Book Club Friday...

Hey y'all,

Some exciting news arrived Wednesday morning and I can't wait to share more with you but it might take a few days until all the details are worked out so in the mean time, lets delve into what I have been reading lately and the few books that are next on my list to read. I haven't read a lot recently so please excuse this bookworm.

The Chronicles of Nick Series. If you read the Sherrilyn Kenyon novels of the Dark Hunter series, this is a teen spin off that focuses on the character of Nick Gautier. Sherrilyn has stated that this series in its conception will eventually link back up with the Dark Hunter series, so of course I had to start this and learn about Nick's past.

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Infinity.
The first book in the Chronicles of Nick is described according to GoodReads as "At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.

But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he's next on the menu.

As if starting high school isn't hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?"
It is interesting to see Nick meet Acheron and Kyrian from the Dark Hunter series as a young child and learn about his past and some of his own personal struggles. Nick while a character that appears in most of the Dark Hunter novels and has a story has yet to have a lot of light shone on him as Acheron did in his own novel. It is very enlightening and has you wanting to know more about the Malachai and the darkness that surrounds the young Nick.

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Invincible.
The second book "Nick Gautier’s day just keeps getting better and better. Yeah, he survived the zombie attacks, only to wake up and find himself enslaved to a world of shapeshifters and demons out to claim his soul.

His new principal thinks he’s even more of a hoodlum than the last one, his coach is trying to recruit him to things he can’t even mention and the girl he’s not seeing, but is, has secrets that terrify him.
                                    
But more than that, he’s being groomed by the darkest of powers and if he doesn’t learn how to raise the dead by the end of the week, he will become one of them..."
The second book in the series continues right after the first one and continues to elaborate on the relationships of the young Nick with Grim(yes, as in Death) as his personal tutor of the forces of evil and learning the price individuals will go in order to gain fame and immortality. 

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Infamous (currently reading...well, almost done)
The third book in the series: "Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive and keep a girlfriend so dang hard? But that isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known, or he’ll be the one who ends the world. With enemies new and old gathering forces, he will have to call on every part of himself to fight or he’ll lose everyone he cares about. Even himself."
Beginning 6 months after the second book, this book has a lot of unexpected twists. I still have about 150pgs left as I type this and I have been shocked multiple times. The beginning arrives with the revelation of Ambrose's true identity and the secrets continue to unravel as Nick tries to balance a life in high school, working for the Dark Hunters, finding a bully, and discovering more about his powers, his family and the job of the Malachai. 

The fourth book, Inferno comes out in March.

now here are some reads that are next on my list:

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What are you currently reading? Link up with Heather here.

Fall Accessory Swap...

Hey y'all,

I know it has been two weeks but between preparing for the interview, the interview, stressing about hearing back, finding cute ideas for big/little for my only active grand-little(my first little and her little have both suspended their membership this semester) I have just not really felt like myself. Truly. It might have been the nude nail polish, but I haven't been feeling like much of anything(including reading)and therefore I have not been blogging so I hope you understand. I am still waiting to hear back about my interview but I have a phone interview this week as well, so here is to possibilities!

A few days after my trip to Chapel Hill to celebrate both of my Little's 22nd birthdays (they are within a month of each other) and my baby sister's 20th birthday I was excited to find my swap gift from the "Fall into Fall" Fall Accessories Swap. Due to swap partner problems, my swap was a bit delayed but I was paired last minute with Aimee of Aimee's World. I just want to say that I was so blessed with my gifts and truly love everything. 

Aimee got me this gorgeous scarf and three mini candles from Bath and Body Works! I am a really picky scent person (I think it has to do with my heightened sense of smell) but I really don't like super spice scents which I know is always in for fall but I love the ones Aimee choose for me. 

It is definitely not something I would have chose on my own but I love it and have paired it with jeans and a white shirt when I saw Pitch Perfect with my baby sister. It is gorgeous. 

Look at the cute box that held my candles.

 I am in love with this stationery. 

 I LOVE this candle. It is almost gone. Go get Cranberry Woods!

 Cinnamon Nut Bread. Probably my least favorite scent of the three.

 Plum Wine Amber. 

I am excited to start using this candle. I love fall scents for candles.

Aimee also sent this mini candle sleeve so my mini candles look gorgeous!

THANKS AGAIN Aimee!

Nerves and Updates

 Hey y'all,

So I have been gone this past week, between a weekend away from home, working, job applications and some exciting news I have been a little distracted. But here are a few pictures from my weekend in Chapel Hill.

Upon arriving in Chapel Hill I spotted my grandlittle, kBm walking and drove her to the PBX house where they were having dinner and I was ambushed by some of my sweet sisters. After hanging out with sisters in the house I met up with my Little for dinner after her volunteering. We went to Tomato Jakes followed by Yopo (The Yogurt Pump)...yum!

The adorable sign on my Little kBb's board.

We spent the night in since she had some homework and RA duties to do while I watched the premiere of SCANDAL! Is anyone else obsessed with that show? I am not a big fan of politics but the show is amazing!

Friday I woke up to move my car (the woe of campus parking) and then went back to bed for a bit. The afternoon I had lunch with one of my best friends, former roomie, and PBX sister jCm. We ran some errands such as going to Homegoods, Michael's and Target where we mainly were on the search for adorable things for Big/Little week since jCm will be a grand-Big and I am becoming a great-grand-Big!

We got back to campus and had a nice time walking around including spotting two chipmunks (unheard of since UNC is dominated by the squirrels) and some of the cows currently on campus which you can read about here.

Look what we stumbled across when exploring campus Friday!

Bowtie and Argyle=perfection.

This was my one bum outfit all weekend so excuse my state of dress.

jCm

After hanging out around campus, jCM, myself and my little kBb all went to Buns for some yummy hamburgers before kBb had to go to Duke's campus for a special credit movie/lecture thing so jCm and I went back to her apartment in a monsoon as CH is known for to watch some Say Yes to the Dress and then I went back to kBb's room to get ready to go out to Topo.

A jazz themed cow outside of Memorial Hall

Top of the Hill was a lot of fun and although my little had a headache so we left early (and didn't take a single picture together) I was excited to see some of my sorority sisters including a few celebrating their 21st birthdays!

Former suitemate, mKh and I out at Topo.

Spotted KC out with mKh

 Saturday morning I got up early to drive to Raleigh to see my baby sister, kDi. Her birthday was Sunday but I unfortunately had to be back home that night to work so we got together Saturday for lunch and cuddling while watching Criminal Minds. It was a horrible day with the weather making it cold and rainy most of the day. 

kDi in her apartment with the flowers she got  when AW asked her to his fraternity formal in Charleston later this month. And yes I am jealous since I have never been to Charleston or a fraternity formal. But AW is a brother to my other little, mGk's boyfriend so she will have someone to talk to.

Yep, she'll hate me for this photo but what are big sisters for.

 After hanging out with the baby sis I visited one of my best friends and sorority sisters RM who is currently in Raleigh working on her masters. It was great to catch up and see her since she is so sweet and understanding and our late night boy sessions are some of the reasons for our close bond. 

I drove back to Chapel Hill in the pouring rain and was trapped in my car at the house's parking for a little while since I did not have an umbrella but luckily one of the sisters in the house rescued me by letting me borrow an umbrella. I then walked with my glittle, kBm to family dinner with her big mGk since the rest of the fam (little kBb was working and glittle sGc was out of town). It was great to catch up with my other little and I gave her her present for her 22nd birthday! I also gave gifts to kBm for the future gglittle.

Little kBb's gift I gave her earlier on Friday night. It's a map I modge-podged on canvas and then wrote "not all who wander are lost." and "the world is your oyster." It was the perfect addition to her room since she has been complaining about her white walls and as a global studies major who studied abroad for a year it made perfect sense.

 Little mGk's gift was a pashmina with an anchor and her monogram. I of course forgot to take a picture of it and she has yet to post one on Fb. so here is the image from the etsy site I ordered from.

Order it here.

 I loved showering my family with gifts and spent Saturday night in while my little was out and about due to an evil headache and the news that I would have to be up around 8:45am in  order to drive home and get ready for work. boo. But breakfast with my little Sunday morning was the perfect farewell.

After that great weekend I have since had a lot of surprises and some great news. I received a swap package, my October Julep Maven box and the biggest news of all.....A JOB INTERVIEW!!!!

Not a phone interview but a live, in person interview TOMORROW! I received the call on Monday and was unfortunately detained so trying to return the voice-mail took a bit, I thought I had merely received a phone interview but it was an in person interview and between the time of Wednesday and Friday the only time that fit my schedule was tomorrow at 10:30am so please keep me in your thoughts and wish me luck. This position is for a company I adore and I am really interested in the position. While I know no job is perfect I hope the third time is the charm since after two phone interviews this summer I would love to begin a career at this location and really make an impact. Sorry for the vagueness, I have been pretty nervous since I scheduled my interview but after hours of prep it is time to leave everything up to God's plans. 

Procrastination at it's finest.

Hey y'all,

As I currently write this I have a million things that I should be doing instead of blogging such as packing since I leave later this afternoon, finishing up the birthday gifts to my littles, putting away my laundry and cleaning my room before my big trip and I'm sure the list continues on but I am too excited to be returning to Chapel Hill for the weekend. 

Besides going back to a southern piece of heaven known as Chapel Hill, NC home of the University of North Carolina I am excited for the following:

Seeing my lovely Phi Beta Chi sisters including my fam:

I'm sure plenty of laughs will ensue.

& my lovely former roommates

& visiting the house now with sisters living inside it!

& of course lots of time eating amazing food from McAlisters, The Loop, Alpine Bagels, Tomato Jakes, B*skis and YoPo.

Not to mention a drink or two at Topo:

Jan 2012: rMc's 22nd Birthday at Topo!

& so many more fun adventures!

I hope you all have lovely weekends, I am off to start mine early!

Tied up with some pearls...

Hey y'all,

So this past week I got an amazing surprise in the mail from my swap partner from The Preppy Student's earring swap. It was a lot of fun shopping for only one pair of earrings but I was so in love with the pair I received from Kailey of a Pearl Kind of Girl.

Aren't they adorable! I thought a bow made of pearls is a perfect addition to my jewelry collection and are perfect for work since they are small studs/not overpowering.

What are your favorite pair of earrings like?

Monday Motivation.

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Hey y'all,

I really need some motivation this Monday since there are only 3 days of work (including today) until I will be packing up to visit one of my favorite places in the world--CHAPEL HILL! That's right, I am finally going back to UNC and can't wait to see some of my best friends, sisters, and of course the atmosphere of UNC itself.

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But before I jet set/road-trip up to Chapel Hill I have work, job applications, packing and a to-do list that keeps on growing. So here are some quotes to start my week off on the right tone!

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Also, while I was on pinterest I found this image. It's strange to see that 43 people repined a photo of me from my Tumblr(which I recently deleted, I mean if I can't keep up with my blog I should probably let some social media go.)

Beautiful photo taken by Cristina Guzman

Sister, Sister

Hey y'all,

This past week has been very exciting and therefore, blogging has been at the bottom of the to-do list. But some of the most exciting things this week involved family. I learned that my favorite cousin and her husband are expecting! I can't wait to go shopping for her and the little one in the coming months, to bad we are going to have to wait until Spring to see the little guy or gal. Apart from that great news I spent the weekend with my parents in celebration of my father's birthday! I will not reveal his age but I am so proud and glad that I was blessed with him as a father.

Daddy at my graduation in May rocking UNC even though he's a UMD Terrapin. 

And another exciting thing to happen this past week was BID DAY! Phi Beta Chi's Kappa Chapter welcomed some adorable little lambs and I can't wait to meet all of them especially since one of them will join my family as my great-grandlittle.

The New Members

The Whole Chapter at Bid Day

My adorable glittle and little in the plane since it was a flying theme.

Now speaking of sisterhood, I have been loving finding my sorority sister's blogs! It is so great to see what is happening in their lives on a daily basis so I figured I would share them with you!

Christina's style blog Style Storm perfectly describes her. Christina is so sweet and I'm so excited to share her blog especially since we were Associate Members together. I miss her dearly now that she no longer lives in the state of NC but I was blessed to see her a few times my Senior year and hopefully I will be able to visit her in the future. 

The beautiful Christina! This is from her photo shoot with Nikki Lugo and you can read more about her style and outfit HERE

Whitney. Although Whitney graduated before I became a member of PBX I did meet her through older sisters and Alumni events. I am so excited to hear all about her upcoming wedding and all the other exciting happenings and crafts she gets up to through her beautiful blog, Blessed Southern Tarheel.

The beautiful Whitney!

Caitlin. Caitlin is seriously one of the sweetest people you will ever meet and I am very blessed to have her as a sister and a role model as she was even the President of PBX when I was a member! Her beautiful blog, Catholic Cookie Jar discusses a lot about love, relationships, and faith especially through her own relationship with her husband Thomas. It is a great read no matter your marital status and together they are a strong couple in their faith and love for one another.

Caitlin and her husband, Thomas. I still can't believe that they have been married for over a year now. 

McKenzie & Brian. McKenzie, a sweet sister writes about her and her husband's adventures especially since they are moving across the ocean to Japan. Their relationship is similar to Caitlin and Thomas, built on faith and love and such an example. I await more updates on their life as a military couple surviving the big adventure in a foreign country.

McKenzie and Brian are bound for Japan!

Travis. Travis, another sweet sister (let's agree that all of my sorority sisters are sweet!) has just begun to blog about finding the little moments in life at The Little Moments, finding the beauty in the uncertainty. As a SENIOR this year at UNC I understand the need to capture the small little moments of beauty.  I can't wait to read more about her adventures as a senior and beyond since I know she will be successful post-grad.

Travis

I hope you find some great reads on my sorority sister's blogs!