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I know it's been MONTHS since I last posted. As you may remember, I left off with just getting the Assistant Manager position at Journeys. Well, ALOT has happened in the last four or so months since I started. After being busy with training, work got even crazier since I got promoted to Store manager back in September. Yep-I got promoted. There was an opening right after I finished my training, and I had to work double shifts every day for a month. Which was no picnic, but I finally got a Co-manger, Fierra, who is a lifesaver (seriously, without her, I think I would have gone crazy by now). Now, I have a new team of part-timers to train for the holidays, but I'll try to update regularly from now on.
But enough about work. I want to share with you my new obssession. For those of you who don't know, when I really like something, I become obssessed with it. My newest obssession is with Jen Lancaster-and if you don't know who she is, get your ass over to jennsylvania NOW! She is HILARIOUS! May I repeat, HILARIOUS!! I have recently discovered her at my nearest Boarders (in the mall of course), and now, I can't stop reading her books! I even purchased her second book before I even finished the first! While I am working on the second, I am also reading back dated entries on her blog. I just finished all of 2007, and I can't wait to move on to 2008. She's just too funny.
Seriously, if you don't check her out, you WILL be missing out. - Location:Living Room
- Mood:amused
 - Music:The All American Rejects-Gives You Hell
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| Want to save a pretty penny and still look like a million dollars? Mary Kay has 90 products for $10 or less! Now, that's beauty on a budget! There are tons of ways to still stay beautiful and save a little extra money. Here our a few of my suggestions: 1) Skip the salon once in a while, and give yourself a manicure. Make a night of it with your girlfriends and buy a bottle of nail polish in a new trendy color ( I love OPI for only $8.50 a bottle, but to save even more cash, buy a less expensive bottle of your choice). To further save, you can all split the cost of a single bottle (but you'll still save tons if you each buy your own). You'll have fun doing each other's nails and still have most of the bottle left over at the end of the night! That'll save you on future manicures! 2) Become a hostess. There are some types of parties (Mary Kay, purse, jewelry, etc.), where the hostess will receive a free gift , a discount, or free products! What better way to spend time with your girlfriends and get some great stuff for free! Also, depending on the party, you and your friends will get to try out the products for free before you buy! If you host a Mary Kay party with me, you can win a free hostess gift or free products, everyone can try multiple products before they buy, and anyone who spends $40 or more will get a free gift! Contact me to book a party today! 3) Got a ton of stuff you can't fit into or never wear hiding in your closet? Have a clothing swap party with your friends! Have everyone bring a predetermined number of clothing, bags, and accessories. Trade with each other and just have fun! Usually, someone can find use of something you don't need anymore. So why not just give it to them? Hey, they may have something you could use! And, not only will you reduce waste, you won't spend a dime! If you want to learn more on how to live large on a budget, check out Glamour's Little Miss Fortune blog. - Location:Dream Apartment
- Mood:pleased
- Music:Auld Lang Syne-Mairi Campbell & Dave Francis (SATC Soundtrack)
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| After reading an entry from Glamour's Slaves to Fashion blog discussing borrowing bags and baubles vs. buying your own, I've decided to give you my own opinion and hear what you have to say on the subject. As you may recall from an earlier post, I recommended bagborroworsteal.com to borrow the latest it bags and more. I think renting designer goods is a great idea for those who don't have the money to purchase them for themselves, but still would like to sport the latest items of the season. It's also a good way to try a new look by borrowing something you wouldn't normally wear or ever buy for yourself. However, if you are the type of person who would be happier spending your money on something you will own and be able to keep for more than a few weeks or so, then you may be better off buying your bag instead of renting one. However, the site does let you buy a bag if you fall in love with it. So, what do you think? Would you ever rent a handbag or some jewelry? I know I would! - Location:Dream Apartment
- Mood:bored
 - Music:India.Arie-The Heart of the Matter (Sex and the City Soundtrack)
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| Last week I ween to Buffalo for spring break. Declan and I went apartment hunting since we are planning on moving in together upon my graduation. The first few places were not located in a good area and weren't very nice. While Declan seemed to like them enough, I was very critical. But then we saw a place by Kenmore and our search ended. It was beautiful! I fell in love with it from the first glance-I didn't need to see the inside to know it was a major step up from the other 3 places. We had found our dream apartment! It's a one bedroom, newly painted/fixed apartment in a nice neighborhood. The landlord,Ashley, is around our age and is very nice-I think we'll get along just fine. Of course Declan and I wanted to take the place before anyone else did, and luckily Ashley called us later that day to tell us we got it! You can not believe how happy I was, I was jumping up and down all over the place! Although we were looking to move in May, Ashley wanted to rent it out immediately. So, Declan is moving in on the first and I'll move in later after graduation.
Declan and I already started shopping for the new apartment. His parents gave us a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond (along with a set of wedding mugs) for an engagement gift. So, since we wanted to get some basics for the month Declan was going to be staying there by himself, we got a shower curtain, liner, hooks, and bath mat to start. I am so excited to decorate, but we are both on limited budgets that it may be awhile until it's truly homey. But at least we will finally be living together and can see each other every day!
But, on another note, my ETV funding just came in which will help knock off most of my debt. Now, hopefully I can just get through the rest of the semester without incurring any more... - Location:Cave
- Mood:ecstatic
- Music:Blink -182 -Man Overboard
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| Last weekend Declan and I started wedding planning. We didn't get too much into it seeing as we still don't have a definite date set. Basically, we narrowed it down to all the Saturdays from April to August in 2011 and 2012-we won't know which year until I find out if I'm going to grad school. If I do, I want to have a 3 year engagement because grad school will take 2 years and I'd want to have about a year to save enough money for the wedding seeing as my parents won't pay for any of it. Otherwise, I'd probably save enough in two years if I work right away. I was suppose to meet with my advisor this past week but got canceled on twice, so now I won't get things figured out til next week.
To make matters worse, one of my future bridesmaids (I haven't had a chance to ask her yet) got the wrong idea about the wait, which caused a mix up with my fiance. Apparently, she told Declan that I wanted to wait 4 years to get married-which is so not the case! While I do like a longer engagement, I feel waiting longer than around 3 years is too long. Anyway, I shouldn't have been surprised she got the wrong idea since she didn't seem to understand the reason I was waiting in the first place. It looks like I have some things to clear up with her... - Location:Cave
- Mood:disappointed
 - Music:T.I. -Dead and Gone (ft. Justin Timberlake)
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| I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but I've been really busy since school started. It's my last semester, so I'm taking six classes to fulfill my requirements, which is a lot of work. But, on the bright side, I'm going to hang out with my friends as much as possible before I graduate, so I'll also be having a lot of fun. And on another note, I also have some good news. I'm Engaged!!! I got a room at the Oak Valley Inn for Valentine's Day since it would be difficult to have privacy seeing as I live in a house of 11 girls (and have a roommate for that matter). We checked into the Heartwood room (a.k.a. honeymoon suite) around 3pm and then left to pick up a bottle of dry white wine for later. At 4 o'clock we had tea and homemade cookies and then tried to get the hot tub going. Since our room wasn't used in a long time and had the longest pipe line, it would take a while for the water to heat up in the whirlpool bath. So we ended up playing dominoes in front of the gas fireplace before getting ready to go to dinner. We had reservations for 8:30 at the Yard of Ale. After dinner we decided to try out the hot tub again and this time had better luck upon realizing we were using the cold nozzle. We added in some shampoo and the jets created a huge bubbly bath. Afterward, we decided to have the wine but realized we didn't have a cork skew. So, Declan went to Wal-Mart to get one while I stayed at the Inn. I had a feeling he was going to pop the question and I wanted some time alone to think about it. I wasn't surprised because we had talked about getting married since last March and I had a feeling he was originally planning on asking me on our 2 year anniversary. But since it's the day I go back to school after Spring Break, I figured he'd ask either during that week or on Valentine's Day. So I was wondering if he was going to propose that day and some of the things he said confirmed my suspicions. By the time he got back I was sleeping lightly. But I woke right up when he asked me if I wanted to hear the poem he wrote me. Of course I wanted to hear it-I always love what he writes for me. It turned out to be a sonnet, and he asked me to marry him in the last line of it sometime after 11 o'clock at night. It was very romantic and I'll remember it always. Afterward we celebrated with wine and chocolate and got lost in our bliss... - Location:Cave
- Mood:happy
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| So, the past weekend was so exhausting but a lot of fun. Declan and I headed to Rochester to visit my family and do a little Christmas shopping. Friday night, we went out to the Olive Garden with Erica for dinner. We had to wait a while for a table (and in doing so missed the play Erica wanted to attend but she was okay with that) but it was worth it-the food was sooo good! We all got to sample some wine and each got a glass, a huge plate of pasta and cheesecake for desert (Declan and I shared though because I was stuffed). Erica even gave her approval of Declan, not that I needed it but she's never approved of my boyfriends. After dinner, we headed back to Erica's apartment, where we would be staying the night, and exchanged Christmas gifts. Now, I know it's a little early, but I wasn't sure if I'd be back around Christmas and didn't want to wait until after to give everyone their gifts (but it looks like I might be in town around then after all). Anyway, I also had to give Erica her belated 21st birthday gift. In all I got her a bottle of wine with the bottle the shape of a cat (did I mention she's obsessed with cats?), a stuffed animal (cat of course), a Mary Kay Body Care Set, an assortment of make-up and some small things. She got me Zodiac (because I have a huge obsession with Jake), Season 1 of Grey's, a deck of cards, a half pound of Gloria Jean's Pumpkin Spice coffee, and a little stocking with candy (she also got Declan one). We spent the rest of the night hanging out with her roommate Emily playing "I Never" while drinking. The next morning we stopped by to see my mom before having to drop Erica off to work. We had lunch with Declan's grandparents, whom I've neer met before, shortly after, which I guess went fairly well. Then we met up with my friends, Janay and Ben at the mall. We shopped around for a couple of hours and I even bumped into my cousin Luke and his family, who I haven't seen in years! Anyway, I finally got to talk to Ben about what he thinks of Declan, and so far he's not on board but he's not disapproving of him yet either. He says he sensed something was a miss but didn't know know what and that next time he'd have to "pick his brain". Oh boy. - Location:Cave
- Mood:blah
 - Music:Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne-Let It Rock
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| Thursday, we had our Halloween downtown at the Statesmen and I went as the statue of liberty. And in typical fashion, I once again lost part of my costume. I knew I was going to lose the torch, so I was going to put it in the book clutch (everyone thought that was a great idea). However, Caitlin didn't bring a bag so I had to stuff all her stuff along with mine in the purse, so there wasn't room for the torch. Walking back home, Caitlin had the bright idea to walk up a huge hill in stilettos, and being as drunk as I was, I went along with it. Well, let me tell you, it was no easy task walking up the steep hill. I was ahead of Cait when she fell down and after I helped her up, I to fell farther back than where she was. I'm assuming this is where I lost the torch and Cait, her tiara (she went as Audrey Hepburn as Holly in Breakfast at Tiffany's). Nonetheless, it was a great night.
I didn't do a whole lot on Halloween itself. I wasn't feeling up to partying and most of the parties were going to get raided by the cops anyway, so I just stayed home and watched a scary movie and "What Not to Wear".
Shannan and I got into Buffalo around 10 or so. After Declan's friends got out of their hockey game, we met them at the bowling alley across the street, got a pitcher of beer and played a game of darts. Afterward, we went to his friend's house for a while and then stopped by Jim's Steakhouse on the way back to Declan's house. The next day all we pretty much did was get Mighty Taco and watched some TV before I had to leave. While it wasn't the most eventful weekend, I at least got to visit him instead of him and caught up with Shannan.
- Location:Cave
- Mood:okay
- Music:Chris Brown-Wall To Wall
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| Things are starting to look up! The rest of my financial aid should be coming in this week so I'll be able to finally pay my rent and pay off some of my credit card debt and pay APO dues (I already paid sorority). I'm still waiting on last week's paycheck because there was a problem with the time sheets but I'll get it by next week with my other one. Also, I just got back from a Professional Development (PD) event on credit score and I learned a lot and even got my first credit report. I was a bit worried about how I'd do since I have missed a few payments in the past and have outstanding credit card debt but it turns out I have no potentially negative items and all of my accounts are in good standing!!! With that said, I'm going to try to do my best in keeping up with my finances and paying off my debt by the end of the school year in order to grow good credit. To get your annual credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com. On another note, things with Declan are going much better. He came to visit yesterday and things went alot more smoothly than last time. Last night we grabbed dinner at Pizza Paul's ( Shane, the Omega, works there and recommended their sub zones to me earlier in the semester and I hadn't had the chance to try them). Afterward, we went to see Saw V with a bunch of my sorority sisters, and this time I got a little queasy from all the blood but it was sooo good, as to be expected. Hopefully, things continue to go well this saturday when I visit Declan. - Location:Cave
- Mood:happy
- Music:Neo Violence-The Tough Alliance
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| Since I've just been sick in bed for the past few days, nothing too exciting has been going on. So, here is a list of some of the best places to buy your own designer duds on the cheap: Ideeli is an invite only shopping community that not only sells hot designer goods for hot prices, but also has exciting giveaways. Leave me a comment with your email address if you want an invite. Gilt Groupe is another member only site offering goods from various desingers. If you want an invite, leave me a comment with your email addy. Rue La La is yet another invitation only site, but you can choose from multiple boutquies to shop from. Drop me a comment with your email info for your invite. Fashionspace is a site that allows you to sell your own designs and/or buy from others. Bag Borrow Or Steal is a site that lets you rent not just handbags but other designer goods, such as sunglasses and jewelry. Rent for as long as you like and if you fall in love with an item, you can buy it. Bluefly, Retailmenot.com, ebay, and overstock.com are also all worth checking out. Hope this helps you jumpstart your new wardobe. - Location:Cave
- Music:Jem-It's Amazing (From SATC Soundtrack)
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