b u l l c i t y b u c k e t l i s t

since i officially move down to pensacola for good in one short week to be with my sweet bf and start my new job, i have decided to make a bull city bucket list of all my favorite things to do in durham before i go!

so here it goes...most of these will probably be food and alcohol related so don't judge me! a cleanse will definitely be necessary after this list is completed...

1. go to a durham bulls game
2. have a picnic at duke gardens
3. a typical yet amazing cocoa cinnamon/farmers market morning
4. bar crawl to all my favs on main street (fed, joyce, alivias, bull mccabes, criterion, beyu, counting house, & bar virgile)
5. tapas night: mateo, juju, taberna
6. spa day with my mama and der (sister obvs)
7. ride the bull at shooters with my ladies...HEY! I SAID NO JUDGEMENT!
8. final beauty prep for the summer with my favorite, go-to durham estheticians (its so hard to find a good waxer these days, le sigh)
9. make sure i spend as much time as possible with my friends and family just hanging out, walking the booty loop, sun bathing at the pool, etc...
10. find an awesome DURHAM bumper sticker so wherever i go, people will know my heart is in the bull city <3

I'm sure I'm forgetting a hundred things, but this list is making me hungry and i simply can't think on an empty stomach ;)

on that note HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!!!

it has been a long week, and unfortunately this weekend will be even longer with work and continuing ed, but at least the sun will be coming out and i will be done with this horrible class after sunday. then, the real fun can begin and i will be able to go out with a bang (like my sweet, little buddy here haha)

And Durhamites!! Let me know if i've forgotten something obvious for my bucket list :)

l i t t l e t e a c h e r s

today my sweet baby Dillon is six months old! it has been amazing nannying for him for the last 4 months in addition to the rest of my kiddos. there is something really special about spending so much time with children. i feel like it helps to keep things in perspective, especially when you're having a bad day. it is so easy to let yourself fall into a funk for silly reasons like; having to get up early, having car trouble, paying your taxes as an independent contractor cough cough. but it is equally easy to sit down, take a deep breath, and think about how much worse it could be and how easy it is to turn your day around. 

these tiny stresses don't mean a damn thing to a 6 month old, or a four year old, or even a ten year old. they are worried about things like sharing, and which book to read, and why these creepy crawly inch worms are everywhere this time of year?? (but really, whats up with these worms??) to us, adults, these things probably sound silly. but when you really think about it, which is sillier? being upset because you had to wake up early and hang out with kids outside, or being upset because you are a tiny person learning how to navigate this huge world and share your favorite toy? 

its also so easy to make these little people happy! if you take the time to sit down and ask them why they are upset, and explain how to make it better, most of time these kids can pull it together and do a complete 180. i want to be more like that. the vast majority of the time i am a super happy and optimistic person. but everyone gets into a funk now and then, and when that happens to me i think about how lucky i am to get to spend my days teaching and learning in this ridiculously cool give-and-take with my kiddos. 

some people may look down on being a nanny as a career choice, especially when i have been in the position to take over a very lucrative family real estate business. but money isn't everything, and being happy with what you do as a career is hard to come by these days. i probably won't be a nanny forever, as a millennial i find the idea of having one career boring. i have so many things that i want to do with my life! i want to go to grad school, write a book, get certified to teach yoga, travel a million different places, learn to cook! every day i think of something new that i want to accomplish in my life. and i honestly think a lot of that can be credited to hanging out with these amazing little people all day. their worlds are so full of possibility and unlimited choices, and i think that we lose that when we grow up but we don't have to!

so, on this cloudy disgusting wednesday, as i sit here waiting for my sweet baby nugget to wake up from his nap, i am reminded that every day is what you make it and there are no limits to what you can do with a bit of creativity, a positive outlook, and an unwavering sense of adventure :)

t r u c k i n a l o n g

i have officially been back in NC for a week and it has been lovely getting to spend time with my family every day. i also finally got to go out with my girls last night which was much needed! i don't know what i will do without them in florida but I've already met so many nice new friends, and i know my old friends will come visit me a bunch (beaches can be very persuasive) haha!

today i also had my first day of my last real estate post licensing class. and yes, i have taken the whole three years to complete it, true to form ;) it was SO boring. saturday and sunday 9:00-5:00 for the next two weekends... fortunately we are allowed to miss 6 of those hours. soooo i skipped out around 2 today hollerrrr. it was for a great reason though. brittney and i had to get mani/pedi's because i was a wreck from the move and looked like i had never groomed my nails in my life. #fragglelife

between work, CE classes on the weekends, and trying to get my old place cleaned up and ready for my renters, i can tell my time here is going to fly by. but i am so excited to get back to james and start my new job and finish getting settled into our new place. some of awesome things on my agenda for this summer include; getting scuba certified, starting paddle board yoga, looking into some grad classes at the local colleges, and getting involved in our local co-op classes. it will be a summer of new adventures and i am so ready! 

with the amazing support of my family and friends, both near and far, i am making moves (literally) and jumping into this crazy new life slowly but surely! Now all i need to do is finish getting my bikini body ready for all of these awesome beach activities woooo!

b a c k a n d f o r t h

two amazing whirlwind weeks of moving, unpacking, job-hunting, meeting new friends, beaching it, and spending time with my babe. amazing in every sense of the word. some moments were harder than others, but the most difficult part is over and we have settled in to our new routines fairly gracefully. 

except now, i am back in north carolina for a couple of weeks to wrap up some real estate deals and finish up my contract with the family i nanny for. however, since all of my belongings are down in pensacola...i am camping out at my parents house...with my two dogs.  not the most comfortable situation spatially, but great quality time with the fan before officially moving down and staying for good. or at least until the next move. 

the next three weeks here will be completely insane. somehow, i forgot about my CE for real estate and so i will be in class for the next two weekends, saturday & sunday, from 9:00-5:00. shoot me now. i have a feeling i will be writing some excellent blog posts during this time because god knows i can't sit that long without going crazy. i will also be working overtime with baby D so that i can make up for the last two weeks of not working at all. yikes!

i plan on spending as much time with my friends and family here as i can, enjoying spring in durham, going to Bulls games, lounging at Duke Gardens, drinking at my favorite bars, and trying not to lose the tan i got while in florida. haha but seriously. 

as amazing as it feels to be back here with all the people i love, i can't help but feel frustrated at all of the back and forth.it seems like i finally got settled in down in pensacola and then had to drop everything again and come back up. but all good things take time and i always knew this was the plan. change makes me slightly nervous so this is probably good for me haha. its like my dad always says; you're building character. so. much. character.

all i know is that i will be so happy to settle into my new job, home, and life with james. its not like i will never see my nc peeps again. I'm already planning my parents first trip down here, and my friends know they are always welcome to crash at our place and spend some glorious days at the beach. now i just have to convince molly and brittney to skip work and drive down with me for jazz fest in a couple of weeks....priorities!

f l o r i d a l i f e

wow, its been a long time since I've written anything here. but thats definitely not for lack of reasons to! the move has gone very smoothly. we have managed to get settled, explore a bit, and make some new friends. i still get lost every time i leave the house but thankfully I've finally learned most of the main roads. 

learning how to live with someone in a shared space has been easy for us since we've lived together for longer periods during j's time at TBS. the hard part has been adjusting to our schedules and learning how to communicate in a normal way now that he isn't in the field all the time! and to be honest, its a great problem to have because it means we get to see each other so much. 

for me personally, the most difficult thing has been accepting the fact that i will have to put myself out there in an unfamiliar place and meet new people. we've spent some time with j's friends and their significant others which has been great! everyone is super nice and they know from experience the things i am going through. last weekend a big group of us went out in downtown pensacola which was awesome. i was surprised at how fun the bars were! and with the exception of a slight alcohol induced bout of hysteria on my part, the night was a blast. we were also FINALLY able to go to the beach! it was beautiful. white sand, blue water, and sunshine!!

i was supposed to head home yesterday morning but decided to extend my trip through the weekend in order to lock down a job I've been chasing while down here. I'm excited to say that i think at this point it is in the bag. such a relief! i have to admit that i was terrified at the thought of being down here with nothing to do. i don't want to only be a marine girlfriend. thats not who i am. or its not the ONLY thing i am. I've grown up being a very independent, educated, and motivated person and its easy for people in military communities to box significant others in and assume the worst about them. its kind of sad. but i refuse to be one of those people!

james and i are planning on getting our scuba certifications when i get back down here in may which i am SO excited about. especially since there are so many coastal and marine archaeological sites down here! we even found out that the local colleges offer classes that i may be able to take that will add some credits to my grad school count :) 

in addition to working full time, going to the beach, (hopefully) taking some classes, learning the area, and trying to find a place to volunteer i am feeling much better about my schedule. the only time things get hard is when i have nothing to do, so staying busy, getting out and doing new things, and meeting new people will not only be my biggest challenge but my salvation here. i think that this is the beginning of an amazing adventure and i can't wait to see how we grow as a couple and as individuals on this journey :)