Visiting the Capitol {Atlanta}

Group photo by GT Institute Communications

My college's student government (which I'm involved with) hosted an event called "GT Day at the Capitol" and we got to visit the state capitol and see the legislative process in action! I attended the same event last year, but learned even more this time and had a fun time with other GT students and GT alum.

With our school's mascot, Buzz!

Student government members :)

If you haven't been to the capitol, I highly suggest it! It's a beautiful and historic building full of amazing artifacts and our state's representatives! Another great day in Atlanta. 

I took a few pics inside the capitol too!

Time to pack for NYC!

Apartment decor {part 2}

I hope your week is off to a great start! Mine is super busy with tests, papers, meetings, etc. but it's good! And I'm going out of town at the end of the week - can't wait! :)

Here's another post sharing another section of my apartment. The first post was created because of a few people emailing me about decorating advice. Enjoy and more to come!! :)

My room's colors are black & white with a royal blue accent

I bought that painting from an artist in Spain!

Hand painted this desk

I love live plants and fake ones too :)

Eating in ATL {Fellini's Pizza}

I've already eaten at this place three times in 2013. Fellini's Pizza is that good. And that clutch. 

When I say clutch, I mean it's the perfect meal at the most imperfect times. When it's late and I'm hungry...Fellini's. When I want to grab food with a friend and don't have much time...Fellini's. When I want real pizza with fresh toppings...Fellini's!

There are multiple locations in Atlanta (open to either midnight or 2am), so I think people sometimes underrate this amazing food! It deserves to be located all over Atlanta because it's delicious!!

My pizza from the other night - always
with a side of ranch dressing!

I love their white pizza and topping it with pineapples, spinach, banana peppers, pepperoni or meatballs - yum.

I'm published! {SBFAC}

If you read my must-do's and goals for 2013, you know that writing a book is a project I've been working on and have been serious about completing.

Well...it's finished! And published thanks to Lulu online publishing. I've been working on the book for about nine months.

"Single Black Female Addicted to College"

The book is a memoir/advice book for students preparing for college, particularly minority students. I wrote 50 pieces of advice that include some personal experiences. I hope that these experiences and advice encourage more students to pursue higher education and enjoy their time in college.

Sneak peek:

I let my close friends and family know when I first published the book, but this is my big announcement! If it sounds interesting to you or someone you know, please order one! I hope that education becomes a higher priority in our country and I hope that my book will inspire and help younger students.

<3

Birthday gifts

It's still January, so that means I'm still celebrating my birthday :)

Last night I actually went to a really great event for the launch of Indi Park with my roommate, Jade. We had a really great time and met inspirational women. Then, we stopped by a birthday dinner for our friend, Kevin! :)

One of my mom's friend's got me this really cute gold bag (I've been using it for school/work) and my initial embroidered on the bag - love it!

Also, my friend Dillon got me this amazing Kate Spade coin purse that has become my new wallet. It's multi-colored and sparkly, so you know I'm obsessed! Thank you!

Happy Thursday, the weekend is so close!

Why {Can} loves ATL

                                     Can

"I love Atlanta because it reminds me a lot of my hometown of Izmir, Turkey. The climates are the same, the city isn't too big or too small, it's not depressing, and the people are really nice! ATL has lots and lots of amazing and delicious food, and I love eating!"

What's your favorite spot in ATL:

"My favorite restaurant is Fogo de Chao. It is plain awesome!"

Warm cheese bread at Fogo de Chao

FOREVER {WE} LOVE ATLANTA 

                      For the chance to be featured on RCSOATL, send an email including {your name, your favorite spot in Atlanta, why you love our city, and a photo of you in Atlanta} to rcsoatl@gmail.com -

 Open to all ages!

Curling your hair w/ a {flat iron}

I normally wear my hair straight, but every now and then I curl the ends. I've had a couple of people ask how I curl them so I made a quick YouTube video showing how I curl w/ a flat iron. Check it out! :) 

Happy MLK Day!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! And, Happy Presidential Inauguration Recognition Day - such a great day in American history! MLK Day is a day off, but should serve as a reminder of a day to give back to the community. MLK was a phenomenal leader and I'm so happy we honor him on this day.

Martin Luther King III

Georgia Tech had Martin Luther King III (MLK Jr.'s son) come and speak at our school last week and he was phenomenal. His message was inspiring and he reminded the audience that we are still working toward MLK Jr.'s dream!

I hope you enjoy this day and spend part of it making the world a little bit better. I have some exciting news to share later this week! <3

Good luck, Atlanta Falcons!

The city is booming with hopeful Atlanta Falcons football fans and we're all so excited for today's game against the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title! I'm a life long Falcons fan so this game is super exciting for me because it's been such a long road to this point!

I've gotten to go to a few games this season and they've been great :)

At the first game of the season!

 I'm so proud of my favorite team for getting this far and for having the best regular season in franchise history. So many franchise records were broken this season and the fans couldn't be happier.

Good luck, Dirty Birds!! Rise Up!

<3

Apple {think different} personality

How great is that. It's from Apple's "Think Different" campaign some years ago. I vaguely remember the commercials with some of the world's most notable people (such as Martin Luther King Jr.), but I never really paid attention to the words they were saying.

One of my friends, Eran, gave me a letter with the text from Apple's "Think Different" campaign as part of my birthday present because he thought it described me. What a compliment! I'm definitely a little crazy and I definitely have big dreams of making the world a better place. 

I fell in love with the text line by line because it describes the person I want to be and provided so much inspiration. I created the graphic above to print out, frame, and put on a wall in either my room/bathroom. Such a simple, yet perfect gift for me.

Words are fantastic when put in the right order. Thank you to all of my friends for the kind words on my birthday and meaningful gifts! It was a great day <3

Friday night {in}

After a weekend and week full of birthday festivities...I need a break. Every now and then, I have to spend a Friday night {in} instead of going out and exploring the wonderful things Atlanta has to offer. It's my chance to regroup and energize as well as the perfect opportunity to get work done that's been neglected throughout the week.

Typical Friday night in means:

1. Texting/talking on my iPhone...and maybe a few tweets :)

2. Going to bed wayyy earlier than usual, and spending most of the night in bed too

3. Popcorn! Preferably Kettle Corn.

4. Bravo TV! I love the Real Housewives series, Shahs of Sunset, design and cooking shows.

4. Reading a book and finishing my book (90% finished!)

5. Hot chocolate. Perfect drink for a chill night - I love the kind with marshmallows

Have a great weekend! <3

Apartment decor {part 1}

One thing I love about having this blog is the opportunity to hear from random people about random topics. For example, I've gotten four emails now from young women just asking for decorating suggestions and my personal preferences. Very honored that anyone is asking me these questions, haha! I'm going to share some of my apartment's decorations, starting with the walls in my room.

Here's my favorite wall! 

Simple, but makes me happy because it's a daily reminder of peace & happiness :)

Eating in ATL {Zen on Ten Asian Bistro}

Confession: I love sweet and sour sauce. Whenever I go to an Asian restaurant, I request a side of the sauce and will put it on whatever I've ordered - yum! 

I had dinner with my friend Shayla one night last week at Zen on Ten Asian Bistro and I definitely approve of their food (and sweet and sour sauce)! It's a really chill, yet classy atmosphere with very friendly waiters.

They have all types of sushi (for you sushi lovers). I just started eating sushi last year so I'm working my way up to the crazy kinds, but they all look so delicious! I ordered the sticky rice and bang bang shrimp. Both were cooked to perfection and were really affordable. Shayla ordered an avocado salad and shrimp fried rice!

Shayla with her salad

Shrimp fried rice

My bang bang shrimp

Next time you're craving some sushi, rice, or noodles, I suggest trying Zen on Ten Asian Bistro in Midtown, ATL!

<3

Other places to eat in ATL:

Taqueria del Sol

Figo Pasta

Bone Lick BBQ

The Silver Skillet

Fellini's Pizza

Zen on Ten Asian Bistro

Señor Patron

Flying Biscuit Cafe

Bone Garden Cantina

Urban Pl8

Perla Taqueria

Southern Art

Fashion in ATL {Indi Park}

I received this information from a really cool upcoming fashion opportunity established in Atlanta. Indi Park is an online consignment boutique where young people can "open their own shops" online to sell items from their closet and/or buy other items from other people's online closets. Brilliant, right? Read more below:

"Stand-by please! You're about to witness the place where fashion lovers all over the world can share their closets with one another. Consider this your passport to embark on an international fashion journey. Sign up. Join the global Indi crowd. Share your love for fashion. Share your style point-of-view... Share the Indi Love!

Indi Park is the only fashionable company established in Atlanta to offer fashionistas around the world the opportunity to open their own online consignment boutiques! Say good-bye to huge start-up costs and business licenses and hello to financial freedom! Indi boutique owners choose which fashionable items they want to sell out of their own closets and control all of the pricing and shipping. Take full advantage of Indi Park by selling and buying and creating a revolutionary online fashion experience!

The Indi Park website goes live in February 2013. It will have everything from Louboutin heels to Louis Vuitton bags to trendy jewelry all for a fraction of the retail price. That’s not even including what YOU can add to the list. Before that time, they need YOUR help to spread the word about their awesome company! Help them out by ‘liking’ their Facebook page. The company needs at least 1000 ‘likes’ by the time the site goes live. 

Indi Park has already given out a Michael Kors watch and other various gifts through Facebook contests, so don’t miss your chance to be next! Word of mouth is powerful, so let’s all join in together to spread some Indi love and help this company achieve its dreams!"

"Like" Indi Park on Facebook

I'll be sure to let you know once their site goes live :)

I'm feelin' 22!

It's my birthdayyyyy!

Besides Christmas, I think birthdays are my favorite holidays. It's so special that every human has a day when their birth can be celebrated. And my friends and family know I love celebrating my birthday :)

I've been celebrating all month and I'll continue to celebrate throughout the rest of January.

My biggest celebration was at Luxe Ultra Lounge on Saturday! It was such a fun time for me and all of my friends. It was my first time at Luxe and since I'd heard it's such a fun environment that also serves food, I decided to have my party there. It was a great decision! 

We ordered food and drinks and reserved a section for the night -- perfect plan! I'll definitely suggest Luxe Ultra Lounge to anyone looking to host their event in Atlanta. Crescent Ave is always a great time on the weekends!

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate :)

<3