wonderland

Snapped! The trees walking into work this morning - the snow we had this morning was complete 'fairytale snow' - large fluffy flakes, and sticky enough to get on every single branch. The drive in was gorgeous, but all the snow was gone from the trees by the time I left.

weekend update: after the storm

We didn't lose power! Yay! I ended up sleeping for 11 hours last night- so I didn't get to see any heavy snow or hear the 'howling wind'. Jack was up until 12 or so and reported back to me. I've gone through a part of one of my action items for the weekend - looking at some of the photos I've taken!

Petraaaa. I have about 30 pictures of her sitting on top of the stool she's fallen in love with. 

I love this cute post card that I got from Lush! I sadly did not make it to their party, which was today, and I'm kind of sad! I hope I can get to one of their events. I always love the experience I have in their stores. This is actually Jack's dresser mirror- I usually just put things in it. The bottom is a photo of my brother, mom and I when we went to Disneyland in the early nineties, and the top is a heart I found... somewhere. :(

What the top of my dresser looks like right now- messy. You can see my resolutions frame, and my favorite candles. I picked up that bottle of Sily Underwear on my last trip to Lush and I love it - I either put it on myself or in my bed sheets. :) In the tin is my Wiccy massage bar - it smells strong, but I like it. I put it on after workouts (if I remember) or after showers when I feel sore. 

Earlier we dug out our cars, and had to drive to Jack's parents - their back chairs had been buried! Getting to see all the snow covered yards was really neat. 

Instagram pictures from the storm... If you follow me you've seen these today! My first snow angel, me getting ready to work out in the warmth of my apartment, and me outside. The snow came above my knees at some points. I'm glad we went out to clean off our cars though. :)

So, how is my list doing?

1. Complete printing and placing of Project Life photos (photos have been edited! some fillers have also been printed)
2. Finish Star Trek: Voyager
3. Do Kickboxing DVD! 
4. Do Zumba DVD!
5. Do Yoga Meltdown DVD!
6. Do Yoga in general!
7. Drink at least 3 cups of detox tea (Now thinking two pots is a bit overboard - changed to 3 cups)
8. Eat my recommended calorie allowance (Staying somewhat good with this! Happy I am not going overboard at least..) 
9. Complete my week-at-a-glance housekeeping items, including those I have missed Yay for 15 minute cleaning bursts!
10. Organize my finances
11. Take a luxurious bath with one of my bath bombs (and try out a bubble bar!)

This has been a strange weekend so far- I usually only have two days, so having another day is so strange! I hope I am able to get through more tomorrow.

❤stephanie

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Photo dump thursday!

My presentation went as well as it could have! I wasn't speaking, but 3 of our VPs and the company president were! I was in charge of all the A/V, and consolidating the presentations. The biggest problem was one group RSVP'd for 5, brought 15 attendees. When one of my superiors mentioned it my face must've fallen aaaaaaall over the floor. My boss did say that everything went great and I deserved a drink hahaha. (I will be having some delicious japanese hibachi tomorrow to congratulate myself as I am waaaay too self-indulgent.)

Below are some recent pictures - I'm not as happy with these as I have been with some of my other shots lately, but I need to keep sharing. It motivates me to take more and better! Hopefully now that the meeting is over I'll be a little less single minded.

Out in the snow! Ignore the cars in the background, please! Hahahaha. Coat is a Columbia 3 layer jacket I found at TJ Maxx. Pants are sweats because they were lined. Hair is in milk maid braids which I've been super into lately. 

Giant thing next to the window is one of our cat trees- Scritchie likes to perch on the top level to look out the window. 

Snow. Blegh.

More snow more blegh.

Finally hung the prints we got from Harshness! I picked up the frames from Hobby Lobby for ~$7/each. 11x17 frames are so hard to find. :(

This one is over Jack's side of the couch. :)

Super-glued some paper to the lid of my 'Good 2013 Memories Jar' that I through together after reading Scathingly Brilliant's post going through her 2012 Jar. It has one memory in it so far! But there will be more. I think it has something to do with cats, which isn't that surprising. 

Me looking all creepy at Petra. I started this post off with a cute picture of me, figure I can end it with a bad one hahaha. :)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far! Anyone have great plans for the weekend that I can borrow?

up to date Sunday #5

Changed my header! This is a bigger, b/w version. Same location as my previous header picture, which you can see here. 

current song: Calvin Harris feat. Example - We'll Be Coming Back (What does this have to do with the season/new year? Nothing really.)

current thoughts: Aaaaaah have to get my schedule down before the new year! There are things that need to be done! Ever since I really figured out that I need to be doing something (hopefully productive) to feel like I've spent my time well it's been really helpful. I don't really want to do the dishes, but if at 4 PM I can give myself a list of what I've done so far that day I'll feel so much better. (Especially if dishes is one of those things!)

current plan: Figure out how to dispose of our Christmas tree. Jack has never had one in this apartment building, and we haven't seen any others in parking lot/dumpster area. Make our apartment neater and prettier. Later we are going out with some friends who have had a hard time this holiday season. This was originally supposed to happen last night, but then we got quite a bit of snow all at once!

current workout: Still on Tara Stiles Slim Calm Sexy Yoga. I've just been leaving my mat out, and will hang out for a while and watch TV and go through the book. Think I overstretched a few days ago though, so I've been taking it easy. I love working out with a book, which I really haven't done before (video all the way!) but I like that there is no one rushing me out of the one pose I really really like!

current quote:

“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” ― Henry David Thoreau

Monday snapshots

So where have I gotten so far with my list?

• Clean the ENTIRE apartment DONE! I am so proud. This was a huge project for me. :)
• Empty the fridge
• Spend time with both cats alone Seperating them makes this a lot easier. If we spend time with Petra, Scritchie isn't lurking far behind normally and still stresses her. :(
• Take some pictures I took so many. The best are below. :)
• Wrap some presents I had a few to wrap, and am waiting on one more to be delivered. For my first time wrapping, I do think I did okay. :) One of the items was a cylinder so I wrapped it like a holiday cracker! 
• Sing some christmas carols
• Edit lots of pictures Oh Lightroom, how I love thee. 
• DO THE SNOW DANCE. I really want some snow. Driving in it is the worst thing, but if I do not have a white Christmas I WILL BE SO MAD NEW ENGLAND!!!!
• Cook this really awesome looking pumpkin cinnamon overnight pull-apart french toast. 
• Have a spa day. My Christmas present from Jack was my own mini Lush-haul, so between bath bombs, scrubs, steams and face masks I think I'll do my body lots and lots of good.  Got to use my steam tab and fresh face mask! Later I will probably take the most luxurious shower. :)
• Finish season 2 of Teen Wolf.  Where is season 3?
• Catch up on blogs! Got my bloglovin to 0 unread! Yessssss. :) Also went through a ton of blog posts on some that I had never really gotten the chance to before. (Namely, Scathingly Brilliant. So adorable!)

I did take a lot of pictures!

 This morning I got up, and started making dough. I had seen this recipe for Nutella Cinnamon Rolls on A Beautiful Mess and got into the cooking mood! They came out pretty okay... I think my lack of a decent pan and messing up the heights affected them a little. Next time I'll use more cinnamon as well. 

Scritchie hanging out, watching the TV. He loves his cat tower, and Petra won't go near it. 

They are so close to each other without any hissing going on! You can see Scritchie (on the desk) mooning after Petra. He does this a lot.

The steam tab I used. You pop it into bowl with hot water and let it fizz out while you hold your head with a towel over so no moisture escapes. It smelled wonderful and I did notice a difference in my skin. 

I've been wanting to try one of their face masks so when Jack took me to pick out my Christmas present I picked this up as well. I did not mind the smell at all, and my skin is so soft after! I hope to notice a difference within a few days in terms of clarity, and I hope it can battle some of the spots I feel under the skin. :(

This is a small project I've been working on after seeing it on Pinterest A TON. My very own Journal Jar! I started this as a possible present but am enjoying it almost too much. I am writing everything directly onto scrapbook paper, then cutting the strips. They're all in the same pad so I like that they'll match. I plan on putting a ribbon or something around the threading. 

Tonight is going to be filled with fudge making, bread marinating and possible movie watching. 

I miss home A LOT. I've been FaceTiming with my parents and grandparents a lot, but it is nowhere near the same as knowing I'll be going over to my aunt's house tonight and seeing everyone, or that I'll be waking up to my moms Christmas breakfast tomorrow. I will definitely be heading back home next year for Christmas. Jack has been wonderful though- making sure I get my tree, not complaining about my Christmas radio stations and whatnot... I may even put a Yule Log on the TV tomorrow! :)

Monday Musings

Starting today it's not just me out of the house all day; Jack is working in Boston so he has an even longer commute than I do. Scritchie is moping and being cute all over!

Today was the first day I felt overwhelmed at work- I'm still getting used to how schedules map up, and   how I should organize myself so I don't lose things. But! Today was the prototype review for Spring/Summer 14 with some international buyers and that is a huge huge project out of the way, so I can re-center myself. I really just need to plan out my day better instead of being an unscheduled chicken with my head cut off.

I've also been taking way way way more pictures lately, mostly of Scritchie, but here are a few I took this weekend!

It actually seems like I'll manage taking a photo a day in December! :)

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you'll move mountains.” - Dr. Seuss

Happy Saturday!

No make-up!

Usually on Saturdays I post links I've found throughout the week, but today has been so busy! We had to stop by a service shop, picked up a christmas tree, and got me used to driving in snow! We only had about a quarter inch, but it was enough for me to get my car slipping around an empty parking lot. Jack wanted me to experience my car about to lose control so I could get used to not having a jerk reaction.

I'll try and get pictures of the tree tomorrow, as well as write a bit about the cat we've put in an application to adopt. Speaking of cats, here is another cat picture I'm really proud of:

I will have links and my typical sunday post tomorrow! I had a minor freakout earlier and it has left me with a renewed sense of getting in control of my life and time management.

~Till tomorrow~

First day back working!

Just a random snapshot from behind our apartment. I can't wait until the ground is covered in snow.

Today was my first day at the job I got through a temp agency. It's temp to perm at a company I would love to work at, so I'm really excited, and really applying myself. The official job title is 'Licensing and Accessories Coordinator'. If I get it perm, I'll probably say more then!

I was sad to be away from Jack all day. When I got home, he and Scritchie both just wanted to be near me it was so sweet!

I think the next step I have to tackle is getting back into the swing of going to the work and the gym- I won't be able to go to my favorite class now, because it's during work hours. There is 6:30 Zumba tomorrow, or I may try to go just to do some weights. I can't let this change in my schedule mess me up too much.

Small Update Tuesday

Today has been super busy, with car getting and looking at animal shelters as we're looking into adopting another cat. I thought I would post two pictures of things that I have been super close to today- my new car, and my cat. :) Car posts should be dying down a bit now, and will mostly turn into I HAVE A NEW JOB posts.

Up to date sunday #3

Yesterday we went and took down a tree on a friends property, it was pretty neat! It was super loud, the ground shook, and the tree broke apart when it landed. I tried to get video but ran out of space on my phone a few seconds before it came down. Then Jack and I went to Wal-Mart and bought Christmas Candy. :)

current song: Genesis, by Grimes. 

current thoughts: Last night I realized I haven't been reading as much lately. By lately I mean at all. Growing up I got a new book every week, and I'm really sad I lost that sometimes. I found a few books I want to start on today. First I need to finish The Fault in our Stars by John Green, and then I think I'll move on to The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chobsky because I missed the boat on that one. My favorite genres are young adult and fantasy novels. And possibly new adult now that it's a thing.

current plan: Get out of bed! Charge my kindle, drink some green tea, get caught up on tv and start researching the companies I will be interviewing for.

current quote:

The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.

For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And along the way, lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

 -Neil deGrasse Tyson in an AMA on reddit.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend and a great saturday!

I'm beginning a project today!

I've always admired people who have tons of photos surrounding them, and been able to have a creative outlet with their memories. This may be my first step into scrapbooking! I've been journaling lately- keeping pads of paper around I can write my thoughts on, which I later tape into a notebook where I can write more than a few lines if I need it.

But back to photos! I saw this post over on Here's Lookin At Me Kid (who has since moved to Making Nice in the Midwest, yay for growth!) which gave me instant inspiration. What's going on in that most is a lot more picturesque than what I came up with. On a recent trip to Michaels I picked up a cheap 4"x6" photo album, and some scrapbooking paper I really liked. I already had some photo paper from when I got a printer.

Steps!

1. Take picture, edit picture, print picture
2. Put picture in photo album
3. Write caption on pretty paper, or a sticker, or other pretty things.
4. Put caption on top of picture inside the sleeve!

Super easy, perfect for me. I really liked how simple but put together this little project looks, when I see most DIY or journal ideas the first thing I think to myself is 'the first time I try this it will be a huge mess', which just means I need practice! but this little thing turned out wonderful the first try.

Since moving I've been learning to treasure my memories more and more, and how important it is to record them. I think I'll be going back through pictures I took while I was home and making albums out of those like this as well. Here's what I have so far:

$2.50 at Michaels! Going to look on Etsy for better albums.

I've posted pictures from this ride before, in this post.

Picture was taken near Angle Pond, there are more photos here.

Another grab from this post.

I am really liking a lot of the journaling activities and ideas I'm seeing, and think I may be getting into it a bit more!

I'm picking up all these hobbies while I am without work! Hopefully I'll be able to keep everything up once I star working again. :)

I ❤❤ Autumn Tag

I've seen this around a few places and have always wanted to do a tag post/video, so here we go!

1. It's finally Autumn; what are you most looking forward to this season?
The Foliage already passed! So right now I'm most looking forward to Thanksgiving with my new family circle here in New Hampshire. :) 

2. What Autumn item in your closet are you most excited to pull out?
My fur lined boots! Sometimes when we go out a night it's already reached 30F or below, so they're a huge help. 

3. Since Halloween is the first holiday to celebrate, we all get treated with a horror film marathon all month long...What is your favourite scary film to watch?
Well, Halloween for me was spent curled up in bed watching Burn Notice! But my favorite scary movie is probably the original Shutter. 

4. What is your favourite Autumn treat?

Pumpkin everything! I am a huge fan of pumpkin candles, pie, cookies, muffins, cold drinks, warm drinks, ice cream, etc. And a new addition to this may be the fall quesadilla at the local T-Bones restaurant which had apples, and walnuts in it. Who would've thought?

5. Now that summer is finally over, What will you miss about it?

I think what I'll miss most is spending time with my mom in our backyard. We all put a lot of work into it and it was the perfect relaxation area. You can see some snapshots in a recent post. 

6. What make-up/beauty products do you love for Autumn?
I haven't changed my make up! I only really got into it this year, so I'm still learning a lot. I have noticed my skin gets drier a lot faster, so I've been upping my lotion use. 

7. What have you recently bought in preparation for the up and coming season?

A winter coat! I posted about some of my other winter readiness items in a recent post. I made sure my jacket was waterproof, and will probably pick up some leather waterproofing sprays for my boots. Which said they were waterproof. My toes still got wet!!

8. Have you ever been trick'or'treating?
When I was younger it was a high light for me! I was always a princess or some zany thing I came up with. I can't even imagine how much candy I ate in one night! There is no trick or treating in our area really, so I just bought the big bags to eat myself this year. 

9. Name the first 5 things that come to your head when you think of Autumn.
Foliage, apples, wind, warm colors, pumpkin.

10. What is your favourite season and why?
Probably spring - the weather finally picks up and everything is warm and lively again. :)

Met with a recruiter earlier at a staffing agency, she seemed optimistic about how easy it would be to place me and get a good fit with me. I just need to complete some software assessments and hopefully that will be off! Have a phone screening tomorrow which I'm excited about, even if it is retail. It's good retail! 

Jack is at his second job interview, we're hoping that goes well. We got invited to a friends for dinner afterwards which will be awesome. I hope everyone is having a fantastic monday, at home or at work! :)

up to date sunday #2

current picture:

Trees behind our apartment. 

current song: Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble. Still don't like Red as much as Speak Now, but love this song.

current workout: I am obsessed with Les Mills Body Combat. At my friday class, some high school girls showed up and stayed in the back half doing the moves. My brain apparently decided there was a competition happening? I worked harder in that class than ever before, it was super satisfying. Still keeping up with my yoga/gen exercise so I'm pretty happy.

current feelings: This was the first week I was really hit by homesickness. I miss my mom a lot- she is my best friend, and we would always do things together. Jack is always motivating me to be and do as much as I can, but having my mom with me for the past few months is probably going to be something I cherish and remember forever. Even if I get all teary remembering us in my room with the dog and the last day I was home, or my parents dropping me off at the airport (this gets me a bit more than teary, tbh.) I found a quote from Jodi Picoult earlier which did not help my emotional roller coaster-

“Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.” 

current plan: I have 2 interviews for next week! I am also going to work on getting the apartment more ordered and structured, and try to work on my photography.  And journaling, I did a bit of journaling this week and really enjoyed it. Hopefully I keep it up, I found it very therapeutic.

❤stephanie

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this week's favorite things

The backyard at my old house/parents house. It is gorgeous.

As the holidays get closer I'm starting to miss home more and more. How did this reach a head point yesterday? Laundry machines. The laundry machines in our building are terrible! And expensive. :( Either way, I'm trying to figure out how to healthily deal with my home sickness. Yesterday, I was extremely productive, but possibly a bit too neat-freaky. (I washed coins because they'd been sitting out for ~4 years! Ew!) I hope to have more small projects for myself in the future, which I'm able to show off a bit more!

Here are some of my favorite things I have found this week:

clothes x the gingerbread scarf from this ootd pair

food x these autumn salads. I really need to get back into the habit of making salads!

hair x this french braid into a ponytail do. just need to get capable of french braiding!

yoga x these pigeon pose tips. A lot of my night practices focus on pigeon pose, I'm trying to open my hips up a lot. I want to be able to do the splits by my birthday next year!

yoga x these poses for a better nights rest. i've been having some issues sleeping soundly, so i am happy to try out these easy poses at night.

decor x this lovely, feminine desk snapshot. i am constantly redoing my set up and trying to find new decorations and this photo is the dream. 

DIY x this studding tutorial is great, and not intimidating at all! might try this on a pair of flats.

food x this recipe for low calorie sausage, sage, and apple stuffing. NEED I SAY MORE?

feature x this interview with hair guru Chris Dylan. I've been needing some tips, and I think I've found a lot of goo info here.

food x this recipe for the Texas Roadhouse free bread. Which is the best bread I've ever tasted.

I am looking forward to going out for some drinks with friends tonight! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday so far!


❤stephanie
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First snow here in New Hampshire

Taken behind our apartment building, sadly a lot of slush was already happening. :(

❤stephanie
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Angle Pond, October 21, 2012

Visited a member of my New Hampshire family today! My boyfriends grandmother owns a house on Angle Pond (which is actually a lake!) about half an hour away from us. We went over for dinner, which was marvelously marinated steak, some broiled haddock, squash, potatoes and lots of apple related food items. I took some pictures off the back of the house, overlooking the lake which you can see under the cut. But first, here's my gorgeous mug!

Late Fall Foliage in NH!

I have been really bad about actually bothering to head out and take pictures, so when the boyfriend and I realized it was 70 degrees outside we jumped at the chance to take my camera out. We took his motorcycle around Lake Massabesic which is near our apartment. Sadly, we have missed the peak foliage this year so the trees are duller, many have lost their leaves and I simply don't have enough skill with my camera yet. One of these things will hopefully fix soon! More pictures are under the break~