6.13.2014

Updates!

Hello all!

I've been blogging over at Wining & Whining, if you want to keep updated on my life in Moldova - I've been here for just over a week now!

Come visit me over there!


5.26.2014

Weekly Wishes #29

It's been a while since my last post, and this might be my last one for a while, too! I'm not sure what my blogging life in Moldova will be, but I leave in one week.

One.

Week.

I'm obviously freaking out, so my Weekly Wishes are to get everything done so I can get outta here! What I mean is.. I don't want to leave, but I am also excited to go, so I need to get everything finished. Turns out it's harder than you'd think to prepare to move to another country by yourself for 2 years. I have a huge list of stuff to do. No, seriously. It's huge. It's like I've barely started getting ready or something!

Now, if you'll miss me (which you obviously will, right?!), never fear! I'm starting a new blog so everyone I know doesn't have to come here and read this one. It's not that I've said anything I don't want friends and family to read, it's just that I want to keep this page to myself.

So the new blog for you to follow if you choose is Wining and Whining (both of which I do a lot!) and it will tell you all about my adventures in Moldova.

I hope you will join me there, and if not.. I've really loved getting to know everyone with Cat On The Wall and I hope to keep in touch with you guys! Maybe I'll even link up with Melyssa once in a while :)

5.02.2014

Where am I?

Yeah, I know. I've been quite absent. You know how I'm going to far-off country Moldova for 2 years? Well, I leave one month from today. I got off the phone making my travel arrangements a while ago.

And when I started this blog, I thought, well this is going to be what I tell my friends and family to read so they can keep up with me while I'm gone. But then I made blogging friends and got caught up in the blogging world.... and now I'm having anxiety about sharing this, because I can just tell you that my mother WILL go back through and read all 68 posts I've already written.

Sooooo.... Great! I don't really want to start over with a new blog, because I like this one, and if you want to keep up with me, I want you to be able to! Anyone have any advice about sharing your blog with real life people? I know a lot of us don't exactly do that.

Tell me your thoughts!




But seriously. I really wanna know what you think.


[UPDATE: I'm currently serving in Moldova and blogging at Wining & Whining if you'd like to read about my experiences.]


4.08.2014

Weekly Wishes #28


You guys, I have so much energy right now that I don't even know if I can focus on a whole blog post because I just want to get up and dance. I know you want to be in my house right now.

You want to know what I'm obsessed with right now? NEON TREES. More specifically, Sleeping With a Friend. Not that I'm doing this, FYI, but I'm just saying, if I were, this is obviously the song that would describe my life. It's so great and the video is so weird so you're gonna need to check it out. It makes me want to dance and I obviously need every outfit from the video. (Well, almost every outfit.)

I'm also currently obsessed with Just Dance, which admittedly is nothing new, but I did just buy Just Dance 4, so I have been playing that nonstop, and it's literally what I am going to do after I hit publish on this post here.

My goals, therefore, are to play more Just Dance. Is that cheating, because I really really want to do it? Guess who doesn't care? THIS GIRL. Can you tell I've had a lot of coffee today? Jeez Louise.
Also to journal some more.
Figure out how to get on my Moldova website that apparently has a packing list, because I for sure need that!
Walk with Lilo! Gosh, she loves it so much that I am basically a terrible person when I DON'T walk her.
CRAFT! Taking a note from Jess because I have some crafting to do! Maybe not today because of all this energy I currently have, but I know I've got a jewelry project to do! Last week (I think it was last week?) I made this great lotion and scrub from Whimseybox, and also this cute little needlefelted turnip guy. I love DIY so I just need to get off my booty and dooooo itttttt.

Here's my (unsolicited) advice for the week: If you're having fun, HAVE IT. I mean, if you're not being completely obnoxious to everyone around you, don't let old ladies glaring prevent you from enjoying your day. I went to a handbell festival this weekend. I am not a music major. I am not in a symphony. So if I'm getting notes wrong or missing them, it doesn't really stress me out. So I was (quietly) giggling/having fun with one of the people that came with me, and people did NOT appreciate it. Like, woahhhh, don't take yourself too seriously, lady!
If that didn't make sense, it's because of all the caffeine I've had, but basically just don't take stuff so seriously that you can't enjoy yourself, because hello! Who doesn't want to be enjoying themselves?!

And don't forget to link upppppp!


The Nectar Collective

3.31.2014

Weekly Wishes #27


Making goals for the week is a lot less daunting than making goals for a whole month. I don't think I would think that if I weren't leaving in 2 months, but since I am, I do! It's easy to say, I want to finish my book this week. It's harder to say that I need to pack my life up in two suitcases so I can get on a plane.... Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I won't have that goal until at least next month. Oh, jeez. Haha, I can't even process it so I'm just not going to!

Guess I should see how I did last month. My big goal was to clean and organize... I did make a little dent in this. I was planning to organize my room a bit today but I am feeling kind of sick so instead I am in bed with the dog, planning to read my book after this post. Just need to keep at it! This goal is moving through to April.
I also wanted to plan a trip to Wisconsin. I booked my ticket, so I'll be going there later this month!

This month I want to work on financial stuff. I have reimbursement forms to send in to the Peace Corps for my medical stuff, I have to do my taxes for the first time ever, and I have to figure out the best way to defer my student loans while I'm gone. So this is going to be sooooo fun.
Figure out a packing list - and get started. I am supposed to be getting info soon for a website that has a packing list on it, so I need to check that out and see what I don't yet have.
Have a fun time in Wisconsin! Those other two don't sound fun, so I thought I'd add this easy one. :)

What are you doing this month? Don't forget to link up!


The Nectar Collective

3.30.2014

Peace Corps Tasks

I think it's time for an update on my Peace Corps stuff! Mostly because for once, there is something to update about.

This week I finished all of my medical tasks! I went to the dentist twice in one week but that was the last thing I needed to do! Which was great because everything is due this upcoming week.... Because this upcoming week marks two months until I leave. WHAT?! I can't even process that. They sent me an email saying thanks for turning in all my stuff and it was the greatest. Now we just have to hope that everything is in good shape for me to be medically cleared.

I also finally found the Facebook group for my Moldova group! I have been talking to another girl who will be going to Moldova with me (on FB; we haven't met... kind of like how I haven't met any of you!) and we have been wondering for ages where our group is. Someone told us months ago that the current volunteers would be making one, but we hadn't found it until this week!

So now I've got another questionnaire to fill out that will match me with a mentor! Is it wrong that I immediately thought, omg I get a Moldova big!? There's the sorority girl in me, so if it's wrong, I don't want to be right!

Everything keeps getting more and more real! Eeeeeep!

[UPDATE: I'm currently serving in Moldova and blogging at Wining & Whining if you'd like to read about my experiences.]

3.24.2014

Weekly Wishes #26


Happy Monday! Anyone else think it's going to be the start of a great week?!

Last time I did Weekly Wishes, my goal was to have a fun week by accomplishing these things!
Make Veronica Mars t-shirts. Check. P.S. - greatest movie ever. They added more theaters so you should check it out!
Finish binge-watching the show. Almost check. We had to do some recap in the car on the way to DC, but we will eventually finish.
Make O-balls for the pot luck! Check! They were a hit, of course.
Do some more journaling. Oh, oops. I must have forgotten about this one.

This week I've got some highs and lows (did you ever do that in youth group or anything, where you talked about the good things and the not-so-good?)... Lows being that I have to go to the dentist TWICE and highs being that an old friend is coming to visit with her baby, who has yet to meet his Aunt Cat! I'm so excited to see her and him!

Get ready for my friend's arrival. I may have to do some cleaning... So that's what I'm doing after I post this!
Make a start to my MapMyRun goals. I made two - one for distance and one for number of workouts! I want to stay motivated in my Just Dance kick, and I want Lilo to get more walks!
Finish a book. I pre-ordered the new Veronica Mars book (yeah, I'm obsessed) but I've been really getting into my current book, so I want to try to finish it so I can focus on Veronica! I also want to get a little further into this book I'm reading about personal finance. It's super interesting and helpful, but not exactly a thriller.
Post-dentist, get all my paperwork in. Once I go this week, I am D-O-N-E with my medical stuff! All of it! (Assuming there aren't issues and whatnot) So I just need to upload it all and I will be carefree! (You know, sort of.)

Lately I'm not as present on the blog as I have been, but I am always Instagramming! So if you ever miss me, just check that out and it will be like we're hanging out again! :)

Don't forget to link up with Melyssa!

The Nectar Collective

3.11.2014

How to Attend A Murder Mystery Party



This weekend I went to a Murder Mystery party, and it was one of the most fun events ever! Now, I can't tell you how to throw one of these parties because I wasn't the hostess, but I would highly recommend planning one of these for your friends! And if you're ever invited to one, I've got some tips on how to make it even more fun!


A friend of mine from church decided to host this event, so she used Night of Mystery for all the info she needed! We all got character descriptions ahead of time: one page describing our character and a newsletter with short bios of the other characters, too. Then when we arrived there was more! We got envelopes to open at certain times during the party with more information to help us. Pretty sure the Night of Mystery site provided everything she needed to throw this party!

My whole family, all dressed up!


The theme was Homecoming, so we all got to wear fancy clothes and go back to high school! Which brings me to my first tip: Dress for the occasion! I dug out old prom dresses for my sister and I to wear. My mother didn't have a prom dress, so we went to Goodwill and found her something fun! One of the guests called the hostess to ask what the "school colors" were so she could match her outfit to them! If you look fancy, you feel fancy! And if you wear something that you wouldn't normally wear, it can help your character come alive!


Play along and try to act like your character! My dad kept saying that drama was not his strong point, but luckily it doesn't need to be! The character descriptions and envelopes give you enough to go on so that you know how to act like your character without having anything to memorize and without telling you exactly what to say. There was a guest that I didn't know ahead of time who immediately glared at me when I walked in because she knew our characters didn't like each other.

Be a good sport! Even if characters don't get along, that doesn't mean it affects your real life! It was so fun with everyone being someone else for the night, but it was even more fun knowing most of the guests and knowing that they weren't really those people! So don't take anything personally if your little sister turns out to be the murderer or something.... That brat.

Take lots of pictures and just have fun! I didn't take that many pictures (besides a ton of my BFF and me) but the hostess did and I can't wait to see them! So if it looks like fun just from the few I've got to show, imagine the rest of the night! I won Homecoming Queen (well, Dolly Dancer did, captain of the Pom squad, aka my character for the night) and I wore that crown all night! There were also prizes for Best Dressed, Best Sleuth, Most Spirited... Who wouldn't want to win a cute little trophy?






If you want to attend one of these, I'd suggest hosting one! The host doesn't have to know anything more about the plot than the guests do, and it was really so much fun. They have different themes and supplies for different numbers of people, so you can have all of your friends in on the action!

Happy sleuthing! 

3.10.2014

Weekly Wishes #25

My friend and I at the Murder Mystery we went to - more on that later!
Another Monday?! Oh right, that's normal. I will confess that I have so far spent the majority of my Monday in bed.. It's not my fault; I had a puppy to snuggle and it's maybe the hardest thing in the entire world to leave a bed with a sleeping puppy in it.

This is going to be a fun week, I've decided. My Weekly Wishes are going to only be enjoyable ones! Not that I ever have terrible things I need to do (although occasionally I suppose I do), but this week is going to be extra fun!

For one thing (okay, basically the ONLY thing I'm thinking about), I get to see the Veronica Mars movie. 

I'm not saying it's going to be the greatest day of my life, but it's going to be up there for SURE.

So what does that have to do with what I want to accomplish this week?

Make Veronica Mars t-shirts. My mother and I need to wear VM shirts to the premiere! I have my Kickstarter shirt but she doesn't have one, so I'm just going to craft one for each of us!
Finish binge-watching the show. You won't be surprised to hear that I've already done this once, but now my mother needs to as well. Luckily she remembers the first season and part of the second, but we started on season 2 and she has made a checklist of how many episodes we have left before the movie on Thursday. She even calculates the hours of watching left.. And I wonder where I get my crazy from.
Make O-balls for the pot luck! My mother texted me this morning saying I should make O-balls and now I've become obsessed with the idea, because they are so yummy I just can't stand it.
Do some more journaling. So far it's 2 months in between entries, so.... Clearly need to work on that a little.

Have a great week everybody! Is anyone else planning to see Veronica Mars?? Tell me so we can become best friends! And don't forget to link up with Melyssa! 

The Nectar Collective

3.07.2014

Art + Tea Party.... Best Day Ever?

"Country Roses" table

So you are probably sick of hearing my Weekly Wishes about this tea party thing I'm doing, right? Well, guess what! This is the last time! Because the tea has happened and I have the pictures to prove it.
My sister and I drinking tea!

It was SO. MUCH. FUN.

My church does this Ladies Tea every year, but since I've been at school I have only been once before. But this time I could go, AND I was asked to be a hostess!

What's a hostess, you ask?

My Botticelli-inspired table
There are a number of tables at the Tea, and each hostess will be in charge of her own table. This means decorations, favors, place settings, and then during the tea making sure everyone is happy and full and has everything they might desire!

My door prize and table
Since the theme of the Tea was "Art" and I was an art major..... It makes total sense that I couldn't come up with an idea for my table theme, right? Yes, it does! Too many ideas equal having a hard time picking one! But you may know that I have a tattoo of The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, so I decided to go with Botticelli as a theme. My main focus for decorations was a fabric centerpiece that I painted on and lots of shells to go with the Venus part of the theme. My mother let me use her wedding china for my place settings, and my guests got magnets of Botticelli paintings!

I don't even like tea but I did like whatever kind I ended up choosing. The food was so yummy and our server was the greatest so we were never without whatever we asked for (for example: Ummmm, we need some more chocolate things please, and moments later, he would bring us a tray of delicious chocolatey things!) The men of the church were our servers, which was so fun!

Looking fancy!
Our table ended up winning a lot of the door prizes and raffle prizes, so it was basically the greatest table of all. My sister won a pearl necklace and earrings, my mother won some cookies and cups, and I won a set of lavender tea and sugar! I can't wait to try it.

Oh, and I almost forgot the greatest part: dressing up! Lots of people went all out with hats and fancy dresses/outfits.. It was so fun to get fancy!

If you're ever in Virginia in the spring and want to go to this lovely event, just let me know and I'll hook you up :)

Enjoy pictures of some of the tables! Can you guess the theme before you read the captions?







A Parisian cafe - she brought in a painting and everything!
Monet-inspired table

Culinary arts/photography table
Pop art table, complete with "LEGIT" artwork (which I had to explain to an old lady)

Anyone craving tea and cookies yet?!

3.03.2014

Weekly Wishes #24


I've been neglecting The Wall! I have been ultra-busy with tea stuff and I took a trip down to school to reunite with friends, sorority sisters and fraternity brothers! But I'm back to talk about my goals for the month!

First let's see how I did last month:

Get all the tea stuff bought/found/put together and set up for the tea. Yes, holla! The tea was on Saturday; I'll be doing a recap soon! Here's a preview.
Get all my medical tasks completed. Almost! You know I've survived the doctor, and now I've made it to the eye doctor too! All I need to do is the dentist!
Write and mail a letter every day! Welllllll... I didn't quite accomplish this. And yet, I did. I ended up not making it all the way through the month, but I did send 25 cards! So I think that counts, because it was more than the goal of 23! I just did multiple cards a day in the beginning and then ran out of steam.
Do some more exercising! I went on a hike, once. So. Whatever!

It is now less than 3 months until I leave for Moldova (yesterday was the "3 months exactly" day), so I need to prepare!
My big goal for the month is to clean and organize... basically everything in my entire life. I know, I know, the general goal thing is hard to manage and I should make specific ones... But my room and my house is a mess and I can't pack until everything is where it should be, etc..
I also need to plan a trip to Wisconsin. I basically have to go see my grandparents before I leave. I haven't seen them in more than a year (I think? I can't even remember) because they live so far away. I don't even want to think like this but while I'm gone for two years, anything could happen. They are in their late 80s, so.. I need to figure out when I can go visit.

I think that will keep me busy! Be on the lookout for my TEA POST! I know you'll be thrilled because when it's posted, you won't have to hear about the tea anymore! Hehe :)

Also, check out the logo I made for my friend's YouTube show (I've had that on my Weekly Wishes for a while)! He loves it, and I think it's kind of adorable too! Don't tell him I said adorable, though. And he paid me in wings and beer, which is one of my favorite currencies.


Have a great March! Hopefully the rest of the month is not as snowy as it is today... And don't forget to link up with Melyssa!


The Nectar Collective



2.13.2014

Really Good Things!


Hello everyone! Happy Thursday! On Thursdays I like to talk about the good things that have happened throughout the week. 
Today started out so bad that I thought I was going to have nothing to write, but then everything got better! To give you a visual, I was late to work and crying the whole way there..... Basically just wanted to skip it and go back home to snuggle my mother. See, today was the day that tickets for the Veronica Mars movie went on sale. Not just tickets to see it on opening night or anything, but advance screening tickets where you get to go the night before and you get a t-shirt and other fun stuff. I had been excited for DAYS to get these tickets, and as soon as I got the link to get them, they were sold out. 

Image source

You know how Justin Bieber tickets sell out in seconds and thousands of preteens are depressed for weeks because their moms couldn't click fast enough? I NOW KNOW THEIR PAIN. I thought the world was pretty much over.

BUT I went to work and tried to cheer up and sell Valentines to slackers who haven't gotten their gifts yet, and thought I'd try the website again, just in case. (I'd read on Twitter on the way to work that a lot of people had issues.) And there were tickets. So I got two!

Everything improved from that moment on. So other good things are:
  • Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Yay chocolate! (If you need help with writing your Valentines, I've got some tips here!)
  • I randomly saw an old friend from Germany - we both live here now, but I hadn't seen him since middle school (maybe high school? It's hard to remember)
  • A week from today I will be with my BFF! 
  • And again.... Veronica Mars tickets. (We're even driving 2 hours to the nearest theater that's showing it.)
Have a great weekend and Valentine's Day, Marshmallows! 

2.11.2014

Valentines and Love Letters


Lovely readers,

Since Valentine's Day is coming up (just 3 days away, people!) I thought everyone probably needed some tips on writing their Valentines and love letters! Now, I've never sent or received a traditional love letter, but I've gotten and sent plenty of letters with lots of love in them! 

For your Valentines:
It's my opinion that you can (and should!) give Valentines to anyone. It's not just a romantic holiday! 
You should be showing love to everyone you love! This year I sent Valentines to friends, family, sorority sisters and fraternity brothers, and even some of my blogging BFFs! I didn't craft Valentines; I bought them from Hallmark. Some of them had the PERFECT message, but that doesn't mean you should just sign your name and send as is! 
Compliment them. Tell grandma why that card reminded you of her, tell your best friend why you miss her, tell your little why you love her!
Be true to your relationship! Don't be too serious if you don't want to be! Put a funny inside joke in there. If you do want to be serious, do!
Use their name. Remember learning about how people like to be called by name? Write that in there!
Making it personal is the most important part! Then the people you're sending cards to will know that you really care!
If you can't think of anything to say, try a quote! Pinterest is full of inspirational quotes, funny quotes, quotes about love and relationships. Try writing one of those in your card!

For your love letters:
Even if you've never written one of these before, it's never to early to start. A sweet text is nice, but a letter can be saved forever (yeah, I've heard of the cloud, but I'm pretty sure that's not the same) and read over and over again!
Start strong. "Dear Cat" will work, but how about "My dearest Cat" or "Love of my life"? Do you have a special nickname for your boo to use? Use it!
Tell him what you love/appreciate about him. Does he always do something for you even though it's not his favorite thing? Is he hilarious and can always improve your mood? Do you tell him these things out loud? Sometimes it's easier to write things down, so do it!
Tell her what you're looking forward to. It could be as simple as "I can't wait for our romantic dinner this weekend" or it could be as big as "I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with you!" You're writing this letter now but you're thinking of your future with her.
And finish strong, too! "Love always," "All my love," or anything like that!

A man came up to my register and had about 5 Valentines. I asked if he needed anything more to go with them and he said, "Nope, I've got big plans for my cards!" He went on to tell me that he was going to give her one in the morning with flowers, one in her car for her way to work, one at work with more flowers, one at a romantic dinner.... Such a sweet thought to put cards in places she would find them and also to use multiple cards! (Some more ideas for you there :))

Don't forget: It's not what you write that matters, it's the thought that counts! The fact that you want to send a Valentine or write a love letter in the first place is a great step!

xoxo,

2.10.2014

Weekly Wishes #23


Last week I talked about my goals for the month. I'm steadily working on all of them, so yay!

This week is VALENTINE'S WEEK! I don't love Valentine's Day or anything; in fact, I used to call it my least favorite holiday (okay, I used to "hate" it. It all started in 5th grade...... Just kidding, I won't tell you the saga!). This means that since I work at Hallmark, I am going to be busy busy busy there this week! I won't have much time for getting a lot of other things done, so......

My goals are to: Take myself to a movie. I'm my own Valentine and we want to see That Awkward Moment, so that's my plan for tomorrow when I'm off!
Get myself some yummy Valentine's chocolate to eat. I love me, sooo....
Work on a logo for my friend, and the tea program. Okay, this one is actually a goal (not that the other two aren't, but...). A friend wants me to make a logo for his YouTube show, so I'm going to try to do that for him. I also have been tasked with making the program for the tea, so I need to do that ASAP!

Happy Monday, and have a great Valentine's Day! Don't forget to link up with Melyssa!


The Nectar Collective

2.06.2014

On Thursdays we talk about good things!

Happy Thursday! I have had a great Thursday so far! I'm currently snuggled up with a snoring puppy in the bed with me, listening to my Creative Collective playlist, and after this I will probably have some lunch!

On Thursdays, we talk about the good things that have happened this week! They can be simple or elaborate, paragraphed or bulleted, whatever you want!


You already know one of my (perpetual) good things: snuggling with my pup! Here are some more:
  • Last night at church we had a favor-making party for the tea! It was so much fun! We made little post-it holders to stick in your purse and they look great! Everyone's are different to go with their theme.
  • I SURVIVED MY DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT! It took forever and I thought I was probably going to waste away there, but I didn't! I had to go back the next morning to do the blood work, but after that I got to treat myself (okay, my mother treated) to donuts and brown sugar cinnamon coffee from Dunkin! 
  • I'm doing great with Letter Month! The goal is to send one letter/card/postcard each day in February, so I should have sent 5 so far (Sundays don't count, as there is no mail) and as of this morning, I have sent 19! (Most of them Valentines; I've mailed all my Valentines now!)
  • I had fun at the Super Bowl party I went to!
  • Breakfast for dinner! YUM
What are your good things? I wanna know, I wanna know! 

Have a sparkly weekend!