Back on the Blogging Wagon

I fell off the blogging wagon for a while.....

A while is an understatement but I am back and I am committed.

 

My thought is since spring has sprung (and is slightly cooler here in NE than I am used to) I would share some cool weather looks.

 

I have a slight addiction to both J. Crew  but an outfit wouldn’t be an outfit without any one of the key pieces I have collected over the last few years. See if you can guess which ones are my favorite :-)

 

The first look came to me on a slightly cooler day but I was fed up with wearing riding boots, I had gotten this fab sweater from a shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack and wanted to make it a little more spring time friendly, plus I am loving tribal prints.

 

Outfit Breakdown:

Necklace: J. Crew

Shirt: Ann Taylor

Sweater: Unknown Brand/Nordstrom Rack

Leggings: Guess Brand/Macy's

Gold Studded Flats: J. Crew

 

I couldn't help it once the weather started warming up, I was itching to throw on a maxi dress for work. My toes were not prepared to be in sandals so I opted for flats instead which still gave the outfit an airy feel.

 

 

Outfit Breakdown:



Infinity Scarf: J. Crew

Necklace: J.Crew

Bracelets: Alex and Ani ( an NE staple) & Fitbit Flex (new tech obsession)

Jean Jacket: (you guessed it) J. Crew

Gold Studded Flats: J. Crew

 

 

The inspiration for this look stems from the light weight polka dot boyfriend blazer that my mom picked up last spring on the J. Crew sale rack. You can always find the best steals from J. Crew if you wait for items to go on sale in the stores.

 

Outfit Breakdown:

Blazer: J. Crew Boyfriend Blazer

Shirt: J. Crew Sleeveless Studded Collar Blouse

Pants: J. Crew Minnie Pant (FAVORITE ALERT!: these are my absolute favorite pair of pants from J. Crew, I own a black and a burgundy pair)

Flats: Alfani/Macy's

Bracelets: Alex and Ani

 

My last look for this blog post for dressing spring time cute without freezing in this fickle New England weather, was inspired by my obsession/addiction to crazy patterned pants. I just cant get enough of fun prints and colors on jeans and dress pants. Life is more fun with a bit of color

 

 

Outfit Breakdown:

Necklace: J. Crew ( as seen in first outfit)

Sweater: J. Crew (lightweight cable knit with button detail on shoulder)

Chambray Shirt: Ralph Lauren/ Macy's

Patterned Jeans: J. Crew

Bracelet: Rustic Cuff/ Monogrammed Silver/Gold Hazel

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed these springy looks and they help give you some inspiration when you are picking out what to wear during this fickle weathered spring season!

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Currently there is no test to detect Ovarian Cancer. It is important to educate women and their families on the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

 

 

My grandmother was diagnosed and fought ovarian cancer for 4 years before passing away in December of my senior year of high school.

It is an important cause to me to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and to fund cancer research so that women don't have to find out until it is too late. In an effort to support such research on Sunday my boyfriend, friends, and I participated in a 5k for ovarian cancer awareness month. Each National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC) chapter puts together a run/walk every year to raise money and awareness of ovarian cancer. They do a wonderful job of putting together this event and the amount of participants was overwhelming. My hope is that one day there will be a test to detect ovarian cancer in the early stages.

 

A big thank you to the wonderful people shown in this photo for spending the day with me and running for Linda. I know she was smiling down on all of us that day.

 

 

If you want to learn more about ovarian cancer and the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition please follow the link.

A prayer for Linda:

 

Father of all,
we pray for those whom we love, but see no longer.
grant them your peace;
let light perpetual shine upon them;
and in your loving wisdom and almighty power
work in them the good purpose of your perfect will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 Amen

My Happy Place

This weekend I have found my happy place. My boyfriend and fellow Bearcat Alumni, Alex,  has joined the many Bearkitties who have relocated to the New England Area and I couldn't be more excited for his arrival.

 

He has moved to Concord, NH (which is about an hour away from myself in Dover) to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. The decision he made to attend law school in the New England area has been somewhat of a miracle for the both of us (he is originally from KS and I am originally from PA). We are very fortunate that our situation turned out the way it did.

 

We began the weekend by moving Alex into his new home not far from the campus, (makes me appreciate that I do not do hard labor as a day job) even guys can have a lot of stuff to unpack and get situated. The rest of the weekend was full of a tour of the law school for myself and the parents as well as a little trip to the coast so that Alex's family could see some of the sights (we stopped in Portsmouth and went up to York Maine to see the lighthouse).

I am extremely happy to have him here and I cannot wait for the adventures that have yet to come. I am so proud of him for getting into law school, he worked his butt off to get where he is today and I know he will just knock it out of the park when he starts classes on Monday. I am a truly blessed individual to have met him and I cannot wait to see all the opportunities that the future holds for him.

With that I say Congratulations and Goodluck Alex, UNH Law has gained one killer law student!!

 

The Grape Gatsby Garden Party

The Grape Gatsby Garden Party at the Bedford Village Inn in Bedford, NH was a complete success.
It was a night of great friends, good food and lots of Champaign!

The event was well done. They did up the garden beautifully with hanging lights, fountains, a dance floor, multiple bars and places to sit and enjoy the scene.

There were servers dressed up in tuxes walking around with trays of Champaign and cigars for the men to enjoy! They even had a few vintage cars on the premise for party goers to check out and have a photo op with. The other event guests looked very Gatsby-esq so it was hard to choose who was my favorite. The 20's style is so classic and gorgeous it makes me wish I was a part of the era. I'm in love the flapper dresses, intricate headpieces and costume jewelry.

 

My friends and I hope that we can do something like this again sometime soon. It was truly a great night and I was so happy to spend it with friends.

 

 

(Can't wait to go back to the BVI for the Delanoy/Leonard wedding in May!!)

 

Late to the party...

I am a little late to the Great Gatsby love affair, but better late than never right? In lieu of the Grape Gatsby Garden Party friends and I will be attending this week I thought it would only be appropriate to dream up some 20's era headgear.

 

           (The one in the picture is Tiffany & Co. and of course costs a fortune but so beautiful!)


 So that is exactly what I did (I got all of my supplies at Joann Fabric). What you will need are the following:

~ Half of a yard of fancy trim or ribbon
~ E6000 or any type of adhesive that works on fabric, metal, etc.
~ Embellishments: I used feathers and these really great pendants that I found in the section of the store that has all of the beading and jewelry making supplies
~  Needle and thread
~  Headband Elastic (These were a really great find, they came in a pack of two, there are clips on each end that you can secure your ribbon in and clamp them together)

You don't have to follow exactly what I did, there are so many beautiful embellishments to choose from, different buttons, pendants, and appliqués.

At first measure out how much trim you will need for your head (after you attach the elastic it is alright if its a little loose, I folded the fabric and sewed a little bit on each end to tighten it up a bit).

Cut the trim, lay it on the table and play with the placement of the embellishments you want to add.

Once you have figured out the general placement go ahead and attach your elastic to the trim. Make sure you put a bit of the adhesive inside the clip so that there is extra hold once the clip is closed, I suggest using a small hammer or a heavier object to fasten the clips.

I went ahead and sized the headbands before attaching anything, it is a lot harder to do after you have already added the heavier objects.

I added a small amount of adhesive to the trim where I wanted to apply the feathers. Let the adhesive dry a few minutes (E6000 is an industrial strength adhesive and you may be walking around with a headband stuck to your fingers lol). Once the adhesive is dry, for extra precaution I added a few stitches to secure them.

Place the pendant so that the bottom of the feathers are covered, this I sewed on as well, I didn't use any adhesive here so as to not damage the feathers. Make sure to stitch in several different places to secure tightly.

The finish product should look like this:

And what they look like on (excuse my appearance):

Voila! you have Gatsby inspired headbands for any occasion!! Hope you enjoyed this weeks craft. There will be many more to come!

The start to this Little Girl living in a Big World

Everyone has to start somewhere correct? I started a new job, in a new place, knowing a few people I graduated from college with. So what, you ask, sounds appealing about that? Some would say why leave home so soon, get a job, stay at home and save your money (my parents pushed hard for this option). For me it was leaving my comfort zone and doing something that I know if I didn't do it I would regret for a very long time. I am an only child so of course my family is most important to me but that shouldn't be what holds you back. Your family loves you no matter what, if your down the hall or states away. The choice YOU make is exactly that, it's YOUR choice and no one can take that from you.

So now that I live in New Hampshire and my family is in Pittsburgh, PA (Go Steelers!) what is here? I work for a technology company that sells and implements accounting software called SAP Business One (move out of the way Oracle) along with a Warehouse Management software (I know who ever is reading this is probably like what the heck is that). Our goal is to make businesses lives easier.

I was lucky enough to be one of the very few college graduates (Saint Vincent College in Latrobe PA, GO BEARCATS!) that landed a job before graduation, and even luckier to have been offered multiple job opportunities at the same time (patting myself on the back). MOST anxiety inducing experience of my life. Being asked to make a decision about where you want to work and what you want to do and where you want to go in a short period of time is hard work. I lost sleep over it, cried a bit too (I apologize now to my poor mom and dad and my boyfriend for having to put up with my blubbering) and mapped out my options over and over again. I asked for advice from multiple educated and experience professors and those in my colleges the career center (special shout outs to Professor Markley , Dr. Edmiston and Courtney Baum who helped put me at ease when I thought my head was going to explode). I did come to a decision obviously,because I am now a New Hapshirite.

I am grateful to be where I am today, it came with hard work (spending a summer in San Francisco, CA working with one of the top B1 resellers) and communication skills that have been my most valuable asset. You cannot put a price on good communication skills, they will take you far in life and the opportunities are endless when you can address people, when you know how to make connections and when you can make others feel like you have known them for years. Always look for new ways to come out of your comfort zone, meet new people and make new connections. Even I struggle with this sometimes, there are days when I would rather climb in a hole rather than meet new people but I do it any ways. PUSH boundaries as much as possible you will thank yourself in the end.

(This paragraph is one of those moments where you realize I am all over the place and get off topic)  A realization that I have come to while partaking in my short stint in the information technology field is that I am out numbered. Out numbered meaning I am one of very few (and I mean very few) women to do Implementation Consulting (which I am proud of and can rock the nerd angle). I am proud to be a woman who is standing with the big dogs. I won't let anyone tell me  that I can't do something. I may be a little girl but I have a big personality and a willingness to succeed. I  really am a little girl (all of '5"3) in a big world but I plan on making my mark. In the wise words of Sheryl Sandberg (if you haven't read her book yet I suggest you do, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead) I fully intend to lean into my career and sit at the table, I refuse to count myself out before an opportunity finds its way onto my path.

I hope this blog post is entertaining and lets you in on a little bit about myself and how I ended up where I am today. There will hopefully be many more posts to come, and they will not always be the same (which again I am extremely eclectic, and often all over the place so it happens). God Bless.

P.S. Here is a prayer I am particularly fond of when I feel like my world is coming apart at the seams. May you find peace in it on those rough days: Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.