decisions, decisions

well, i've made a pretty huge decision.

i quit my job & i'm moving back home. i'm excited, worried, nervous, regretful & happy all at the same time. it means that i have a chance to reconnect with old friends & make new ones. it means i won't have to pay rent for a month (or two, or three). it means that i'll be close to my family. and it means i'm taking a pretty huge chance.

the good news is that my interview last week was successful. they want a second interview as soon as i'm back home and settled in. the scary news is that in two weeks i have no income. yikes!

i think i've got it pretty much figured out. i'm going to take these next two weeks & enjoy them with scott, first of all. our relationship is going to go through a pretty huge change, but i think in the long run, it'll be for the best. he's so busy with school & working 2 jobs that we don't really see each other until midnight or later anyway....and by then we're both tired & cranky and not getting in a whole lot of quality time. after he graduates, he'll probably move in with his dad - which is good because six months later he's moving to denver, north carolina or chicago. they deserve quality time as well!

then, i'll move home. i'll apply to work at my favorite childhood restaurant as well as some other new ones. i might apply at some downtown retail stores - but that could be too tempting. chances are i'll need more than one job to keep me busy. i'm so excited about making new friends at a new place. i just think it's going to feel so good to go home.

at the end of october i'll return to columbia for homecoming & to officially get out of my apartment. i'll need a uhaul, for sure. i am especially excited to shower in a bathtub that isn't peeling. :) i'll officially say goodbye to the place that i've called home for the past four years & to my friends that have been a huge support to me.

this weekend i'm going to spend quality time with one of my best friends, jess. it'll be the last friday night of fun for a while - and we have had some CRAZY times since we met freshman year. then tomorrow i'll be at the roots 'n blues 'n bbq festival this weekend with jeremy. saturday night i'll be watching the hawks beat the pants of of penn state. and sunday i have got to clean my apartment & work on my budget.

i apologize for the lack of posts that are exciting the last few weeks. it's been rough around here. i promise to post some pictures & new designs soon as well as update you on the progress of my personal business venture!

here's the scoop

life changes are happening for everyone. i can't believe all the decisions that i'm about to make. but i am very happy for all the support that i've gotten from my family & friends. i don't know what i would do without you! i am finally acting for myself and not anyone else...and happy about the decisions i have made thus far. you can't make your dreams happen if you don't go after them, right?

the next few weeks will be a change. i am excited about the change & chasing dreams....my current prospects and looking for new ones. i think eventually, everything will be clear. for now, i am willing to wait for that moment and follow my heart and my gut.

yes, mom i'm still alive

and promise to update tonight. i have lots of good things to share!

{above} a twin birth announcement idea for my mom's friend using the supplies i bought at paper source. sorry for the low-quality pictures. my apartment has bad lighting & my camera was dropped in adult bev this summer. (on my christmas list!)

it has been an exciting day, but i am too tired to tell you about it.

all i have to say is that i love the windy city.

Enchanted

i left work today with a sense of satisfaction. not because i had sold thousands of dollars of merchandise, but because my best friend had picked up her save the dates. save the dates that i designed and that she loved - my first real client. i can't wait to start working on her invitation & already have some ideas for what she should do. here is what the final save the date looked like. her mom wanted to include a picture of her & mike, something that i wasn't sure about - but i think it really suits dee & mike. i was glad that they wanted to go with a more modern feel, playing with all lowercase. they basically gave me free rein, and i was estatic when they really liked it.

i am also so proud of jeremy - he is going to start doing weddings on his own. i think we've both realized that there is no time like the present & we have to do what is best for ourselves at this point. being proactive about my future is both exciting & scary. it's a big step, putting myself out there like i am. but i know that something good is going to come out of it. and instead of working at a hospital (looking at brain matter everyday) and hating it, i am going to be doing something that i love. (and hopefully getting paid!) to some people what we do can just be thrown away - to us, it's creating in someone's most special moment and making it something they can look back on. whether that be in a picture or paper, these moments are the ones that they will remember. these are the moments that they have spent hours working on & coming up with. and we are just creating a piece of that for them. when you really think about it - even when most people do just throw invitations away - we are creating the memory from beginning to end. (especially when we assemble them for hours at a time!)

i have so many ideas floating up there in the brain of mine - it's time to start putting them to good use!

happy football labor day weekend. GO HAWKS! (and tigers!)

fall

well, we all know that i am missing school. but i have been so busy doing work outside of work, i feel like i have homework each night! i am so thankful for my friends that are putting their trust in me to make beautiful moments in paper. i only hope that i can fulfill their visions! (and i am so thankful for my mom & scott for creating connections for me - i am so excited to get the chance to do what i love!)

the weather has been cooling off in the evenings and the mornings, and i am so excited to pull out my sweaters & scarves (in fact, i am wearing one right now!). i love the heat of the summer, but if this weather could last forever, i would be perfectly happy. like most people, i am in want of a new fall wardrobe that includes a shrunken boyfriend blazer (in gray or navy) and some adorable boots. plural, because i need several pairs. however, i'm holding off in buying anything (not only because i'm broke) because i may be in need of a more business like closet very soon. in 15 days i'll be home to see what is next for me! not that those particular items couldn't be mixed into a business wardrobe, right? hopefully i'll be able to splurge a little in october...(fingers crossed!)

i have been waking up early each day this week and going to bed around 11 each night. it feels good to wake up and not be rushing from the shower to the car to work. i actually get to enjoy my breakfast, the today show & a morning cup of hot cocoa. it's been lovely & puts me in a much better mood by the time i get to work. this new routine is doing wonders. it also gives scott & i a few more minutes together (i know, i'm a cheeseball) because his schedule is so busy & hectic. i've never seen him this stressed out over school. i'm hoping that some of the pressure will be released soon...for his sake & mine! it has been okay though, he is clearly doing what he loves and that makes me very excited for his future. his boss at the restaurant told him that he is doing a great job at work their and can tell he really enjoys what he does. :)

this weekend is labor day & marks the kickoff to the best sports season EVER! the hawks & mizzou both start their seasons this saturday & although i won't be able to attend either of the games in person, i will be there in spirit. and checking scores regularly while i'm at work! i am so excited for the following two weekends, missing out on this big one doesn't mean the end of the world to me. it will be weird to attend mizzou games as an alum this year. does that mean that i have to do the z-o-u instead of the m-i-z?! i refuse.

happy thursday, loveys!

brunchin'

hello all!

posting everyday for three days...unusual right? well i couldn't help but to write something about the most fabulous brunch chef & i had with his friends and dad this morning. We went to bleu, one of our favorite restaurants here in columbia. i like to think i am a foodie-in-training (which ironically i call fit...) and this restaurant is an excellent place to go in columbia to try out the taste buds that you haven't. their menu changes regularly and dishes tend to be on the creative side. this summer they have started to do brunch on sundays, which we had never been to before but had heard many good things about. one complaint i have of columbia is the lack of breakfast nooks, aside from the usual diners. this place bleu (pun intended) my mind away.

they have all of your favorites - eggs, omelets, etc. but they also have things you don't find at many american restaurants. the chef ordered huevos rancheros. i know that i can make a mean huevos, learned from the big brother, but this was...unbelievable. (its a good think chef knows how to share!). the beans, cheese, salsa and avocado created the most outstanding mixture of goodness. it was like heaven.

on a trip home to celebrate my uncle bob, i tried eggs benedict for the first time at one of my favorite breakfast places in iowa city, bluebird dinner. (which kaeli & i disagree about.) i fell in love and have been hunting for a place to get it here in town. it's a little too tricky for my lazy sunday home meals. bleu's came on a homemade buttermilk biscuit, fried virgina ham....house fries...hollandaise...to perfection eggs....i was in cholesterol heave poached n, let me tell you! (i felt the food coma coming on at first bite!) each bite was better than the last.

chaz, as i affectionately call chef's dad, had a made to order omelet with the regulars PLUS artichokes. to. die. for.

along with a delicious mimosa (because how can you go wrong) and build-your-own bloody marys, this is where i would like to go every sunday for the rest of my life. or at least every time i'm in columbia! and that was just a taste of options on the menu. next time, i'm going for the fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with blueberry compote & creme fraiche/fresh (i don't know french, so i don't know if that's how you spell it...). i think chef will have something equally as delicious, like the cold lox salmon and i think we should split the loaded house fries. heaven.

anyone want to come visit me for breakfast?