10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Don't you just love indulging your nosy side and learning little details about the people behind the blogs you read regularly? I was inspired by my amazing blogging friend Jordyn's post last week sharing some fun facts about herself. I've never done a post like this before, so whether this is your first time here or 100th- here's a little more information about little ol' me!

1. I go by my middle name. This was a decision my parent's made when they named me and has caused so much confusion over the years. From roll call in school, to people confused by my monogram- I've experienced it all. My first name is shared with my Grandmother, who is thankfully still living. It would've caused major confusion at home if we both went by the same name, but I'm honored to be named after her! I love both my first and middle name, but find that my middle name just fits me. It's very unique and something I am proud of now!

2. I am practically a bubble child. I've tested positive for just about every single environmental allergen over the years and still haven't gotten used to it! I love hiking and being outdoors, so this is a huge challenge for me. I've done immunotherapy, prescriptions, and OTC medicine- but am still on the search for relief. In addition to environmental allergies, I'm also allergic to milk. So basically, hives are a regular occurrence in my life and I rarely can breath 100% through my nose.

3. I was a gymnast turned cheerleader for 18 years. I started as a competitive gymnast but realized that I didn't enjoy the whole spread of gymnastics around the start of middle school. I swapped over to competitive cheerleading and continued along that path until I graduated high school. I loved the competitions, people, and training behind both sports. It taught me time management, discipline, and a love for exercise that I will be forever grateful for.

4. I live alone. A little over 2 years ago, I moved to an unfamiliar city for work. I was a little intimidated by being forced to live alone at first, but it's definitely the right fit for me! Although I've moved back by home, I've decided to stay on my own. I feel very blessed to be able to afford it and enjoy where I live!

5. I love to bake and cook. My dad is absolutely the source of this love and I'm thankful to have inherited it! We really connect through cooking together and talking about food, as well as eating it. It's not only a great shared bond for us, but something I love to do on my own. I'd have to say that is one of my least favorite aspects of living alone- I don't have anyone to cook for right now!

6. I have a degree in Biochemistry. I started college with the intention of going to medical school afterwards, but realized my sophomore year that I wasn't interested in continuing school directly after my 4 years of undergrad. I quite literally had the wind sucked out of my sails. I switched from chemistry to biochemistry and am now so happy that I did. I work in a field loosely related to my major but rely heavily on my knowledge of science every single day at work!

7. I adore nature. What girl doesn't love a pretty bouquet of fresh flowers?! Not only do I love the colorful parts, but I can't describe the happiness I get from being immersed in nature. Walking along a scenic beach, hiking up a tall peak, or following trails along a river to a waterfall... There's just something so serene and fundamental to me about the untouched beauty found in those places. God truly is an artist, in my opinion!

8. I'm growing and restrengthening my faith right now. I've considered myself to have faith my whole life, but have definitely been more devout at certain times than others over the years. After going through a really rough patch last year, I have begun to recenter my life and have really enjoyed my journey doing so. Although hitting your low points in life is hard, it gives the most unique kind of perspective on things that you just don't see when life seems to be going well.

9. I love to read. I've totally fallen off the bandwagon as it relates to leisure reading. I was doing a great job of making time for this habit, but haven't been doing so for the past few months. Now that things in my life are settling down again, I've gotten back into it and am very excited about it! I'm reading 'Me Before You' right now and will definitely be sharing my thoughts once I'm finished. It's great so far.

10. I am a family gal. One of the hardest things about my move away was the distance between myself and my family. Unfortunately, proximity does have an effect on emotional closeness and I really, really suffered from the distance. My family is far from picture perfect but they provide a stability that I can't find anywhere else. Being closer to home has drastically changed my emotions  and has been a lovely change since the beginning of the year. Last month was the first in many that I was able to go out to dinner with my whole family to celebrate my birthday. I'm smiling just thinking about it!

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better. If there's anything I left unanswered that you'd like to know, please shoot me an email so we can chat further. Also- I'd love to get to know more about you as a reader! Please, leave one fun fact about yourself in a comment below! :)

My Big Announcement

No, I'm not engaged, pregnant, or quitting my job to blog full time. So if that's what you were looking for- sorry to disappoint! But in my life, this is equally as exciting. I've been alluding to a big life change over the past few weeks, but I wanted to dedicate an entire post to it and wasn't able to fit it in before 2016 began. So here it is. I'm moving!

For those of you who have been around/reading for a while, you're probably aware that I moved up to Virginia for a job opportunity a few years ago. It was something I just couldn't pass up, although I was completely intimidated because I didn't know anybody in the metro-DC area when I moved. I'm a creature of habit (and human!) so this was a really difficult decision to make and an even more difficult transition to adjust to. But I couldn't be more excited that I took the plunge. I was slowly but surely able to make friends, become more independent, and really focus on my budding career.

In October it was brought to my attention that there was an opening in my company back home in Georgia! Y'all know that I'm a Christian and I can't explain the situation better than saying it was absolutely a God thing. The territory that opened up happens to include the town that I grew up in- that my family still lives in- and is close enough to Atlanta for me to live within the city near my friends. To put it plainly, I WANTED this position with every fiber of my being and began the process to pursue an interview immediately. Many conversations, tears, and plans later- I accepted the opportunity with a start date of January 4th!

Things basically transpired in a tornado-like fashion. I broke my lease at my apartment, signed a lease at a (BEAUTIFUL) new apartment in Atlanta, set-up a move, MOVED, and got my stuff settled into a storage unit all before Christmas. My apartment isn't ready until this weekend, so I've been lucky enough to be able to stay with my sister and brother-in-law until I can start getting settled.

This is a HUGE AMAZING WONDERFUL LIFE-CHANGING answer to my prayers and I'm so appreciative to have the opportunity to return home. I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep up my momentum here on the blog, but if things slow down for a little bit- y'all know why. I'll be back. Thank you for your support and Happy New Year! :)

2015 in Review

I seriously cannot believe that 2015 is over. This has been such a roller coaster of a year for me. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to reflect on everything, and that I'm able to be so excited for what the future has in store for me. Today, I wanted to take some time to look back and share some of my 2015 happenings!

Starting at the beginning of the year, I fell into a more comfortable stride with blogging. As I have mentioned before, I had no idea what to expect when I started this little space. And I sure as heck didn't have a vision of what it would look like after I did! I began writing posts that were more personal to me and had the opportunity to work with some lovely brands to do sponsored posts! I was able to shoot a sponsored outfit post and tried a few on my own. If you want to see some of my sponsored posts, you can check them out here! 

I have some exciting things lined up for 2016 so far and can't wait to share them with y'all. Now for me, blogging is more than just writing reviews in exchange for items. I truly love being able to express myself freely and have found my way into the best communities out there! I didn't realize how much finding the right group of blogging friends would impact my online experience. I feel supported and know that I have an awesome group of witty, kind, and helpful people at my fingertips whenever I need. That's an incredible feeling in my book! For those of you wondering, I've found these lovable bloggers through different groups. Primarily, I have found the most assistance within the Millennial Blogger Network, Show Your Blog Love, and Style Collective communities. I recognize that these are specific to me and my needs, but I highly encourage you to find where you feel supported within the blogging community. It's changed my experience drastically!

I also took a leap and invested in two courses to learn more about blogging: Quit Your Job to Blog and Instagram for Success. At this time, I don't intend to take my blogging past a hobby level- so I had serious hesitation in dropping some cash to learn more about blogging. But I cannot express how happy I am that I did! I'm still working my way through my first course and can honestly say that I've learned enough to up my blogging game already. I can't wait to get further into this course and begin my second one.

Although I still write anonymously- mainly due to the fact that I don't want my blog to pop up through internet search for professional purposes- I feel as though I've still been able to connect on deeper levels with y'all online. I hope to increase that next year and look forward to seeing my current relationships blossom. I've also decided to post more photos of myself and aim to be more open with y'all in the next year.

Lastly, I wanted to share a couple of personal happenings for 2015. (And thank you for sticking around if you're still reading! I know this is a long-winded post.) For those of you who had been reading for a while, you may have heard me talk about my long distance relationship that I was in for the past 5 years. And you may notice that I haven't mentioned it over the past 6 months. Over the summer, things ended. At first, this was so devastating for me that I had to take time away from many facets of my life, including blogging, to take care of myself. And to be honest- I wasn't sure that I would ever find the energy to continue blogging, but healing proved to be a gradual process for me. Thankfully I was able to slowly get back into the swing of things. I am sending my SINCEREST thanks to the sweet girls who noticed my absence online and thought to reach out. That really helped to inspire me to continue writing. Also, in the more recent months I've had a whole lot going on with work. I've taken on new responsibilities and been able to participate in a few programs that have helped me to be more successful at my job. It's kept me busy but has definitely been worth it!! Also on this topic, I have some exciting news to share with y'all, but it deserves a whole post to itself so stay tuned for that next week.

While this blog may not be viewed as successful by some in the community (in terms of social media followings and pageviews), I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect space of the internet for me. Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time to read, comment, pin, and/or tweet to interact with me! I wholeheartedly love y'all and look forward to growing together in 2016! See you in the new year!

What sticks out most to you about 2015? What are you excited for in 2016?

The Versatile Blogger Award

It's no secret that I've become friends with the best people possible in the blogging community. I was lucky enough to be nominated by not one but two of my lovely blogging friends, Brittany and Nicole, for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thanks ladies!

 

This is my first time participating in one of these award posts and I'm excited for y'all to learn a little more about the girl behind the blog! As a blog reader, these types of posts are so interesting to me and I love hearing more about each of you. Here’s how it works:

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Include a link to their blog.
• Write seven facts about yourself.
• Nominate fifteen bloggers to pass the award along to.

Here we go!

1. I'm a Georgia girl currently living up in Northern VA.
2. I love salt water taffy, Twizzlers, and Reese's cups.
3. I'm an optimist and always strive to keep my life bursting with positivity.
4. I love cooking and baking.
5. Reality tv is my guilty pleasure.
6. My day job is in medical sales.
7. I'm extra happy anywhere I can curl up with a book and a good cup of coffee.

My Nominees:
Kourtney of Kindly with K
Sarah of Sarah in the Glasses
Alix of The Handicapped Prep
Brooke of LookBrooke
Christina of The Social Butterfly Gal
Allie of Little Random Discoveries
Morgan of Timeless Taste
Tracy of Tracy's Notebook of Style
Emma of Seeking the South
Katelyn of The Simple Southport Pearl
Sabrina Renee of The Golden Speck
Allison of Because I Said So
Kenzie of Sincerely Kenz
Emily of Emily Raine
Ally of Preppy Little Lesbian

These girls all have amazing blogs and I hope you find someone new to love from my list! I can't wait to read your posts.

Writer Wednesday Interview!

Good morning! I am thrilled to share with y'all an interview about me over on Not Intent on Arriving! Kristen's blog is an easy, fun read and she does a weekly Writer Wednesday post that features interviews of other bloggers. It's a great way to learn about new-to-you bloggers and it's always fun to get to know the person behind the blog a little better. This was my first interview, and I'm really excited for y'all to get to know me a little better. Please stop by and let me know what you think!

Hello world!

Welcome, my friend! 

Today I'm taking that frightening plunge onto the internet and am eager to start my journey with blogging. I'm sure I can guess a few things on your mind right now- Who is she? Why is she doing this? What will she talk about?- and I am happy to answer that for you today!

Although I am choosing to keep myself anonymous at this time, you should have no problem getting to know me through my posts. And here's a little background to get you started: I am a twenty-something career gal living up in northern Virginia. I am originally from Georgia {hence the 'peach' reference} and have made my way up to the beautiful metro-DC area for my job. I didn't know a single soul here when I accepted my position and was extremely nervous making the jump to be totally alone. You may be thinking that I am crazy to leave a loving family, my fabulous friends, and the comfort of the sweet city of Atlanta for a strange place- sight unseen, I should add- for work. And you may be right. But for now, I choose to count myself as blessed. 

As for how I found myself sitting here on a Friday night beginning a blog... that's a great question. I made several moves before landing myself in VA permanently and was requested to begin a blog for my loved ones to follow so they could keep up with my happenings prior to the first move. I was genuinely excited by the suggestion, but soon realized that I was not able to take on yet another challenge in the middle of the chaos I called my life. My life already felt like a hurricane swirling around me and one more responsibility added on top seemed unmanageable. I don't like to do anything half-way and knew that I would not be able to put the deserved effort into an endeavor like this. Although I knew the timing was not right upon the suggestion, I couldn't shake the idea of starting a blog. I have been following blogs for YEARS now but really hadn't ever thought about trying it out. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that this would be the perfect next project for me in my new phase of life! I will go ahead and add the disclaimer that I do not by any stretch of the imagination have a super glamorous life or what people might consider a "blog worthy" lifestyle, but I do have my own story to tell. I make the promise today to tell it in the most open, authentic, best way that I can!

What will I talk about? Me. No, this is not a shrine to myself and I am not setting out to blog so I can boost my own ego. My goal is to give you a glimpse of who I am, what I think, what I do, and why I do those things. Hopefully in a fun and interesting way! I am ready to see where this project takes me and hope that you will enjoy it enough to join my on my journey. I am open to suggestions, comments, and constructive criticism so please feel free to leave any of the aforementioned for me! 

xox.