It Feels like Heaven!

I am so happy to report that move in day went fabulously! I am settled in and so excited for the next few weeks! 

Here's a little recap of our day:

After packing throughout all of this past weekend, we were finally ready to get on our way yesterday afternoon! We loaded up my and my parents car and headed to Boone. Since I'm subleasing my new apartment from someone that graduates in December, it won't be available for me to move in for a few weeks. In the meantime, my old boss (from when I was a student at ASU) offered to let me live with her. I'll be staying with her and her family for about three weeks.

We arrived at my boss' house around 4:30, and I immediately felt at home. She and her husband were so nice and welcomed me with open arms. They showed me to my new room for the next few weeks and we moved everything right in. I wasn't sure what to expect because I had never been to her house before, but it is absolutely beautiful! I feel like I'm staying in a gorgeous bed and breakfast. 

I love how warm and inviting my room is here! I already feel so at home. 

I snapped a few pictures so you can get an idea.

After everything was put away and my parents headed home, I sat on the bed and thought about how lucky I am. The past month and a half has been a whirlwind of change and excitement, and I've loved every minute of it. 

I am so grateful for a family that loves and supports me, for a generous and giving co-worker that would invite me into her home, to be employed at a place that I know and love, for my good health and for my beautiful room with a warm bed. 

It feels so good to be home.

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Moving Day & My Thanksgiving Dish!

Y'all, today is the day!

I can't believe that moving day is finally here! While I'm busy driving, unpacking, and bursting with excitement, I thought I would share with you the dish that I made for Thanksgiving this year. It's super simple and tasty!

Every year, my family signs up to bring delicious dishes to our annual Thanksgiving Day lunch. For one reason or another, I have only contributed to the food selection once. Don't get me wrong the rice crispy treats that I made that year were good, they just fell apart in your hands. Boo. When I was younger, my parents bringing a dish or two was enough, but as an adult, I thought it was my time to participate!

I am not a cook in any way, shape or form. It's not that I don't have potential, I've just never really practiced. I knew I wanted something that was simple to make and difficult to mess up!

What dish fit all of these specifications?

Oreo Cake Balls!

You'll have to excuse the looks of my first batch, as they are not pretty at all, but they did taste good!

Ingredients:
1 Package of Oreos
1 Package of cream cheese (I'm trying a tub of cream cheese next time)
1 Package of vanilla melting chocolate (bars that you microwave)

Directions:
Put the entire package of Oreos into a bowl

Mash up all of the Oreos - I used a Pampered Chef potato masher, but if you have a food processor, that will work even better

Once crushed to a fine powder, mix the cream cheese in a mixer

Once the cream cheese is soft, add in all the Oreos and continue to mix

Once well mixed, form into balls and place on a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer

While the chocolate balls are in the freezer, melt your chocolate

Take the balls out of the freezer when the chocolate is melted. Then you can either drizzle the white chocolate over them or dip them. I found it easier to drizzle and let the excess drip over onto the sides.

When finished, keep refrigerated until ready to serve!

Ta-Da!

I'm planning on trying another batch for Christmas and honing my technique a little bit. Hooray for my first cooking success!

Did you cook this Thanksgiving?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Black Friday Deals!

It's a tradition in my family that we go shopping every Black Friday. That used to entail getting up super early on Friday morning, but since the sales keep getting earlier, we have to continue to adjust our shopping schedules. 

This year, after consulting my right-hand shoppers (my Aunt Robin & cousin Jessica), we decided the only place that we really needed to go to was Target. I had my eye set on a 32" Apex TV that was on sale for $147.00. The TV would look perfect in the living room of my new apartment!

We got to Target about 8:30pm for their grand opening at 9. I bet there were 500 people already in front of us, but this didn't deter our spirit. We were all so excited, and knew that we were on a mission.  My Aunt was to locate a cart, I was to run and find the TV, Jessica had to help me move the box out of the way and my cousin Patrick had to the guard the box once it was secured, so another crazy Black Friday shopper could steal it. We had this plan down to a science!

I think my tweet on Friday night describes it all: 

"I CAME. I SHOPPED. I CONQUERED!!!"

I don't think I have ever had SO much fun! Not only did we score the TV that I wanted (there were only 4 left when I got there), I also scooped up a new DVD player for $20 and The Hunger Games movie for $10. Throw in a bottle of wine and I'm ready for my next movie night!

We met up with a few other family friends that night and decided to share one cart between the 6 of us! This was just enough room for the new Xbox, 24" TV, six foot Christmas Tree, game controllers and flannel pajamas that we were also buying.

Since Thanksgiving is about being thankful and spending time with your family, I am so glad I was able to spend my Thanksgiving night with these wonderful people! It is a memory that I will treasure and never forget!

Did you have this much fun Black Friday shopping?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Happy Thanksgiving from Paisley & Me!

Have a wonderful holiday spending time with the ones you love!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

New Job Prep Through Instagram!

I start my job in less than one week...six days to be exact!

The beautiful cake at my going away dinner:)

Still, there are days when it doesn't seem real that I'm moving to a new place to start a "real" job! This coming Sunday afternoon, my parents are driving their car (full of clothes & shoes), and I'm driving mine up to Boone to move me in.

My new apartment won't be ready until the middle of December since I'm picking up another girl's lease. So in the meantime, I'm living with my old boss, from the job I had when I was a student. She is just wonderful, and I feel so lucky to be staying with such a great friend/mentor during my first few weeks on the job. She works for Appalachian as well, and I'm sure will be able to answer any questions I have.

In my last few weeks living at home, I've been trying my best to take care of any new job preparations that I can! It's a real task picking up your life in one place and moving somewhere completely different!

New Job Prep:

Finding a place to live: After so much stress and worrying, I finally have a place to live! Praise the Lord! I'll be moving in around the 19th of December!

It's not a huge apartment, but I think it'll be perfect for Paisley and me!

Getting a staff parking permit: One really nice thing about being a staff member at a university, is being able to drive my car to campus and park right behind where I work! This is going to be a such a luxury, especially during the blizzards that we're known to experience in Boone.

Getting a staff ID card: By having a staff AppCard (what we call it at Appalachian) I can get into the parking area, buy supplies in the bookstore, grab lunch, whatever I need, and it all comes out of my check each month. I also LOVE that since I'm staff, I can get into any gym on campus for $4.00/month! This is probably what I'm most looking forward to!

Getting my hair cut: I have been going to the same hairdresser for ten years! That's a long time! When my job's start date was set, I made sure to give Lisa a call. I wanted my hair/color to look really good for my first day. My appointment was yesterday, and I think my hair turned out the best it's ever looked! Go Lisa:)

Switching Banks: I love the bank that I've been using for years, but since there was no branch in Boone, I had to make a change. My Dad and I spent one day a couple of weeks ago closing out old accounts and opening new ones. I also decided to cash in my piggy bank that I'd been saving up for few months!


I'm sure getting all this out of the way will make my transition into a new place and job go much more smoothly. I'm so excited and nervous!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Starting a New Chapter!

After watching Sex and the City the movie a few nights ago, I am filled with an immense amount of ambition, drive and so many dreams for my future!

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There's something about following along with the escapades of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha, that makes me really excited about living on my own! Big things can happen when you're in charge of your life!

This got me thinking!

I'm about to be in a new place, and though I've lived there before, there's a big difference between living somewhere as a student, and living there as a staff member!

With that said, I'm making a list of 20 things I'd like to accomplish during my first year of being on my own. It's not a full year, it's actually an eight month time period from November 26th, 2012 until August 1st, 2013. After that time, I'll have a roommate, so these are things I want to do before that!

Your first year post-college and out on your own is a big deal, that's why I've decided to make it a memorable one!

20 Things to do by August 1st, 2013:

1. Go to the gym everyday for a full week
2. Cook dinner for a group of friends
3. Visit a new church
4. Learn the names of everyone in my office
5. Go hiking on the parkway
6. Go skiing this winter
7. Watch 10 movies that I've never seen
8. Read 10 new books
9. Make friends with a neighbor
10. Take Paisley to the Greenway
11. Spend a day in downtown Blowing Rock
12. Do something fun for New Years Eve
13. Personalize my new desk
14. Buy an outfit from a local boutique
15. Attend an Appalachian basketball game
16. Do something that benefits my whole office (bring breakfast, write birthday cards, something!)
17. Eat at 5 restaurants that I've never tried
18. Throw a super fun housewarming party
19. Make my new apartment warm, inviting and like home
20. Make time to grab coffee before going to work (or buy a Keurig!)

I will be adding so many more things to this list as I transition to life working 8am-5pm, and living on my own, so I'm not stopping here! I'll update you all on my progress! Thanks so much so following along during this amazing journey of my life!

Interested in reading more?

I'm guest posting for Rachel at A Preppy State of Mind today about one of my favorite cold-weather patterns:
Plaid!

Read my post HERE.

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

For the Love of Good Lighting!

My new apartment decor is slowly but surely coming together!

Though I'll be filling the entire apartment, I've been focusing on my bedroom. I know this is where I'll spend a lot of my time, and seeing a beautiful room every day makes me so much more energized about getting up and getting things done!

Lately, I've been looking at lighting and bedside tables!

I am a huge fan of symmetry, and I think having a matching lamp and nightstand on both sides of your bed really balances the room.

The only problem, I haven't been able to find just the right lighting. I really like the Signature Lamp from Pottery Barn Teen, but with an $89/lamp price tag, I thought I was better off leaving them at the store.

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This morning, it came to me. 

Here's my way to get the monogrammed lamp look for less:
 I plan on going to Target and picking up a plain white lamp shade and a base that I really like. It will probably look something like this!

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Then, I'm going to jump on Etsy and order matching monogram decals to go on the shades! So cute!

Pink Pineapple Vinyl Designs offers a set of matching monograms in your choice of color and style for under $10, and they ship in just a few days!

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How cute would monogrammed lamps be on top of this mirrored bedside table I'm eyeing?!

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...and the matching coffee table! Love!

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As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Consignment Furniture Shopping!

During my day off yesterday, I went consignment furniture shopping for the first time!

I'm in the market for a few new-to-me pieces, and since I'm on a budget, I thought this would be a good way to start. Since I've never consignment furniture shopped seriously before, I thought I'd better do some research!

First, I jumped online and searched shops in the area, as well as asked friends if they knew of any good places! I got a ton of suggestions, and narrowed my list down to four different stops all within a 15 minute radius.

Shopping Stops:

If you're from the triad area, you've probably heard of most of these!

1. The Red Collection (original location)

2. The Red Collection (warehouse)

3. Adelaide's Vintage Home and Garden

4. Shoppes on Patterson

What I'm looking for:

Going in a place with TONS of furniture can be a little overwhelming, especially if you don't know what you're looking for. Yesterday morning, I made a list of items I was keeping my eyes out for.

1. A set of matching lamps

2. A set of matching bedside tables

3. A small sofa/couch or bench for the end of my bed

Basically, I want my room to look exactly like this!

Via

Throughout my trip, I saw a ton of furniture, but only a few pieces close to what I wanted. Here's my personal favorite!

Why yes, that is a hot pink, velvet couch!

Something about this piece stood out to me, and I'm still thinking about buying it! I might wait until November 19th. when it's $30 cheaper, then go back and see if they still have it!

After three long hours of shopping, I only came home with this cutie! I couldn't resist that pretty of a bow!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Let's Catch Up: I've Been Crafting!

Ever since I found out that I would be moving to a new place, I've been crafting like crazy...and a little before then too! Getting to decorate a whole apartment gives me a lot of room for the Pinterest projects that I've been eyeing!

Since all of these crafts were fairly simple, I thought I'd group them into one post!

1. Princess Canvases

When I heard that I was getting FOUR new GG-littles, I knew that I wanted to make them something special. My sorority family is super close, and I wanted these new girls to know exactly who I was. That's when I came up with this cute idea!

 My supplies:

The finished product!

I personalized each canvas with a crown, glitter princess cut out and the girl's name!

2. Glitter-Stemmed Wine Glasses

I also made these for my new GG's, but I haven't finished them just yet! I'm still planning on adding something on the main part of the glass.

I used a foam brush, Mod Podge and pink glitter, then sprayed them with the acrylic sealer!

3. DIY Confetti Art

This was an idea that I found on Pinterest, and instantly loved! And it was super easy! 

Here's the Mint Love Social Club original: 

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I picked up my supplies at A.C. Moore and the closest scrapbook store!

The craft took about an hour total! I punched out my 1" circles, placed them on the canvas and glued down each one!

Quick, easy & perfect for my pink and gold room!

4. North Carolina Canvas

This craft took the most time because it involved three of my family members! 

My Dad is a huge North Carolina lover, so I knew that he would be perfect to draw the state. It took him all of five minutes! I was so impressed!

Since I can't write in cursive very well, my mom wrote on the canvas for me! After they were done, I painted the whole thing. I painted multiple coats on the actual state, so it wouldn't look streaky. 

I can't wait to hang this up somewhere in my new apartment!

The hearts are placed on my current home and Boone, where I'll be moving:)

These crafts have been super fun, and kept me busy! I can't wait to cross a few more off my list!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Let's Catch Up: My New Job!

With so much going on the past few weeks, I have a lot to catch you up on! This is the first of many "Let's Catch Up" posts that I will be writing in the next few days.

So, I'm employed! Woohoo!

I know in my first post about my new job, I was very vague as to what my position was and what it entailed, but I happy to announce that I finally have time to elaborate on this fab opportunity!

I will be working in my college town of Boone, North Carolina! When I moved there four years ago as an undergrad, I instantly fell in love! The people, the town, the pretty weather, everything! I knew when I saw this particular opening, I just had to apply!

I applied at the end of September, and then waited...and waited some more! I was completely caught off, when the call for an interview finally came! They wanted me to come to Boone just a few days later. I was SO nervous, but SO excited to be back in a place that I love so much!

That following Friday at 10am, I had my interview, and it went better than well, it went fabulously! I hit it off instantly with the panel of 5 ladies interviewing me. They loved me, and I really loved them.

I knew this was the place I was meant to be.

I left Appalachian that day feeling amazing, and though I thought I had it in the bag, I tried my best not to get my hopes up too much. A week and half later, I got a call from my future supervisor offering me the position in Boone! To be honest, I think I froze for a few minutes. I couldn't believe the moment had finally come! 

I am so proud to be the new Assistant to the University Registrar. The Registrar is an office on campus, as well as a person that deals with everything graduation, class, transfer, registration-related. My favorite part, I'm also part of the event management team for our many graduation ceremonies, as well as convocation. Woohoo!

This opportunity gives me the full-time position that I've been craving, and still allows me to work weddings any Saturday that we have one. It's win, win. 

I feel so incredibly lucky.

My new office!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Sorry, No Vacancy

Throughout this whole new job/picking up my life in one place and taking it to another process, the most difficult part has been finding a place to live.

I know it has a lot to do with the town that I'm going to being super small, and revolving around its students, but I never imagined there would be nothing available. Seriously, nothing.

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To be honest, it's had me a little discouraged because it's hard to get excited about going somewhere and starting a new job when you don't know where you'll be laying your head down at night.

I'm sure anyone that has ever moved in their lifetime understands my feelings of getting your hopes up about one place, and having it fall through, or finding out it isn't exactly as nice as you hoped it would be. I've had this happen countless times over the past few days, but I'm trying my best to stay optimistic.

Unlike most people, I have never really moved before. Don't get me wrong, I did move into my college dorm for a year, but that was pretty much decided for me. Then I went from there to an apartment with two roommates, where a ton of other students lived, but this is a little different. I'm literally looking for a place to start my adult life, a place that I will come home to during the good days at work and the not-so-good, the place that I will have most of my "firsts" as an adult in the real world. 

Forgive me for being nostalgic, but that's a big deal!

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I've quickly realized that picking up your life and following a job is also expensive. There are a lot of initial costs of living by yourself that I hadn't taken into consideration before. These things combined with the rent of a one/two bedroom apartment for an entry-level position can be stressful. 

Yesterday, I spoke to a man over email that owns an apartment complex in Boone. He was very nice, and told me that though I preferred a one-bedroom, he had a two-bedroom unit available immediately! I've never been inside of this place (they're super new), but the outside is gorgeous. It gave me the ray of hope that I'd been searching for. I'm going to the university to sign paperwork on Monday, and my parents and I are planning to go see the unit!

Say a prayer, cross you fingers, send happy thoughts our way, please! I feel good about this one!

Have you had these same problems when moving to a new place?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!