New Digs

Well Well Well... Here we are.

So we have arrived in New Jersey and got internet yesterday and here I am today to fill you in on whats going on!!

Monday morning we got up and started on our task to close up the house and finish packing so we could head out. We got a lot accomplished and then decided we were going to head to breakfast at this place we had been meaning to try for quite some time.

Naturally Jason hates change and was not at all happy with breakfast but I got something different and quite enjoyed it.

Cafe au lait!

Petite bacon apple waffles

Breakfast was fantastic.. I will say that next time I would probably ask for the syrup on the side because the waffles got a little soggy and I don't eat anything soggy but none the less I was really happy with it. 

Before making it back to the house Jason realized he left he bank card at the restaurant so we headed back there and then got home to finish packing. When we got home I was finally introduced to the neighbor, Jason somehow sees her all the time and I never do! I have encountered her husband a few times and always wave but never see her or been able to introduce myself. What are the odds that I would meet her the day we were leaving and absolutely LOVE her! She is fantastic and I think we would be great friends.. and although she really doesn't know us she has been so gracious to offer to watch the house for us and keep us posted on things. 

The day after we left she called me and said that she believed KB was out doing some work on the house and she would take pictures and send them to us as the work progressed. HOW KIND! She did just that, as they have completed the work she sent us a ton of pictures and honestly we couldn't be more grateful.

We left Monday afternoon and drove to the other side of Baltimore Maryland and stayed, the next morning we drove the rest of the way. Driving Monday night was gorgeous.. the sunset was fantastic..

 Sorry for the crappy Iphone pictures!

We arrived here just after 11:00am, did our move in walk through and unpacked the Uhaul.. its always a pain in the ass but it didn't seem as AWFUL this time. We basically dropped everything in the apartment and left to take the Uhaul back before traffic got back and hit Target for the basics. I forgot how damn expensive the North is let me tell you that, things are $2-$3 more here!!! NUTS!

We are basically settled I guess, we went out last night and got a couch (hopefully to be delivered tomorrow although I haven't heard) and then we walked around and explored a little bit. Sadly I forgot to bring a jacket (honestly!!) and its quite chilly here at night still! We managed to walk around the and get the lay of the land right around the apartment. 

As much as I dislike our actual unit the apartment amenities and surrounding area make up for it. Its not home but I have to suck it up for the next year so I might as well start making the most of it. 

I thought I might share a few pictures...

Freedom Tower

On of the outdoor grilling areas at our apartment. The grills are all gas so its first come first serve and light up!

The pool over looking the Hudson River and Manhattan. This is right outside our window. 

Our pool.

Another grilling area. 

Our view of Manhattan.

The Freedom Tower is as huge as it looks. 

Empire State Building and more of Manhattan.

The three buildings in the front are our apartment. We are in the one to the far right.

We took a walk around the boardwalk.. it was chilly but gorgeous.

Sun setting on Manhattan. 

So we are getting settled, Jason will be working 40 hour weeks right now which is great and hopefully will have the entire Memorial Day long weekend off. I am hoping we might get a chance to go into Manhattan and visit Liberty State Park. We have explored New York and although I can't wait to do so again we are interested in exploring our surroundings here as well. 

Stay tuned for more updates and lots of upcoming adventures. This here blog didn't exist when we lived in Manhattan before so I am looking forward to sharing all of my favorite NY hang outs and the new places we find here in New Jersey!

Hope you are all having a great week, I plan to be back here more regularly starting next week! 

Short, Sweet & to the Point!

Good Sunday Afternoon!

Its a cold Sunday here in the South, not sure what is going on with our weather but I have to tell you I am not impressed! I was really hoping for some fantastic highs but we have been struck with a cold front and it SUCKS! They are calling for a slight chance of rain today and it definitely looks possible so we are trying to get all the outside things done this morning and then we can work away at the inside this afternoon.

As we speak the self cleaning oven thing is on and let me tell you, our oven was not dirty! I mean a few spots here and there but we use one of those foil trays at the bottom to prevent any major messes. Well I guess something spilled on that foil tray and Jason said this morning when he went to take it out it was stuck. Ugh. Anyways he got it out and turned on the self cleaning oven and my house STINKS! Although cold I have been sitting outside for quite some time because the smell is pretty unbelievable! But not having to get in the oven and scrubs pretty much makes up for it.

I'm not going to lie I'm pretty sad about cleaning this place up to close it down so to speak. Its like closing up the cottage for the winter.. you've had such an amazing summer there and as you are cleaning and packing things away you are thinking about how long the winter is going to feel before you can get back here.. well that pretty much sums up how I feel. We just got the damn deck and now we are putting the table and chairs away, cleaning the grill and putting it away.. umm is summer not just starting? As you can see things seem a little backwards. It doesn't help that we are going to an apartment where having our own grill just isn't allowed.

I still haven't touched my closet and no I am not saving the best for last.. I just plain and simple don't want to do it. One advantage though to having this home of ours and knowing we will be back at the latest in July and then hopefully again in September is that I don't have to take all my winter clothes right now and that's a huge bonus. Having said that I know damn well I am going to get there and go to get something and wont have it and will naturally have a melt down that reflects the sky falling. I suppose it will be an excuse to come home?

Also the mall near our apartment doesn't have the Gap? What the hell is that about? The Gap is one of my favorite stores and I'm not going to lie I frequent it, now what I am going to do? Come home when I need a new shirt or pants I guess. They also don't have Ulta... where will I get my face wash? Is Ulta a southern store? I can't say that I have ever seen it in the North... I'm going to have to do some research about that. I suppose I could order online... but why do that when its right up the street from my house? I'll probably just save the shipping cost and come home.

Last night we went and saw the latest Spider Man movie in 3D at the theater, I was skeptical in that I have never seen any of the others and can't say its really my kind of movie but I am having a hard time being here watching things be packed and Jason has been doing a lot of work around the house in preparation for our departure so we decided last night we needed to get out and do something. We thought about going to the 'Got to be NC' festival at the fair grounds but we decided a little late and would only really have the opportunity to see the carnival which I don't care much about so we opted for a movie. I really enjoyed it to be honest, I think Jason did too... we've spent so much of our time here just enjoying the house and the weather that we rarely have date night.. it was nice!

Tonight we are headed out for dinner as we have done our best over the past couple weeks to empty the fridge so not to waste. We've done a pretty good job I would say and before we leave I am in need of some Carolina BBQ. I bet they don't have that in New Jersey either. We are thinking the Carolina Ale House most likely.

We will be leaving tomorrow, there is some running around to be done in the morning and then we will be taking off in the afternoon. I do believe we will only drive as far as Connecticut tomorrow and then get to the apartment Tuesday morning, unload, take the UHaul back and then go get a couch. I forgot until just a few days ago that we didn't have a travel couch anymore. Truth be told I'm not even sure I know what we have anymore in that a lot of stuff didn't come to Alaska with us, then even more stuff didn't come to Estevan with us and then it all made the trip from Maine to North Carolina and I don't think we have really even opened the boxes.. so lets hope we have everything we need.

Anyways I rambled a lot because the whole point of this post was to let y'all know that today will be busy (as you can tell I am avoiding it like the plague) and tomorrow will be busier and I don't know when we will have the internet set up so I am not sure when I will get back here, I am really hoping by Wednesday at the latest, maybe with some pictures of the new apartment and what not. I suppose we will see how things go, just know that I have not abandoned there here blog!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

The Perfect Makeup Bag

Happy Victoria Day long weekend to all you Canadians out there! I have to say that I am a little jealous and wish that I was doing some of the fun things I see you all posting on Instagram.. backyard camp fires, beers (well I am doing that), boating, etc! Summer is around the corner!!

To be honest in the last two days you wouldn't know that we have seen a week of 90 degree weather already as the temperature has really dropped. The lows are quite low and the mornings are quite chilly. Tomorrow we are looking at a high of 69... I think that's crap. I was really hoping for the nicest of nice days and by that I mean HOT for our last couple of days here because somehow I doubt the weather in New Jersey is going to be as nice as it has been here. With that said the Uhaul is in the driveway.. GAG! The only reason I am holding it together and not barricading myself in my closet refusing to leave is because I have decided that if I hate it I'm coming home.. nice little perk of having a house!

We will be coming home as much as we possibly can which I look forward to it, I would drive that super long way for just a couple of hours here without question. We aren't going to be THAT far and hopefully with Jason's schedule we will be able to get home everyone other month! We will see how that goes but that is what I am hoping for at the moment!

So back to the point of this point. I know a lot of you won't care or get this but when I was reading through my little blog notebook this morning where I write down post ideas when they come to me I saw a note in there from a long time ago talking about the perfect make up bag and I chuckled because I have been on a hunt for the last couple days for a few things that relate and so I thought what the hell maybe one of you would have some advice.

You see I don't know about all of you but I HATE to dig for things, in my makeup bag, in my purse, anywhere really. I think everything needs to have a spot and therefore when I need it I can go there and get it. If I have to dig through my purse for something and end up taking shit out because I cant find it I lose patience quickly. I like a big purse so I can carry lots of crap but I often keep other little travel makeup bags in there or what not so I can just grab it and get what I need out of there. I like pockets and organization. I see people all the time who have their cash strewn throughout their purse and they just grab handfuls from the bottom and spend a good few minutes getting what they need.. I wish I could be that person.. but it will never happen.

At home the perfect makeup bag doesn't really have to exist.. all my makeup brushes are in a nice little container from Target and therefore on display and I can spot the one I want and pull it out, the rest of my makeup that I use daily resides in my Bodyshop makeup bag and then I have another makeup bag for my not so everyday stuff. See what I mean, but I am not Type A personality at all really. Now that we are going to be traveling and I don't really know what our bathroom is going to look like I cant rely on having the space to have 2 makeup bags and a brush holder, etc therefore I need to find a makeup bag that is going to prevent me from digging for brushes and whatever else I may need at the time.

So this is the makeup bag I had my heart set on and I found it quite awhile ago at Bath & Body Works but I didn't get it because at the time we weren't traveling and I didn't need it.. well now I do.

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Yesterday I made my way over to purchase said bag and now as you can see it comes with all that crap stuff in it. I don't need that stuff, sure I would use it but because I don't need it I don't really see the sense in paying for it.. I just want the freakin' bag! So I left without the bag and I was mad. That is without a doubt the makeup bag I need right now! PERIOD!

On top of that I really need a caboodle of sorts, maybe even a bag I don't know. I need something to carry all my stuff in that I need.. my personal care items if you will. These are things such as:

- Face wash

- Day cream

- Night cream

- A lot of hair products

- Nail polish

- Perfume

- Makeup removing towelettes

You know... girl crap! I can't leave it and to be honest its been awhile since I have traveled with all my stuff (going to Peru I took minimal because of suitcase weight/space). We use to have a huge toiletry bag that we traveled with but its unnecessary now to take all of that with us and to be honest I just want all my stuff in one place so I don't have to go digging (see) amongst a bunch of other crap that I won't be using and don't need. 

So I went to the mall and truth be told I basically went to Bath & Body Works couldn't get the makeup bag I wanted so I let the mall, I pitched a fit to myself basically. I then went to Ulta thinking they are a beauty store how could they not have what I was looking for. Well they had one option and it looked more like a purse and I just felt like it wasn't what I was looking for so I got the other stuff I needed, used my 20% off coupon and had $9.00 in points.. I was already in a better mood! Then I was headed to my happy place, Target!

I didn't expect a lot out of Target, most of their travel bags for women's things were Sonia Kashuk which I like but they just weren't big enough. I would have bought one just because they were nice but if I came home with something because it was nice but it didn't fit all my crap I could see Jason pitching a little bit of a fit. So I failed miserably in my search. 

Where do you all by your makeup bags? What is the perfect makeup bag if you have to have all your makeup in there, including the stuff you don't use on a daily basis and your makeup brushes? I know one exists and maybe I just haven't went to the right Ulta or the best Target (although I will say mine is pretty fantastic) or maybe I am just not going to the right store in general. For now I plan to through it all in a reusable Lululemon bag to get it to my destination and then I will focus my efforts in New Jersey. 

While I am here I also wanted to let y'all know that if you follow along you probably noted that I RAVE about Bath & Body Works aromatherapy collection, especially the stress relief line! The smell of eucalyptus spearmint is heavenly and the body cream is the most perfect lotion I have ever used in my life.. lets refresh your memory...

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Although I am just realizing now that the sale on these products are over I do however also have and love their bodywash/foam bath and today and today only they are all on sale for $5.00!!! Check it out HERE, and they have flat rate shipping of only $5.99!! I use the stress relief as body wash and I also have the sleep one that I use in a bubble bath and I swear it works, plus the bathroom smells so pretty! 

I don't know why I am promoting Bath & Body Works after they screwed me yesterday but what can I say.. I love them! So wander over and take a gander! I off am off to again avoid packing.. I am doing so fantastic at it! HA! We are planning a low key night and then tomorrow will be busy. We have pretty much emptied the fridge and what not so we will probably head to the Carolina Ale House for dinner tomorrow or something, unless I can convince Jason to head downtown to the Mellow Mushroom because I am basically addicted and will miss that place. 

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.. I hope to get back here tomorrow because we are leaving on Monday but we will see how it goes. If not it is my intention to stop in Monday for sure and let you all know how things are going. You may just have to bare with me for the next couple of days until we get settled and I get my shit together. 

The Dangers of Guns...

I hope where ever you are reading this from you are getting nicer weather then we are! They were calling for rain today and although I know we need it I was incredibly disappointed because I have so been enjoying the hot weather, especially now that we have the deck! This morning started off lazy just doing little things here and there.. aka... avoiding packing! Jason ran out to do a few things and it started to pour!! In a matter of minutes this is what it looked like outside!

So much for the drainage system they put in the yard right? We just did all kinds of work around the yard and in a matter of one rain storm its all gone to shit! 

Its literally a lake out there, I understand that it is down pouring but this is a little extreme!

So I gave up on pretending to do stuff so I don't have to pack and am just not packing. I just don't want to go, I feel awful but I would be fine to go and get Jason set up in New Jersey and just come home. I may feel different after being here by myself for awhile but right now I don't think so. Yesterday we went out and bought a crappy blender to take and a crappy something else, oh an alarm clock and I'm bitter about buying crappy stuff to take to a crappy (not really all that crappy) apartment when we have nice stuff in our beautiful home. I've been holding in my tears best I can but let me tell you when they let go the rain wont have nothing on me. 

Yesterday Jason wanted to go to the shooting range, truthfully although I like to shoot I didn't really want to go but we have been trying to get there forever and it was really important to Jason to shoot the new gun he bought while in Alaska in February. I'm not going to lie I had reservations on account that I have never shot a semi automatic and didn't feel good about the shell casing flying out. But when we first got the revolver I was nervous about that too and turned out I really enjoyed shooting it. 

So we drove up to Drake Landing  yesterday morning, got our wrist bands and headed to the "pistol pit". It was a really beautiful day out and the range was completely different then what we were use to. 

As you can see they have some sort of contraption rigged up and my thought it that its purpose is to avoid ricocheting bullets but honestly I think it causes more as the lowest point it near the targets.. you shoot high and look out!

These targets are also metal which allows you to know you hit them via a loud pinging noise.. but again may I just say... ricocheting bullets! We were probably less then 50 yards from the target, I felt it wasn't all that safe but Jason assured me they would know and it was fine. 

It was located on a huge farm that was absolutely gorgeous! They had kennels for their hunting dogs as they offer guided hunts with their dogs. They also just had vast amounts of gorgeous land!

Blue sky for miles!

So we spoke the the gentlemen riding around on his golf cart supervising the course and he gave us the rundown about how they do things. Jason went to work setting up the guns and I will be honest I kind of just sat back. I don't particularly like wearing ear plugs, they hurt my ears and I just felt really uneasy about the new course and the set up being so different from what we were use to. Keep in mind we are use to shooting in the middle of no where in Alaska so yes this is obviously much different. 

Jason got right into it! But naturally things did not go fantastically.. or at least I don't think so. Truth be told I think the new gun is a hunk of junk.. the thing kept jamming which made me extremely nervous. Although I am comfortable with a gun I know that it is no joke and can be extremely dangerous. Jason kept making excuses for it.. crap ammo, I wasn't holding it tight enough (like that should matter), it was too hot out... basically what he was getting at was that it was a hunk of junk! After screwing with it for awhile and it constantly jamming I said screw it.. I don't have the patience. 

Jason continued to shoot for awhile and I was sitting behind him. He decided to shoot the 357 which I already had so I continued to sit and watch him! As he was shooting I noticed the bullets hitting the targets and FLYING way over into the other course, naturally not where people were standing but I just didn't like it. There were signs everywhere insisting you wear your protective I wear at all times and I soon learned why. As Jason was shooting a bullet fragment ricocheted back and hit me in the face! I freaked out! I was fine but it scared the crap out of me and it was hot and let me tell you if I wasn't done before I was REALLY done then. 

Jason continued to shoot...

This was another thing I didn't like about the range... because of the way it was set up you kind of needed to get down as Jason is above to shoot and I didn't find it comfortable or really safe. When shooting, especially a gun of a larger caliber you should have a firm stance because of the kick back. See... I know stuff. 

Like I said, I was over this course and shooting. Seriously that new little black gun is junk, I would run past it in search of a bat if my life was at stake! Who the hell would count on something that jams as much as that thing did? If you are thinking about purchasing a gun I will tell you one thing.. in my experience a revolver doesn't jam! If you've got some patience and feel like screwing around and protecting yourself isn't a concern feel free to invest in one of those little things. 

I would think Jason would have got that I was so over all of this but he INSISTED I shoot the damn thing again. He said that I needed to be comfortable with it.. which how comfortable can you be with something so unreliable anyways? I agreed because if you know Jason at all you know he doesn't give up until he gets his way.. but as I neared the weapon I made it clear that I would shoot it this one last time and then I was DONE! Well I started to shoot and one of those shell casings popped on and landed on my arm.. IT WAS HOT AS HELL! I freaked out yet again and told Jason not to bother me with this shoot crap again!!! 

So as you can see I didn't really enjoy our morning at the shooting range, and there is no wondering why. I appreciated the beautiful scenery but I was ready to go. 

On the way home Jason asked if I wanted to go to Moe's for lunch. Um Yes! I love Mexican food and I have been wanting to go since we got home from Peru in hopes of finding a burrito that compared to the Burrito bar in Barranco! Well guess what I found...

I won't go as far as saying it was the same or as good at the Burrito bar in Peru but let me tell you it was FANTASTIC! I got the same thing I got in Peru and although I believe its just that the ingredients taste different on account of where they are grown and how this burrito was amazing! Another reason I am mad we are leaving because I would be going there daily weekly.

So that's our scoop, we are under flash flood warning here right now because in a matter of an hour or so we have gotten over 2" of rain and they are calling for a lot more. I plan do embrace wearing pants because its been awhile and hang out.. all while NOT packing. 

We watched the season finale of Criminal Minds last night and let me tell you know one died like they portrayed on all of their advertising. I would really like to know where the line ends for suspense and interest and begins for just plain false advertising! None the less it was an excellent episode and I will look forward to the new season as always. Tonight is the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and I suppose it will also be the FINAL episode of Christina Yang although you would have thought it would have been two weeks ago and then last week by their advertising.. I think its safe to say when it comes to advertising for TV shows its all lies!

I'm hoping to get back to normal around here.. I feel like for the last couple of weeks its been catching up on our trip and what not and stopping in quickly when I can. I haven't tried a lot of new products lately sadly so be prepared for some moving posts for the next week or so. The Seavey's are actually coming up tomorrow morning for a visit and I am super excited for that! I will however be back tomorrow with something to chat about!

I think I might need an outlet in the next few days..

Myrtle Beach May 2014

Happy Hump Day lovelies!

Good lord is it HOT today!! We have had a week of nothing but high 90s and until today we have been able to enjoy it because of a great breeze.. negative on that front today!!! We went to the shooting range this morning and poor Jason couldn't even see the sweat was running down his face.. more on that later though!

Anyways I told y'all I would stop by with details on the Myrtle Beach trip but if you want to know the truth the trip was pretty well a bust. We drove all the way down there and all the way back (over 7 hours) in one day only to spend 15 at most walking in the water and had lunch.. epic fail if you ask me. Jason had talked about it with his parents and they all wanted to go so I didn't get much of a say in the matter but when we got back to Raleigh I was CRANKY! I hate being in the car that long now, anyone who knows me at all should know better then to take me to the beach without the promise of laying out and at least one beer... it kind of sucked.

So basically what I am telling you is I have nothing to tell you.. so I will just photo dump some pictures and be out of your hair!

I will however be back tomorrow with a few pictures of the shooting range tomorrow and possibly my thoughts on the Criminal Minds season finale tonight and then we will be back to normal around here.. at least until Monday when we leave for Jersey... I am crying inside about it still.

I could have stayed there all day!

Jason and his Dad reading about the migration of the sea turtles.

Not sure what this guy was up to.

The boardwalk

My kind of place...