what I wore wednesday

no regrets

getting used to a new daily rhythm here in winston has been rough at times, but then I saw this quote and remembered the reasons why I came here.  

the roommate disagreements, feelings of homesickness, the debbie downs of LSAT studying, and the whole being dirt poor thing aside, there's no where else I'd rather be.

no regrets.

ps. I have my first big presentation at work today, wish me luck!

weekend re-cap

take me out to the ball game! friday night, all of the interns went to the winston-salem dash baseball game....and yes, the dash is named after the dash in between winston-salem. I thought maybe it was for dash like running fast? incorrect. the south got me again.

saturday was spent working a mobile pantry for the food bank. it was a long day but it was good to see deserving families drive away with enough food for two months.

the church newsletter was waiting for me when I came home that night, complete with another photo of me and a bio. at least this photo wasn't taken at harry potter world.

north carolina has been good to my cooking skills. I finally tried out our crock-pot sunday night. I didn't burn the house down, and I made some delicious creamy chicken and broccoli over rice. 

things I've learned about the south

*disclaimer: these are just my opinons and based on me living in nc for around a month so I'm sure they will evole.

1. people drive like idiots, and merging is seriously almost a death wish. granted, I am used to chicago driving but still.

2. there is a chick-fil-a on almost every corner. no joke.

3. men seriously do hold the door open for women....and get mildly irritated if you open it for yourself. they also will call you sweetheart and hun.

4. grits. people down here really like grits. personally, I've only tried shrimp and grits. it was pretty good but the shrimp were definitely the highlight of the meal.

5. BBQ sauce is different. it's not very thick, and kinda vinegary in nc. it's still pretty good, just not what I was expecting when I heard BBQ. plus, the guy at work from wisconsin knew all this, and purposely didn't tell me so he could watch my reaction when I ate it. RUDE.

6. Everybody talks a little slower down here. I didn't realize I talked fast until people have literally told me to slow down while having conversations down here.

7. Not a ton of people listen to hip-hop or rap.....especially not white girls driving saturn ions. lesson learned.

8. the south is actually making me like country music. all my friends back home would be shocked. I also want cowboy boots...and a cowboy. pleaseandthankyou

9. the south has sayings and phrases completely unique to the south such as, "Can I carry you home?" now if you're a yankee from the city like me, you immediately take this phrase literally and get creeped out. thankfully, one of my roommates was nearby and explained that this means driving you home. good to know! there's been many a time where I've not understood a saying or phrase.

10. it's the bible belt. like bumper sticker, pamphlets, churches on every corner, everybody asks you about your religion, jesus on my t-shirt bible belt. also, there's apparently snake worshippers in the mountains. I'll have to check into that one and get back to you.

11. good luck trying to find ethnic food like indian or thai or even sushi. no bueno.

but everyone is seriously so nice down here, and the comfort food is amazing. the slower pace of life takes some getting used to, as does the accent, but so far so good.

high five for friday

1. thrifted maxi dress for $8. score! see how I upcycled it and wore it here

2. yesterday, the other interns and I had a day off and we went to Reynolda Gardens for lunch and walked around

3. I got a letter from my best friend this week, and now proudly display some chicago swag at work

4. I'm going to a winston-salem dash game tonight...happy friday to me!

5. I saw this hilarious quote outside a store this week. I feel like this clarified some things for me haha.

I'm linking up for high five for firday with lauren at From My Grey Desk

What I Wore Wednesday

dress: thrifted//jean jacket: forever 21//scarf: bought while studying in france//earrings: forever 21

the hard part of living 1,000 miles away from home

..is when you get a call from your brother telling you your family at the hospital, and you start freak out. we've had bad experiences at hospitals, and at no fault of anyone, I'm always the last one to find out about any accidents. so, needless to say, I was about to have a heart attack.

thankfully, it was not a life-threatening accident. my stepdad broke his hip, which is incredibly painful but he was rushed to bigger hosipital and made it through surgery yesterday.

 also, as I made sure to point out to everyone, thank goodness our house has a handicap ramp in the back! (even though I complained about it daily since I always ate it on that ramp in the winter) it'll be perfect for the wheelchair, and make it easier for my momma to take care of him. I thought this was a great coincidence and hilarous that our house randomly had a handicap ramp that we didn't put in and now will end up using...no else has found it funny yet so far

everything seems to be going well and everyone back home is handling it well without me but at the same time, I'm realizing this is one of the situations where living so far away really sucks.

there's so many things I wish I could do..I wish I could be there to help my step-dad... I know I'm having flashbacks to when we had to go to the hospital when I lost my brother Jeff and dad so I cannot imagine what my momma and Curt (my other brother) went through being there and I wish I could have been there to support them...

but this is part of growing up. also, jeff's birthday is coming up so I need to figure ways of how to celebrate his life here in nc with the peopel that surround me here.

moral of the story: I need to find a support system here.

peplum trend

so for awhile I thought the peplum trend was ridiculous..and then I tried on this top at the limited. hellllllllo peplum trend, welcome to my closet!

top & belt: the limited//jeans: gap//shoes: target

weekend recap

it was a pretty calm weekend around here. lots of LSAT studying, farmer's markets, and cooking.

we decided to try out the grill for the first time this weekend...great success! only a couple of singed knuckle hairs in the process//the back porch is now decorated with plants from the local farmer's market//close-up of the hen and chick plant I bought-reminds me of home.

after three days of going to redbox, I finally managed to rent the hunger games//I have a huge obsession with sunflowers..and will take photos with paper ones at church//..and buy a bouquet of them from the farmer's market. no shame.

high five for friday

1. I received my business cards at work today. #rollinglikeabigshot 2. new wedges from target for $7! they were hidden in the clerance section behind a bunch of other shoes so I have a feeling someone is going to be very upset that I found them and then proceeded to purchase them (sorry!)... but I'm super pleased! 3. I finished reading "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini, and this was the last line of the book. so good. 4. color blocking for my work outfit this morning. 5. we tried a new recipe at the house last night, spaghetti squash! i had my doubts but it was really good

non-profit work is hard.

....especially when you're working for a food bank and it runs out of food.

talk about a shock when you've only worked at a place for 3 weeks. I've so frustrated all day and spitting mad, which I think is good because it shows I'm passionate about my job...but I'm still unsure of how to handle these feelings at this point. I'm trying to organize a food/funds drive at the church to help, but no one has gotten back to me yet. I've tried calling some other places for donations.

also, it's frustrating because hunger is a nationwide problem...not just a north carolina problem. the economy maybe improving but number of people who are food insecure is actually increasing.

so please keep this in mind the next couple of days. consider donating food or funds to your local food bank. they really do amazing things. just a couple of statistics:
$1 donated to the food bank buys $12 worth of food...and that food in turn provides 7 meals.
that's some crazy buying power!

if you want to specifically donate to the food bank in my region, visit www.hungernwnc.org

What I Wore Wednesday

sweater & belt: j.crew//shoes & dress: target//necklace: forever 21

my weekend through instagram

krispy kreme doughnuts-apparently winston-salem is their headquarters *going for a run now*//LSAT study day outfit//bribing myself with panera

seeing the film "the intouchables," which was amazing and hilarious//my first attempt at a sock bun...with an awkward bald spot//aqua jeans//LSAT studying...I thought I was done with studying after college?! no such luck.

hahahahaha

hitRECord

ok so as if I already didn't have a big fat schoolgirl crush on jordan gordan levitt, the man had to go and start hitRECord. it's an open-collaborative production company so anyone can contribute and anybody can edit. PLUS everybody splits the profits. they also have shows and books. I checked out the book while at my friend katelyn's and if I wasn't on a small living stipend, I'd be all over that.
so check it out:
http://www.hitrecord.org/

how can you refuse this face?

an update

Molly and I//impromptu drum circle in downtown winston//graffiti//gallery hop//a man giving his kid a ride on a lawn mower....at 7am. puzzled.

a convo between me and my best frand. I attempted to dress southern one night that we went out just to see what would happen.

hey ya'll! haha this is as close to southern as I could get. I like to think it looks legit. also, I don't really know what being or dressing southern looks like. I just put on some boots and call it good.

decorating my desk (with buddhas, of course)//homemade chili by moi! it was spicy hot.//winston was it's own brewing company, so naturally I'm choosing to support it wholeheartedly. plus it's delicious//care package from my momma! it had cookies!

but beyond all of that, the best part of moving to winston has been my job at the food bank. we had our annual golf tournament yesterday, and I got to drive around in the beverage gold cart and smooze with people. it was great, and everyone I work with is hilarious. non-profits seem like a winning place to work so far. plus, I turned in my first big project and meet with my supervisor about it. she was impressed, and casually mentioned that I could maybe go the the Feeding America Anti-Hunger Policy conference in D.C. this march if I keep up the good work and show everyone why I want to go. naturally, I was too excited to sound like I even remotely spoke english....oy vey. I have my first community organizing meeting tomorrow where I get officially introduced as the nutrition services outreach specialist (it's a mouthful), so wish me luck!

hot dayum USA

so the house doesn't have a working tv to watch the Olympics on but....

casual friday

crossfit/paleo

working out with pearls on. I feel more southern already!

so my roommate molly has convinced me to try a crossfit gym with her. and by convinced, I mean dragged my butt there twice this week. I literally almost die every workout and of course say the most ridiculous things I can think of, but afterwards, it's pretty worth it. also, the trainers are all ex-military and tatted up......so hot as balls. I mean, I definitely look like a tomato while working out, but still, eye candy is always good. I've also been trying to make the switch to paleo, but I kind of love greek yogurt way too much so we'll see if that sticks.

First Day of Work

shirt: H&M, skirt: The Limited, necklace: Forever 21

did ma nails for my first day

I got tons of swag on my first day! I'll be reppin' the food back for daaaaaaaays

my first day at the food bank was a-mazing. I could not have gotten a better placement, nor better people to work with. I can already tell the job is something I'm incredibly passionate about, and I'll have great mentors there. one lady already told me to check out a new masters program in bioethics with a dual-degree JD at Wake Forest--that is exactly what I want to do but I haven't been able to find a program yet....and then BOOM, told about it on my first day. it also sounds like I get to implement my own ideas and projects and get more involved in advocacy and public policy. literally, I am so so thankful I got this position and I cannot wait to really dive into it. also, it doesn't hurt that my supervisor is a TAP (the abraham project) intern from last year, and seriously so great. she even took me out to lunch today!

also, I get my own office/work cell phone/business cards/work shirts. real life is stellar.