Blast from the past

My friend Kristin is a leap year baby and is turning seven on the 29th. It's kind of a big deal, so a bunch of her friends came from all over to join in on the celebration, including my buddies from NM--my friend Brandon, who I haven't seen in four year, and my friends Sean and Marc, who're always a pleasure to see.

Kristin, Brandon, Sean, Marc and my new friend Zach met up for lunch on Saturday at a super tasty bbq place called Stiles Switch. Way too much food was eaten while we all caught up and shared stories.

With much food in our bellies, we split up to kill some time before the birthday party in the evening. Sean, Marc, Brandon and I went to Congress st to get a pair of boots that Sean has been eyeing for over a year. While walking to the boutique, we made stops at a couple little shops to buy last minute bday presents for the bday girl.

The shark skin boots were the main attraction though. It didn't take much convincing from us to get Sean to make the purchase he's been wanting to make for so long, and I'm glad he did, 'cause those boots looked snazzy on him. He wore those boots out of the store proudly!

The party came quick, and was so much fun! Kristin held it at her friend's four-story condo (that had a Jacuzzi on the roof top). It was a beautiful place. I made a lot of new friends, ate a lot of tasty apps, soaked my toes in the hot water, and danced the night away.

I don't remember the last time I mingled so much either. Kristen has some pretty awesome friends, so needless to say, Saturday was a wonderful day.

Love and light.
Adrienne

A quick catch-up

So, to catch you up, I didn't end up having the two weeks off like I'd thought. It turned into only three days off because on Monday morning, I got a call from Target asking me to start early! I tell you, all things seriously happen for a reason.

I went to my first day of work at Target on Tuesday the 21st. I'm not gonna lie, I was super scared and nervous. It'd been three years since I started a new job, so I felt like a total noob, but I had fun and am super excited to learn everything.

On Thursday evening, I got a chance to volunteer through Target. We handed out groceries to underprivileged families. It felt rewarding to help those in need--I'll most likely do it again.

Love and light.
Adrienne

To new beginnings

The past few weeks have been a crazy roller-coaster of emotions: my store closed, I was moved to a different store 30 minutes away, the new store taught me so much about myself, I went through a long interview process with Target, I was offered the job, I put my two weeks in, was told I didn't need to finish my two weeks, and now I'm left with what I'm calling "my two week vacation" before my next big step in life.

Kind of hectic, but I'm a firm believer in that all things happen for a reason. Had my store not closed, I would've continued in a place, I know now, wasn't helping me grow. I was bitter at first when I got moved to a store so far from where I live, but the people at this store reminded me why I love what I do and restored my passion for it. And yes, being told to leave my job before I finish out my two weeks, felt like a slap in the face, but God knew I would be more productive in life by leaving early.

I spent the first few hours with tears in my eyes, then came that epiphany that all is well. An hour later, my mr picked me up and took me on a movie date.

Yesterday was my first full day "jobless." I'd never had a more productive day. I managed to sleep in, make an awesome breakfast/brunch, cleaned my entire apartment (e.g. bathroom scrubbing, all laundry getting done, dusting, dishes, sweeping, mopping and windows), went to Hobby Lobby for some crafting necessities, bought several weeks worth of groceries, made dinner and wrapped up the night with wine and a movie with the mr.

After such a long eventful day, I still somehow managed to wake up at 6am this morning feeling refreshed and ready to take on this new day. I've already finished folding the last bit of laundry from yesterday, made a healthy breakfast of yogurt and fruit, sent off a few emails, joined Pinster, downloaded photos from Henrietta (my camera) and wrote my first blog in two weeks...and it's only 9am. I'm so excited for what the rest of my day will bring!

Love and light.
Adrienne

Goodbye Hill Country

I've spent the past five days working on the transferring-out of items, destruction and gutting of my store after I worked for a year and a half to get it to where it was. My beautiful little store closed for business on the 28th, and a handful of associates and I spent this week sending the inventory to other stores.

It was a fun week of work, mainly because we could wear whatever we wanted, listen to our own music and not have to worry about customers. It was a good way to say goodbye.

I was super surprised at how quick the demolition went. The front of the store was gone within hours the first night we closed. We spent day two transferring out a huge mound of clothes that all had to be desensored. 

The front two rooms became one giant white room in about a day. I'd never seen the store look so bright! My team worked at a quick, steady pace with the removal of the clothes. We had over 300 boxes by day four.

Day five was officially the last day of transfers. By that time, all closets were gone, miscellaneous items were thrown out or moved to another store, and the destruction was moving along quickly.

I think day six was the hardest for me. It was just me there to supervise and sign paperwork as different companies came to pick up computers, phones and furniture. It was a long day and my seventh day in a row of work. I was ready for a break.

Friday was my first day off in a week. It was much needed and, I think, well deserved. I ran errands in the morning, and all I wanted to do when I got done was vegetate. The Mr and I made a pizza and shared a bottle of wine for a late lunch, we watched Apollo 18 and Courageous, and I made a tasty dinner with stuff jalapenos for appetizers. We ended our night with me watching the Mr play the new Final Fantasy game. He did a good job at filling me in on the story line. He's cute when he shows his nerdy side.

Love and light.

Adrienne

Bingo Night

Since I'm now able to hang out with my assistant managers (now that they aren't my subordinates), Marisa and I found it necessary to seize this opportunity. She picked me up after work and took me to bingo! She was an avid player in her hometown and just found the one bingo hall in Austin that's smoke free. I've never actually played the game for money, so I was super excited to go.

No, bingo is not an old person's game. Surprisingly enough, we weren't the only "young" people there. I was a bit intimidated though with all the bingo lingo going on. I had to keep asking what was going on in between games.

We didn't win anything, but I came super close to winning a $300 jackpot.

After bingo, Marisa took me to the Starbucks where she camped outside of during their opening to get a drink card for 100 free grande drinks. She treated me to a carmel apple spice.

Since we were out and about, we also went to Walmart. Not just any Walmart; this one in particular was clean, crowd-free and shopped by attractive looking people. She always told me about it, but it was hard to believe. I was truly amazed.

We were heading back to my car when we decided we'd round off bingo night, which randomly turned into a girl date night, with a nightcap at her favorite bar, Fore. A couple friends of hers were there and bought us a round of drinks for being the only female patrons. Conversation was going so well, we ended up closing down the bar.

Bingo night was a success, and I'm excited I can finally be friends with my (ex)coworkers!


Love and light.
Adrienne