Pearl and Poppy

So I was lost in the world of Netflix without a solid show for me to bingewatch for quite a long time. I had started Friday Night Lights but THEY TOOK IT OFF NETFLIX WHEN I WAS HALFWAY THROUGH SEASON 1. I'm not bitter or anything. It's fine, whatever Netflix. Anyway, one of my friends was just finishing up a show that she knew I'd totally love. A lot of you have probably already seen it but 90210 was brand new to me!
It is honestly such a good show. Probably terribly written to people who actually care about that stuff, but if you know me, you also know that I'm here just for the drama. The character development might be a little spotty, but with couples splitting and getting back together things are always interesting. They really know how to end an episode with a cliff hanger so you just have to keep watching. I just finished season one yesterday and I am hooked.
Favorite character: Adrianna
Least favorite character: Everyone from the Kansas family (I know I'm probably supposed to like them, but they are so annoying!)
Hottest guy (so far): LIAMMMM
Anyway, basically the show is about this family from Kansas (they are so freaking annoying) who moves in with the dad's mom in Beverly Hills. The kids start going to this super wealthy school there and all their new friends have crazy drama that they aren't used to in Kansas. It's a really quality show and I definitely recommend if you like a good teen drama.

Already seen 90210? Here are some of my other favorite shows of all time (tbh they are all pretty basic so there's a good chance you've seen most of them already):

Definitely a quality show right here. It's basically about a girl named Zoey Hart who is from New York and moves to a small town in Alabama because she is trying to become a doctor and needs training or something. Anyway, she immediately meets two hot southern boys, the local southern belle (who immediately hates her), and all kinds of stereotypical Alabamian people. I think it might be what made me fall in love with the south? Not sure, but it was a step in the right direction.
Favorite character: Annabeth
Least favorite character: Brick Breeland
Hottest guy: Wade

GILMORE GIRLS
One of the first shows that I totally binge watched because I had the whole thing on DVD (this was before I even had Netflix). I am a total expert at this show because I have rewatched it more than three times. If you don't already know, it's about a mother and daughter (mother had daughter when she was 16) and their fun relationship. It also follows their love lives and their cute small Connecticut  town. If you haven't seen this I don't know what you've been doing with your life (probably very productive things unlike me)
Favorite character: Jess
Least favorite character: Dean
Hottest Guy: This one is super tough because Logan is probably hottest but I love Jess so much more!

Okay this show is so cheesy and stupid, but my friends and I all watched it in eighth grade and I've had a special place in my heart for it ever since. It honestly is probably written better than Gossip Girl, the OC, or 90210, but the whole supernatural aspect of it makes it a bit cheesy. The writers definitely know how to write a good romance though! Basically, a human girl's parents both die in a car crash, and she is going through a rough time when she meets a vampire (who she doesn't realize is a vampire for like five episodes) and they fall in love but he has a brother who is also hot and is in love with the girl too. It gets very complicated honestly but it is on Netflix. You have to bingewatch the first like ten episodes in order to get into it.
Favorite Character: Caroline
Least Favorite Character: Bonnie
Hottest Guy: Honestly too many to count, but my heart belongs to Stefan (or Klaus...)

If you haven't seen Gossip Girl you better get on your Netflix and watch it right now this very instant. It is such a well known show among this generation that I see references to it almost every day. The drama is spot on, the romance is nicely dragged out throughout the six seasons, and everything about it makes you wish you lived in NYC's Upper East Side.
This one is about a group of teens that are CRAZY rich and live in penthouses on the Upper East Side of New York. It also follows this family from Brooklyn (the Humphreys eww) who are basically really annoying and feel entitled to a superior opinion about everything because they aren't rich and live in the "real world". If you haven't gotten the vibe yet, I really hate the Humphreys. The two Humphrey kids go to the same prep school as the rich Upper East Siders and spend their whole lives trying to fit in with them. Jenny Humphrey practically sells her soul (multiple times) to be cool. I would feel bad for her if she wasn't so manipulative. Anyway, this is probably one of my absolute favorite shows and you HAVE to watch it.
Favorite Character: Blair Waldorf
Least Favorite Character: Jenny Humphrey
Hottest Guy: Chuck Bass (Nate is hot too but Chuckkkk)

So this weekend I hosted a fun birthday BBQ at my ranch. Just under 30 people came and it was a super fun night! I wasn't expecting everyone to bring me presents because my actual birthday was over three weeks ago, but I still was given some really nice gifts!

Aren't my friends generous?

Here are some of my favorite things that would definitely be good gifts to give to any of your friends too.

Birchbox Sally Hansen Nail Polish

One of my friends gave me a birchbox which is so much fun because it just has a bunch of beauty samples in it. They're things that I would never really buy for myself, but it's definitely fun to try out. I also got some Sally Hansen polish which is always a necessity. The pink one is actually argon oil infused, so it is really healthy for your nails!

When can it be me in that cap and gown?

This post is more of just a rant, but you guys, I literally go back to school tomorrow. How is summer already over?! Though I'm excited to see my friends, I'm still dreading having to go to class and do homework. Actually, mainly I just hate the homework. If homework didn't exist and school only consisted of listening in class and taking tests every once in a while, I would love it. But noooo, after our seven hours of learning we have to do four more hours of reviewing. And also my school is a college prep school and so classes are really hard. Some teachers just assign stupid time consuming work though, and so over all, I really just hate homework. But that makes me hate school, too, which is sad because I love learning interesting, useful things! I never learn those things in school though because even if they actually are taught, they're hidden in piles of useless work that is so impractical!
We do manage to do some fun things, though. Like for example, my school has a rivalry with the public school for basketball, and so whenever we play them, everyone wears their preppiest clothes and brands just because we're the prep school.

Prep Day (a.k.a. Bring Your Yacht to School Day)

Our dances are also always a blast (I'm on student council, so I'm required to say that... usually it's true though I swear!). Last year my friend Avery and I got put in charge of planning Winter Formal with a budget of $3,500. It was such a fun dance and we had over 200 people come (out of 375 students who go to our school).

Spot me on the far left

Okay so maayybe I'm being a little over dramatic about going back to school. In fact, writing this post has reminded me of the fun, social parts of the whole process. Hopefully tomorrow won't be absolutely terrible like I've been imagining it to be... I guess I'll have to let you know.

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French toast at Boulangerie Christophe

A little crepe store on M Street

Got my Laduree macaron <3

Milkshakes and burgers at The Tombs

Salted Caramel Georgetown Cupcakes were to die for

Lilly Pulitzer (obviously!)

The upstairs at Kate Spade

Vineyard Vines: A must when you're on the East Coast

Where do I even begin? The shopping in Georgetown is fantastic. All of my favorite stores that I don't see very often in California (Vineyard Vines, Lilly Pulitzer, etc) were all there. Also, since I was there around the 4th of July, everyone was having a sale! I didn't end up buying much (because I spent so much money on food oops), but I spent a lot of time looking around at J Crew, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, and more. Most of the shops are on M street, and the ones that aren't on M are on Wisconsin. You can walk everywhere. They have a lot of preppy stores but they also throw in places like Free People so there's a pretty good mix. I planned on buying some Lilly Pulitzer things, but then I remembered that their annual sale is coming up soon so I decided to wait.

Georgetown University

Historic Houses

Gardens <3

Oh my goodness you guys, I am so, SO sorry that I didn't complete this book review back at the end of March! Well, Little Women was a fantastic book! It took me a little while to finish reading because of school, but I would say I finished it around mid April. I don't know about all of you, but I personally love books set in the 1800s. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors, and so I am always looking for similar books. Little Women takes place in Northern America during the Civil War (at the beginning of the novel), but the war doesn't totally affect the story other than the fact that the girls' father is off fighting. The story revolves around four young girls living with their mother and follows their lives as they grow up, fall in love, start families, and just experience life. It was nicely written and didn't get boring at all. I can't decide whether I should write any spoilers because I have one complaint that I am still frustrated about, but I would give away the whole thing if I said it.... I don't think I'm going to, but if you think you have the same complaint comment below. I'll give you a hint: it has to do with Jo and her choices once she is grown up (actually just one choice that COMPLETELY threw me off). Anyway, if you've read Little Women and need to vent about this choice, I am here for you because I read the book like 3 months ago and I still am not over it. Other than this disappointing choice of Jo's (the second oldest sister), the book was a lovely read! 10 out of 10, I completely recommend.

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Do you love reading, but can never find that perfect book? I have the same exact problem, but this year I am trying to expand my library. Well here on Pearl and Poppy I'm going to recommend a book at the beginning of each month, and at the end of the month, I'll post my interpretation of it and some discussion questions for the comments! I'll be choosing a mix of popular books to classics to random ones that I find in the local used bookstore. I'll give each book a review after I read it, and hopefully that'll inspire you to dust off those books that have been sitting on the shelf and give them a try, too!

So today I was sitting at home doing nothing because for some reason I didn't have school. I could have done homework, but am I really going to do that on a Friday? No. I was getting pretty hungry, so I looked in my pantry and saw some Ghirardelli brownie mix! Then while I was looking for vegetable oil, I found a pack of Oreos and an idea struck me! OREO BROWNIES!! I'm probably not the first to come up with this idea, but either way I was convinced they would taste fantastic.

This is the brownie mix I used with just regular Oreos.

Ghirardelli brownies taste fantastic on their own, but who doesn't love a little extra something... especially if that something is Oreos! The first thing you have to do is preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Then make the brownie mix the way it tells you on the box. When you are ready to put the mix into an 8x8 inch pan, only pour half of it in or enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. Then set in full Oreos on top of the batter. I only put 9 Oreos so that there would be one in every brownie square. Cover the Oreos with the rest of the batter and put the pan in the oven for the amount of time it says on the box. I put mine in for 45 minutes.