F/T Job what what

That's right! I finally got a full time job. And it was from an application I filled out right when we got to Princeton like a month ago! I cannot believe we have been here that long already. I start training at Starbucks tomorrow and I am super excited. No it is not my dream job, however, I do think I will enjoy it. Here's why:
1. I love coffee.
2. I love the smell of coffee.
3. People who go to Starbucks are generally pretty happy to be there.
4. I don't have to figure out what to wear for work!
and finally
5. It's a full-time job with benefits!

So yay for all of those reasons!

Stayin' Classy In Princeton

This Sunday Zach was a clown for one of our 3 year old neighbors birthday party. He was a huge hit! All of the kids loved all the balloon animals and appreciated Zachs ability to juggle. They were mostly intrigued by the fact that there was a REAL LIVE CLOWN right in front of them!

Before. . .

After. . . .

We had a lot of fun just taking pictures of Zach in his getup.

And then we were off to the party! Zach was able to spend some one-on-one time with the birthday boy, Rowen. After a few minutes all of the other party guests arrived. Zach spent the next hour and a half making balloon animals and juggling. We had a great time.


I love my clown!

In other news. . . . on Saturday I went to IKEA (for the first time) with the McNeals. I got pillows, a rug for the kitchen, lamps, candles, and cool magnetic things for the refrigerator. It was such a great trip!

Terhune Apple Orchard

Today was Apple Day! Zach and I decided to head to the local Terhune Apple Orchard for their annual Apple Festival. I felt like I was walking through Stars Hollow and at any moment I was going to run into Lorelai and Rori.


This cute little farmers market had fresh vegetables and apple cider straight from the orchard. It was crowded with hungry people for pretty much the whole day. I love it because it is full of apple desserts, vegetables grown on the farm, and the smell of cinnamon.

There was also a pig roasting!

One of our fun-filled activities was walking through the apple orchard! We didn't pick any because we have plenty of apples at home. They all still looked very very tasty.

While we were walking around amongst the apples we saw these huge pheasants. We don't actually know what kind of bird they were. . . but we liked them. We also found a very well put together nest and a yellow jacket. Fact: Yellow Jackets are EVERYWHERE here!

All the flowers were pretty amazing. You could go to the little store and borrow the scissors and cut flowers. They were 25 cents each. I didn't do it. . . . . but I could have.

Owls Who Love Eachother

Yay!!!! Today I finished our newest art piece! Since we have owls around the rest of our house I figured it would make sense to add them to our living room as well. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I mean what else is going to go above a yellow-velvety-marvelous-couch?

Our New Home!

Yay! We are finally here and we absolutely love it. The weather is amazing. Our neighbors are great. Our apartment is now cozy and wonderful. Everything is falling into place. Of course I still have to get a job. . . but that will happen soon enough. Right now I am listening to an Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong playlist on Pandora. . .I just have to say that this is probably the best playlist I have ever listened to from Pandora. Just saying. OK---here is our new home!

This is our little dining room. Our kitties also dine with us. For our first (complete) meal at the table in our new home we had chicken, vegetables, and rice. It was delicious and. . . .well cozy and happy.
Our living room. . . which is basically an extension of our "dining room" ----details----


We wanted to find bookshelves that were actually made out of real wood on craigslist but after much deliberation we broke down and headed to Target. However, the fantastic yellow couch is from a garage sale, the (real) wood side table is from a ladies basement where we also found the coffee table---via craigslist. And yes, that side table does also function as a storage unit. . .very handy. That's where Zach keeps his knitting supplies.

The record player now sits in between the bookshelves underneath one of my favorite paintings from college. That's a lie. . . . I just happened to pack it among all the other "necessary" things I just couldn't leave behind. Ya know. . .like my diploma (red leatha) and my robots.


Our T.V. area basically looks exactly the same as it did in our last place. We both like it, so why change it? You know you wanted another look at that gorgeous couch. You're welcome.

Scooby says "Hi."

In our last place I neglected the top of the bookshelves. So I decided to take good care of them this time. I realized they were a perfect spot for my homemade lamps and a great temporary home for my acorn!

Chee-Chee-Mon also says "Hi." He prefers the yellow couch over all other furniture in the house. Probably because it's velvet. And yellow.

Our bathroom has pink tile. I did what I could for the poor tiny space. . . Overall---it will be fine for the next few years. See that fabric? That's a pillow sham masquerading as a curtain.

This is our very white kitchen. I have done what I can to add some flava. And by "flava" I mean random drawings that I did because I wanted to. Every mature adult couple needs to have a picture of a lumberjack dreaming of pancakes in their kitchen. If you don't---I mean c'mon grow up.
I love our bedroom. It's way bigger than our last bedroom and the window is huge. Which you can't see because of the green curtains that are obscuring your view. Sorry----but I don't want any peepin toms. Plus, it's real bright in the morning and the light wakes me up before I am ready to rise from my slumber.

Cally, Dani, Abby. . .please note the picture on my night stand. I miss you guys!


The door on the far left is our front door. The other two are storage which is really great! They are both pretty large closets.

So that is our new home and I am so glad that I was able to share it with my friends and family who aren't able to jump on a plane and come see it in person (all of you should and you know it).
We have managed to make it cozy and that makes me happier than you can imagine. I can now sleep knowing that I am truly at home with my husband and our two kitties--who are most likely sleeping at our feet---or on the yellow velvet couch.

Love and miss all of you!

Here's a bit of NJ:

Moving was hard. In fact we are still unpacking boxes. . . so it's actually not over. This is our little **very little** ABF relo-cube. Though I was given the measurements before I ordered one, my mental image was way bigger than the actual size. Needless to say, we left behind a few pieces of furniture. We gave away 3 bookshelves---2 of which Zach was very attatched to. His favorite went to his brother Zeke--so that's good. And the other one went to our dear friends Megan and Dan who are newlyweds and appreciate good and much needed furniture. (We love and miss all three of them very much) Continuing. . .we also gave away our coffee table to our good and wonderful friend Halie along with some other odds and ins. Halie was a huge help when it came to packing. THANKS HALIE!!! Our dinner table went to the fabulous Christina. We love her too. She was also part of the packing crew. THANKS CHRISTINA!! My parents took a T.V. and a sweet side table back to Tampa with them. They are most likely sitting in my old bedroom. (We also love them)

We were very proud of all that we were able to fit into that tiny cube.


John and Zeke were also a big big help. They helped Zach fit everything---almost everything---into the cube.
Pretty much every second I wasn't packing, I spent time with some of my favorite people in the whole wide world. I love these girls so much. They are my sisters. They are the best.



Obviously some girls are missing. We went to the Casa Monica for some treats and people watching. I am also going to miss the Casa Monica. Best people watching spot.

So after many tears and goodbyes and puffy eyes. . .me, Zach, Zeke, Cheech, Scooby, and a lot of luggage headed to Emporia Virginia and then to Princeton New Joysee.


During this very long trip we learned that we have the best traveling kitties in the world. They just slept and looked cute the whole time.


There you have it! So we are finally in Princeton. Very very cute town (pictures to come). On our first day here we unpacked the car and then headed downtown. We ate dinner at a really yummy little hole in the wall place called PJ's Pancakes. One the second day. . .we went to NYC!


Zach and Zeke on their very first train ride. They were both very excited. AND it was their first trip to NYC. Yay for gooood times!

So not only did we get to see NYC but we also got to see my long lost friend Megan!!!


This was taken on top of Megan's apartment building. We also hung out with Zeke and Zachs friend Blake (who is also my new friend!).


So far this has been a huge adventure and we have only been living here for a week. We are super happy and excited for everything that is instore for us. We know that we are both very blessed and we are both very thankful. Now, all I have to do is find a job!!!!

While I have a bit of time. . .

The weekend of August 21 my dad and I went to Savannah, GA for a father/daughter trip (awwww). It was very hot outside but nonetheless a very fun trip. We walked all throughout the little--and very beautiful town.


I also found one of my new favorite stores in the United States: The Paris Market.

The Paris Market is full of random but amazing pieces. For instance, I got a wicker-woven-large-acorn that I am going to hang somewhere in the apartment. In the basement of this mysterious wonderland there was stuffed birds of all kinds. Creepy---but interesting. Oh and tons of pretty smells from France---and other foreign places that I don't remember.


There was a pool on top of our hotel and when we went to check it out we realized that the view was pretty great! Nice surprise.


We ate at many delicious restaurants. My favorite was Uncle Bubbas. Uncle Bubba is Paula Dean's brother! As our appetizer we ordered delicious grilled/smoked/magically created oysters. For dinner I had crab and cheese grits. Amazing! However, by the end of the dinner I was covered in butter and crab juice. . .and I smelled like cajun seasoning. It was well worth it! Oh yeah, also our friend Merida joined us for din din.


Oh yes, how could I (almost) forget our very eventful Ron White comedy show! I have witnessed his shows on comedy central and they seem censored enough. Though it was silly of me to think that his live shows would be the same. Boy was I wrong. Though hilarious at times, a Ron White show is probably not the best choice for Father/Daughter weekend entertainment. But who knew? (Not us) Not only were we entertained by Ron White, during the show two men were kicked out (at different times) AND a fight broke out. . . so they were also kicked out. But I guess that's bound to happen when you have a redneck comedian performing for a bunch of other rednecks.



Also on one of the afternoons we made it out to Tybee Island. It was a short visit. I managed to get out to the beach. . .which actually wasn't that pretty so I just took pictures of the boardwalk.

So yay for Savannha and Father/Daughter trips! I wish I would have known how great Savannah is. . . .when I lived in Saint Augustine I could have driven up for a day trip. Silly me!
Thanks Dad for such a great trip!

Lakehouse Extravaganza III

So. . . we went to the lakehouse again and it was (as always) a blast. We laughed, went tubing, wakeboarding, floating, eating, hugging, watching, laying, boating. . . .it was great! And here are some pictures of it! This was the fastest was for me to share pictures. Currently Zach and I are in our new apartment in Princeton, NJ. It is very cute and cozy and I will be posting pictures very very soon. I still have to post a bit of Savannah!

Lakehouse + friends = amazing as always. (We both miss all of you very very much)