Nicole Carina

The hydrangea bush beside my house isn't doing so well since I haven't had time to water or fertilize it, but I was able to get one perfect bloom. I love having flowers in the house, especially if they're already from my yard.

I meant to post about my party sooner I've just been to busy to post from my computer instead of from my phone.  I had a great birthday week!  My party was Saturday and everyone came out.  Mom and Michael drove down from Jacksonville and all my friends from work and church came too.  I got some very thoughtfull gifts, my dad even made me a jewelry box. 

The Wednesday before was my birthday and even though I had to work I still had fun.  I got the most beautiful flowers from mom and Daniel, and then went out for dinner.  Dinner was at Meditera, a new restaurant downtown.

  After dinner I got to see The Mile After at the Soapbox, it was so great to see them since I hadn't seen them live in over a year.

 

They were just as good as ever, even though one of the original members isn't with them anymore.  It was a great way to end my birthday.

I had planned to post in a lot more detail but it's 11:30 at night and I've GOT to get some sleep! I've been up late cleaning and listening to the olympics on TV.  I've been up to a few things that I'll post more about later. :)

 

I broke down and got a new thermos the other day, my old one was starting to make my coffee and tea taste weird. I found this one at barnes and noble for $16 and it's pink! I've been drinking a ton of Kyoto cherry rose lately (my fav green tea of all time) and using a thermos is much easier than running to the breakroom between calls for each now cup. It also keeps it warm longer that just using my cup warmer. I got a bunch of new tea for my birthday (which I'll post about soon) and I can't wait to try it all.

August has been pretty busy and fun sofar, and I think it will be that way all month long. It's taken me a few weeks but I'm finally starting to get into a routine in my new place.  I even started cooking!

I made the most AWESOME baked ziti, with lots of veggies and cheese, yum! I'm so incredibly proud of myself that I didn't burn, undercook, overcook, set the kitchen on fire, or any of the usual things that happens when I try to cook. I also made eggs bennedict and a few other not from scratch things,but the ziti was definitly the best. I'm trying to get better about saving money and eating healthier by eating at home and this helped keep me motivated.   

 

I've also been doing a little baking, not as much as I'd like but that will come in time.  I made some angel food cake mini cupcakes while Tom Taylor stopped by for a visit.

 

I always loose track of time when I'm talking to someone (ok when I do anything at all)  and I burned the first batch.  They were pretty hard. Tom snapped this picture and I said "Maybe I can make croutons out of them?"  It was pretty funny.

 

The ones that didn't burn, lol! 

 

 

 

Tom came to visit me the other day when he was in town.  It was nice to see him again, we talk on the phone a lot but don't get to see each other much since he's in Raleigh.  He gave me a couple of his photos as house warming gifts:

 

Aren't they beautiful?  I wanted the one of downtown Wilmington ever since he posted it on his vox, and he brought me the one of the lily too which goes perfect in my kitchen. 

I'll be hanging these tomorrow when I finish decorating the house for my birthday/housewarming party this Saturday.  My birthday is actually on Wed, (I'm turning 29... an old cat and chihuahua lady!) but it will be easier to have people over on Sat instead.  I'll post pictures of the house then, it's still not quite ready for pictures yet, lol.

I've been busy doing other things too, I went to the aquarium at Fort Fisher this past friday but I'm too tired so I'll post about it later. 

 

Tuesdays are the worst, it's the first day of my work week so I have to get up at 5am after sleeping in the previous 2 days.
If it wasn't for my tea stash I'd be snoring at my desk by lunch time. I love to drink loose leaf tea at home but prefer the convenience of bagged tea at work. White tea is great for work because it gives me just enough caffeine to keep me going but not enough to make me jittery like coffee does. Today I'm drinking Berryblossom white by Tazo teas. If I had some of Kelly's cucumber sandwiches to go with it I'd be set. ;)

Finally! Life has slowed down enough for me to post!

I've been pretty busy lately with packing, moving, and unpacking.  I feel like I've given tons of stuff to our church outreach and I STILL have way too much stuff.  Oh well, I keep telling myself that this is the LAST time I will have to move in long time.

With moving in and trying to personalize the house, I find myself wanting to get more in touch with my inner domestic goddess.  I enjoy baking (but not cooking, go figure) having tea parties, crafting, and entertaining but haven't done any of those things in months. 

One thing I've never been good at but wish I was, is gardening.

 

 

 

I plan on having a small garden in my front yard along with hanging baskets, window boxes, and some potted plants on the porch. I'd also like to design a backyard garden with a little fountain or pond.  Now that being said, it should be noted that I have the blackest thumb of anyone I know. Seriously. 

So I've decided to start small. Baby steps right? I bought a seed starter kit and planted some Zinnia seeds I had from about 4 years ago (I didn't see an expiration date so I figure they're still good) and Maravilhas seeds.

Maravilhas means "wonders" in Portuguese and my grandmother brought seeds with her from the Azores when she came to the US in the 70's.  She harvested the seeds each year and kept some for my mother and I before she died.  I planted some a few years ago and they germinated so hopefully these will too.

I don't remember how long they take to start growing but I know they're summer flowers and won't grow unless it's hot, so I've been taking them outside for a few hours each day.  I hope they sprout soon, I'm always so impatient when it comes to plants (propably where my black thumb comes from, oh well).

 

 

 

I was able to find time to get out of the house recently when I broke down and finally bought a bicycle. I've been wanting one for a while now and since my new place is about 12 blocks from the river I had an excuse since I'm not within walking distance of everything anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

It's the cutest little cruiser, and the cheapest bike they had, perfect!  I couldn't wait to try it out so Daniel and I went riding around Greenfield lake the next day.  I haven't ridden a bike in years!  I forgot how much fun it was.  I'm so glad I got it.   

 I've also got a little basket for the front that I put Sebastian in.  He loves it!  I'll take pictures the next time I take him for a ride, he was too wiggly the first time.

 

 

 

 

I've still got so much to do as far as moving in and it's easy for me to get stressed out, frustrated, and upset so I've been making it a point to do something fun on each day that I do a lot of work on the house.  You know what?  It actually helps.  I've been riding my bike, watching movies and spending time with friends and the house is still getting done. Slowly but surely.  I just have to remember that there will always be a "to do" list but I have to remember to take time for myself. 

Another thing I'm hoping to do more of is post (I know, I know, I always say that).  I find myself thinking of things to post but never get around to so I'm going to start blogging from my phone more, maybe even once a day or every other day, just to get me motivated. We'll see how it goes!

Yesterday I closed on my new home! It was amazing that everything fell into place to finish the sale. It's been such a busy couple of days scrambling to get information and paperwork to the right places on time. I've been praying like crazy for things to work out and thankfully they did. 

This is a big step for me, being responsible for this home and everything it will need.  But I'm so excited about all the thing I'll be doing to fix it up and really make it mine. 

The day before I closed on the house I realized how wonderful my friends and family have been to support me and offer advice and prayers. I bought this house on my own but I couldn't have done it without all the wonderful people in my life, Thanks Everyone!!! 

Today I'm going to paint and do some more packing and then walk downtown to see the fireworks over the river.  I almost feel like this is my independence day, the start of a new chapter in my life, and I couldn't be more excited.

I took Sebastian to the vet yesterday to get neutered. He looks so pitiful with his plastic cone. He was still really groggy when I picked him up. I have to keep him from running, jumping, and playing for 2 weeks somehow. He's the world's most hyper dog, how am I going to do that? I feel so bad that he has to stay in his kennel all day but that's really all I can do.

I found this usb cup warmer while going through a bunch of stuff in my attic yesterday. I forgot I bought it last winter to keep my coffee warm. I never used it so I didn't know it had led lights. It swirls from red to blue, very office zen like, lol.

It's been raining off and on all weekend, which is the best kind of weekend to stay home and craft.  I got into embroidery when I was visiting my dad in Texas last month.  Aunt Lydia gave me a ton of her old transfer designs and embroidery thread. 

The first dishtowel I made for myself.  It's part of a series with different things beside the flowers like cups, silverware and other kitchen things.

 

A few close ups and the new one I've just started.  I'm going to put another design on the one with the teapot and maybe a border of some kind.  I usually knit on days like today but with the summer heat it's hard to think of working on the wool sweater I've been making for myself.  So embroidery it is.