the aftermath: hurricane sandy.

Oct 31, 2012


In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy I am thankful my friends and family are doing well. Nothing major happened to us and we are all trying to get things back to normal. It is hard to look at pictures and see the damage that has been done but I am so so thankful my friends and family are okay; my heart goes out to all of those who are struggling right now.

Monday, Tuesday, and today have been rough.
New Jersey has been in a state of emergency (yes, I still have to go to work even if we have no power there- LAME) since Saturday (?). I know Governor Christie announced it early. Monday night was not as bad as we anticipated but Tuesday it got bad. Sandy hit land in New Jersey and destroyed a lot. A lot does not even describe it. We lost power at our place for about 24 hours and last night it finally came back on. So thankful for a gas stove and preparations with friends. Cooking by candlelight and flashlights, desperately trying to charge our cell phones and get service. Towers were/still are out so getting service is tough.
During the day I have been updating my Project Life so that I can catch up! Lots of down time.

I saved a lady's hand from her garage. I don't think my adrenaline has ever pumped so fast. Evelyn and Tom came running down the stairs saying someone outside was screaming "help me!" and I didn't even take a second to think before I slipped on my shoes and ran out the door. Her hand was slammed into the garage (no electric) and me and two other guys lifted the garage door so she could remove it. I was screaming at the guys to lift and when I realized it was her hand stuck I just pushed the garage as much as I could and they finally caught on. Trying to calm down two toddlers in the car is tough, I can only imagine how they must have felt watching their mother scream bloody murder. Intense. I hope she went to the ER and is now okay.

Steve parents have no power or anything, neither do my parents. I hope they get it back soon.
Watching the news is tough. Looking at Seaside Heights and the boardwalk being wiped away and Atlantic City. It is devastating. Now it is time to rebuild and recuperate, to come together as a community to help each other. I think our Governor is handling this pretty well, not caring about presidential debates and worrying about our state and how to fix it. President Obama will be in New Jersey today looking at the damage; it is a sad sight.


Happy Halloween as well. These passed two years have been crazy Halloweens. Snow storm last year, hurricane this year. Be strong East Coast ♥

weekend recap

Oct 28, 2012



Halloween Party!
We had a blast during the party, tons of friends showed up and we had tons of food and fun! I do believe Steve had the best costume, I don't say that just because he's my boyfriend, but because it was awesome. Second favorite? Probably the cookie monster costume my boss showed up in haha.

I opened up the mini stamp shop this weekend, I have been wanting to open it on a small scale to see how it pans out. If it goes bad, well than I will close shop because I didn't have too much inventory in the beginning. If it goes well, I will order more! Head over there and check it out --> Stamp Shoppe!

And the biggest news of all? FRANKENSTORM. Oh hello, Hurricane Sandy - nice to see you. Thank you for canceling classes tomorrow and canceling my exam. Still have to work though, how womp womp is that. Headed into work as an "essential employee" in a state of emergency, to only sit at my desk and twiddle my thumbs. I hope it isn't as bad as they say it will be, but I do not think that my wishes will be answered. I hope everyone on the East Coast stays safe and evacuate when needed!

Hope everyone else had a fun weekend!

a to z.

Oct 26, 2012

 I loved doing these when I was in highschool. So as a happy Fripay and easy post to myself here we go..


A. Age: 25.
B. Bed size: Full.
C. Chore that you hate: cleaning the bathroom
D. Dogs: one Jug (Jack Russell + Pug); she's pretty friggin awesome
E. Essential start to your day: coffee
F. Favorite color: aqua
G. Game: Pictionary or Catch Phrase
H. Height: 5’4″
I. Ideal Day: spending it with Steve in California at a vegan restaurant and walking around on a sunny day with our doggie
J. Job title: Senior Laboratory Technician and student
K. Kids: 0; thank goodness
L. Lives: New Jersey
M. Movie: no idea, there's too many to think of
N. Nicknames: Sammy
O. Overnight hospital stays: my junior year in college, stomach virus, blah!
P. Pet peeves: disorganization 
Q. Quote from a movie:  Things don't have to be extraordinary to be beautiful. Even the ordinary can be beautiful - Wicker Park
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: older brother
U. University: Rutgers University
V. Vegetable you hate: beets
W. What makes you run late: Fifa
X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth, jaw, hands, feet, hips, knee (just about everywhere)
Y. Yummy food that you make: vegan macaroni salad and vegan cupcakes
Z. Zoo animal: penguins

project life | week 39 & 40

Oct 23, 2012

Week 39.
You know you love to eat at a place when you drive an hour there and an hour back just to eat. We went again this passed weekend - Veggie Heaven, I love you. I also went to dinner with my parents because I haven't had time to go home and I get to see them tonight again- yay. I bought two dresses for the wedding we attended 2 weeks ago and wore neither of them haha. Also, working on stamps to sell, maybe sell, I have not decided yet because I am so busy with school- but I love them.

This seems so long ago when I made all of these cupcakes. 120! Catered my first wedding and it was beyond exciting. Thank you to Steve and Taylor for the help. I was so so happy when the bride texted me and told me how much she loved it and the wedding planner telling me how great vegan cupcakes were. WIN!

Just some close ups of my favorite part of this week :)


Week 40.
My mom bought a new iPod so she could take pictures and Facetime, thank you technology, this will be great when they leave for Thailand and I want to say hi to her! I tried doing the FMSphoto-a-day challenge and was doing well up until this passed weekend, exams/papers/life, got in the way.

The wedding! It was so so so much fun. I am so glad I finally got to meet Steve's college roommate. The ceremony was so sweet, the background was gorgeous, it was held at a country club, not too cold but we were only outside for about 15 minutes. Our table was awesome, we had so much fun and the guys there were so funny and everyone was extremely nice and friendly. I didn't know anyone but Steve and he barely knew anyone but the guys there were great. And the dress is light pink, not white! I swear.

The first quote card I mentioned was from @blinksoflife and I loved it so much I wanted to add it to my PL. The second is just a snippet from the wedding I wanted to show better.

Close up of the pictures I took of me and Steve. He sometimes hates when I always take pictures but he will have to live with it because I will never stop! haha.


Week 41. Sneak Peek.
I hadn't finished this side until last night and the lighting was terrible.. too much shadow so I only took pictures of the left side, which is done. We came back from the wedding that Monday and I drove the whole way back and had to go to class right after that! So crazy.



Hope everyone's having a good Project Life week!!



I am linking up with The Creative Mom!

currents: october edition

Oct 22, 2012

DATE // 10.22.2012

WATCHING // nothing at the moment

READING // The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

LISTENING // Taylor Swift's new album RED!

EATING // whole wheat bagel with cream cheese

DRINKING // coffee. much needed coffee.

ENJOYING // the new T-Swift CD :)

THINKING // about my exam next week

LOVING // the semester is half way through

WONDERING // how well I will do at the end of the semester

CREATING // a study sheet.. how boring am I?

WANTING // Starbucks iced coffee with soy (and not be charged for the soy)

be soft

Oct 16, 2012

Be soft.
Do not let the world make you hard.
Do not let the pain make you hate.
Do not let the bitterness steal away your sweetness.
Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree,
you still believe it to be a beautiful place -- ♥


I read this quote on Instagram from @blinksoflife and fell in love with it.

It makes me happy and I believe in it. I am an optimist and try to be at all times, we all have our moments when we realize that the world is not always fair and things may happen to people who do not deserve it; but we should believe there are still people who do good. Because negative incidents happen, it does not mean the rest of the world is this way all of the time.

I learned this in college while I was having a rough time and trying to break free from what seemed to be all darkness. You learn from your mistakes and you grow as a person and all of the things that have happened to you in the past are just that.. the past. You leave it all behind and learn from it. I found the light at the end of my tunnel and he is the greatest. I will never let that go.

The world is a beautiful place and we should all learn to treat others the way we wished to be treated. In the end, we are all human and should treat others with kindness. I know it sounds so cheesy, but I love cheesy :)


here & there

Oct 12, 2012


I am so exhausted.

I need better time management skills or split myself in two and relax. I say it, yet I am really very good at it. I worry too much, that is the problem. I am playing catch up with my school work, even though I am caught up; my idea of catching up is being ahead by one week. The weeks fly by and I can not believe I am halfway through the semester already! Wow.

This month, I would like to relax and try my best at visiting my parents before they leave, make time for myself to scrapbook, and make new recipes from the stack of cookbooks I own. Last night, I gave up on studying and decided to catch up on Project Life a little bit; I did not get a ton finished but I felt so relieved. I was also trying to be an "adult" and watched the VP debate.. I found it highly entertaining.


So, here & there, tid bits on what's been going on...

I love these new stamps. I used them last night in my Project Life and love them so much. I can not wait to create more. When my roommate asked me if I had a stamp last night I just picked one of those up and she laughed. She obviously meant a postage stamp.

I appreciate good quotes, good meaningful quotes that make me feel all "warm & fuzzy" inside. There is something about reading a sentence or two that make you think wow, that's great. I am an optimist in its fullest form, I hate to think there are terrible people in the world and hope I can impact one person's life by being myself and lending a hand to those in need.

Baking and cooking. It's an adventure and a stressful endeavor. I made a vegan pot pie recipe this week and it was FANTASTIC. Steve's mom always makes it and it is my favorite. I was so happy it tasted the same. I spent the day home with Fifa because she hurt herself and had a fever so we ventured to the vets office. I love visiting my old place of work! Even though, technically, I still work there! It has been a few days and she is back to her old self again, lets hope it stays this way.


Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Enjoy the outdoors (I convinced Steve to take me on a mini apple picking adventure again), even if it gets a chilly- I love scarves!

project life | week 36-38

Oct 9, 2012

So behind on Project Life!
School has made it difficult to keep up with it every week but I try as hard as possible. I am not that far behind on it so I don't feel too bad. It seems like so long ago that all of these events happened. I guess because it has been a while, at least a month. I need a better way to organize it and keep up with it. I will work on that when I get a break!


Week 36.

I love love love Studio Calico alphabet stamps. I need a better way of making them straight because I always make them uneven. I will need to get an acrylic block that has lines on it! The Vegetarian Fest in Bethleham was awesome. There was a booth there with amazing vegan pizza. I stamped RUTGERS all over a card to indicate classes has started (obviously, this is old news to you guys). And I bought new sneakers, finally!


Week 37.
I made my very first vegan apple pie. It was delicious. I can not wait to make more for the holidays.



I ordered a ton of Kelly Purkey stamps from Simon Says Stamps and I am in love with them! I use them as much as I can. And my first time riding my bike with Fifa, it was not easy.. Steve is much better than I am.


Week 38.



I got my iPhone 5 when it came out a few Friday's ago and I am glad with my choice of black. I am a little ticked off with Apple and the idea of having to update software over and over again, but they make money and that's it. I, again, bought new shoes haha. I could not help myself with these new ones. It was my blue! I needed them. $50 wasn't too bad. My BFF's birthday was a few weeks ago and I sent her a care package since she lives in NC now (sadface). And the best part of that week was APPLE PICKING!!!! I had so so so much fun.


More on Week 39 & 40 next week.. I hope!



I am linking up with The Creative Mom!

wedding time

Oct 8, 2012


I know I have been MIA since my last post. I would love to say that I have been doing extremely exciting things with my life, but unfortunately I can not. My life has been consumed with school work and work. Both have been so hectic lately that I do not know what to do with myself. I have not been able to blog or work on Project Life like I would like to.

BUT, this weekend we did enjoy ourselves in New Hampshire for Steve's college roommate's wedding! I have always heard stories of his college days and am really excited to put a face to a name. We had a BLAST. The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony was gorgeous (with a touch of chilly), the reception was great! I have never been to a wedding with a live band and I was pleased with the result. I almost cried at the ceremony because I love love and it makes me so happy when people are in love and happy. It makes me excited for the future.

Our table was awesome, especially since I had no idea who anyone was and Steve somewhat knew. We had a fantastic time and I could not help but admire him over and over again in his suit. I love getting dressed up. Overall, it was an amazing time. The only negative part was this morning at 8am they were doing construction right outside our hotel door, I thought they were going to break down the door.. luckily, it was comped because a lot of people were unhappy.

I hope everything had a wonderful weekend as well!


This week:
School
School
and more school.
Maybe a little Project Life thrown in there :)

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