2013.

2013.  Really?  I am still so amazed how fast time seems to fly by.  The past year was amazing yet filled with challenges.  I moved to Charlotte from Charleston to be with the BF who had relocated for his job.  It was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made.  Our relationship has grown leaps and bounds.  However, moving away from my hometown, friends, family, and job was harder than I had anticipated.  It proved to be one of the biggest challenges in my life so far.

After some hard months, I have finally adjusted to life in a new city.  And I learned that things take time- rarely does everything fall into place when you want it to.  As more life changes are on the horizon, I hope I can remember this and take change with a little more ease this year.

So here's to 2013!  I hope to keep life simple and do more of what makes me happy: take walks, eat fresh foods, send letters, phone friends, spend time with family, blog, read books, travel, and appreciate life more.

Happy New Year friends.

etsy finds.

 amazing etsy finds to kick off the new year.  

bulb / calendar / scarf / bowls

i like resolutions.

It is a new year.  Time to start fresh again.  I have been thinking about the things I would like to accomplish in the coming year.  It has been though for me to think about what I want to do this year because my life is in a bit of a transition at the moment.  After much thought, I came up with a few things.

2012 New Year's Resolutions:

1.  Stay healthy.  I know this is on everybody's resolutions list but I really believe in living a healthy lifestyle.  I want to exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, ride my bike more, take my multi-vitamin daily, always wear sunscreen, and get a good night's sleep more often.

2.  Save money.  This has always been a goal for me since starting my career in nursing.  I have done well in previous years but I never really had a direction regarding what I wanted to save for.  I recently decided that I am pinching my pennies to buy a house one day.  It will probably be a few years before my time comes to buy my first home but I want to be ready.  

3.  Work on my personal style.  Fashion has always been a tough thing for me to feel confident with.  This past year, I have become more interested in fashion through blogs and magazines.  This year, I want to build up my closet with pieces I love and become more confident in my fashion choices.

4.  Create a new look for my blog.  I have been blogging for a year and a half now and I feel like this blog has come a long way.  This little blog has changed a lot as I have become interested in different things over time.  Blogging is by far my favorite hobby and I think it would be money well spent to give the blog a little renovation.

5.  Open a vintage goods shop.  Whether on Etsy or a booth at an antique mall.  I love vintage accessories for the home and would be thrilled to hand pick unique items to sell at a reasonable price point.

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a new year.

Is it time to celebrate the New Year? Already?! I just can't believe another year has come and gone. 2011 has been a wonderful year. A year ago, I posted some goals I wanted to accomplish. I am pretty pleased with all that I was able to accomplish.

What I wanted to accomplish in 2011:
Get my Oncology Nursing Certification.
Build up my savings account.
Get in shape and run the Cooper River Bridge Run.
Make my little apartment into a home that I love.
Go out and enjoy all that Charleston has to offer.
Take a photography class and use my fancy pants camera more.
Last but not least, I want to keep up with this little blog. 

Reflecting on this past year makes me think about how life is filled with the unexpected. You just never know where life's little journey may take you.

I hope you all have a happy and safe New Year's! See you in 2012!

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wednesday's words of wisdom

two thousand and eleven

"Courage isn't about doing something you're not scared of. Courage is doing something in spite of the fact that you are scared of it."

What I learned in 2010:
In 2010, I made a big change and got a new job and moved to Charleston from Columbia, SC. I was really unhappy living in Columbia (although I loved my first job out of college and the wonderful people I worked with). But I knew that if I wasn't happy I should make a change. So, I got a job in Charleston doing what I loved in Columbia, surgical oncology nursing (BTW, I feel truly blessed that I found a path of nursing that I love right out of college).

Now I'm here 6 months later and I am much happier here in Charleston. Changing jobs was REALLY hard at first but I feel comfortable in my new job now. I have learned so much about myself and nursing as a career from this job change. Now, I know that as scary as it may be I can make a big career/life change and be okay! It feels really good to have made a big jump all on my own. It takes a lot of courage to make a big life change like that and not know if things will be better or worse in the end. I am proud of myself for making this big change. I am happier now because of it.

So, I have been doing a little bit of thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2011. I have come up with a list of things I want to do in the coming year. I'll start with the basics:

Career: Get my Oncology Nursing Certification. I hear it is a big stinker of a test but I think I can pass it!

Finance: Build up my savings account. I bought my car with cash outright a few months ago. I was really excited I could buy it without taking out a loan after just one year in the "real world" but now I want to build my savings account back to the pre-car buying state!

Health: Get in shape and run the Cooper River Bridge Run. Since moving to Charleston I have been really slack about exercising and staying in shape. It is time to get back into the swing of things!

Now for the fun things I want to accomplish in 2011:

Make my little apartment into a home that I love.

Go out and enjoy all that Charleston has to offer.

Take a photography class and use my fancy pants camera more.

Last but not least, I want to keep up with this little blog. I started this blog 6 months ago and it truly makes me happy. It is now my favorite hobby. I love finding inspiring things to post about and love getting new followers and comments. So, thanks for reading my little blog! Can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us!

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monday...monday...

 

I had a wonderful New Year's weekend with some of my favorite sorority sisters!  We got all gussied up and went to the Snyder Grand Ball at the aquarium in Charleston.  I had THE BEST TIME!  I miss my friends so much and I was so happy to get to see everyone.  I've been busy all weekend hanging out with friends and now its back to work for me today!  

Hope everyone had a great New Year!  Happy 2011!

monday...monday...

Monday already?!  I knocked out some holiday shopping over the weekend but I still have a few more things to pick up today :)  I can't believe Christmas is this weekend!  I know this week is just going to fly by...

I'll have some fun Christmas pictures up later this week but I have these pictures on my mind today.  I SO badly want a gallery wall in my little apartment.  I have a few pieces of art collected but not nearly enough to fill an entire wall!  That can be one of my goals for the New Year...collect enough artwork to make a gallery wall.  How is that for a New Year's resolution?

Happy Monday!

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