Baby Spam/Picture Post

Hello there! A lot has happened since my last post, but as always being busy isn't an excuse.

I started a new job (same place but a higher position) as the Beauty Department Advisor. It's been a ton of hard work but things have really been coming along since we opened.

Regardless, this past week my sister, brother in law, and nephew have been visiting before they move to Japan, so I tried to spend as much time as humanly possible with them. I've collected over 200 pictures and video clips from this past week and I haven't done a haul like this in a long time. I just couldn't miss a moment.

Bedtime stories with Grandpa

Seeing them go this morning was so bitter-sweet. I know they're on to bigger and more exciting adventures together as their little family but it was so hard to watch the sister that's been there since the moment I was born walk away with a little boy I've loved from the start. I told Nick it was almost a tease because this week it felt like we had so much time, and then suddenly, the week was over and they're gone again.

Enough sad typing, though. Let me show you some of the great moments we had together while they were here (video post coming soon) and you can check out my sisters blog HERE for updates and amazing or adorable pictures of their adventures in Japan!

With Grandma and Grandpa

Hanging out with Uncle Brandon

Learning to throw rocks

Handsome Dudes

High Five!

Tyler and his buddy, Liam

Holding my hand before they boarded their plane...

Oklahoma, We Meet Again...

Now that the time has almost come to go back to snowy, freezing Connecticut, I decided I would share some of this crazy week with you!

Mom and I ate at this really great Mexican restaurant in the Baltimore Airport called Zona Cocina. If you ever pass through there, I definitely recommend it if you have a little time to kill.

Mom slept through most of the flight! I don't know how she does it, I can't sleep on planes even if I try.

I snuggled this munchkin as much as humanly possible. I love this kid, he's awesome.

Also, bath mohawks are still super fun. He's kind of got the Flock of Seafulls thing going for him.

This restaurant was amazing. Their food is delicious, and incredibly cheap. The walls are also lined with more kinds of soda than I ever could have imagined. It's so neat, and there's a huge soda bottle with a straw statue in the front of it that lights up at night.

Small section of a soda wall.

Someone enjoyed sharing Grandma's milkshake!

Little Bubby turned one!!! I can't believe it's been a whole year already. It's been so crazy this last year with so many ups and downs and I'm so incredibly proud of this little guy and my sister and brother in law for making such a great little human. To many more birthdays, Little Man. I love you so much.

And even though I miss this guy like crazy and we've Skyped all week, it's a little bitter sweet to leave. I didn't get a chance to see anyone I know from when I lived here last year, and I'm going to miss these guys until they visit in May, but I'm pretty ready to go back to work and get some much needed snuggle time in.

So, thanks, Oklahoma. Although I can pretty honestly say I'll never live here on any sort of permanent basis, it's been real. I don't know if I'll ever be back, but I've enjoyed what I could while I could and that's good enough for me.

Belated Thanksgiving

Happy super-belated Thanksgiving! My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were visiting for the last couple of weeks, not to mention the crazy amount of work to be done getting ready for Christmas and New Year's Eve, so it's been a little insane around here.

Two weeks definitely wasn't enough. He's the cutest. If you want to see my family's Thanksgiving MashUp, you can find it here!

I also started a new photo challenge for this month, since I kind of ditched the 365 challenge from earlier this year.  If you'd like to see the progress so far, you can find the pictures on my Instagram @divinemisse02.

What have you been up to? Do you have any fun holiday plans coming up?

Instalife #2

Alright, week two! I hope everyone's had a good week, mine has definitely been interesting. Here are my photo challenge pictures (as well as a couple extras) from this weeks Instagram posts.

Day 5: I admittedly cheated on this one. This is an old picture of me and my sister but I miss her and we make cute funny faces together.

Day 6: what I'm reading. I actually started this book on Monday and finished it by Friday. It was a good book to start the year with, in my opinion, since I haven't really read much in the last year. It was an easy read, but still very interesting.

Day 7: weather. It was pretty dark when I thought to do this one, so screencap had to do. Luckily, it's warmed up a bit in OKC since this was taken.

Day 8: the view.

Day 9: selfie! Haha I did this as a selfie/throwback Thursday combo.

Day 10: song of the day, but frankly I've been obsessed or a few months now.

Day 11: trees. This is obviously edited a bit, but I kind of love it. 

I had a couple more interesting additions to this weeks Instagram updates as well...

At Teapioca (an Asian tea house thing), I saw this little jar that apparently isn't quite sure of its contents...

Seasonal clothing shifts are starting to become a little less smooth.

And I started gathering some more inspiration for my portfolio! More to come next weekend, and I hope you're all having a good weekend so far!

Looking Back on 2013

I can't believe that 2013 is just over a week away from ending.  This year went by so quickly and I'm both happy and sad to see it end.  2013 was one of the most interesting and difficult years of my life and I wanted to kind of recap everything that's happened through the year and how I've tried to stick with the goals I made at the end of last year.

I went to a casino for the first time!

And made some amazing cupcakes.  Still keeping the bakery dream alive.

I bought a new car, which I ended up leaving in Connecticut when I moved.

I got a puppy, who is now living with a very nice family that has a few other dogs for him to play with in a huge yard.

My little brother graduated high school!

My older sister got married and is now expecting her first baby in February!  I'm so excited to be an auntie.

Over the course of 2013, I've had five different jobs... Which is a scary thought with tax season coming up.

My youngest sister and I went on a date for her birthday (with her boyfriend and our mom in tow) and had a really fun trip to the zoo and the beach.

I went to an apple orchard for the first time this fall, even though I've lived a half an hour away from one my entire life.

I also made some questionable fashion choices (I still regret not buying this some days).

I went to New York City for a Makeup For Ever special effects class, which was so much fun to do.  I love New York.

And closer to the end of the year, a lot of things started to fall apart one way or another.  I'm in Oklahoma now for an undetermined amount of time.  I left 90% of my life in Connecticut, and yes it's insanely upsetting, but I've been trying to make the best of it that I can.  Don't get me wrong, I love being with my sister and brother in law, but I do miss driving and having a car.  I miss knowing where I am.  However, I have made some friends here so it makes it a little less hard to be so far away from everything I know so well.

(If you'd like to see my original list, this post is where I originally posted it)

Goal 1: Keep better track of money (possibly save some..)

~This was a huge..huge fail on my part.  I'm still broke, and have been all year.  To be fair, I moved twice this year and bought a car...

Goal 2: Get organized~This goal seemed to have gone a little better for me.  I'm still a messy person, and I'm sure I always will be, but I've bought a few organizers (and used them!) for the majority of the year, especially after moving out.


Goal 3: Get in (better) shape~Although I haven't actually worked out of gone on huge, crazy diets, I feel like I've definitely lost a little bit of weight.  Not a huge amount, but enough to make my face a little less round-shaped.


Goal 4: Manage my time more wisely~I've done alright with this one.. I won't say I've managed a total 180, but I've gotten better at not being late and managing to get things done when they need to be.  I slacked for a while over the summer, but who doesn't?


Goal 5: Eat as well as I can~Hahahaha. Well.. Kind of.  My older sister told me once that I'm like an old woman and I live off of coffee and baked goods, so I obviously don't eat the best I possibly can.  However, this year I've been eating a lot better for actual meals than I have in the past and I can honestly say I have Pinterest to thank for that because it makes healthy food look amazingly delicious.  And it is. 


Goal 6: Go back to school~This didn't happen... I'm a little disappointed that I won't be able to go back to school for a while, but everything will work out someday.  If the whole hope and dream of owning a bakery works out, a degree isn't exactly necessary anyways, just helpful.  We'll see how this goes as time goes on.


Goal 7: Keep a jar of good things~I kind of half-assed this goal.  I started doing this in the end of March, I added a handful of handwritten notes of good things/events that happened into the the jar, then I moved and threw them out...and never started again.  Maybe I can try again this year?


Goal 8: Move out~I did this! Twice, to be honest.  I only really intended to go through it once, but circumstances come up.  Goal: accomplished.


Goal 9: Be positive~I've been trying very, very hard to stay positive this year.  These past few months, it's been a little harder to keep up with it, but I'm still trying.


Goal 10: Take a REAL vacation~Nope.


Goal 11: Keep my room clean~Also, nope.


Goal 12: Read more~Kind of.  I've read a couple of books this year, and I'm finishing up David Sedaris's Let's Discuss Diabetes with Owls. Amazing book.  This will continue to be a goal, and I have a list of hopefuls here.

I hope you've all had a safe holiday! Do you have any goals for 2014?  I have a list of my own coming up in a couple days, let me know what you plan to do through the new year!

Coming Up Quick!

So, as we close in on my last 48 hours in Connecticut, I figured I should post something considering I said I'd try to post daily while I had the time off and obviously haven't been keeping up with that promise.  Here's what I've been up to in the last two days.

Wednesday, I did a whole lot of nothing... Like, laid in bed all day kind of nothing...

But today, my grandma and I went on a lunch date to Nunu's Bistro in Colchester.  It's an adorable little bistro tucked behind another building.  It was a house at one point, but they renovated it into this cute little business space. 

 After my date with my grandma, I took my younger brother and sister out to Denny's one last time.  That was always our special little spot if we just wanted something to do and get away from the house for an hour or two, or a stop on the way home from a day out.

They decided to fill my cup with all of their ice...

..and we drew on our place mats.

 This picture was from the other day, before I had a phone interview.  I was playing with my camera waiting for the call.  I am really loving this lip color right now, it's a really pretty terracotta red by Nars.

And a little peek into the makeup I did for Halloween.. My sister was zombie Pinkie Pie and her boyfriend was just zombie Devin.

Tom and I went to a bonfire at his aunt's house.  I didn't get any decent pictures of my makeup, but here's a picture of him in his costume.  The face is really what pulls the whole thing together.

Tomorrow, I get my tattoo and see my family for the last time before I leave, so hopefully there will be plenty to show you tomorrow night/Saturday morning.  Also, Saturday plans are still up in the air, but hopefully Tom and I do something together on our last day before I go.  Until then, have a great Friday!

Starting Over Part 2

So, it's been decided that I'm off to Oklahoma after all.

There are a lot of reasons for me to go there at this point in my life, but the biggest factor (besides the potential of being homeless) is my soon-to-be nephew, Tyler!

He will be arriving in late February if all goes according to plan, and I am so insanely excited to be there when he arrives.

I'm excited and depressed about this whole moving thing, though.  Packing is a pain, but Kaeley and I are having a tag sale this Saturday and need to be out the following Tuesday.  Everything came up so fast!  Luckily, so long as I get all of the packing and organizing I need done tomorrow after work and on my day off Tuesday, I plan to spend (Monday the 30th) in New York after work as a personal moment and as some fun learning for work at a Makeup Forever class.

I plan on making a post or two about the packing experience and the process of selling everything and starting over.  I'll also definitely make a video of the travel day for you guys here.  Leave comments of any advice or suggestions if you want to!