulled it off, and there was just enough hot oil on the pizza to add a phenomenal flavor to it.

Leftovers out of the refrigerator

I took back my leftovers and happily ate a slice for my dinner that night as well. As you can see, this pizza looks very similar to how a normal refrigerated pizza looks. It reheats pretty well for pizza when put in the toaster oven. When reheating pizza I create a make-shift tray from aluminum foil, since I can't put my pizza straight onto the rack like my family does with their evil, gluten-filled food products, (I'm only kidding, gluten, no hard feelings).

The next night I ate the last two slices, pictured above, but had a less than thrilling experience that time around. I am a pizza folder, and as soon as I tried to fold my reheated slices, they completely fell apart. I'm talking down the middle and side to side, it was a mess! Although I may have needed to reheat it a bit longer...

I will have to try Colony's gluten free for a third time to see what the common trend is, but  I may ask for the pie to be a bit under-cooked if that is the answer to my Colony woes.

Until next time!

Abby

Book Review: City of Bones

What's up beautiful earthlings?

It's your favorite teen blonde blogger coming at you with another review, but this time, I'm getting down and nerdy with you for a book review. I know I'm pretty late to jump on this band wagon, especially since a movie has been released and a TV show is in the making, but City of Bones is so good! How has nerdy, bibliophile Abby not read this whole series before?!

City of Bones cover from Amazon

I finally got myself to watch the movie about a month or so ago and I was hooked on their plot line, so I moseyed on down to my local Barnes and Noble and picked up a few books, this included. Had I realized how many books there were in the series (hello, stupid, the pictures are on the back), I probably would have just taken them out of the library, but what can you do. At least I'm absolutely enamored with the series, so it was not a total waste of money.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, I'll try to give my best brief summary. Clary Fray, a seemingly normal 15 year old, goes out one night to witness a man murdered; though nobody else seems to notice the act of violence. She has the Sight, though no one is sure why, and she is suddenly brought into the world of Shadowhunters: half-human half-angel who are essentially bad ass demon killers (like super hardcore Winchesters! No? Yea, that was a terrible reference).

In this book, the evil dude, a guy named Valentine, is in search of something called the Mortal Cup, and he thinks that Clary knows where it is. Clary's mother is kidnapped and Clary must ask for the help of the Shadowhunters, Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Hodge, to try and get her back. It's basically just an epic book with a bunch of epic battles and some twisted romances tossed in for good measures. Count me in!

I don't have much to complain about when it comes to this book. I found the slight comedy in Clare's writing style to be quite enjoyable. A friend and I were discussing her type of humor two nights ago, and she had a terrific point, (shout out to you, Ange!): While some of the writing is humorous in our minds, when portrayed in real life, such as in the movie, the lines seem cheesy and uncomfortable.

I am the type of reader that enjoys expanding my knowledge, and finding a fantastical YA book that does that is usually pretty difficult. Clare uses many words throughout the novel that I had to look up, but it was not so overwhelmingly used that I found myself not understanding her writing. I enjoyed learning through her choice of vocabulary.

I am currently on a book-buying ban (but not a $2.99 or less Nook book-buying ban!), so I will not be purchasing City of Glass, the sequel in The Mortal Instruments series until I finish the few books on my TBR list. This means, unfortunately, that I probably won't get around to reading it until December, as college is not usually filled with pleasure reading opportunities for me.

Until then, I will excitedly wait for the TV show Shadowhunters to premiere on ABC Family, and pray that I do not feel worn out from it as I do from PLL, (more on that in my previous post). I'm still trying to figure out how reviewing books on a blog works, so I hope this was a good start! Should I include quotes? Maybe take notes on my next book to point out specifics in what annoys me/what I enjoy/etc? I'll figure it out eventually.

Catch you next time!

Abby

Pretty Little Liars Mid-Season 6 Finale

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN A SPOILER OF THE SEASON 6 FINALE! I REPEAT: DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN A SPOILER! THIS HAS BEEN YOUR SPOILER ALERT!

Hi again!

This post goes out to my fellow Pretty Little Liars fans. First of all: am I the only one who is almost exhausted with the fact that it still won't end! Five years of A, fast-forward five years.... and still more A?!?! I mean really, what now!

So quick overall recap: CeCe Drake is Charlotte... who is Charles... so CeCe is Charles. Um what??

I read somewhere, (Facebook was teeming with PLL posts last week), that Marlene King has been planning this transgender secret since the end of Season 1, after CeCe Drake had already been cast, which explains why they did not cast an actual mtf transgender actress for the role, (which would have been awesome; think Laverne Cox but blonde and super dramatic).

I have no problem with this transgender twist whatsoever... except the fact that I'm not sure CeCe herself being A really makes sense consistently throughout the show. And this coming from a girl who binge-watched the seasons on Netflix earlier this summer to further grasp what I knew already.

I think what may be hardest for me to grasp is this whole CeCe being a DiLaurentis thing. I shudder and say "ew" almost every time I think about it. I mean, she dated her brother! Don't try and play that off as okay, Marlene, just because she and Jason never got down and did the dirty.

With Ali being so sneaky, wouldn't there have been some sort of hushed conversation between CeCe and Mrs. D that Ali would have overheard? Careful or not, this secret so would not have been kept for this many years. I'm also totally struggling with the fact that things would escalate from CeCe wanting a relationship with her clueless siblings to her psychotically abusing Ali and her friends. I mean, why no obsession with Jason? He'd make a pretty doll!

Moving on. One of my biggest pet peeves with this strangely addicting show is how these girls always trust outsiders to help them... and they always end up betrayed somehow, (except usually by the love interests). Mainly, I'm talking about Sara freakin' Harvey.

This chick ironically went "missing" on the same day that your liar friend did, and you don't find that at all suspicious? I mean, hello! She's been creepy since day one! You'd think these girls would be a better judge of character by now. Sara has been playing them since the beginning, which I guess leaves a lot of questions floating around.

Was Sara actually kidnapped? How did Sara and CeCe meet? How did CeCe convince Sara to do her dirty work for her? Is Emily seriously so hurt and desperate that she would fall for the weird chick they dug up from the doll house? Why did no one make sure Sara went into the A lair with them? WHO IS SARA HARVEY REALLY AND WHAT INTEREST DOES SHE HAVE IN HURTING FIVE GIRLS SHE NEVER KNEW BEFORE CECE?!

Overall, I found this explanation--that I have been waiting FIVE YEARS FOR--pretty disappointing. I feel like there are so many questions left unanswered. And with a five-year jump for the mid-season premiere, I'm not entirely sure if we're going to get the answers we so desperately need to hear.

On that note, I'll leave you with one final thought: What ever happened to the moms trapped in the DiLaurentis basement? Maybe someone should go let them out...

Talk to you guys soon!

Abby

Summer 2015 Makeup Haul!

Hi again!

I have been working on this blog post for about two weeks now, as makeup keeps getting delivered to me in chunks, and every time I plan to write more, I get more! So finally, here it is: my [End of] Summer Makeup Haul! I received five items from NYX, in these beautiful little lace bags. Unfortunately for me, these came in two shippings, as I oredered two of the new Liquid Suede lipsticks when they were apparently on back order. 

First of all, can we talk about how cute this packaging is? Black lace, yes please! Although I was upset to not see the first bag be slightly fuller, the excitement was still there. 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

NYX Retractable Lip Liner in Nude

NYX Retractable Eye Liner in Brown

Now, I have been interested in buying Milk since I first became interested in makeup, but my local target never had the color--to my knowledge, it is one of their more popular colors. It is stunning! Nude is my first ever lip liner purchase, and unfortunately, I need a color that is a bit pinker, rather than a true nude like the color I purchased. True nudes do not suit my skin tone, but it may look nice layered under other colors. The eye liner was a bit of a random purchase, as I have simply never owned a brown eyeliner.

Left: No flash/ Right: Flash
(Top to bottom): Nude, Brown, Milk.

As you can see, the lip liner is way too close to my skin color to look natural. It very much washes me out. I can see Milk looking great on the water line, though!

Once my two Liquid Suedes came in the mail I was super excited, but I had a sinking feeling that the lighter color I ordered would look absolutely rotten on my skin tone... and I was correct. I ordered the two colors Vintage and Sandstorm. Vintage is this beautiful fall lip color; a kind of dark burgundy in some lights with some purple undertones. Sandstorm is more of a grey than a brown, which disappointed me quite a bit.

In the pictures Sandstorm looks quite pinker than it truly is, and I personally find the color to be much more appealing in the packaging. Once swatched or worn on the lips, it's a much flatter color in my opinion. Vintage is beautiful in the packaging and worn on the lips.

My one concern with these lip creams is that it is a cream. This means that it is not matte and though it does not feel drying, it does worry me that this may slide across my lips and beyond. I probably need to find a nice lip liner to go underneath to prevent that.

Left: Flash,/Right: No flash. Top: Vintage/Bottom: Sandstorm

Moving on from NYX, I bought five ColourPop products about a month ago and I am seriously in love. Their lippie stix smell like vanilla and the eyeshadows are so pigmented they probably don't even need a primer.

For those of you who have are new to ColourPop, be prepared to be amazed. The company is only one year old, but they have affordable prices and high quality products. All lip products and eye shadows are $5, while bronzers, blushes and highlighters are $8 and also come in a larger pan.

The two lippie stix I bought were from the summer collection and did not come with matching lip pencils, but the colors were still gorgeous! Topanga (on the left) is a satin finish, and Toucan (on the right) is a matte finish.

Left: Flash/Right: No Flash. Top: Topanga/Bottom: Toucan

For some reason, Topanga appears sparkly when swatched on my hand, but that may be due to the satin finish. It is a very comfortable lip color, but if paired with a chapstick does tend to fade and give you the ring of death, (you definitely know what I'm talking about). Toucan is a very bright, almost out of my comfort zone type color, but it has been very fun to experiment with!

Left to right: Lunch Money (highlighter), La La & Mittens (eye shadows)

Lunch money is a beautiful highlighter, especially for someone like me who is just starting to experiment with them. I do not want anything too in your face, (um, hello strobing!), but I want that extra bit of shimmer that a highlighter provides. La La is a rose-gold color, leaning more on the gold side. Mittens is a purple-y brown color that looks very nice as a deeper crease color.

Left: Flash/Right: No flash. Left/Top to Right/Bottom: Mittens, La La, Lunch Money

Lunch Money swatches the best in my opinion, and the camera cannot do the eyeshadows justice. La La really needs to be packed onto the lid to show how beautiful and shimmery it is, unless you are interested in a light gold-brown color, which would look beautiful as a light transition shade. Mittens can go on very lightly or can be built up with ease. I find Mittens to be easier with a brush than La La is.

I recently purchased these two lipsticks from Target shopping trips. On the left I purchased the Maybelline Creamy Nude lipstick in Daringly Nude. This was a color I admired so much on YouTuber Kayleigh Noelle. Unfortunately, it is too close to my skin color (not my lip color) that it completely washes me out.

The right is the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Berry Rich. It is very moisturizing! The color will be lovely around the holidays, and is a very nice deep pinky red. A rich berry is exactly how I would describe it.

Left: Flash/Right: No Flash. Top: Berry Rich/Bottom: Daringly Nude

As you can see, (or not see... at all), Daringly Nude blends basically right into my skin! While it may look beautiful on others, this color did not suit me whatsoever. Berry rich is killin' it though!

The last two products I want to talk about are the Benefit Big Easy Liquid to Powder SPF 35 Foundation and the e.l.f. Translucent Matifying Powder. I purchased the Translucent Powder after watching a [Kathleenlights?] YouTube video. They said it was very good for setting the under eye area after applying concealer. I personally have not had great luck with this powder, though I may be in need of a better brush for the application.

The Big Easy foundation is a seriously nice summer foundation, especially with the high SPF built into the product. However, idiot me did not test the color before purchasing, and I got a color that is waaaay too light on me! I bought it in light/medium, which pretty much describes my skin color, even in the summer with a tan. I am hoping that once I lose my tan in the later months that this color will match me better, but for now, I just look upon it in my drawers with a really sad look.

I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about my opinion on some of these makeup products! Stay tuned for some more posts from your favorite blonde finding her way through the world.

Abby

DIY Dry-Cleaning at Home!

Hey again!

So I've finally ventured out of my room this summer, and my friend Akeylah took me shopping this past Monday. The stress relief of shopping with a good friend was exactly what I needed to cure my Monday Blues.

We were on a mad search for bathing suits, as I am taking a trip to Cape Cod in a few weeks and she leaves for Bermuda on Friday. Unfortunately, our local mall was fresh out of all cute bathing suits in our sizes--total bummer. As it were, I did find myself an adorable outfit (sans pants)!

Look at the beautiful detailing on the front of this! I mean seriously, how could I not buy this baby! And the fabric is super soft and comfy... It was love at first sight.

It wasn't until I came home, deciding to wash my new outfit before I would get to wear it, that I realized my new shirt was 100% rayon.

The terrible three words followed the material on the tag (after I had already ripped off the price tag, naturally): DRY CLEAN ONLY. I was doomed from then on out.

Should I hand-wash? Who at my age even knows how to do that? Should I toss it in the washing machine anyway? I'd likely risk the colors bleeding everywhere. Should I just wear the shirt for limited amounts of time and not wash it? That was obviously the more disgusting answer, brought up by the friend I was tossing ideas around with.

I am totally in love with this shirt. And  I would hate to risk ruining it, especially before I even get the chance to wear it with the adorable new cardigan I bought along with it. This started my Google exploration on the best way to wash a rayon (or dry clean only) article of clothing. Not only will I share my findings, but I will share my experience as I wash my beautiful new tank top. Never has my sink looked so scary!

Most sources I checked out told me it was kind of trial by error and up to you to try things on your own. Which would mean that I really have no one else to blame but myself if I ruin my pretty new shirt! Bummer.

My girl Martha always has a solution it seems. When in doubt, ask Martha, (even though the article was technically written by Donna Garlough. You go Donna!). I'm sure on my journey to adulthood there will be many times where I say that phrase. According to the article, it should be pretty safe to hand-wash my shirt, especially since it's a dark color. I do expect the color to bleed a bit, but she says that filling the sink with luke-warm water and a gentle detergent, it'll all be okay. I hope to God she's right. All I apparently need to do is swish the shirt around in the water for no more than five minutes, rinse and let air dry.

Now comes the test!

To my great luck, we keep Woolite in our laundry cabinet. I filled my sink up with a mixture of warm and cold water (leaning closer to the cold side) and dunked my shirt into the mixture.

And suddenly I was hand-washing! How adult of me! I do admit, I was a bit scared--the only thing I've hand-washed was a few pairs of underwear in my early teen years. And this was not the cotton I was used to.

I definitely had it in the water for less than five minutes--I was terrified of making a mistake!! But I brought the shirt over to my other sink (I have two sinks in my bathroom), to rinse it out so I could show you the color of the water after I washed the shirt.

As you can see, my water was discolored. (Off camera it was way more purple). So, as anticipated, the colors bled. This made me very happy that I did not choose to wash with other items (including those of like color). It also made me wonder if my other clothes do this... I guess I may never know.

From here, I folded the shirt into a towel twice to squeeze out the moisture. I did this on opposite ends, as I was initially instructed to use a fresh towel--this may be laundry day, but I don't want to wash any more than necessary!

From here I was supposed to use yet another towel to lay the shirt onto to dry, switching sides halfway. Do I look like I'm made of towels? If I were at school I would have two and only two. My solution was simple--I just hung it up. Now, I know that is super far from what I was likely supposed to do, but I do this for all of my clothes that I don't put through the dryer, and I've never had a problem, regardless of material.

If you take a peek at the left of this picture, you'll see that I also tried to hand-wash the cardigan that went with this beautiful shirt. The directions were much more straight-forward, but I had a harder time wringing this one out. And with my luck, the next time I wear it, it will still probably be bubbly. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

All there is left to do is wait. Luckily, the shirt was meant to be a bit shorter than the typical tank, so I do not believe it has shrunk at all.

Before I get on to tell you how my shirt ended up, I should let you know that I did leave for the weekend, keeping the shirt hanging the entire time. I just wanted it to get reeeally dry... right?