#293 did i forget to mention...

the boy brought home sunflowers for me yesterday! he had them waiting for me with a glass of wine when i got home yesterday. *smile*

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

#292 it's official!

it's a crisp 45 degrees out, the leaves are gorgeous and falling, and the apartment smells like fresh coffee and homemade bread pudding. mmm!!

the boyfriend's parents are celebrating his mom's birthday today, and i unfortunately have to work. but i wanted to send my birthday wishes up to baltimore. i did it with my family's favorite bread pudding recipe. fresh french bread, coconut, vanilla and other delicious ingredients topped with a lemony sauce served warm... it's so perfect for the weather! we normally do an amaretto liqueur sauce, but the boyfriend's mom likes the lemon one. hopefully it will taste wonderful!

i'm tempted to make another batch just for myself!

for the rest of the late morning afternoon, i'll be catching up on my shows and some reading. then it's off to work i go! i hope you are all out enjoying the beautiful weather.

#291 i've missed you!!

my trip was fabulous. i enjoyed being home so much. my mom and i even went through my life, spanning from birth until the present, in boxes to help them clean out after so many moves. it was so much fun rediscovering photos, books, toys, cheerleading uniforms, dance costumes, old school artwork...and i found my journal that i kept in india!! i have been searching for it for years. i was so thrilled and spent the evening reading it and reliving the trip. we also found all my tidbits and pictures from the trip my mama and i took to france and england.

but i had a realization. when i am here i miss my parents and family so very much. but when i am home i miss my beau. i need all of them to feel 100% content. oh the woes. but after a long traveling day i was happy to back here in our little home.

today, i went into to michael kors to work on my new classification: shoes!!! go on and drool, ladies. i worked in the back all morning and afternoon to reorganize, learn, and become the "expert" on the shoes in the store. i am really loving this job. it's a lot of work, but it's really worth it.

the shoes i'm wearing this month at work

to reward me the beau is taking me out for a dinner date! i love our dates. when he was first "courting" me in clemson we had sushi date night every monday. i always looked forward to it!! i love him so much.... oh look at me! gushing. moving on!!

i hope you are all having a wonderful week!

xoxo

#290 bon voyage

so so very early! and if you say something about birds and worms and whatnot, i'll slap you.

just kidding. but i am definitely trying to wake up and find my morning person. my flight is at around 10 this morning, the beau is dropping me at the airport on his way to work, and then it's 5 beautiful days at home in florida! i can't wait to see my family.

i have been working my patootie off at mk! (yes, patootie is a body part.) my feet ache, i'm pretty wiped out, but i love my job! and i am doing amazingly. i hope to keep it up when i get back! we have some fabulous holiday stuff to get ready for at the store.

but for now i am going to down some coffee, put on my face, slip into some comfy jeans and chic flats and enjoy my travel day.

xoxo

#289 my lovelies

it's been a little bit since we've spoken. it's been a whirlwind at michael kors, and i've been working everyday. today is no exception! i'm in at ten. but as much as i love the new job, i can't wait to catch my breath and fly home on wednesday.

in the meantime, make sure to stop by mk. you'll love the yummy fall colors and beautiful bags!

#288 i'm alive...

"it liiiiiiveeesss!!!!"

well, sort of. i definitely look like some living-dead creation, though. i slept like a boulder last night after talking to the best friend for 2 hours on the phone (i talked her damn ear off. a mixture of delirium and wine and missing her made for a very chatty me.) and watching some late night tele.

her highness was a bit of a brat. poor thing was cooped up all day yesterday except for when i rushed home on my break to let her out. so when "mommy" got home last night and crashed on the couch, she defeatedly laid beside me making little sighs of displeasure. i felt so bad! but was so exhausted. and last night she kept waking me up wanting to play. poor baby! we will make it up to her today and this weekend.

so this morning it's dayquil, advil (for the feet), coffee and some breakfast. then it's shower and back to mk! it's only a long haul for these first days. but i am so thankful for the job and love it! hope all of you are glad it's friday.

xoxo

#287 never thought i'd see the day

sooo my first "official" day on the floor at michael kors!!

at mk you must wear heels while on the floor. daunting? yes. but you are mercifully given a 15 min "foot break" for each shift you work where you may put on flats, so i was feeling good in my suede wedge parker pumps with zip detail. i was ready to face the day (dayquil on hand). i was doing great, catching on fast, impressing my manager. and i was falling more in love with the atmosphere of the store. you know what i'm talking about. that white sleek marble tile, the chic sophistication of it all, surrounded by beautiful handbags and apparel? posh heaven. and for the first 3 hours i caught glimpses of my legs in the mirrors and loved how long and amazing the parker wedges made them look!!

...3 hours later...

my feet were killing. i. mean. killing. and each glimpse in the mirrors? yeah. it was like a jekyll and hyde episode, because my reflection at this point was grimacing and limping heavily. i was looking down desperately at my feet marveling that the day had come when i would curse designer shoes. i was so relieved when we were able to close, and i could return to my comfy mk flats.

but worry not, my dears, because i continued to do well, learned more about my new job, and love the store. and the shoes? i still love them, too. i know it's not their fault. working the long shift right off the bat was just a harsh way of breaking me into the business. so now i am unwinding with some wine and some golden girls (oh yes.). my bed will be so good to me tonight.

#286 rainy days

rainy and 53 degrees. today is my first real work day, since monday was spent with paperwork and learning the store, and it's an 8 hour day. because of some shuffling with the store and staff (a sales soup is unexpectedly leaving) i was asked if i wanted to get in some extra time on the floor. of course i said yes! if it's going to be rainy and gloomy i would rather be surrounded by gorgeous, buttery soft leather handbags and designer merch than twiddling my thumbs at home.

i'm feeling much better than on tuesday *knock on wood* so with fingers crossed it's going to be a good day at work. the boyfriend is up in baltimore on business, so it's better if i stay busy.

this looks so much more inviting than the scene above.

#285 paris fashion week

oh, paris fashion week. how we adore thee.

the cut

#284 sick day

having a cold doesn't have to keep you from doing something fabulous. a fluffy white down comforter and pillows can keep you feeling luxurious while you sip your herbal tea and catch up on movies. this is what i am doing for myself.

#283 epic day indeed.

so let me tell you...

first day. new job. super pumped. take extra care getting ready. got my power heels on. walk down to car. turn key......... dead.

oh yes. luckily my manager is a great sport, so when i called to tell her she simply laughed and said: "if something is going to go wrong, it'll happen on the first day!" and then wished me luck and said to get there when i could. now, this happened to me the other night after closing the old store. and the boyfriend came and jumped me, which worked, and i dropped mucho money on a new battery the next day. bueno? i thought so. so you can imagine my panic and frustration when it died two weeks later. i marched myself in stilettos and all black to the leasing office in search of a jump box. long story short, the maintenance guys finally jumped me with their souped-up golf cart! i was only about 20 min late and stayed an hour over learning stuff to make up for it.

the new job!!! i love the store. i love the bags. i love the shoes. i love the clothes. i love the man, michael kors. i got some "wardrobe" to work in (ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!) and love that too. i'm ready for the next day of work (tomorrow) and will hit the ground running in suede wedge pumps!

but when i got off work on monday, the beau had to come jump me again. then we spent an hour or so outside finding what was wrong. then he was able to isolate what was draining the battery (the radio head unit) and pull the fuse. the car works again! but needless to say, i had been looking forward to an exciting first day, coming home triumphant to flowers and champagne, relaxing and flipping through my new employee handbook. instead, i got the above (all with stress, uber anxiety, panic and tears of what i would do if the car was broken, etc.) and then came down with a cold. so here i am! in bed, wishing i didn't have to blow my nose every few minutes and hoping it's all gone by tomorrow. can't a girl ever catch a break???

#282 epic day.

it's a new start! a new beginning!

ok, sans little boy running up and down the cobble-stoned streets ringing a bell to alert the towns people of some newfound joy, i am pretty excited. today is my first day at michael kors.

i can't wait to get started at this company. i can not wait to work with his beautiful creations. and i can't wait to see what's up ahead!

p.s... our weekend in baltimore was fabulous. e's birthday was a success and included bottomless mimosas and brunch, adventures around downtown, sushi and drinks, birthday cake, crazy cabbies, irish pubs, and the safety dance (oh, yes.) into the night. the weather was beautiful, and i feel refreshed and reconnected with the beau.

and next week i will be jetting off down to the home state for a very overdue visit!

#281 mcqueen

spring collections already? as i am only just pulling out my winter knits and scarves?

we miss mcqueen... and the spring 2011 show speaks volumes.

see all the looks here

xoxo

#280 me-care

my love for expensive skincare products and makeup started early, when i was 17 i believe, with the chanel cosmetics counter. when i was 18 i got offered a job there part time during my freshman year of college. it was too hard a habit to break, and my favorites have always been ysl faux cils mascara, chanel tinted moisturizer and blush, my classic chanel scent, dior eye liners in beautiful colors... the list goes on!!! i'm mad for these products. their luxury, their results. i love them.

but being a newly graduated struggling 22-year-old, i must let go of them for a bit. don't worry, i will return to them like the lost prodigal daughter i am, and i still have a stock of many of the items. but in the meantime i have had to discover affordable replacements that get me through...

not a bad foundation. my skin feels good.

not a huge fan of this mascara i'm using...but nothing will compete with ysl and chanel's inimitable.

there's something to be said about an old classic like olay... my grandmother has been using it forever, and her skin is so soft and healthy.
probably one of the most luxurious-feeling body washes i've used. i'm obsessed.
this is an invigorating face wash.

not ideal... but not bad either.

xoxo

#279 birthdays!!

we had so much fun the other weekend that we are going back up to visit our great friends this weekend. j & e are a perfect match for me and the beau as a couple. not to mention that j and the boyfriend are carbon copies in many ways of one another.

they invited us back up for e's birthday! she'll be 25 (leaving me still feeling very young as 22 to their 25, 25, and 26) and we have such a fabulous weekend planned! but before we head up on friday i am going to making e a chocolate on chocolate hershey's cake. i am so excited that i want to start baking now! i am just thinking up cute decorating ideas. something simple and fun... and most likely involving sparkler candles.

#278 ohh, the catch-up

let's fill you in.

last post

so there is an unsavory shift manager, for lack of a better title, at my current store that causes me trouble. since beginning work there, i have noticed that she consistently and steadily has treated me more and more unprofessionally and unfairly. this has included belittling me, speaking down to me, treating me like something stuck to her ugly shoes, making me clean up after her customers while she goes and snags another, and the list goes on. i tried to ignore it and let it go and went about my work with a smile and a respectful response for her (while consistently matching or beating her numbers. and she works full time...). but it got out of hand. to be specific, she crossed the line with me in front of another associate and my customer.

the number one rule in sales is "take care of the customer" "the customer comes first", any variation of that. i have a repeat customer who is wonderful and always spends good money in our store. the most important part of our job is to make sure our customers have everything they need, and i was doing just that.

meanwhile, my friend/coworker and i were switching off in the back making phone calls to customers about a special deal. she saw that i was with my customer and decided to wait a moment before informing me that it was my turn to go and make phone calls. but the "shift manager" saw this as completely unacceptable. while i was mid conversation with my customer and grabbing a size in a top for her, this girl marches over to me, interrupts us, and says "i'm going to need you to go to the back."

me: "oh, absolutely! i was just finishing up with {so and so}. then i will be making phone calls!"

her: "no. i said i need you back there now. you don't worry about the customer. someone else can take care of her. you'll still get credit."

woah!! first off, you never say something like "you'll get credit" in front of a customer. especially because we don't even work on traditional commission.

me: (trying to diffuse situation) "ooook then! let's go make some phone calls." (turning to customer) "{so and so} will be taking care of you now. i am so sorry, i need to run to the back."

thank god my friend/coworker had a look of shock on her face to match mine. i was shaking with fury. i went and made all my phone calls and then the girl still had the gall to come back and scold me, put words in my mouth, and tell me she expects better respect from me, etc. etc. i was floored.

ok, so, obviously a very long story short, i spoke with the real manager and told her that all of this had made for a very hostile work environment, etc. i was actually nervous to bring it up because this "shift manager" had been such a bully. but both of the managers know that i would never be that disrespectful, that the "shift manager" has been trying to advance in the store, and that she has a history of being rude to associates. phew. she even comforted me by saying it was better that i brought it up, because if it was happening to me then it was most likely happening, or going to happen, to someone else.

oh well. my victory is that the last couple of times i've had to work with her, she has had to act super professional towards me. and that on monday i start my new job. sorry for the rant...