Nebraska Life: Thinking Out Loud #56

Happy Thursday! It's my first official thinking out loud from Nebraska and I am very excited. My family, and even myself to a small extent, thought I'd have a difficult time adjusting to Nebraska life but honestly I love it out here so far. People are so friendly, the town is set up in a grid which makes everything easier to find, and it's actually really pretty out here. Granted, I've only been out here a week so far so I'm hoping my opinion won't change. Ask me in the spring once I've lived through a winter out here and we'll see if my opinion has changed😉 Anyway, let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud.

1. The first thing I noticed when I moved in was that there was a TON of butterflies. There are butterflies in Michigan, but they are everywhere here. It's so cool to see them flying around all the time. When I was walking into the hardware store this guy was relaxing on a flower so of course I had to take a picture. 

2. One of the fun parts about moving is stocking up my fridge. I stopped at a Fresh Thyme in town to load up on some pantry staples like spices, safflower oil and then some produce. I've been eating crazy amounts of fruits and veggies recently. Moving is hard work and my appetite has been insatiable! 

3. I finally unpacked the coffee cup my best friend gave me as part of my birthday present. Even though I don't drink coffee I use it for just about everything else. Plus, how can I not want to use it when it's this cute?! Thank you Kate😘

4. One of the parts I have not enjoyed about moving is all the furniture assembly. I'm proud that I assembled everything myself, but after assembling two end tables, coffee table, TV stand, desk, bed, and various other things I don't want to assemble anything again for a long time. Let alone the desk didn't come with parts labeled and the directions didn't have any words. That was a fun time trying to assemble it...not.

5. Decorating has been the part I've enjoyed the most. To me it's the fun part about moving, plus it allows me to make the space my own. I love having pictures of my friends and family around me and finding fun wall art to display. I found this picture at HomeGoods and laughed right away. I definitely say I've never seen a llama-corn or even heard of one before🙆

6. On the not so fun side of things I had my first trip to urgent care in Nebraska. I was cutting a peach when the knife slipped and sliced my thumb open. Blood started spraying everywhere so I quickly wrapped it in paper towel and held it above my heart hoping to slow the bleeding. I'm normally pretty good with blood, but there was so much blood I started to feel like I was going to pass out. After more than 40 minutes of it not slowing down I finally dragged myself to urgent care. Thankfully they took me back right away since I was still bleeding. The doctor didn't want to give me stitches because it's at such a tender spot, plus it's a really high risk of infection there so I got it glued instead. Everyone there was so nice and I'm thankful they took such good care of me. Needless to say, I will not be using knives again anytime soon.

7. Per usual I had to end with a quote. While I am loving my new life in NE I definitely miss living on the lake and am craving a trip to the ocean. Hopefully within the next year I'll be able to make it back to the ocean🤞 standing by the ocean really does make me feel so small and all my problems insignificant. I'm always filled with such a sense of peace when I'm by the ocean🌊

Have a terrific Thursday and a great weekend everyone🎉🎉🎉

If you've moved, what's been your favorite part about starting over?

Where is one place that you always feel at peace?

Moving Week: Thinking Out Loud #55

Happy Thursday! It has been one very hectic week with moving halfway across the country. I got into my new place just yesterday and I'm over assembling furniture🙈 I was amazed everything managed to fit in the U-Haul- I only got a 6x12 trailer- with space to spare. That in itself is a miracle, but it's those things that make life interesting (and semi stressful). Anyway, let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud!

1. I spent part of my last weekend at home going to a wedding. It has been awhile since I had gone to a wedding, but I am all about getting to dress up. I picked out a red dress and my boyfriend decided he wanted to match so he went out and got a red shirt. The wedding was gorgeous, I'm such a sucker for wedding dresses, and the reception was a blast. I'm super happy my friends are starting to get engaged because weddings are so much fun and nothing beats a beautiful summer wedding. I was excited for a chance to dress up and I think we both cleaned up pretty good😉

2. I have a love/hate relationship with curling my hair. I love how my hair looks and feels when it's curled, but I also hate that it takes a ridiculous amount of time to curl- long hair girls know what I'm talking about💇 I recently got a new curling iron, bed head rock n' roller curler, and it takes WAY less time to curl my hair. I am in no way paid or compensated to say that I just really love it. Amazon has it for $18.99 which is the cheapest price I've found it for.

3. Saying goodbye to Cora was the absolute worst. I don't have the space to keep her with me anymore, let alone moving from a yard to no yard would be hard on her. My parents took her and will take amazing care of her, but it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier. I spent tons of time playing with her over the weekend and even got her a new toy which she promptly destroyed in 2.5 seconds🙈 I will come back and visit her on vacation, but I am going to miss her nuttiness like crazy.

4. I have spent way too much time in the car this week. We got stuck outside of Chicago in nighttime construction which made for a real fun time...not. One thing I am looking forward to about living in Nebraska is less people=less traffic, or at least I hope. I've yet to really find out so we shall see.

5. I am not someone who wants to stop on road trips. I'd rather push through the drive and get to where I'm going, however I also have a tiny bladder which doesn't always agree with me, nor does my high metabolism. I packed lots of snacks including my favorite rxbars to get me through any hangries in the car. No one wants to be stuck driving through cornfields and be hangry. 

6. I loved looking at all the windmill farms as I drove along. There were so many massive windmills and holy cow are they noisy! I had no idea they were so loud🙆 being from a city I've never really seen any windmills, except small ones, so it was a little bit of a shock. I love how they're finding new ways to harness energy though. I'd love to know how much energy the windmills actually produce and what they cost to figure out if it's actually worthwhile. I'm nerdy like that.

7. No road trip is complete without some road trip jams. I've had my phone going on shuffle the entire time and it's been fun listening to some old favorites from middle school and various other times. I have to admit, I used to HATE the new Taylor Swift song, but it's grown on me. I think the music video is genius for calling out all her haters🙌 

8. I am already missing home to a degree. Mostly I miss Cora (of course) and my crew at the gym, but being away even for just a few days has allowed me to recognize that home, while it is a place, it's much more about the people in that place. I'm excited to build a new life in Nebraska, even though it's for a short period of time, and build new friendships. I will be excited to go home and see old friends though and of course nothing beats Michigan sunrises.

9. Of course I had to end with a quote. I love this quote because it really applies to everyone, but to some of the things going on in my life now. We can't control what happens to us, but we can control our reactions and how we respond. You might not be in a good place, but it's not forever. Tough times don't last, tough people do. 

Have a terrific Thursday and a great weekend🎉🎉🎉

Have you ever moved? Was it stressful or was it relaxed? How did you handle moving away from friends, family, etc.?

How do you keep yourself occupied on long road trips?

Moving on and Irma: Thinking Out Loud #54

Happy Thursday! One of these days I'm going to post other than on a Thursday but life is just way too chaotic currently for that. It's my last week in Michigan and it's been bittersweet. I've gotten to see so many friends and family members to say goodbye, but it really isn't goodbye. Thankfully it's much easier to stay connected now with technology, but distance makes it a little harder to hangout when you're not in the same state. Anyway let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud, which is also kind of a catch up/recently post!

1. My heart goes out to all of those affected by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey because both places have a long road to recovery. The pictures break my heart because what's left of the Florida Keys and in the Caribbean is absolute destruction. So many people, including myself, have friends and family in the areas affected so my number one priority was making sure they were safe. Thankfully they were ok and just left with some property damage. Property can be replaced but people can't be. Michigan is now getting some of the remnants of what was Hurricane Irma. I watched some of the clouds roll in this morning and it was a pretty cool sight to see. The circular bands of clouds looked amazing against the morning sunrise.

2. Speaking of family, I was so blessed because my family came together one last time so everyone could say goodbye to me before I moved. I got to see all my cousins, which almost never happens since most of them have their own families now. My two baby cousins were absolutely adorable and could not stop hugging me and telling me not to go💜 I'm incredibly blessed to have such a fantastic support system and while I'll miss my family, I'm very excited for this new adventure.

3. With all the craziness of packing I needed some down time. My boyfriend and I decided to take a mini road trip out to the cider mill. While we were driving we passed a place called Hoffman Farms and noticed they had a wine tasting room. The cider mill was absolutely PACKED, granted it was the weekend but holy moly, so we made a u-turn and went back to Hoffman Farms. We sample six wines and then got a pint of hard cider. The farm was gorgeous, the atmosphere was so relaxed and it was so nice to take a step back and unwind for a few. If you ever end up in Michigan I highly recommend checking out Hoffman Farms for a wine tasting, it was fantastic👌

4. Is it even the weekend without froyo? I indulged in some froyo after an amazing date night with my boyfriend. I literally cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard or had so much fun doing something so simple. Find someone who makes you laugh and makes the stressful times a little less stressful. Besides, he puts up with my sprinkle addiction😜

5. I actually got a haircut! I literally cannot remember the last time I got a haircut so I stopped by my cousins salon and to get my hair back to being healthy💇  I rarely get haircuts, my hair just doesn't grow that fast anymore but I wanted healthy hair for when I start my new job. Besides, there's something so refreshing about walking out of a salon with fresh and healthy hair!

6. After my haircut I stopped by Aerie to pick up an order. I ran across these sticky notes on the mirror and LOVED them! I've seen so much body shaming recently and find it really discouraging. These notes made my day and I absolutely love how Aerie promotes body positivity. I have zero problems supporting a company who uses real women, doesn't photoshop anyone, and makes women feel beautiful and empowered in their own skin. The real you is freaking sexy so own it and rock your body because you only get one.

7. This quote just felt fitting this week. Fears, tears, and years are all excellent teachers and looking back on some of the hard times that's where I have grown the most. Personal growth isn't always fun or easy and more often than not it's painful, but those growing pains are worth it in the end.

Have a terrific Thursday and an amazing weekend🎉🎉🎉

Looking back has fear, time or pain, or a combo of all three taught you the most?

What is your favorite way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon?

Fall Is In The Air: Thinking Out Loud #53

Happy Thursday! Sorry for the extreme lack of posting this past month, life has been super hectic trying to get everything ready for the move. It's crazy to be packing my life up (again), but I'm excited for this new adventure. At the same time there is some sadness because I am leaving behind friends and family. I have no doubt we will stay in touch, but being far away from loved ones is never easy. I'm excited for this next chapter and thankfully it's a bit easier to stay in touch with people nowadays. Anyway, it's fall even though it's felt like fall since mid August in the mitten and I'm trying to soak up my last Michigan fall before heading out west. Let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud!

1. Fall is definitely in the air here in the mitten. So many trees already have some or most of the leaves changing colors and the mornings are much cooler. I don't mind the cool, crisp fall mornings, but it makes me wish I could be running so I could make the most of the weather, especially before I start working the morning news shift. I'm trying to cram the most fall activities I can in before I leave and next on my must do list is a trip to the cider mill and apple orchard🍎

2. The cool mornings have lent themselves to some absolutely GORGEOUS sunrises. Some mornings are foggy and I love how the fog looks as the sun starts to rise. I'm always in awe of the beauty and majesty of a sunrise, I don't know how you can't stop and be amazed by creation. 

3. I have been soaking up all the time I can with Cora before I leave. I'm devastated I can't take her, but it wouldn't be fair to her to be stuck at home alone for 10+ hours at a time. She needs to be outside, running around playing, plus I don't want to take her away from her doggie best friends who live a few houses down. I don't know if Cora understands that something is happening, but a lot of times when I'm packing she will come and lay by me. I don't even want to think about the day I have to leave her, I know I'm going to cry like a baby😭

4. The fun part of this move is picking out a few things to decorate. I've never bothered to decorate before everything has been temporary and even though this is a two year contract before I move on to my next job I still want to put some effort in to make it actually feel like a home. HomeGoods and Target have been two of the big places I've hit up. I've also gotten a decent amount from Wayfair and Amazon. You don't have to have a huge budget to get things and I love being able to support brands that aren't at big box stores, but are still good quality. Once I get my apartment together I'll share some pictures.

5. Maybe I missed the memo or something but when the heck did vanilla extract get so expensive?! I was at Costco yesterday and a 16oz bottle of vanilla was marked as $26.99😱 I couldn't believe it was so expensive and neither could my mom who was shopping with me. I've bought vanilla from Costco dozens of times and never once paid that much. I'm hoping it was a pricing error because if not then I will definitely be buying vanilla extract elsewhere next time I need some.

6. I loved this quote because for me it brought to mind the people in my life who make my life so much better. I'm incredibly blessed to be surrounded with some very strong people who love fiercely. As my time in Michigan draws to a close I'm even more reminded of how many incredible people I have in my life. So many have taken time out of their busy schedule to hangout one last time, or grab food, or workout or whatever. Friends and family have gone out of their way to spend time with me and it really has blown my mind. I'm incredibly thankful to have the support group I do and I wish everyone else could be blessed with such a fantastic group of people. 

Have a terrific Thursday and a great weekend🎉🎉🎉

What is one thing you love about fall?
Have you ever moved? If so, what tips/tricks do you have to make the process easier?