Welcome Back!

So, there's really no excuse for how long I've been gone. It's been a long 7 months but I'm ready to come back now and get this thing going again. However, I suppose I owe anyone who had been reading this before an explanation of sorts, so here it is..

The reason I stopped writing here was pretty complicated. I was living in Oklahoma with my sister and my brother in law, who recently welcomed my awesome little nephew. I was in a relationship for two and a half years that started to completely fall apart. The distance from the situation as well as anyone to discuss the issues with who knew the guy were extremely straining, in addition to the tensions due to lack of sleep from everyone in the house was too much for me to handle and I was then offered an ultimatum: come back to Connecticut and we fix this, or stay there and we'll call it quits.

In a hindsight kind of way, I stupidly and selfishly quit my job, left my family behind, and went home to try to make things work. I now know how stupid that was, because only two weeks after returning home, the relationship was ended. Done. 

We tried to make the end something we could look back on happily for both of us, but after all is said and done, I realize how ridiculous the whole situation was. Regardless, for a while after that, I was mourning the loss of the best friend I had relied on for years and a boyfriend who will more than likely never speak to me again. But to each his own, I suppose.

So, after a more than long enough hiatus, I was working a lot of evenings at a bakery and not really functioning properly. I've met someone new through that job, unexpectedly, and we've been together for 4 months. We've spent an unreal amount of time together, which would explain the lack of posting for the last couple of months, but things are changing now for the better. 

So, after a long-winded explanation, I'm ready to start "new". I've been uploading videos to YouTube for a while now, which has taken up a bit of time but I've been having a lot of fun with it and hoping to expand a bit more as I learn things. You can check out my videos (many of them involving my sister, Hannah) by searching DivineMissE on YouTube. 

I hope everyone's been doing well the last half-year I've been gone. Let's do this, and welcome back.

Today I Believe...

• It's okay to have several favorites of everything. Personally, I could never choose one color or movie or song because I change my mind every few minutes.
• Setting 5 (or 8) alarms is acceptable.  Just make sure if you're going to sleep through them, you sleep alone or far away enough that you don't ruin someone else's sleep.
  
• This right here:

• Change jars are a great thing to have, especially if you work somewhere with a vending machine.  As an adult, snacks become your meals.
• Just be a big kid and do things yourself.  You can't rely on other people to make things happen for you.
• Forgiveness comes in a lot of very small, mostly painful steps, but if it's worth fixing, it's worth the work.
• Sometimes you just have to cut it all off and start over. Literally.
  

Things I've Learned: Living in Oklahoma

So after a month of staying in Oklahoma, I feel like I have a fair assessment of how I feel about this place.  Here's a short list of things I've learned living in Oklahoma:

• Oklahoma is a flat state.  Flat states mean an insane amount of wind because there's literally almost nothing to block it.

• That being said, if you're a girl, you better be good or get good at doing your hair in an updo of some sort or carry a brush with you at all times.  Or just cut all of your hair off completely.  There's literally no point in trying to leave it down.
  
  

  

  I was outside for about 4 seconds to take this...

• If you live in the area I do, airplanes are a part of every day life.  Every day, all day.  Even if you can't see it, you're sure to hear it.                                

  

                                                                             

• Whether it's considered a Southern state or a Mid-Western state, apparently there's almost no such thing as 'southern hospitality' around these parts.  I don't know if it's just the time of year, but most people I've encountered down here are grumps, too.
• The Bible Belt is almost literally visible through Oklahoma City.  There's a line of hospitals with gigantic, lit-up crosses on the sides of the buildings. 
• People in Oklahoma have NO idea how to handle snow and ice.  The schools were literally shut down for 3 days because of an inch of snow.  Also, this is what they consider a snow plow...
  

So Very Thankful

Here are the final letters of thankfulness for the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  I know I'm a couple days ahead of myself, but if I leave off the last three or four, I'll totally forget about it.

M - Mom, music, motivation, Modest Mouse, The Mountain Goats.
N - New ideas, my nephew.
O - Obligations, optimism, opportunities, the Office.
P - Patterns and prints, people (the good the bad and the ugly), Parks and Rec.
Q - The queers and the queer movement.  (I love them all.  Is that insensitive?)
R - Red Robin, relations (to people, songs, movies, etc), reliability, Ruby Tuesdays, reading and being able to read.
S - Siblings (because where would I be without them?), sunshine, seasons, simplicity, spontaneity.
T - Time, taste buds, telephones, Tom.
U - Umbrellas.  Seriously.  Also, uno.
V - Variety,
W - The Walking Dead, wigs, women's rights.
X - x-rays and medical technologies.
Y - all of my yesterdays, yearnings, and yes-moments.
Z  - Ze Frank (zefrank on YouTube).  Seriously, sometimes I get weirded out by some of the things he says because that's exactly how I feel.  Sometimes, that's the best feeling in the world.


I'm a little late, but I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

November Playlist

Over the past two weeks, I've noticed myself listening to a lot of the same songs over and over again in a loop.  As I was putting together this playlist, I realized they only sort of belong in the same category, but not really, so it may be worth a look no matter what music you like.  The songs are in no particular order, so feel free to skip around as you see fit.  Here's a list of the songs on the playlist, as well as a link for your listening pleasure.  Happy Monday!

Click here for the YouTube playlist!

1. Greg Laswell - Not Out

~I've had this song on repeat over and over again on its own...  I can't stop playing it.

2. Beirut - Mimizan
~This one I used to listen to all the time when my boyfriend and I first started hanging out.  It's pushed its way back into my music cycle.

3. Ben Howard - The Fear
~I've heard this song a couple times through Pandora, but I hadn't really connected with it until a few days ago.  It came on during a walk through the trails in the area.

4. Bon Iver - Holocene
~This is my 'beach song'.  Seriously, if you ever go for a walk on the beach by yourself, play this song.  Perfection.  I haven't tried it in any other situations, I just really love this song.

5. The Decemberists - Sons and Daughters
~Where do I start...?  I found this song through the Office (season 9, The Farm) and my boyfriend had it on his iTunes playlist.  He looked at how you play the song for both guitar (for him) and ukulele (for me) and we've played it together a few times because we can.  And it's adorable.

6. Katy Perry - Unconditionally
~A very recent addition to my iTunes library.  I hadn't heard this song until I ended up in Oklahoma, and now I can't stop listening to it.  I also watched the Katy Perry movie. Three times so far.

7. Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful
~This song is beautiful.  I really, really wanted to not like her because she (in the way I saw it happen) got famous because she was so vintage and old school and made her way around tumblr like wildfire.  Then, I heard this song on the radio and instantly had to know who was singing it.  Now we're here...

8. Miike Snow - Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)
~I first heard this song when I was working at Sephora and a coworker switched the music from the store's channel to her Spotify account.  I think it's the drumming that's so damn catchy and I warn you, it'll be stuck in your head. For forever.

9. The Mountain Goats - So Desperate
~This one reminds me of Tom sooo much.  I won't go into detail, but it's weird how much we can relate to this song.

10. Radical Face - Always Gold
~Out of all of the Radical Face songs I've heard (which, let's be honest, is only 4) I think this one is my favorite.

11. Skylar Grey - Coming Home Part II
~I could listen to this girl's voice all day.  Just beautiful.

12. Sufjan Stevens - Christmas in the Room
~Christmas is coming!  He has a ton of great Christmas/Holiday songs, and I could seriously listen to him for weeks without hearing the same song twice.  He has recorded an insane amount of songs.

13. Walk off the Earth - Wrecking Ball
~Yes, I know what you're thinking.  Yes, this is a Miley Cyrus cover.  Yes, "wrecking ball" is secretly my jam right now.  I'm over it. This cover is brilliant.

14. Zedd ft Hayley Williams - Stay the Night
~Love.  This is my ringtone.  I haven't heard a Zedd song I didn't like yet.  Again, love.

15. The Weepies - Nobody Knows Me At All
~One of the only songs I can kind of, sort of play on the guitar.

16. The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather
~Randomly heard it on Pandora one day and the next day it was a huge sensation on the radio.  I don't know anything about it or the band besides it's catchy as hell and I love legitimate sweater weather.

And if I could suggest another song... It apparently isn't on YouTube at all, but it's come up on my Pandora stations once or twice and I love it.  I did manage to find it on iTunes, but nowhere else.  The song is called "Fond" by A Weather.  Check out the preview through iTunes!

Catching Up

I've made it to Oklahoma.  Today was my first full day living in a new state, which started off with a job interview at Target.  Run of the mill, holiday hire, I should start next week.  

Anyways, I have a few pictures from yesterday and today that I wanted to share.  The traveling was fairly uneventful.  My boyfriend and I woke up at 4 in the morning Sunday to drive to the airport, sad goodbyes and no pictures from that (because who wants to see that?) and I forgot to get a real breakfast before I boarded the first flight south.

Found this is the Dallas airport. I want one for my house.

Welcome to Texas

I went on a little walk around part of the base, and found some semi-sketchy buildings.  

 I've decided this place would be great for shooting a horror movie.  It's got the very quaint feel to it while still managing to be super creepy.

And, I just remembered I'm a day late on my Thankful days list so here is D through L to cover tomorrow, too:

D - I'm thankful for my dad for being so helpful through the moving process and everything else in my life.

E - Elephants for being so damn cute I could die.

F - Friends and family for being there when the shit hits the fan (and when it doesn't, but mostly when it
does) and distracting me when I need to be distracted.

G - Grandma! I'm so thankful I got to spend time with my grandma before I left.

H - I'm thankful for Hannah and hamburgers and having hands.

I - Ice cream, ice, iced coffee (if you know me, this is no surprise), iPhones, aaaand instagram.

J - Jeans that fit well, justice, Jones soda.

K - Kevin Hart, Katy Perry (I just watched her movie, soo good), and kindness.

L - Love, lazy days, lessons, learning, Lindt chocolate.

This list may have seemed a little less deep than some people on Facebook, I was just trying to think outside the box a little more and I'm totally serious about all of them.  Happy Monday (which is really Tuesday for a lot of you) and I hope you have a good week!

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!

Five Days + Update

So, with five days left in Connecticut, I figured I would take a minute to show you some stuff I've been up to in the past month.

I have been doing a lot of makeup (mostly on myself for work) but I'm pretty proud of them.

Zombie Pinkie Pie and zombie Devin

Sugar skull for work 

Fairy inspired.  Unfortunately the light purple blush and glitter didn't show up very well.

Inspired by Vintage or Tacky (Cora) of vintageortacky.com

Tom and I went hiking at Sleeping Giant again.  This was where we went for our first 'date' so we decided to come back to it before I left for a while.

On top of the mountain!

And a few weeks before our hike, I went to New York for a Makeup Forever class, which was all Halloween makeup, with my friend, Cali.  It was a lot of fun and I hope I'll get the chance to go to New York again before I leave, I'm trying to convince Tom to go on Saturday, but we'll see how it goes.

This week I have plans to see a few Sephora girls again, have a little lunch date with my grandma, get a tattoo and hopefully have one last adventure with my siblings in Connecticut before I'm off to see my sister and brother-in-law in Oklahoma.  More pictures and updates to come, probably on a daily basis this week.

I hope you're all having a safe Monday.

ABC's of Thanks

So, I have seen this going around on Facebook and decided it will keep me motivated to write here a little more often.  I know I fell off the wagon with my weekly random act of kindness, which I hope to bring back in the future, but this seems a little less active (and less expensive, too!).

So, this Sunday marks day 3, so we'll start with A, B, and C.

A - I am thankful for autumn because it all feels new and motivating.
B - I am thankful for my brother-in-law (and sister) for giving me a place to live for a while.
C - I am thankful for coworkers for being so supportive and helpful through a not-so-smooth transition into moving away.

Next Sunday I will be going through the next 7 letters (up to J!) and hopefully before then I'll give you guys an update on what I've been up to.  I have a lot of pictures, and even more to come this coming week!  I also have a lot of plans coming up that I'm excited to tell you about and hopefully you'll be able to help me out with even more ideas.  Happy Sunday!

Silver Lining

This past wee has been nothing short of exhausting.  While I love my job, I've found myself just wanting to stay in bed all week instead of getting up and being productive.  I have a lot to do in my last month living in Connecticut, but I don't really want to do any of them.

Today was especially lazy.  It's the first real day off I've had in a while, meaning I didn't have anything I really had to do, I didn't have to be anywhere at any time, I just got to sit on the couch and watch some t.v. and watch the trains pass the apartment I'm staying in for the next couple of weeks.  It was a gloomy, rainy day, so I stayed in my pajamas and ate ramen.  This is going to be a "Today, I believe..." list.

Today, I Believe...

•  showering, getting back into pajamas and watching BBC can make for a great day off in the middle of chaos.
• train rides really are amazing and beautiful.
• barely using your phone all day can help to clear your head and keep from stressful conversations.
• everything happens for a reason, even if it isn't clear why everything is falling apart around you right now.
• "You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, you have a shot at a silver lining..."  is probably one of the most accurate and hard-hitting messages for me right now.

Happy Sunday, everyone.  Hopefully the coming weeks will be better.

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!

Starting Over?

Hey everyone!  I have some awesome, horrible, terrifying, and sad but also happy news.

I'm moving to Oregon...(I think...)

In the last post, I had mentioned having to move again after living on my own for five months because of a whole long story, and I've had so many different ideas and suggestions going through my head for the last couple of weeks I could probably throw up with how dizzying it all is. 

At first, a friend of mine (Jess) had offered for me to come down to Richmond to live with her and her husband.  Then, my older sister and my brother-in-law offered up their spare room in Oklahoma.  

Now, I had tried to find a place to live on my own in southern Connecticut, then in the entire state of Connecticut, but I just can't find a place here that I can realistically afford on my own.  So I had broadened my search to the surrounding areas (RI, NY, MA) but only found a very, very small selection of options.  Playing around with ideas, I looked into Portland, Oregon.  My older sister and I had gone out there with my dad a few summers back to visit my aunts and cousins and honestly, I really love it out there.  After our week vacation was up, I really didn't want to come back to Connecticut.  The weather is almost always beautiful, there's minimal snow (which is great for me), and it's so much cheaper.  

I'm still very torn about the whole situation.  I've always wanted the chance to move to a different state, but now I'm nothing short of having a panic attack over it.  I've always said I kind of hate Connecticut, but I'm hesitant to actually leave.  I know I'll have a job wherever I go, but I know I won't have a car.  No matter where I go, I know I'm going to have to sell all of my things except my clothes and my laptop and just leave.

While that idea sounds liberating, it also sounds terrifying.  Imagine someone telling you that you have two weeks, drop everything, pack what you can carry, and move across the country.  Scared yet?

Sorry this post is kind of a downer, I just don't know what to do at this point.  Here are some pictures from my last Oregon visit.

Courtney, Dad and Me at the beach

More beach pictures

PDX Airport with Courtney

Mountains in the distance

Delayed Update

Hey everyone, I know I have been MIA since about a week after my sister's wedding but things have been so crazy in my life right now.  Working two jobs is so stressful and the last week has just made everything seem like it's 10 times more difficult.  On Friday this past week, I was told that I have until October 1st to find a new place to live because there are problems with the house I've been living in since May. Long story short, the house will no longer be ours... So I've been doing some apartment hunting and everything is going to get really intense soon.

Hopefully I will get back on schedule with all of the things that I had planned for you guys, especially now that we're going into fall.  I have so many awesome plans for this fall that I'm really really hoping to show you guys and also do for myself.  I love fall and usually I feel like I have more energy around this time of year so that's a good indication of how much I will actually get done.

I'm so sorry about the absence for the past almost two months.  That's crazy, I can't believe it's been that long.  Time flies when you're stressed and having some fun on the side, right?

Here's a small update on what I've been up to in July and August, just so that we don't completely miss out on that time.

Kaeley and I set the grill on fire...

I made this!

I decided to play with some makeup and came up with an Emcee look from Cabaret.

Went to Savers and found this awesome kitty/puppy sweater. (Still sad I didn't buy it, along with the Reindeer poncho below.)

Went to Lyman Orchards and picked way more peaches than I knew what to do with.

Finally dip dyed my hair!  I've been saying I was going to do it for over a year, but wanted to wait until after the wedding.

Lastly, I skewered more grapes than I ever thought I'd have to...

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Summer Playlist Part 1

Hey everyone! I made a playlist for the beginning of the summer.  Well..sort of beginning, but more the middle because I'm lame and didn't get to it until now.  Here is Summer Playlist 1 for you, let me know if you like any of these songs, too, or if you want to see more playlists.  Happy listening =)

Things I've Learned from Courtney & Nick

My sister is getting married this weekend!  I am so excited for her and her new life with Nick, who is such a great guy for her.

They've definitely had their plates full for the last year, with Nick being deployed with the Air Force, both of them moving to Oklahoma, as well as planning the wedding and all of the things that go along with it. I'm not sure how they've managed to get everything done in such a short time, especially with my sister starting a brand new job down in OKC, but they've managed to get everything together and seem to be handling the stress a little better than some couples do.

 They've been up in Connecticut for the past few days and on Monday I got to spend the day with them putting together some of the final details for their special day.

This man was a great help in finding THE shoes!

Things I've Learned From Courtney & Nick

• Life is a great balancing act, and when you can't get what you want you  can always learn to accept someone else's way.
• Value the people who value their own happiness.  They're the ones who give the best advice.
• If it's meant to be, it will be, and it's well worth the wait.
• Things don't always go as planned, but things will always work out for the best in the end.
• Love can deal with distance, especially if you're the adventurous type and can close the gap one day.
• Taking a risk can be the only thing between you and the life you want. The worst that can happen is getting turned down, in which case you move on.

Congratulations Nick and Courtney!  I'm so insanely happy for the both of you and I wish you all the luck in the world, although I know you won't need it.  I'm so excited for the wedding Saturday!  Love you both!