I want a library

If you haven't noticed, I'm kinda a nerd. As witnessed here and here. Whatever, I embrace it and I can have a literary conversation with the nerdiest of them. I know you're jealous. You can admit it.

One of the big changes in my nerdom was the addition of my Nook. I'm obsessed. I didn't think I would ever make the digital book leap but I got one for my birthday two years ago and I'm fully addicted. I can carry hundreds of books at a time (which may not be practical but I have a library at my hands at all times which I get a kick out of. You were warned of my nerdiness.) The problem is that I still love hardbacks, paperbacks, and libraries. And recently, I've read some really good books that also happen to be classics. I own them in digital form but not in "dead-tree books" means which is sad because I want to add to my future library that I will have. In my house. Which will look something like these...

All images courtesy of Pinterest

So what's a girl to do? Obviously buy the books twice because

"There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it." -Bertrand Russell

And these books fall into both categories. Ah... what a hard life! 

The bachelor

Ok, I know I'm a few days late with my Bachelor recap but there are reasons for this! First and foremost, I DVR everything! I can't tell you the last time I watched "live tv." I hate commercials and if I'm going to watch TV, it's going to be a show I enjoy (or Dt enjoys and I'm watching with him because I'm an awesome gf.) So sometimes, I don't watch my shows until a couple days later. I'd be lost without my DVR!!! Second, I've been fighting some funky vertigo thing these last two days and I've been down for the count. I've been confined to my bed because when I stand up and walk around I look/feel like I'm drunk. Spinning rooms anyone?

Better late than never right? Here goes...

*and if you are a fellow DVR-er and haven't seen this weeks episode, read no further! I've got spoilers!*

Since I haven't done a Bachelor review at all this season, I'll start at the beginning. This is my first season watching the whole thing through and I have not been disappointed with the crazies. I am very disappointed with the bachelor Ben though.

Does he do it for y'all? Not for me! I think he's boring, not sexy by any means, and if I decided to go on this show (Don't worry Dt, no interest) I would be super disappointed if this was the bachelor I was going for. Womp womp. 

I think the season has been pretty good so far, regardless of the lame-o bachelor. Some of these girls are embarrassingly crazy and I know that's why we love this show. Any one remember this girl?

The instructions. The awkwardness. Gah! I cringe. 

 This video is really long, but you get the gist in the first few mins. 

Then we've go this slore! I can't believe that idiot Ben can't see that she is bat-shit crazy! Her creepy eyebrows and upper lip? Then the gross lines the drops left and right? I'm not a fan. 

But I am a fan of Kacie B.!

She's my favorite! I think she's adorable and nice and a good all around person rather than some of the creepers she competing against (let's be honest, this is a competition). 

So needless to say, I was so sad to see Kacie B. leave!!!! And, I don't think it was her fault. It was completely based on the conservative, southern values that her parents were throwing at Ben from the start. I'm from the south and I totally get those values, I think they are important to people but the stuff her parents were talking about weren't what Kacie believed! That's the worst part. Do you think she watched the show this week and finally realized why she didn't get a rose? It's because of the crazy her parents were spewing to Ben behind her back! Any guy would have run from that! If she would have known that's what they were saying I think she would have made it clear to Ben that she respects those values but they aren't necessarily her own. So sad. I will miss her, dearly. 

I guess I want Nicki to win now. Anyone but the psycho! What did y'all think of this week and who do you want to win?

This blogger loves her mama!

On Thursday I went to my parent's house in Spartanburg because Mom and I were going to have a girl's day on Friday. I got to spend Thurs night with both of my parents while my little bro was at lax practice and debutante ball dance lessons. Yes, my southern little brother has been asked to escort a deb. He learned the waltz which he was surprised to learn that I remembered how to do from my cotillion days. Thanks mom!

Boy does look good in a Tux. And don't worry, Amy was not his prom date! Just a proud sister.

On Friday I went to an Uptown Sertoma lunch with Mama G. It was adorable! Turns out, my mom is still a sorority girl, just 25 years older. The meeting started with a prayer, ended with a chant and a clap, they had to pay a quarter for talking during the speaker, and there are different committees to be on, many of which Mom is in charge of. I was having serious AXO chapter flashbacks and thought it was funny that we never grow out of it.

If you aren't familiar with Sertoma, it is essentially a service group that puts together different community service projects mostly for hearing health advocacy. I really enjoyed the meeting and it opened my eyes to the different ways that I can continue to give back to my community after graduating college. Cheesy, I know, but I think it would be fun to find a group similar to this. Maybe I'll make Mom proud and finally join junior league. Anyone want to join with me?

Speaking of making mom proud, homegirl just loves to brag on her oldest baby! She stood up in the meeting to announce my new job, her friends came over to ask if I was the one in graduate school, yada yada yada. That lady talks about us a lot. I'm glad I've given her things to be proud of and to pay a dollar to announce at her community service club meetings (she talks about you too, Amy. Don't feel left out).

Because of how proud she is of me, she took me shopping after our meeting because she wanted her baby to look stylish on her first day of work. As well as her 2nd, 3rd, 4th day, etc. So we did some serious damage on Fri. Luckily, all of the president's day sales had already started so we got awesome deals!

I wish I could find pictures of what I bought online but we went to some outlets so they aren't on the current websites. Lame! Maybe I'll do some outfit of the day posts? We'll see.

We ended our shopping day at Bare Escentuals. I wear all bare minerals makeup so I love this store! I ended up getting a little makeover which was fun. I also walked out of there with some more foundation, a new set of eyeshadow, and a lot of buxom lip glosses which are my favorite. They have tons of great colors and they also plump your lips. They're amazing!

Before heading back to Columbia, Mom and I stopped by the country club to have dinner and see Dad. We had duck confit with mushroom risotto and its was soooooooo good! OMG, I'd move back to sburg just to have that on a weekly basis. Yum!

I loved getting to hang out with my mom all day Friday (and not just because she bought me things, though it was nice of her to do so). She's such a smart, beautiful, amazing person and I'm sad I don't live even closer to her. I'm lucky to have a mom who I have a lot in common with and I know how much she likes to have her daughters to hang out with. I'm one lucky girl! To honor my mama, here are some throwback pics of us...

Do me a favor and tell your mama (or dad, or grandma, whoever is important to you) that you love them!

V-day recap

How was everyone's Valentine's Day? Full of love I hope! Mine was!

Dt and I celebrated Monday night mostly. He cooked us dinner which does not happen often so it was very sweet of him to make an entire romantical dinner. He cooked lobster (his first time doing so) and it was delicious! He also served his lovely gf multiple glasses of wine resulting in her getting drunk and passing out on him. Yes people, I accidentally got wastey on v-day and fell asleep with minimal Dt loving. Oops. I just can't ball like I used to, need to to get back to my prime.

Keeping it classy.

Oh well. On Valentine's day I woke up early and made Dt some pancakes before he left for work and the rest of the day was pretty low key. We don't exchange big presents on Valentine's day usually. We always do the basic candy/flowers/card deal but this year, one lucky boy received this.

Dt has been stealing my nook to read the Hunger Games which is obviously inconvenient for me so I decided to help him get one of his own. Voila! He loves it. He also got himself a snazzy little cover so he is set. I'm only a little jealous of his new nook because mine is a year and a half old but don't tell him I said that.

When we checked the mail on the way home from Barnes and Noble, I was the one that lucked out though!

That's a new month of birchbox (which I will get around to reviewing one day), a valentine's card from Dt's mom, a bachelorette party invite for a grad school friend, and the official wedding invitation for my  AXO "big sister." I'm super excited for both of these girls' weddings and glad that they weren't scheduled on the same weekend in April so I can go to both. Oh, and I also received my final pay check from my retail job (since I now have a big kid job), yes! So Dt may have his nook, but I won the mailbox prize!

This afternoon I'm heading home so my mama can take me shopping for my new job. New job means new clothes, people! Just because I'm an adult now doesn't mean I can't still be spoiled by this pretty lady!

Have a great weekend!

It's a love story...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Since I loved doing my first link up so much, I decided to do another one! This is one that I've seen floating around the blogs lately and I think it's perfect for Valentine's Day as well as telling you a little more about Dt and my love story. 

Thanks to Becky for creating this link up!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

When people ask us this question, our answer is 6 years. We started dating my freshman year of college but we did have a 6 month break in there around my sophomore year. We believe that that break is the reason we are where we are today (which is sooooo in love!) and while it was painful at the time, it happened for a reason and I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. So, 6 years in total!

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Are you ready for this nerdy story? I don't think you are. Dt and I met in biology lab at Clemson University. Yes, we were lab partners. Ahhh, it was love at first sight when I saw him in those snazzy lab goggles. Ha, not! When we were first paired together, I noticed he was cute but didn't think much about it after that. But as the weeks went on, we realized we had a similar sense of humor and started flirting and it went from there. He started walking me to my dorm after class and finally got up the nerve to ask me out on a date. For lunch. Via AIM. That's AOL instant messenger for all of you who don't know. It was a really low key, lunch date but I had so much fun and we laughed the whole time. A lot of our "dates" consisted of parties at his off-campus apartment (he was an upper-classmen, swoon) but we were young and in college so where else were we supposed to hang out? We were college sweethearts, and while we had some bumps along the way, 6 years later we're still going strong.

The first picture we every took via my pink razr phone. 

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

Despite our 6 years of dating, no, we are not married. But I know I will marry him, just not entirely sure when. First of all, we're only in our mid-twenties. We are not that old despite what people here in the south think. I know we've been dating for a long time but that's just because I was lucky enough to find the love of my life at a young age. We are also broke college students (technically, I graduated 6 months ago, but I'm still broke and he's trying to finish his Ph.D. then hoping to go to med school) so financially it's not an option right now. But one day...

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

Even though we are not engaged, and probably aren't going to be for some time, we totally know what we are going to do for our wedding. It may sound crazy to some people to start planning your wedding before you're engaged, and there are lots of delusional girls out there who do this, but I don't fall in that category (I hope!) The difference is that Dt talks about our wedding and what we'll do and where we'll be. I think that's the thin line between delusional and relatively sane. If your bf is excited for your future wedding and is willing to plan it with you, he's serious about marrying you one day. At least in MHO. 

So, to answer the question, Dt and I want to get married at my family's house on the St. Lawrence River.

This is my favorite view from our house, right on the front porch.

It's actually where my parents got married and my family has vacationed there every year since I was born and my father's family has been doing it since long before that. This is my favorite place on earth and it means so much to me. I'm so lucky to have found a person who loves it as much as me and understands the beauty of this place. Growing up, I never imagined getting married here but after Dt had visited a few times, he thought we should, so this is where it will be. It means a lot to me that it was actually Dt's idea too. It will be a small wedding with immediate family and the wedding party but we will have a huuuuge party when we get back in SC for everyone that couldn't travel to upstate NY for the wedding. Kind of like a destination wedding? Whatever, that's our plan!

Here are some sunset pictures.

My wedding pics are going to be fab haha!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

We are really weird and have some strange nicknames for each other... we are also one of those gross couples that uses the nickname babe. Dt calls me babe 95% of the time. If he says Emily, it's weird and I feel like I'm in trouble haha. He also calls me monkey. I call him honey, baby, love bug, really sappy things like that. 

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

My favorite thing about Dt is his sense of humor. He makes me laugh like no one else and we have fun doing absolutely nothing because we are constantly joking with each other. I also love that he thinks I'm funny and gets my weird sense of humor.

I love how smart Dt is. And he has no idea! He's getting a Ph.D. in molecular biology so he has some idea but he doesn't know the extent. He's so creative and thinks outside of the box which is pretty unique but the best thing is that he doesn't act like he's the smartest guy in the room. Talking to him, you would never know that he does breast cancer research all day long because he prefers to talk about football and movies and manly things. He's the ultimate combo of a guy's guy and an intellectual.

Finally, I love how caring, patient and kind he is (and yes, this counts as one). He constantly puts up with my craziness in the calmest way imaginable which blows my mind daily. No matter what I throw at him, he handles it and still loves me at the end of the day. Goodness I love that boy!

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

Well, he has not proposed so I can only imagine what I want... I've told him multiple times that I want to be dressed up with my nails done and some one to take pictures of it. I don't want to look like a hot mess in the pictures of us on our night of our engagement so I need to be tricked into getting dressed up. I want my nails to look nice for the initial ring photos, you know you'll take them! And lastly, I would like our proposal documented. I think those pictures are so sweet and fun to have in the future. In the end, as long as he puts some thought into it and it's sentimental, I don't really care (but shhh, don't tell him). I just want it to be special even if I'm not ready for pictures when it happens. I also know I don't want him to do it on the jumbotron at Death Valley like he jokes about. I'd die. 

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

If I were to choose one, I'd say the strawberries/champagne guy. He made me chocolate covered strawberries and dinner last year and he always does something romantic. He puts thought into it which is nice. 

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

This is a hard one. I would love to have a sunset dinner on the beach for an occasion or two but I could live without. I couldn't live without our movie/cuddling time though. We are kind of homebodies these days, we don't go out to bars as much anymore and movies and the couch are an ideal Friday night. As long as we are together, we're happy!

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

This is another hard one... I want to get married to him, I want to have babies with him, and I want to live the rest of our lives together! But if I could go anywhere? I'd love to go to Bora Bora. This is my ideal honeymoon but I don't know if we'll be able to afford it right after our wedding so it might have to be put off. 

I would also like to travel with Dt to the places that I visited when I studied abroad. Being in the city of love without him was a little depressing so I would love to re-visit Paris, London, and Florence with him. 

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Usually, we do big, expensive dinners on valentine's day and our anniversary. In Clemson, we went to the same restaurant every year, Calhoun Corners, and I loved it! These days we have to find other options but it's usually something like High Cotton or Ruth's Chris. This year though, we are taking it easy and he's making dinner for me (which is unusual unless it involves grilling) which will be special. 

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

I didn't know people asked for things on Valentine's or I would have asked! (I keed, I keed). I don't expect much but I always like a box of chocolates, flowers, and a card. Keep it simple but make it special ;)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

I think it's important to remember to be friends as well as lovers. If you can enjoy hanging out with each other while grocery shopping or exercising or the basic, non-romantic, everyday things, then you'll be able to enjoy the keep your relationship going. I also think romance should definitely be a part of every relationship but you need to love each other, and show it, every other day of the year that's not Valentine's day too. 

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

So this is obviously not Dt and me but to me, this is love. I think a forehead kiss is so much more than just a regular kiss. I think it shows caring, protection, and love. I also think the girl look so comfortable, carefree, and perfect. This is love.

And come on, who is more in love than these two kids?

Happy Valentine's Day! Go link up! And you can leave a comment here if you do it so I can read your love story!

And the big announcement is...

I GOT A JOB!!!

As you may or may not know, I've been looking for a job since I graduated in May. Yes, I've been looking for a long time. I went to graduate school for marriage and family counseling so that is the field that I've been looking in. I've also been pretty set on staying in Columbia (even though it's my least favorite town) because Dt is still in school and we live together. And yes, I'm fully aware of how dumb it sounds to plan your life around your boyfriend and you can judge me all you want, I understand, I probably would too. But I've been dating the kid for 6 years, I know he's my future, and I based my decision on that. So it's been a long time coming, but I finally found a counseling job here in Columbia!

I'll be a full time mental health counselor and I'll be working mostly with children and their families. I will also be able to get the supervision that I need to get my professional license for free which is awesome. I'm very excited but nervous at the same time. There are billions of questions running through my head...

How will I handle the 8:30-5 workday?

What will my office look like?

Will I be able to handle the huuuuuge caseload?

Will I be overwhelmed by the paperwork?

Who will I eat lunch with?

When will I go to the gym?

Will I make any friends?

How crazy will my clients be?

Am I getting paid enough?

How will this job affect the rest of my career?

You know, just the basic questions anyone would ask themselves when they accept their first full-time, grown-up job. I know I have a lot to learn but I'm so ready to get my career started and take the first step towards becoming the counselor I know I can be. I don't plan on sharing too much about my job on here, there are lots of privacy issues involved but I will try to keep you updated on some things. It will be a big change but I'm ready for it and glad to have my friends and family for support when I need it. 

In other news...

What did y'all think of the Grammy's? To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed. There were some things that I loved but I definitely fast forwarded through others. First of all, I adore Adele! I think she has an amazing talent and she deserved to sweep the Grammy's so, good for her. She's also beautiful and I was digging her hair last night. 

Via

I also enjoyed Katy Perry's performance. To be honest, I've been completely sick of her lately (and the blue hair could be left at home) but I enjoyed finally hearing a new song and she took a jab or two at her ex which was entertaining. 

Via

My beloved T-swizzle left something to be desired though... we've seen her perform Mean before and I would have loved to see something new. But I thought her dress was pretty so points for that.

Via

And finally, Jennifer Hudson's tribute to Whitney Houston was beautiful. 

I was so sad to hear of Whitney's passing. What a tragic end to a wonderful life and talent. I can't imagine what her family, especially her daughter, is going through and I think they deserve their privacy. I also think that people who are judging her for her battle with drugs (whether that was the cause of death or not) are disgusting. She dealt with struggles that we will never understand and no one will know what exactly was going on with her. So, either mourn her or move on, don't speak ill of the dead. RIP Whitney. 

As far as misses... I don't care for The Foo Fighters or Bruce Springsteen. I'm usually a fan of Nicki Minaj but she went a little crazy last night. Sir Paul was a little slow for me, I would have preferred a classic. I think the whole show was a little slow actually but I was glad we didn't have to put up with Lady Gaga's antics for a change. All in all, there were highs and lows but not my favorite year for the Grammys. 

And last but not least, tomorrow is Valentine's Day if you didn't know. How do you feel about this "holiday?" Personally, I'm for it! Yes, I think couples should do romantic things for each other throughout the entire year but one day dedicated to flowers, chocolate, and love is okay by me. Dt and I are laying low this year but I know that he has a little surprise for me when I get home from work tonight so I'm excited to see what that will be. 

I'm also excited for this movie

Rachel McAdams is one of my all-time favorite actresses and she kills these romantic movies (hello Notebook) so I'm looking forward to seeing it. I hope y'all have a fabulous Valentine's Day, whether you believe in it or not, and give a little bit of love to those around you!

My first link up!

So I'm new to this whole blogging thing and learning as I go. I follow a lot of blogs and sometimes they do "link ups." Today, I'm going to attempt my first one!

Tracy over at Then I Got to Thinking does weekly link ups and this week is "tell me... an experience that made you learn about yourself."

So here goes...

In the summer of 2007, I worked at Yellowstone National Park. 

No, I'm not kidding. Yes, it's super random.

Most people are really confused when I tell them this and ask me how I ended up there. Well, my Dad's company ran resorts and hotels when I was growing up and one of the accounts they had was Yellowstone (YNP). Even though my dad no longer works for that company, he still knew they hired seasonal help to work at the resorts and knew the higher-ups there. So they told me how to apply, I did, and the rest is history. I applied to work in the marina. If you didn't know, there is a huuuuuge lake in YNP and a marina that rents boats to tourists with no boating experience.

My family has a house on the St. Lawrence River and I grew up around boats and I have a lot of experience when it comes to marina duties so luckily, I got the job. After my sophomore year ended, I packed three months of clothes, bedding, and my life into one big duffel bag and headed out west. I arrived in YNP by myself, I knew no one, didn't know what to expect, and I didn't have a car. A lot of the employees drive their cars across the country so they have a mode of transportation but not me. First  of all, my car wouldn't have made it. Second of all, my dad thought I could do without. So there I was.

Before I begin the rest of this story, I should also state that this period of my life coincided with the time in Dt's and my relationship in which there was no relationship. We broke up in February of 2007 and I planned on never talking to him again. It was not a good break up, I was heartbroken, but as the semester progressed, I did too, and by the time I left for Yellowstone, Dt was the furthest thing from my mind.

So that being said, I really was on my own. I was given a random roommate and had no idea what to expect (flashback to freshman year anyone?) Luckily, I was paired with this lovely Texan lady.

Jealous of my hunting hat? I know. 

It was also her first year at YNP so we learned about the park and everything it had in store for us together. She worked in the gift shop but all of our free time was pretty much spent together. And to be perfectly honest, the first few weeks we were there, we were miserable! The food for the employees was horrendous, we didn't know what to do with our free time, we couldn't legally drink, we were at a loss. But we slowly began to meet people (who had worked there before and knew how to entertain themselves in the middle of a national park). We started to travel to surrounding towns on the weekends (she had a car, bless her heart!), we took up hiking, we lived off of salads, granola and yogurt, and YNP ice cream. We visited every corner of the park and discovered everything Yellowstone had to offer. We also discovered boys! Lots of boys who were willing to show us all the wonders of Yellowstone!

My schedule was nice because I worked 3 1/2 days a week at 14 hours a day. They were long days but it gave me a 3 1/2 day weekend to camp, hike, or travel. I showed tourists (a lot of them non-english speaking) how to drive boats, refilled gas cans, cleaned boats, messed around with my co-workers, and gave lake tours. Yes, I turned into a tour guide. I learned all of those fun facts about Yellowstone Lake and told them to boats filled with tourists. The tips were soooo worth it and people loved me. The uniforms were the most embarrassing thing you could imagine and completely unflattering but I had a killer tan. No pun intended. 

So I spent 3 wild months out west and I learned a lot about myself. I've always been independent but this adventure tested me and I think I succeeded with flying colors. I met new people, I did new things, and I discovered who I was without my family, boyfriend, sorority sisters, Clemson, and Spartanburg. I carried bear spray. I starting dating a new boy that was as different from anyone I've ever dated as could be (both the good and the bad). I discovered that the idea of camping is fun while the reality of it is not. I saw thousands of bison. I saw old faithful. I learned that tourists are idiots most of the time. I brought sundresses and southern hospitality to Wyoming. I visited Jackson Hole. I climbed mountains. 

When I came back to Clemson after that summer I think I was different in many ways. I had lost weight, I had a serious tan, a casual long-distance boyfriend, and three months of exploration of who I was as a person as well as Wyoming. That summer, I learned that I'm capable of anything I set my mind to and while I love all of the support from my family and friends, I know that if need be, I can do it without them. I'll never forget that summer (even though I lost a lot of the pictures when my hard drive crashed and traumatized me), the people I met, or the things I learned about myself.