Happy Memorial Day!

Hi friends!

I hope your weekend is going fabulously.

I am one happy camper, mostly because my mom is finally here!!

She flew into DC Friday night where I went to pick her up.

We spent the night at my cousins then headed to Richmond Saturday.

I took her to Short Pump mall which was really fun, but I didn't even get anything!

Shopping fail!

However, we did go to P.F. Changs for dinner...my first time!

It looked a little something like this:

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I will be trying to find this recipe and most likely eat them every day for the rest of my life.

Spicy Green Beans

I could have ate them all by myself, but I shared.

 Sesame Chicken

Great Wall of Chocolate

Oh yes we did!

Since Richmond is only 2 hours from me I am definitely going to get a group together and going back.

It was incredible!

Today we're going to do some more shopping and more eating.

At least we get lots of walking in too!

Then Bible study with my ladies and a group cookout tonight.

I hope you all have fun plans for your day off, but I hope you also remember why we have a day off in the first place.

Freedom comes with a price and unfortunately I know a few people who have paid the ultimate price so that I could be free.

I am forever grateful for that.

XOXO

Sunday Funday

Who doesn't love Sunday?!

I sure do!

Waking up and dressing cute for church, then lunch and always a relaxing afternoon...that's what Sundays are made for!

Shirt: J. Crew

Skirt: J. Crew

Purse: Coach

Sandals: Payless

Belt: J. Crew

Necklace: J. Crew

Honestly, I don't own THAT much J. Crew...

The J. Crew center is in Lynchburg so I go to some of their warehouse sales.

Yesterday I went with Danielle and got the shirt and skirt and just had to wear them ASAP.

It was a bit windy today, so walking to my car from church got a bit awkward with a flowy skirt on.

I was going to head out for an afternoon run, but the windy day turned into a bit of a rainy day.

Oh well, relaxing on the couch it is!

Happy Sunday!

XOXO

Encouragement

Wow.

I have missed you all so much!

I know I haven't been gone that long, but I feel like so much has happened in that time.

I just finished my third week at my new job and I am loving it.

Sometimes it gets boring because I just stare at a computer screen all day; however, everyone is so nice to me AND I got paid today!

That was nice too.

Things haven't been all wonderful this past week though.

Growing up is hard.

Making decisions is hard.

Learning who you can count on is hard.

One day I was feeling just so discouraged.

So torn.

I prayed that God would give me strength and guess what?

He did.

I read this verse one morning that has helped me through this past week or so.

"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

-Isaiah 26:4

Encouragement came right when I needed it.

Another encouraging thing to remember is that my mom will be here in one week!

This time next week I will have picked her up in DC and we will be spending time with my cousin and hitting up the capitol.

In the words of my mother, "We can get Georgetown cupcakes for breakfast and then drive to Richmond and hit up P.F. Changs for dinner."

Now you know why I'm so awesome!

;)

Well, friends, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

I promise not to disappear for weeks at a time anymore.

Happy blogging!

XOXO

Music and Cupcakes

Sorry I've been gone for so long!

I've been busy with baby showers, bridal showers and, of course, my new job!

Which I really like, by the way.

I'm getting my cubicle all organized and I'll take a picture of it soon.

I also plan on taking pictures of my outfits, only because I enjoy dressing up for work so much.

I'm sure I'll get sick of it after a while, but for the past year and a half I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt covered by an apron everyday.

Anywho, this post isn't really about my new job {I'll post more on that soon}.

This post is about something much more exciting...cupcakes!

A few weeks ago I went to my friends concert at a local coffee shop.

They are amazingly talented.

The shop is under new ownership and they had these cupcakes that I just had to try!

Of course I couldn't just pick one.

Top left: Chocolate Buttercream

Back left: Peanut Butter

Front right: Salted Caramel Pretzel

Back right: Milton {The shop is famous for their milton milkshakes.  Kind of like a coffee milkshake}.

Seriously, these cupcakes were so good!

They were very moist and the frosting wasn't too sweet.

I loved the chocolate buttercream because I prefer buttercream over icing.

But the salted caramel pretzel was awesome too.

I will definitely be going back for more and asking them to bake different flavors.

Perhaps a red velvet...

On another note, did everyone have a fantastic Cinco de Mayo?!

I love it.

I actually didn't even get a margarita, which is super disappointing, but I did have a Jack&Coke for the first time which was delish!

Also, Coconut Rum and Sprite...it basically tastes like candy.

So good.

Well, my battery is about to die so I better go!

XOXO

P.S. 19 days till my momma visits! :)

Awkward&Awesome Thursday

Thursday is always a slow day.

It's almost the weekend, but not quite.

There's still one more day to get through before weekend bliss can begin.

And what a blissful weekend it will be.

I plan on relaxing as hard as I can before I start my new job next week.

There is one thing to look forward to on Thursday's, however {besides power yoga, of course!}

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

I've missed a few weeks, but I'm back on track...for this week at least.

;)

Awkward:

- Have you ever had a man in his mid 50's approach you at work and ask if you know mouth to mouth?  I have.  Yes, it was very awkward.

- Apparently I've been put on the email list for my new job that I haven't even started.  This is great except that I get 50 emails a day with lingo that I have absolutely no way of understanding the meaning and it does not apply to me at all.  Then I get an email about picture day and immediately revert back to middle school thinking about how awful picture day was...oy!

- Never being able to decide what to do with your hair.  I see a picture of Reese Witherspoon and want to be blonde.  I see a picture of Mila Kunis and want dark hair.  I hate being indecisive!

- Three days after the NEEDTOBREATHE concert my ears are still a little bit fuzzy.  I most likely permanently damaged them, but it was so worth it!

Awesome:

- I am so excited to start a new job.  I've bought some cute professional clothes and shoes.  I'm going to decorate my cubicle in the most adorable way.  Meeting new people is always fun, too!

- I'm so excited to get my nails done on Monday!  I haven't had a manicure since I've been working at the deli 1 1/2 years ago.

- I love jean shopping.  I love it even more when I need a size smaller than expected!

Alrighty, it's time for bed because I have an early morning ahead of me.

Goodnight all!

XOXO

NEEDTOBREATHE

Today was one of those days that you think will be awful and turn out being amazing.

I had to get up earlier than normal to get to work which I so wasn't looking forward to.

It actually was so fun to be with my boss and co-worker for longer than normal.

We all got a little crazy towards the end and could not stop laughing.

At one point I made a Star Wars reference and told to my co-worker, "Teach you to bake, I will".
I then proceeded to call my boss Yoda, I was a Jedi, and my co-worker was a young Padawan.
Also, I may have done my Chewbacca impression too...
Seriously?
I hang out with too many guys.
This is what happens when I wake up too early.

In light of that reference my mother sent me this picture...

Haha I died!

I went to see NEEDTOBREATHE Monday night!

If you haven't heard of them I strongly encourage you to listen to them.

They are one of my favorites.

My friend Danielle used to date a band member so we got awesome floor seats and stood up at the stage the whole night.

It was amazing!

The rest of this post will be a million pictures and videos I took.

Bear Reinhart has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard and he sounds UH-mazing live.

Enjoy!

THERE THEY ARE!!!!! 

 Me, Danielle, and Heather rockin out!

 Bear Rinehart!

 Bo and Bear singing "More Time".

My favorite of their songs {video below}.

 Heather, Josh {keyboard player for the band} and I!

Bo got up on the speaker right in front of me!

 Bo Rinehart!

Absolutely beautiful!

Bo wrote this song for his family.

Washed by the Water.

Awesome acoustic version.

I love NEEDTOBREATHE and I seriously love them even more now that I've seen how awesome they are live.

Too bad Bo is married cause he is quite the looker!

;)

Well, I'm off to bed so I can get up for work in the AM...1 week till my new job!
I predict an exciting road ahead!

XOXO

Shopping Again and The Lucky One

Hey friends!

So, I'll be honest...I may be going a little nutso in the shopping department lately.

Now, I won't point fingers, but it seems that every time I hang out with Danielle we shop.

Take last night for example.

We went to dinner and then to see The Lucky One {amazeballs...but I'll get to that in a minute}.

The earlier showing was sold out so we got a later time and started walking around the mall.

In record time I had purchased two pairs of shoes and a bikini bottom.

Found Here

Found Here

Gotta buy some shoes for work.

Found Here

I love the color of this suit and the cute ruffles!

I bought some jeans from AE as well, but I need to take them back and get a smaller size.

I love when that happens!!

Now, like I said, Danielle and I went to see The Lucky One.

It is my favorite Nicholas Sparks book by far.
When I found out Zac Efron was in it...well, I was just a little bit excited.
The movie didn't disappoint me!
I'm not a movie critic {I would be a horrible critic because I'm easily entertained!}, but when Zac Efron takes his shirt off a lot, I'm just fine with whatever the plot is.
I thought Taylor Schilling was gorgeous and held her own with Zac.
I used to try to pretend I didn't care about romance, but seriously, that's crap.
I'm a "hopeful romantic".
I love love.
Danielle and I talked after the movie and we agreed that there aren't many men out there who treated Beth like Logan did in the movie.
Really pursuing her, wanting to know everything about her, being a gentleman, and being super hot!
It's just a movie.
It's sad because I have a ton of guy friends and could only think of one, maybe two, guy who are genuinely sweet and caring and romantic.
I'm not saying that I want a mushy gushy guy at all.
I'm usually more attracted to the funny guy anyways.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that every time I watch a Nicholas Sparks movie, or any romantic movie for that matter, my expectations shoot through the roof and no guy can measure up to a role in a movie.
I think it's something you realize one day when you fall in love...instead of thinking of all the other persons flaw and how you wish you could change them, you love them in spite of their flaws.
I'm looking forward to the day when I'm in love with someone, and he with me, in spite of our flaws!

XOXO