Biltmore House Bound!

On Saturday we were anyway...

and what an amazing time we had! 

I would definitely recommend the trip!

Jake and I booked our tour of the actual house for 10am. This doesn't sound too bad, until you add in that my semi-formal was the night before and we didn't get home until 2am. I know, yikes! The next morning, we still had a two-hour drive ahead of us! That meant me having to get up at 6:15 in the morning to get ready! After all this, and a couple other factors that helped weigh in on our decision, we decided to give Biltmore a call and push the tour back a bit. They were more than willing to honor our request and moved our tour until 4:15 that afternoon. What a relief!

Speaking of semi-formal, we did have a great time!

Some of my friends rented a cabin and we met up with everyone there before the function.

 

Okay, now back to my story!

So, we left on our little road trip about 12:30pm and arrived in Asheville about 2:45pm, the perfect amount of driving time for our little day trip! After driving through the gates, we headed to find our tickets at will-call. My friend, Jeff is a season pass holder and he helped us get them with a great discount. (Thanks, Jeff!)

After parking the car, we followed a trail that took us right to the front of the house! So beautiful!

 We were so excited to make it after the crazy morning we'd had!

Since we were a little early for our tour, we decided to check out the shops nearby! They were super cute and reasonably priced!

This little cutie went home with me!

I love cupcakes and this needed to be in my collection!

We then proceeded to take our tour (where no cameras were allowed, BOO!), and then 4 hours later, we decided to leave for dinner. 

A nice couple took our picture!

Our view on the way out!

We thought about having dinner inside Biltmore, but most of the nicer restaurants required a reservation and we were starving! Since it was getting late, we decided to go out of the gates and find something in the town of Asheville. Jake had been talking about Moe's Southwest grill earlier that day and we spotted one just as we were leaving!

I was a little skeptical because I'd never tried Moe's before, but I loved it. It may not have been gourmet, but both of our meals were delicious and really hit the spot! We headed home after dinner and got back to Boone around 10pm. This trip was exactly what I needed and I can't wait to go on another adventure again soon!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

I'm so sorry for my four-day blogging absence!

There has been so much going on with the semester coming to an end and getting ready for that stress-filled exam week!
If you're dealing with exams as well, I hope it isn't too tough this semester! I got lucky and only ended up with one real exam. What a relief! Last semester, I had three on the same day!

But on the bright side, there are only two weeks until Christmas!

If you read my last post, you know that I had semi-formal this weekend, and then yesterday, Jake and I ventured to the Biltmore House. It was so beautiful! Stop by tomorrow to see what we did, bought, etc!

Today, I wanted to talk about living!
I know it sounds a bit random, but with graduation fast approaching (exactly 5 months and 1 day from today) it's been on my mind a lot lately!
You go to college, you graduate, but then what?!

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Even if you're not dealing with this now, it's a stage of life that we will all go through, taking a leap of faith, leaving the nest, you get it. I know that getting a job comes first, but I am so excited have a new place to live!

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Yes, I'm sure I'll be back at home for a little while until I find something else, but I'm talking about after that.

Though I have no city or apartment in mind, I do have some decorating ideas, via Pinterest of course!

Bedroom:
Love that monogram!

 

These pillows are amazing!

Office:

Books are my favorite!

Hallway:

I'd love to hear what you think about these too-cute rooms and decorating ideas?! How did you decorate the first place that was all your own?

It's that time of year!

I will be so happy when this semester is over with! It's not that it's been that bad, I've actually had a fairly good semester. I'm just tired and in need of a break!
I'm sure many of you know how that feels this time of year!

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I have some good news!

Actually, I have a couple of exciting things that are going on...

1. I finally reached 50 followers!!!

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog! I literally couldn't have made it here without you.

I know I've been talking about the giveaway that I would be doing when I hit the big 5-0, but I've decided to wait until a little later in December. Don't worry though, the giveaway is still happening! I just feel like there are SO MANY giveaways going on right now, I want to wait a little while.

It will be well worth the wait!

I'll give you a little hint though...PLAID! Who isn't excited about that?

2. Tonight we had our Princess Family Christmas Dinner with all 7 of the princesses! If you've recently started reading my blog, this is my Alpha Phi family and some of the most wonderful girls I know:)

Here we are!

We decided to go to this wonderful restaurant in town called Hokkaido! Oh my goodness it's amazing! 

Last year, when it was just Katy, Sharyn, and I, we would all by gifts for each other, but now that there are so many of us, we thought Secret Santa might be a better option (and cheaper)! With the price limit set at $15, I think it worked out perfectly. 

I drew Kaitlyn's name! She's standing beside me, on the left!

It was so easy to pick out her gifts because she loves pink and girly things, just like me!

I went to J.CREW and grabbed two pairs of their cute trouser socks and a pink rhinestone headband.

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When we exchanged gifts, I found out that Liz (to my right in the picture) drew my name and had gotten me the most wonderful gift!

Yes, a Lilly Pulitzer tumbler! I am a huge fan of Lilly, but this is an item that I didn't have, but have had my eyes on it for a while! I am in love with this print, especially since it matches my Lilly planner! What a perfect present! Thanks, Liz!

3. This Thursday, Jake and I are going to a Christmas party where everyone dresses Christmassy. (Not sure if that's a real word?!) I'm super excited about this because I've always wanted to go to a "Tacky Christmas" event! A friend of mine is letting me borrow a Christmas vest that she had, so it should be SO much fun!

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4. Friday is Alpha Phi's Semi-Formal (many pictures to come)! This year we're having it at a nice Italian restaurant/bar. This is our last function of the semester! It's gone by so fast!

5. Saturday- I'll be on my way to the Biltmore House in Asheville! I've been wanting to go for years, but just never had the time. I'm so excited to see the decorations, try some great food and just be with the boyfriend for the day:)

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It's going to be a busy, but super fun next couple of days and I can't wait!

I'll be taking all kinds of pictures to document my journey!

Tickled Pink!

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend! Mine has definitely been a busy one! I decided to come home yesterday morning because my family wanted to go out to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Around the Miller's, birthdays mean good food and I wasn't about to miss out on a good meal!

On the way home I decided to make a couple pit stops!

1. My favorite consignment shop! I always find the best things here and today was no exception! With the money already on my account, I paid a little over $5.00 for these two gems.

Pink, long-ish, 3/4 sleeve sweater 

Red, 1/4 zip, cable sweater

2. Next stop, Starbucks! I had been dying to try the Peppermint Mocha that everyone is talking about! If you follow me on Twitter, then you've already heard my thoughts....yes, it was amazing! I also grabbed a quick Christmas gift, so I was happy about that:)

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3. Thruway Shopping Center- I made a return at Hallmark and then picked up my Daddy the best birthday present at Great Outdoor Provision Company! I snagged this Columbia vest on sale and they gift-wrapped it for free! You can't beat that!

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4. I decided to swing by Edward McKays (a used bookstore and my most-recent obsession), to see if they had anything that caught my eye! Too bad I love everything in there and could spend all my money! Haha. I had to limit myself to one purchase today, so I walked out with this!

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Definitely a successful shopping trip!

Then I got home to find this surprise!

Yes, a package for little 'ol me! 

I love getting mail, like LOVE IT, so this just made my week!

It was the Christmas gift from my Holly Jolly Swap Secret Santa! I'll be keeping the contents secret until after Christmas, when we all reveal! Thanks so much to my amazing Secret Santa!

After I finally calmed down from the package excitement, we all headed out to eat in Winston for Daddy's birthday. We had so much fun and it was muy delicioso!

I got up this morning, went to church with the fam. and have relaxed/decorated for Christmas for the rest of the day.

Only 21 days until Christmas! Get excited!

A Couple of Birthdays!

I wanted to post today in honor of my wonderful parent's birthdays!

They both have just turned 52, but Shhhh! 

Hopefully they won't be too mad that I told!

We celebrated my Mom's birthday over the Thanksgiving holiday, on November 27th and my Dad's birthday is Today, December 2nd!

They were born 5 days apart & married 29 years, next June!

These are two of the most amazing people that I have ever met. I am so lucky to have them in my life.

My Mama is the queen of scrapbooking, the most genuine and caring person you will ever meet, lover of simple elegance, Ann Taylor Loft, handwritten notes, and an amazing school nurse to so many. There is no one else that I would rather be like.

My Daddy is the most selfless person I have ever met. As long as his family is safe, he can mow the yard, sit down and enjoy a Carolina basketball game, and have "his dog," home is the only place he wants to be. I hope that my husband is just like him one day. 

Senior Prom 2008

Appalachian Homecoming 2011

My parent have sacrificed so much for my brother and I and I will never be able to repay them for the things that they have done for us. These two people are who made me who I am today, and I could not be more proud.

Happy Birthday Mama & Daddy!

I love you more than you'll ever know!

(I had to throw this one in!)