Good morning, blogisphere! I hope everyone had a good week. Here are a few highlights from mine.


I got back into Pottermore. I used it when it first came out 3-4 years ago, but only the first book was posted, and I got through it and then stopped using it. But I got back on this week, and have been skimming through the books, making potions and casting spells, and learning lots of new information from the wizarding world! I am obsessed. (Sidenote: I am madly in love with Harry Potter everything.) If you also use Pottermore, my username is FangChaser2551 - also, please realize your name is decided for you. Haha.

I got to spend some time with my awesome nephews this weekend. They are so precious and I hardly see them, and they are growing up so freaking fast. It's crazy.



We spent the week at my parents house. They were out of town and our circumstances for staying there weren't the best, but it was almost like a mini-vacation, and I got to hang out with my furbaby, Mo, so that was all worth it!


I got a really awesome kitty cat stick-note set from a coworker. She stopped by my office one morning, said she saw these and thought of me, so she got them. It was really just the sweetest thing!


I reorganized some portions of my blog. You can now find different labels to the right-hand side of the page for easier access to specific posts. Feel free to browse!




xx,

The Pure bar in apple cinnamon is a good idea since granola bars are quick and easy snacks. Wedding weekends are hectic and fast-paced, so including something that's grab and go is a nice addition for the guests.

Asheville Coffee Roasters coffee was a fun treat. This is definitely something I would want to include in the bag. We have several locally-owned coffee shop and coffee is one of my favorite things. I feel like most people enjoy coffee, so adding in some local grounds is a great idea!

While popcorn from Poppy's Popcorn in olive oil & rosemary was a fun treat for me, I'm not sure if popcorn is a treat I would add into the welcome bag. I feel like coffee and a small snack (like a granola bar or a local treat like honey sticks from an organic store) are great treats, and any additional snacks may not be needed.

One of my favorite things from the welcome kit was the In Case You Forgot bottle, which included a Burt's Beeswax lip balm(one of my biggest go-to items), Neutrogena oil-free moisturizer, Gold Bond Ultimate intensive healing hand cream, and a Tide To-Go stick. Of course all of these came in travel sizes, so they're perfect to throw into a small purse and take along with you. These are great for guests, because everyone always forgets something.

Also included was a sample of the wedding day timeline to include for guests, so they understand where to go and what time to be there.

I really enjoyed this box. It gave me great ideas for welcoming any out of town guests that may come, and always gave me some great items I will personally use. I will literally use everything included in this month's box!


Check back next month for the last StudioWedBox, and what the team deems important as the last step of the planning period!


xx,

I had a very short week. I took some vacation time on Tuesday and Wednesday, so my week has hardly began and now it's ending. It feels very odd, but it was much needed and I feel so relaxed and stress-free currently. It's a great feeling.

My birthday was Tuesday. I am now 25, a whole quarter-of-a-century old. I had a great birthday, which you can read about here, with one of the highlights being my trip to the Wild Animal Safari, where I got to feed giraffes and zebras!


As mentioned above, I had two days off, and they were so relaxing!

For my birthday, I received birthday rewards from both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, so I got to get any drink of my choice. I'm generally very simple: iced coffee with nonfat milk and sweet-n-low. Since it was my birthday week and I didn't actually have to pay for anything, I got something a little special, my favorite, a venti iced skinny caramel macchiato, and it was everything.


I got into the gym with some coworkers. Don't get me wrong, I've still been doing some moving at home- basic cardio and lots of squats- but it felt so good to really sweat again, and going with other people made me push harder, so as to not embarrass myself. :)

Coming back to work after two days off, I had some nice little surprises from colleagues in the office, including lots of Dunkin Donuts gift cards and a stuffed cat. It made me feel so happy to know how much people care!



I hope your week was just as wonderful!



xx,

My twenty-fifth birthday has come and passed and it was so awesome. Andre's off-days are Tuesdays and my birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, so I used some vacation time and took the day off. It was 95 degrees plus, but I somehow convinced Andre to take me to the Animal Safari in Pine Mountain. I'd only ever been when I was in pre-k and I only remembered two things- the camels that slobbered all over you and the potty-trained rhinoceros with a pile of poop bigger than he was (no exaggeration). Andre had never been, so we decided to go. We had taken a trip to the Atlanta Zoo sometime last year and it was so overwhelmingly sad for the animals there. We only knew the Wild Animal Safari couldn't be any worse than that. Plus, at only $21.95 a person, it's such a deal!

This past week has been surprisingly great!

We got our wedding invitations/RSVPs in. I spent two hours self-addressing the RSVP envelopes. I have yet to actually get to the outer envelopes, but the RSVP envelopes are complete!


We got Andre's suit this week, and his wedding shoes (for only $3!). I had $25 in Kohl's cash from starting a registry at Kohl's (which we decided against, because everything we registered for was also at Target, but cheaper), $5 Kohl's cash for my one-year anniversary of having a Kohl's charge card, and a 30% off coupon. Plus, the shoes were on sale, so we actually saved over $70 on the shoes. I couldn't be more thrilled.

We finally tried out a newer burger joint in town. It opened up around Christmas, but we hadn't gotten around to trying it out yet. It's really different because they're stuffed burgers. My burger was stuffed with pulled pork, BBQ chorizo, and cheddar, then topped with bacon, onion rings, lettuce and tomato. I threw some ranch on top, as well. It was perfectly called The Pig, and it was absolutely amazing. We'll definitely be eating there again.


I finally got to move into my new office at work. I love it. The walls are soft green, and better yet, it's an office all my own. I'll possibly do an Office Style post soon to share.

Orange is the New Black is back! See ya next week.


xx,