New Year, New Lifestyle

Hey all!  How was everyone's holiday?  I can only hope it was as enjoyable as mine.  Here's a peek at what I've been up to...

Christmas dinner was a success!!

Couldn't be happier for my newly-wed friends. <3 

Shenanigans with my high school buddies

My cutie cousin Lilah.

I really enjoyed my time at home visiting all my loved ones and celebrating the season with them.  I came back just in time to ring in the new year with Guillermo; he picked me up from the airport and we had a lovely dinner together and had a relaxing evening watching The Incredibles up until midnight.  

This year, I decided that my New Year's resolution should be to start forcing myself into a routine schedule of waking up early and being productive.  Now...I am not what you would call a morning person so this was truly going to be a struggle, especially on the days I don't have to work until the afternoon.

But that all changes this week, because...

I GOT A REAL GROWN-UP JOB!!!

On the 4th, I had an interview at a firm called Sleeping Dog Properties and they offered on the spot to hire me for a 30 day trial-run with possible (and hopefully) full-time employment after that!  It seems like exactly the kind of place I have talked about working at; it's a small firm that does mostly small-scale residential and some commercial renovations.  The company is owned by two brothers who have a construction background so they do a lot of construction management as well.  I am super excited to start on Tuesday and finally get my career rolling.

Wish me luck!

Deck the Hall

This weekend, I took some time to do at least a little bit of Christmas decorating in our apartment.  Now, I don't have too much space and I had a budget of about $0, but I think it looks kinda festive.  I'm proud!

The first thing I started working on was a paper and twine garland for the hall.  I had paper, paint, and twine laying around so all I did was paint the paper green, cut out leaf shapes, then tie them together along the twine.  Here's what it looks like!

All I did to tie them together was tie a loose knot around the center of the two leaves so the paper didn't tear.  I spaced them out by eye, so they aren't perfect, but that's ok with me.

The other thing I did was decorate the Peace Lilly that my mom got me for my birthday (and I haven't killed yet!!) with some teeny-tiny ornaments.  I got a package of 25 3/4" diameter balls for only $5 from Urban Outfitters and tied them to the leaves of the plant with thin wire.  

The little balls of color are so cheerful. :)

And finally, the small bookshelf we have in the hall is now where we display all of the Christmas cards we have been receiving in the mail.  Family and friends have been sending us cards and its so comforting to see them every day on the way into the apartment.

The ornaments that didn't make it onto the Peace Lilly are sitting in a glass jar from an old, used-up candle on the top shelf for a little extra fun.

Thankful for Friday

Hey, all!

Today I am thankful for the safety of my cousin and friend who were both recently in car accidents.  I don't know too much about my friend's car accident except that she couldn't come to work because she was heading to the hospital.  I did text her a day or so ago when I heard, and she said that she isn't feeling too bad, she was just resting.  Thank goodness.

As for my cousin, she was hit from behind yesterday.  TWICE.  She slowed down in traffic and the guy behind her didn't, and ended up hitting her at 60 mph.  Then the guy behind him didn't slow down and hit him, who then hit her!  (following me?)  That means that my cousin was hit two times.  She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and they did all the tests and x-rays.  Luckily she has no broken bones or any serious damage, although everyone says the third day after an accident is the worst.

That's what her car looks like after the accident.

I am so, so, so thankful that she didn't have her 3 year old daughter with her, and that she was ok.

Bad Blogger!

I know, I know-I forgot to post on Monday!  I apologize from the depths of my heart and I hope all of you will forgive me!

As for today.....I have a recap of my Thanksgiving to share!  I hope all of you enjoyed your holidays as much as I enjoyed mine because let me tell you-I had a great time.

Guillermo and I had two flights on our way down and back, and both times we flew right over NYC.  I got a pretty nice shot on the way down, but on the way back it was night and too hard to take a photo.  (Although equally as beautiful)

Well,

I don't really have too much to say today because:

1. I'm broke and can't work on any projects.
2. ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS LEAVING FOR NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY!!!!!

Can you tell I'm really excited to see my family?  I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait, and today I bought something little for the trip.

It's a little book full of questions for your Dad to answer.  (they also have them for Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa)  I've always loved listening to my Dad's stories about how he is was a trouble maker and this will be a great way to immortalize those stories.  I figured I will give it to him now, and then he can give it back to me all completed for Christmas.  One present already done for him.


I won't be able to post again until next week because I leave Wednesday and I don't plan on taking my laptop on my trip.  I'll be sure to fill you all in when I get back though!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

In One Week..

...I will be in North Carolina with my family for Thanksgiving!  I am soooo very excited to be able to go to my Dad's new house and see his whole side of the family.  All my aunts, uncles, and (most of my) cousins will be there for the holiday-Grandma is even coming up from Florida! Yay!

The last time we were all together was in 2005, for Christmas.  That was before my Grandpap passed away and before more babies were brought into the family and before my brother even hit puberty.  Here's a quick flashback:

My oh-so-handsome Dad

Most of the cousins with Grandma & Grandpap

Matching sunglasses at Gap

My adorable Grandpap and his favorite bread

We all had a wonderful time together then, and I'm sure we are all bound to have a great time together now.  I'm counting down the days!

'Tis The Season

...to start panicking about what to get people for Christmas!  With the weather turning cold (it's actually been snowing here all afternoon!) I have been thinking a lot about how to prepare for the holiday season.

Of course I would like to attempt at decorating our apartment, just a little bit.  There is no room for a tree at all, but I may snatch up one of the small fake ones we sell at Urban and try to make it...not so ugly.  Some crafty, handmade ornaments and some spray paint may be all I need to make it cheap-chic.  Aside from that, we don't really have a mantle or anything to decorate so I'm kinda drawing a blank on what to do, but I want to do SOMETHING.  Any ideas would be a great help.

When it comes to gifts I really only have one idea for my step-dad, and that's only because he blatantly pointed it out while he was here a few weeks back.  He found a pair of pint glasses he likes a lot and I plan on doing a little beer tree for him to go along with the glasses.  The tree would be like this (except it would be Bud Light, of course):

Aside from that, I'm clueless for gift ideas!!  I definitely want to start buying gifts ASAP so I don't drop a huge amount of money at once.  Just need to figure out what to buy.....

Sunday Funday

Like I said Monday, this past Sunday with my ‘rents was absolutely stunning.  Chip had the genius idea to drive up north to get some fresh lobster for lunch, but then he decided it would be even better if we went out on a fishing boat and caught our own lobsters, that we would then eat for lunch.  So, that’s what we did!

We arrived at the harbor in Gloucester at 10 am and immediately hopped onto Captain Kevin's boat.  Once we got out into the water, he explained all the safety procedures to us and we suited up.

Weekend Recap

Well, I must say this weekend was a blast!  If you don’t remember, my parents decided to come visit me for a long weekend and we managed to squeeze in a lot of stuff while still finding time to relax and enjoy being together.  

To pick up where I left off, Friday we made an attempt to do a grand walking tour of Boston and the surrounding area.  Of course, we got a late start after meeting at Starbucks and having a nice hot latte, but we managed to see a lot of the city.

Thankful for Friday

Hey, all!  This weekend is a very exciting weekend for me so I’ll keep this one short.

The reason for my excitement is that my mom and step-dad decided to come up for an extended weekend!! Yay! They arrived yesterday (made the entire 8 hour drive in one day..poor things) and we have a weekend packed with fun stuff and walking around the city.  This weekend also happens to be the annual Regatta, named the Head of the Charles.  We may try to check out some of the action.  I’ve definitely seen my share of rowers practicing…

See them scattered in there between the sailboats?

Anyways, I’ll fill you all in on Monday with what other fun stuff we did!  I’m planning to take them to all the restaurants I’ve been eyeing.  :)

Thankful for Friday

Hey, all!  How has everyone’s week been?  Mine has been pretty run-of-the-mill with work and such but I’d have to say what I’m thankful for this week is my lovely mom. 

She always seems to have something up her sleeve and this week, she mailed me a card that simply said something like “I’m thinking of you” along with a Starbucks gift card!  Now, as you can imagine, I have been a little on the not-so-wealthy side lately so that Starbucks card provided me with breakfasts for just about an entire week.  It was so nice to be able to get my latte fix and enjoy some of their fall sweets! (I loooove their pumpkin-cream cheese muffin)

Not only did she surprise me with that, she also got me a subscription to Dwell Magazine!  She knows that I love that magazine and she signed me up without my knowledge, so I literally came home one day to find it in the mailbox completely unexpectedly.  Now, I am using it as my go-to architecture firm finder.  (since my student loan payments are inching closer to me…)

I really couldn't ask for anything more from her.  And she may be coming to visit soon! Still working that one out…

Thankful for the Past 10 Days

Or rather: “Thankful for my Dad!” because today is his (57th) birthday! Happy Birthday Dad!

Aside from that…I’m back on Tumblr!  My computer isn’t back from the doctor yet but Guillermo is letting me borrow one of his computers for the time being. (he has his old HP that was falling apart so he borrowed a laptop from the school and then he just received his new Macbook Pro in the mail-so three in total at the moment!)

The past ten days haven’t been super exciting, but they have been enjoyable nonetheless.  Here are some pictures from what my life has consisted of:

The OTHER Wedding

Some of you may remember that I said Labor Day weekend was going to be crazy because I was attending 2 (two!) weddings, back to back.  Well, here is the post about the other one!

The wedding was one of Guillermo’s cousins, Cindy, and her fiance (now-husband), John.  It was absolutely stunning.  The ceremony was at the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Mott Street in Soho, which I had only been to before for the Young Designers Market, but that was in the rec-center type room, not the actual cathedral.

Anyways, the ceremony was beautiful.  It was a Catholic ceremony so I was a little lost, but overall it was smooth and lovely.

Thankful for Friday

Again, I’m sorry I’m a day late.  Being jobless really screws with your sense of time-I can barely remember what month it is anymore.  (Except that I know its August because my birthday is coming up!!)

The apartment is still a mess (although livable) and I got turned down for the interview I had a week or so ago, so I’ve been kinda down lately, but I can honestly say that I am thankful for my friends and family.  My parents have been both emotionally and financially supportive while I struggle to find my way, and my boyfriend was very sweet and let me cry on his shoulder when I got the rejection call.  I am truly blessed to be surrounded by so many loving people and for that, I will be eternally thankful.

Recently...

So after graduation, I decided it would be a good time to come home for a few weeks and I thought y’all (as they say here in Maryland) would like to see what my life at home is like.  Here’s a little sneak peak:

It basically consists of a lot of lovely afternoon walks around the neighborhood with tons of sun, grass, and flowers.  It has been so nice and relaxing to be home with my family for a little while.  They have been so supportive throughout my school years and I’m happy to be able to spend some quality time with them without any real distractions. (like school!)

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

Great Gift Idea

French Macaroons.

So simple, but so elegant and tasty!  Lately I have been craving them and luckily enough the wonderful Choice Market down the street bakes their own and offers a few different flavor options.  If Choice is all sold out, I could always go next door to the adorable Urban Vintage and grab a few, paired wonderfully with their awesome Pomegranate Hibiscus White Tea.  Such a wonderful summer snack.

Anywho, I think a little box of macaroons would be a wonderful Mother’s Day gift.  They are colorful and sweet, just like our mothers I’m sure.

The New House!

So, as promised, I have pictures of my parent’s new house!

This past weekend, I went home to help with the move and totallyunderestimated the amount of work I was going to get suckered into doing.  As soon as my mom picked me up from the bus stop, she dragged me to Wal-Mart to pick up blinds for the new house.  (nevermind it was 1:30 in the morning!!)  The next morning, we were up at 7:30, ready for the movers to come pack up all the furniture she and I couldn’t possibly move.  The movers were wonderful and got everything done in only about 2 hours!  Then, we were off to the new place, with two full trucks in tow.