Most Boston-filled Day Yet

A few weeks ago I had friends come visit me in Boston. I was thankful because it finally gave me a chance to do a bunch of touristy things I've been dying to do! They only had 1 day in Boston so we packed as much as we could into that day... my feet are still hurting!

USS Constitution

My friends that were visiting are in the Navy, so naturally the first (and most important) stop of the day was to tour the 200+ year old ship, the USS Constitution. We woke up extra early, got our Dunkin Donuts coffee (according to them, getting DD is part of the "Boston Experience") and then headed across Boston to Charlestown Navy Yard. I loved it. We were probably there for 2.5 hours touring the Constitution and the newer USS Cassin Young.  

The North End

Then we followed the Freedom Trail (a red line that runs through Boston that takes you to all of the historic landmarks - it's a goal of mine to walk the whole thing!) from the Charlestown Navy Yard to the North End to have lunch! The North End is full of amazing italian restaurants but we weren't in the mood for anything heavy so we settled for a quick bite at a local sandwich shop.

While we were waiting for the ride to our next destination we found a little park to rest in, we had been walking everywhere and our feet needed a break. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but the weather was AMAZING. It was cool enough to walk around without melting but warm enough to lay out in a park. 

Sam Adams Brewery

Next stop was a favorite of mine. Sam Adams Brewery!! The 'information' portion of the tour lasted ~20 mins and the 'tasting' portion lasted ~40 mins. Our tour guide was hilarious and so informative. I can't even begin to pretend I'm any sort of beer expert so everything I learned on the tour (even the super simple stuff) was new to me. We even got to keep our baby beer glasses - how cute?!

Red Sox Game

Last stop of the day - FENWAY! Full disclosure: this was my first time to Fenway. However, I always pictured my first time as a magical event with a whole day dedicated to nothing but Fenway/Red Sox. Unfortunately, I was so exhausted I couldn't fully appreciate it. Plus, we didn't buy tickets beforehand so we had to do 'standing room only' (just what my feet need at this point...) so that took away from the experience as well. 

Therefore, I am striking this Red Sox game from the record and declaring my next visit to be my first TRUE visit it to Fenway. I intend to make it as magical as possible.

While exhausted at the end of the day I'm glad we were able to pack so much of Boston into one day.  There is nothing more fun than running around and exploring this city. 

First Day of Work!

Heals.

Cubicles.

Coffee.

I was put in charge of ordering office supplies I "need"... I need these right?!

Milestone Moments

Am I really an Auburn Alum? I'm still pinching myself.

Graduation

I was lucky to have all of my wonderful family members join me in celebrating this milestone.  It was a hectic weekend, to say the least, but I loved sharing it with all of them. I really felt all of their support and love during a pretty emotional few days for me.  Jim came as well and was such a good sport hanging out with my family all weekend (and entertaining Madeline).

Jim and I actually celebrated his birthday the day before graduation but he told me I wasn't allowed to make a big deal about it because it was "my weekend" 

{cindo de mayo birthday y'all! instead of a sombrero, he got a soccer ball??}

When my family arrived we all met downtown and ate at one of my favorite local places, Bizilia's... writing about it is making me crave it! Some day I will learn how they make their chicken salad...

After lunch, I headed back to my apartment to get ready while my family explored Auburn's campus.  Then, around 3:30 the whole gang headed to campus for the commencement ceremony. (My grandparent's watched the ceremony online, how sweet is that??)

Here are a few more pictures I didn't include in the first post --

{Andrew}

{sisters}

{sisters and grandpa}

{madeline - aka future Auburn grad}

{parents}

{allison - aka bff}

{2 of my favorite people ever}

{the whole family}

The next day was packing day (read: extremely stressful day). Thankfully, with the help of everybody, we were able to get most of it done in just a few hours. After all the packing was done, Jim headed to the airport to go back to D.C. and I drove to Atlanta, leaving Auburn behind.

The past few weeks have been filled with craziness. I will be doing more posts detailing all of it!
Coming Up:
Drive to Boston/Moving-In
Orlando trip
Getting settled in Boston

Graduation Preview

I am writing this as an official college graduate!

Here's a little preview, I'll put more pictures up when things calm down!

Just after graduation! I was on cloud 9!

Such a special day/weekend spent with people I love!!

I leave for the (approx.) 21 hour drive to Boston tomorrow... here's hoping for safe travels!

Where did the time go?!

I graduate on Sunday! Countdown is officially down to 2 days!!

May has been a whirlwind month already and we're only 4 days in! This month is going to be full of so many life changing experiences, I've barely had time to look back and reflect on everything and everyone that has gotten me to this point in my life... I guess that's for another blog post.  After graduation I am jumping head first into the next chapter of my life (I guess I wouldn't be me if I did it any other way).  For fun, here's a little preview of my life this May:

1. Graduate
2. Pack up & leave Auburn behind the next day
3. Begin 21 hour road-trip to Boston 3 days later (with a pit stop in Williamsburg to visit my grandparents)
4. Move into my new apartment 2 days after that
5. Fly down to Orlando for a few days of relaxing (and Harry Potter Wizarding World!!!! nbd)
6. Fly back to Boston
7. Start my new job 2 days later

Between steps 1 and 7 there are 15 days... my head is already spinning but I am so excited to see what this month brings!

{P.S.} for any family or friends that want to watch graduation (Live online) here's the link: http://www.auburn.edu/communications_marketing/graduationlive/

Life's Tough, Get a Helmet

via

This quote is so fitting about so many aspects in my life right now.

Finals are hard.
Graduating is hard.
Long distance relationships are hard.
Moving (logistically) is hard.
Moving 1,200 miles away from family & friends is even harder.

Knowing I have help to get me through all of this crazy change in the next month makes it a tiny bit less terrifying.  I still feel like I have a mountain ahead of me!

Keep Calm

Final Exams/Projects season is in full swing!!

I've had sooo many projects due this past week... every time I turn one in I get a brief moment of relief than it's right on to the next one!!

I'm trying not to get stressed out (which is pretty much impossible for me).

Staying Stress-Free During Finals

1. SLEEP

I have actually been really good about this. I have been making sure I get a full night sleep every night. Normally when I have a huge school to-do list I stay up late trying to cram everything in. This time around I've sleeping more but being much more proudctive in the hours I am working.

2. WORKING OUT

Ok well I need to do this anyways (graduation pictures and Orlando trip anyone??) but it obviously has stress-reducing powers too. Win-Win!

3. CUTTING BACK ON CAFFIENE

I am a HUGE coffee drinker... HUGE (caffiene withdrawl headaches and all). I have been trying to limit myself to 1-2 caffienated drinks a day (coffee/energy drinks) and have been really good about it! On a normal day I usually range from 1-3 cups of coffee ($$$) and when finals come around I end up ranging between 4-6 (realllllll healthy, I know). So this is a big one for me.  I'm hoping I can keep my caffiene tollarance low and avoid getting up into the 4-6 range this semester. So far so good!

4. FOCUS ON THE END GOAL

At this point in my college career (13 days to graduation), I could get straight Ds and be no better off than if I got all As (other than time I would spend beating myself up for getting straight Ds). I already have a job, which is a huge security, and my GPA can only fluctuate like +/- .2.  While I am definitely not one to sit back and coast, even with the few days remaining, knowing I already have the job/could fail all my exams and still graduate, lifts a large portion of the stress off my shoulders.

I can't really complain though, this is my last finals season EVER (unless I go to grad school)! Just have to make it through the next 13 days!

For Fun: http://8tracks.com/franklymusic/keep-calm-and-just-graduate

Decisions, Decisions

I'm having one of those moments where post-college life is starting to really sink in. And not the fun/exciting stuff like graduating, starting a new job, or shopping for cute new clothes for said job.

Moving from Auburn to Boston is turning out to be a lot more difficult and expensive than I thought...

I don't have much stuff so I'm not sure the best way to go about getting all of it up there.
Im either going to use a moving company and move all of my current furniture up there (aka like 3 things) or I'm going to buy a new bed/dresser/etc. when I move up there.

The moving company would mean less headache/stress up front but they are more expensive and would probably end up getting the stuff up there while I'm on vacation in Orlando.  Buying everything while I'm up there is the cheaper route but trying to find/buy a bed and unpack everything in the few days before work starts sounds extremely stressful.

Alright, I guess I just need to put my big girl pants on and stop complaining, the real world is coming in 2.5 weeks either way!

The World's Longest Bus Ride

Sapphire Ball 

The Fox Theatre

Atlanta, GA

This was my last Sapphire Ball! So glad it was during my senior year. And so glad I got to share it was my favorite special someone ({J})!

This is how my hairdresser originally did my hair. I was horrified! It looks like a giant tangled ball at an awkward place on my head with random scraggly pieces hanging down.  {J} said he was thankful both that I warned him beforehand and that hated it too!

All hair issues aside, the venue was absolutely amazing (definitely one of my top 3 favorite places in Atlanta!) and we had a wonderful night!

We enjoyed a so-bad-maybe-they're-actually-good cover band and some crazy dance moves!

I had so much fun dancing and catching up with my sisters and spending time with my amazingly patient boyfriend (he just loveddddd being dragged along to the sorority formal haha)! 

Then, sadly the night was over way too fast!! It's a good thing we have about a bunch of weddings to go to this year, I loved getting all dressed up and spending the night out together!