Asheville, NC

This weekend my boyfriend Reid and I went to Asheville, NC to ski and visit The Biltmore Estate. It was a picture perfect weekend...no really, check out the pictures below!

Saturday: It was Reid's first time skiing so we couldn't wait to hit the slopes. We drove about 30 minutes west of Asheville to Chataloochee Ski Resort. After we got all of our gear, we went to the bunny slope to give Reid a lesson. Being the boy he is, he decided he didn't need lessons. He said the best way for him to learn would be for him to just go, so we did. I will spare you the gorey details but on average, Reid fell 6 times per run, and he didn't just fall, he wiped out. Let's just say he is having a very difficult time walking today. I have been skiing several times but I am by no means a pro. I will however brag that I did not fall once this trip, besides Reid falling on me getting off the ski lift. Despite his injuries, it was a blast and are already looking forward to our next trip. He claims if he goes two more times he will be a pro. We shall see...

Before dinner we walked around the historic downtown visiting shops. It was so exciting when we discovered Asheville has the same general store as Knoxville, The Mast General Store. Of course we stopped here and Reid even bought Vibrum Five Finger Shoes. I say ew, he says yes! We also stopped at French Broad Chocolates and bought handmade truffles and shortbread cookies. There is something that makes a truffle so good. It is very personal, as if it was made just for you.

For dinner that night we ate at the famous Tupleo Honey Cafe in downtown Asheville. It is named after the appetizer they serve, a made from scratch biscuit with tupelo honey and fresh blueberries. It was to die for. I could have eaten several of them but refrained and just finished my one. Wow, it was really good.

For our main courses we had shrimp and grits and beef tenderloin medalians. Yes, you can call us little piglets, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

Sunday: When we discovered it was impossible to just drive up and look at The Biltmore without a ticket, we decided to purchase them since we were in Asheville and unsure of the next time we would visit. Luckily, I had found two coupons online that basically gave us admission for two for the price of one. We had a 10:45 a.m. appointment and began by taking pictures, lots and lots of pictures. The view pulling up is absolutely breathtaking. This house (better yet castle), is a piece of art. It is way ahead of it's time with technology. This house has heat, refrigerators, electric food waiters and electricity in every room. Remember, this was the late 1800's where this all was very rare. Every aspect of The Biltmore is amazing. From the indoor swimming pool and bowling alley to the grand staircase and servant quarters, everything is perfect.

After the audio guided tour, we ate lunch in the house's old horse stables. It again was delicious. A BLT with fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese and a black and blue burger. Yum again.

After our wonderful lunch we went to the front lawn to take pictures and enjoy this beautiful North Carolina Sunday.

This was the perfect needed vacation for both Reid and I. Sometimes it is just great to escape reality for a little while and that is exactly what we did. It was a weekend of first for both of us and we got to see and experience new and exciting things. Work is predicable and Monday never fails to come around. It is necessary to spice life up and take little trips to shake it up a little bit, after all, that is what life is all about!

Merry Christmas!

This is my first year celebrating the Christmas Season with an actual job and I have already noticed..."I'm not in Kansas anymore...". During college I was out of school and had a break from the first week in December until the second week in January. It was just enough time to Christmas shop, bake and spend time with friends.

Here in the 'real world', I get one day off. Just one! I will rush home Friday after work, along with the rest of Atlanta traffic, and make it just in time to spend 3 days with my family and then turn right back around. I know everyone working is doing the same thing, and I am thankful for any time off, but it is a real culture shock. I have always had a long break until now and this short condensed Christmas makes it seem not as fun. Shopping has been rushed and during lunch breaks, no baking, wrapping presents after a long day at work, it's exhausting! I love Christmas but this year, especially with the warm weather, just has not seemed like Christmas to me. Maybe in the next few days when it cools off it will being to feel more like it.

Although the shopping has been rushed, I really do enjoy buying my family and friends presents with my own money. It feels good to buy people things they will enjoy with the money you worked for. I can't wait to let my family unwrap their presents on Christmas morning, there will be a lot of good surprises :)

It feels like life is going by so much quicker now that I have a job and am on my own. I just want it to slow down so I can enjoy this time in my life. I am excited and thankful for my three days off and look forward to celebrating our Savior's birth with my family. It is a very wonderful time of the year and we have so much to be thankful for.

Merry Christmas to all!

30 before 30

I recently stumbled upon a few blog post describing what people wanted to acomplish before their 30th birthday. I thought the concept was really neat and decided to create a quarter-life crisis bucket list. I have seven years until I reach 30, so that gives me plenty of time to accomplish a few things I want to do/see. What is life without dreams and goals? So here are a few of mine in no particular order... 

1. Ride in a hot air balloon
2. See the Grand Canyon
3. Buy a house
4. Participate in 5K
5. Treat myself to a full day at the spa
6. Try to surf
7. Visit Las Vegas
8. Take a professional cooking class
9. Get married
10. Participate in a flash mob
11. Watch Gone With The Wind
12. Read all the chapters in the Bible
13. Swim in the Pacific Ocean
14. Learn to make sushi
15. See Niagara Falls
16. Bake a beautiful fondant cake
17. Learn to whistle
18. Witness to someone
19. Donate money to charity every year
20. Visit wine country
21. Go deep sea fishing
22. Ride a dolphin
23. Host a ‘cocktail attire’ holiday party
24. Go to Harry Potter World
25. Make homemade pickles
26. Buy Christmas for a needy family
27. NYE in Times Square
28. Buy something couture
29. Make pasta from scratch
30. Refinish a piece of furniture

*Fly a Kite
*Go to a drive-in movie


Some may seem silly or crazy that I haven't already done/accomplished that, but it is what it is. When I began compiling my list I thought it would be very difficult to come up with 30 things I wanted to do. By the time I got started, I realized it is a lot harder to narrow those things down. You will see two * symbolizing my alternates that I would also like to do and can't believe I haven't done thus far.

I am pretty excited about the next seven years. If I can accomplish everything on this list I will be a very happy girl.

Bag Childhood Hunger Day

I wrote this press release for work on Monday about The Color Spot employees participating in Bag Childhood Hunger Day. It is a great cause and I urge you to take the pledge as well and donate to No Child Hungry.

Contact: Brooke Brookins

Phone: 678-385-2188

Email: info@colorspotink.com

The Color Spot Employees Donate Their Lunch Money

Marietta, Ga. (Nov. 1, 2011) The employees of The Color Spot, Inc. took the Share Our Strength® pledge and participated in the No Child Hungry® Campaign, Bag Childhood Hunger Day. Employees donated the cost of their lunch for the day in hopes of ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.

One in five children in America- more than 16 million- face hunger. Every dollar donated can help connect a child with up to ten healthy meals. In addition to raising $78, The Color Spot employees generated awareness on their Facebook and Twitter pages.


“I was shocked when I saw the statistics of hungry children in the U.S.,” said Brooke Brookins, Key Account Consultant. “Deciding to eat in for one day will provide a hungry child with several meals. It is a small gesture that makes a huge difference.”

About Share Our Strength
Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit, is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. Through its No Kid Hungry® Campaign—a national effort to end childhood hunger in America— Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in federal nutrition programs, invests in community organizations fighting hunger, teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals, and builds public-private partnerships to end hunger, nationally and at the state and city levels. Visit www.Strength.org to learn more.

About The Color Spot

The Color Spot, founded in 2003, specialize in vehicle wraps, trade show graphics, point of purchase/store displays, banners, signs, fine art reproductions, digital graphics and indoor/outdoor displays. The Color Spot helps brand companies, promote products, display services and create the perfect atmosphere by printing on virtually any surface. The Color Spot is focused on the community by continuously donating to a variety of charities and organizations. Visit www.colorspotink.com for more information.

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Hallow's Eve

Happy Halloween y'all! I must say I have had a festive few days celebrating the end of October. Halloween is not my favorite holiday but I do enjoy the decorations, dressing up and CANDY! I hate being scared though so I opt out of the haunted houses and scary movies.
This weekend we hosted a Halloween party at our apartment with a few of our best friends. I was Dorothy and my boyfriend was the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz and I'd have to say we were pretty cute.

Of course Ashley-Anne's Bakery (reference previous post) made an appearance at the party as well. Olivia and I baked two types of cupcakes, Frankenstein and Mummies! 

The cupcakes were a huge hit, who could resist, they are super cute! Sunday night I baked pumpkin cookies for mine and Reid's work and they were enjoyed as well!

Since we live in an apartment complex we didn't have any trick-or-treaters, so we decided to eat all of our candy and sit on our couch watching Hocus Pocus. I'd say 2011 brought a great Halloween. I hope everyone enjoyed theirs as well!

Blog Action Day 2011-Food

Blog Action Day 2011's theme is FOOD! Everyone enjoys talking about food. It basically makes the world go around. Food brings cultures together, nourishes our bodies and provide enjoyable conversation topics. Narrowing down the topic of food into one blog post was a little difficult, but after a few minutes of thinking, the decision was evident. Today I am going to educate you on MANA (Mother Administered Nutritive Aid). 

Beginning in 2009 in Matthews, North Carolina, Co-Founders Mark Moore and Bret Raymond made it their mission to provide solutions to address malnutrition, its root causes and devastating effects. They decided to distribute a Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) made of peanut butter mixed with fortified milk in an over-sized ketchup packet to Rwanda and Guatemala. RUTF helps grow the brain. The first six years of a child's life are crucial for brain growth and development. If kids do not eat, their brains starve and they will die. Because peanut butter is a high protein snack, it is the perfect snack for a growing kid. 

There are over one billion hungry people in the world. Hunger develops into chronic malnutrition and kills 1-2 million kids each year. A child diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition can be revived with three packets a day for six weeks. The total cost is less than $60 per child. Deciding to cut back on eating out a few times a month will save the life of a starving child, isn't that worth it?

MANA is a trust worthy non-profit. Their values include:

Quality – In every aspect of MANA, we will give fanatical attention to quality.

Faith – We are motivated by our belief that God loves all people, has a strong affection for those who are suffering, weak, and oppressed, and desires that we invest our lives in theirs.

Innovation – We understand that more breakthroughs are needed to end malnutrition, so we will work with experts in many disciplines to discover the next big thing.

Responsibility – We understand our role as a corporate citizen and will act responsibly in every community in which we live and work.

Sustainability – We desire to make a long term difference in the lives of millions of people. This necessitates that we are around for the long haul.

Transparency – We will share as much as possible with anyone who wants to understand how we are using resources to accomplish our mission. And we will remain open to constructive ideas that will enable us to be more effective with what has been entrusted to us.

 

If you are interested in donating to this wonderful cause, click here . They have made the process very simple in monthly recurring donations. 

For more information visit their Facebook page or website. 

I am thankful I was able to participate in Blog Action day 2011 and share this wonderful cause with you all! Enjoy reading the other participants blogs!

Hotlanta!

I am officially a resident of Atlanta! I moved here one week ago and so far I love it. I have three Georgia College roommates and we live in Vinings which is right outside of Buckhead so traffic is not an issue. We are living the post-grad life; buying the bare minimum, eating whatever we can find and for now, jobless.

My full time job at the moment is hunting a full time job. The job market is so bad right now it is very difficult to find a communications job, but it is not hopeless. For the moment I am focused on having informational meetings with different people in the industry hoping to learn more about it and what I would like to do in the future. Thus far I have met with six professionals, nine by Tuesday, in hopes of becoming a better job candidate. Each individual has been so helpful in my search and willing to help me build my network in this area. PRSA-Georgia and the Phi Mu Atlanta Alumnae Chapter have been huge helps in my job search. It is great to have these sources to rely on and I strongly encourage whoever is reading this to become part of a specialized group because they truly have your best interest in mind and want to help you.

I have had a few in person interviews and several phone interviews, but the job I interview for the job I would love to have is next week so please keep me in mind and say a prayer for me. I know the job for me and God's will will come in his time so I am learning to be patient and listen to him. For the time being I am enjoying meeting people and learning exactly what they do. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given so far and the ability to speak with people who work at worldwide PR firms, non-profits and boutique firms.  I am slowly building my network in Atlanta and I am looking forward to finally having a career! I cannot wait to pay it forward to a young professional one day because people have been so good to me.