Let's Go 2014!

As I get older, I get more and more selective as to what my goals are for the year ahead. This is mostly a result of making sure my heart is 100% committed to whatever I'm proclaiming that I'll do in the next year. As an extremely goal-oriented person, if I decide I want to do something, then I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it happen. After brainstorming many things that I'd like to do in 2014, these are the five that feel closest to my heart.

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Be Brave.

This means so many things for me, but most of all, it means going out on a limb, taking a chance and doing something because I truly believe in it. Though I'm a very independent, goal-driven person, there are times that I've stepped back in a situation, when I really should be leaning in, moving forward and embracing the opportunity for success.

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Get Back to New York City.

When I left New York in November, I'm fairly sure I left my heart behind. I want to be back so badly, and not even to do anything in particular, just to walk around, get lost, eat and explore. I love the people, the places, the noises, and the smells, and will be back as soon as I can get there!

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Be in Love with My Apartment.

Though I love where I live, I am not in love with the way my apartment looks. I've been trying to update a little at a time, so it's getting there slowly but surely. By the end of 2014, I want to have my apartment exactly the way I want it!

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Go on a Trip with My Dad.

My family goes on vacation together each year, and ever so often, my Mom and I go on little trips on our own (like the one to Disney this February.) Never in my 23 years, have my Dad and I gone on a trip just the two of us. That's why this year, we're making it a point to go on a trip together! I can't wait to find out where we're going. I'm hoping for somewhere fun like D.C, Chicago, or San Francisco, but it's totally up to him! I know this trip will include memories to last a lifetime.

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Four goals, twelve months, 365 days.

Let's go 2014.

Interested in last year's goals? Read Let's Go 2013 here!
All images can be found on my Pinterest.

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As always, Have a Sweet Day!

New York City Vacay: Day One!

Let me begin by saying,

I am obsessed with New York City!

Last weekend, two of my close friends and I had the amazing opportunity to go to New York City! During the four days and three nights that we spent in the city, we were able to fit in all sorts of fun and fabulous things! This is something that Danielle, Alex and I had been talking about for months, so we made sure to pull out all the stops!

I've split this post into three parts, one for each of the days were were in the city! If you have any questions, or would like advice as to how we got tickets/what we packed/how to prepare for a trip to NYC, feel free to email me at sweetlikeasong@gmail.com!

On the Tuesday night before we left on Thursday, Danielle came over to my apartment to help me pack. We literally spent hours deciding on the perfect outfits, shoes and accessories to wear in New York! We were also trying to pack light since we'd be carrying these bags from place to place, and we wanted to stay under Delta's 50lb weight limit.

Danielle and I got up bright and early on Thursday morning, to head to the Greensboro airport. I was so relieved when my bag only weighed 29lbs at the ticket counter! We checked our bags, quickly made our way through security and arrived at our gate right on time. Everything went swimmingly!

Of course we had to snap a few pictures when we finally got to where we were supposed to be! Here I am before boarding our hour-long flight to New York City!

It still absolutely amazes me that you can travel from North Carolina to New York in just over an hour! So cool! Danielle and I flew Delta both ways, and they were just fabulous to work with! With just one phone call, we were able to confirm our flight details, and make sure that we were able to sit together on the way there!

Preparing for a smooth landing at LaGuardia!

We arrived at LaGuardia just after lunch, met up with Alex (who was flying in from Charleston) and took a taxi straight to the Appalachian Loft, where we would spend the next three nights. 

The Loft is a wonderful resource for ASU's students, faculty, staff and alumni that are interested in visiting New York City for a much cheaper rate. It functions somewhat like a dorm, with two large rooms of bunk beds and community restrooms. This set-up worked perfectly for us and our budget! We were able to stay at the Loft for four days and three nights for just over $100/person. Sign me up!

Thanks to our sweet friend Tyler from Appalachian, we had tickets to see The Late Show with David Letterman. Since the show is actually taped during the day (who knew?!) we had to be at the theater to claim our tickets at 2:30PM. We left the Loft, walked just a few blocks to catch the subway and headed to 53rd Street to the famous Ed Sullivan Theater.

Thanks to Tyler, not only were we guests for the show that day, we had special VIP seats in the balcony of the theater! We also got to go up on stage after the show. It was amazing!

So legit!

Jonah Hill from Superbad was the special guest that day, and he was hilarious! I still can't believe we got to get up on stage and sit at Letterman's desk. If you ever have the chance to do this, it's totally worth it. Thanks, Tyler!

Later that evening, we made our way back to the Loft to get dressed up for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie premier. Normally, I wouldn't dress up to go to the movie theater, but we were in New York City, so why not?! 

Thanks to a little research prior to the trip, we had our tickets bought and printed, all before arriving in New York. This saved so much time once we arrived at the theater. The movie was amazing and it was packed! I'm so glad we made time to do this!

Since we weren't too far from the Loft, we walked back, admiring the beautiful buildings and lights. Our first day in the city was nothing short of amazing, and I knew right then this trip was going to be one for the books!

Make sure to check back for my posts on day two and three of our trip!

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As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Outer Banks Vacation Recap - Part One!

A few weeks ago, my family and I took our annual Miller Family Vacation to Nags Head at the Outer Banks. It was a fabulous trip filled with great food, relaxation, shopping and family time!

Needless to say, I'm already ready to back! Showing you all the fun pictures I took is the only way to accurately portray this perfect week, so I I hope you enjoy!

(I'm sorry for the photo overload! Too many cute things!)

Paisley relaxing while I packed the night before we left!

So excited to finally be on our way!

After 5 hours of riding, we arrived at our beautiful house "Yada Yada Yada" on Saturday afternoon!

We loved that this house had everything you could possible need: a pool, hot tub and a fenced in yard for Paisley and Arnie (my Mom's friend's beagle.) It was the perfect set up, and only one block from the beach!

Not long after arriving, Paisley decided to fall jump into the deep end of the pool. I immediately jumped in after her...fully-clothed, with my shoes on. It was hilarious, to say the least! My Mom even managed to snap this picture.

The first day of vacation was absolutely beautiful! We had sunny skies with highs in 70's! It was perfect beach weather!

 Daddy in our hot tub!

 Paisley and I enjoying the pool.

This was Paisley's first time going to the beach, and she absolutely loved it, especially chasing crabs at night!

A walk on the beach every morning was the perfect start to the day!

I couldn't resist homemade banana pudding on the night of our first dinner out!

Needless to say, we were all stuffed once we got home! Paisley and I laying on the floor watching the Bachelorette.

A few days were a little more cloudy, so we used those to shop! On Tuesday, we headed a few miles down the road to the Tanger Outlets. I didn't see anything I needed at the outlets, but I did find the cutest things at some local shops later in the week!

This cap was too cute to pass up!

 I also snagged these precious seahorse earrings at a local boutique!

Mama and I couldn't help driving up to Duck, NC one day later in the week to visit the "Life's a Beach" Lilly Pulitzer store! 

On Tuesday evening, we celebrated my parent's 30th wedding anniversary by having a delicious dinner at a local restaurant called Basnight's!

I decided to wear one of my favorite Lilly dresses in the You Gotta Regatta print for this special occasion!

 

 

 
The food was fabulous!

This is just a portion of our amazing vacay! Make sure to check back on the blog tomorrow for part two of my OBX recap, to see a few other fun stops we made! With seven full days in such a beautiful place the possibilities were endless!

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Let's Go 2013!

The night before last, I had the pleasure of spending the evening with my dear friend, Sharyn. This is the person who gave me the push I needed to start this blog, nearly a year and a half ago, and one of the many reasons why the past five years of my life have been so amazing.

Among other things, Sharyn and I got to talking about 2013, how time is flying by, and our goals for the new year ahead. 

Goals are something that I love sharing on my blog, because by putting them here, I can explain exactly what I want to do (to my readers and to myself). It's a post that I've been meaning to write for 17 days now, but honestly, I wanted to have my goals right in my head first, before I shared them with all of you. After chatting with her last night, I knew I was ready to share. 

Thanks, Sharyn! You gave me the push I needed...yet again!

My Goals for 2013:

1. Run a 5k: 

Plain and simple. I was running fairly regularly for about a month, then Christmas break happened and the gyms in Boone closed, thus halting my exercise temporarily. Now that the students are back, the gyms are on regular schedule, and my running is starting back in full swing. Completing my first 5k is something that I would LOVE to accomplish. I've already picked out the race! I'm doing The Color Run Winston-Salem on March 16th! I can't wait!

2. Enjoy summer vacation with my family:

Last year, when my family went on vacation, there were a couple things that didn't go in our favor: the weather, some personalities, etc, so this year, I have vowed that things are going to be VERY different. My family is too precious, and times like these where we're all in the same place at the same time are few and far between, so I'm going to absolutely live it up! My Mama and I have picked a location in the Outer Banks that we're just crazy about, and we've invited my Mom's best friend and her husband, only adding to the fun. We also decided to rent a beach house this year (a Miller first) because we always stay in a condo, but this year is super special because it's my parent's 30th wedding anniversary!

3. Find my professional direction:

This goal may sound odd, but during 2013, I want to have more of an idea of where I want to go professionally. Over the past few weeks, I've been tossing around staying in higher education long term, going to graduate school, and about a million other things. There are so many options when you're "22, single and have no children," as my Mama says. Thanks, Mom! I have big dreams, and I want to take the steps to make them all happen! Who knows where I could end up?! If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be working at my alma mater, representing an amazing university, I would've said you were crazy.

I have three goals.

I have three plans of action.

I'm ready.

Let's go 2013.

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Get Me to the Beach!

Every year around April, my family begins the task of brainstorming where we’d liked to go for our summer vacation. My Mom prefers a place with a pool, my Brother, a roller coaster, me, great shopping, and my Dad just wants to relax. With all these different preferences, it usually takes while to decide where we’re going to end up.

This year was very different!

As of about 5pm yesterday, our summer vacay is booked, and I am so excited! You may have guessed where we’re going by the title! Where's our destination this year? None other than the North Carolina Outer Banks, specifically, Nags Head.

Usually when we go to the beach, we stay in a hotel or condo for about three days, but it's my parent’s 30^th wedding anniversary, so we’re going all out! We’ve picked out a house and rented it for the first week in June woohoo! I love it because it has its own pool, as well as a fenced in back yard for pets! That means Paisley gets to come too! Paisley has never been to the beach or in the water (besides her doggie pool), so she'll be having a big time as well!

Here are a few photos from our house:

The pool and hot tub have my name written all over them! 

Even though I’m so excited about the house, the pool and the beach, I’m sure we’ll be looking for some fun things to do and eat during our stay! I've been to the Outer Banks before, but it’s been a while, so I can’t remember what all they have to do there, but I’m open for suggestions!

Have you been to Nags Head?

What should we do while we're there?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Our Hilton Head Vacation

It's hard to believe I've gone without blogging for 8 full days, but I have been so busy! Vacations and birthdays and puppies, OH MY! Everything has been moving 100 miles an hour! This coming week, I'm hoping things will slow down a little so I can enjoy the Fourth of July Holiday! 

In order to get you caught back up on my life, I figured we'd go in chronological order! First thing's first! This past Sunday morning I left for Hilton Head Island with the fam and enjoyed an amazing 3-night stay, despite the cloudy weather the whole time! Yes, every day was rainy and gloomy, but we still had a great time!

Jake and I arrived on Sunday around one in the afternoon. We met my family at Coligny Plaza to have lunch at Stu's Subs. 

Stu's is apparently the place to be, because even at almost two in the afternoon, the line was going out the door! People were all over the place, waiting for there lunch fill. I enjoyed the "Harbour Town Classic" twice during our stay.

 The place was so good, Jake and I stopped back by as we left the island!

After relaxing for the rest of the day on the beach, we enjoyed dinner and drinks at Hudson's Seafood! My Mom and I had visited Hudson's on our last trip and really enjoyed it. We thought it would be a great place to take the whole group.

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Monday was spent relaxing at the condo and riding bicycles inside our little community. Jake and I got up early to go to the beach, but the rain sent us straight back indoors. We stayed in a cute 3-bedroom condo in Palmetto Dunes. This place was big enough so that everyone had their own space, but still quaint like a beach cottage. We really enjoyed it here. 

We also made sure to visit the Palmetto Dunes General Store! Jake enjoyed an assortment of southern cooking, while I had pizza for lunch. This place was so neat! They honestly sold everything you could think of from breakfast sandwiches and souvenirs to t-shirts!

For dinner on Monday, we headed to The Old Oyster Factory. This place was also so good! If you like seafood, it's definitely a good place to try! This restaurant is fairly large, and since our table was off to itself, I had a chance to make some pictures of the group.

I'm loving my Dad's smile in this one!

 My Dad & Brother decided to split this huge seafood platter! I couldn't believe the size of this thing!

The Oyster Factory has a large deck area in the back of the restaurant, where they have live music and other entertainment. We stopped by on our way out for a group picture!

It was such a nice family vacation!

 The last day of vacation was spent celebrating Jake's 22nd birthday! Make sure to stop by tomorrow to read about our trip to Savannah and what I ended up giving him for his birthday!

Happy Monday Yall!