alwaysmysunshine

Home Sweet Home… Kind Of

The past few months have been crazy as always. Between finishing grad school (!), Christmas, New Years, and moving to Hoboken, NJ (!) I have barely had a moment to myself. For months and months I waited until New Years Day when I would be moving 3.5 hours from my childhood home to my first real apartment…. and here I am.

screen-shot-2017-01-04-at-6-06-37-pm — First glass of wine while relaxing in my new home!

I am finally settled in and trying my hardest to adjust before I start my new job next week. It certainly has been a rollercoaster to say the least. I’ve cried, laughed, celebrated, and cried some more (… there has actually been lots of crying if I’m being honest).

The last few days have been hard, but I knew that they would be. I know that it will be an adjustment to be so far away from the majority of my family. As you may know, my family is extremely close. Almost every night for the past few months my mom and I have sat down on the couch in our pjs to chat, drink our favorite David’s tea (more on this later), and watch a show together. I have loved our quality time and it’s hard to think that we can’t do that anymore. It’s also hard to wrap my head around that fact that I can’t just walk across the street to visit my grandparents or hop in the car for a minute to go visit my Godson anymore.

But, the important thing is that I know I will adjust in time! I know in my heart that this is exactly where I am meant to be and exactly what I am meant to be doing, no matter how difficult it is. Growth comes only from pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.

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This post isn’t meant to be me throwing a pity party for myself –but rather me being completely transparent on how I am feeling so far in this post-grad transition. I have always hoped that this blog would showcase highs, lows, and everything in between that happens in my life. I never wanted it to serve as a highlight reel, because what’s the point of telling my story if I’m not going to be completely honest?

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my New Year Resolutions, along with a recap of the fun that Dan and I had today! Be sure to check in 🙂

xo,

Jaclyn

Weekend in NJ

On Friday morning, I headed out to Westfield State to pick up my brother before we headed to New Jersey for the weekend. We had big plans to visit my dad and visit NYC to try and scope out places for me to live come January.

We arrived to my dad’s house around 3:30PM and we were tired. They went out hunting for a few hours and I stayed at the house to catch up with Peggy. Chatting with some coffee, snacks, and wine – what more do you need? We ended up spending the rest of the night relaxing and watching Netflix. We planned to head to NY early on Saturday, so we all wanted to be well rested. Including Sadie…

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On Saturday morning, I woke up only to take my first ever motor cycle ride with my dad’s friend. It was pretty cool – though not something I would ever want to buy for myself! The area where they live is so beautiful, so that was a perfect way to explore.

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Around 10 o’clock, we started out journey towards NYC. I had a few places in mind that I wanted to visit and Hoboken, NJ was on that list. It’s super close to the city and I had heard a lot of good things about it, so we decided to check it out.

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I ended up loving it! There were tons of restaurants, shops, parks, and young people. I really think this is a place that I could see myself spending a lot of time in future. Everyone that we met was so kind and I loved the small-town atmosphere despite being so close to NYC.

We stopped at a small diner called “Stacks “for brunch where I had the most delicious eggs florentine.

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Then we just roamed around the little city before getting back in the car and heading to Carlo’s Bake Shop.

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This is the bakery from the popular show “Cake Boss.” We waited in line for about 20 minutes but it was well worth it. We felt obligated to stop since we were so close. 🙂

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We ordered lobster tails, a mini cheesecake, and a cannoli. Everything was delicious.

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Next, we left Hoboken and headed into the city. I had intentions of looking around the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and we tried our very best to do so. Unfortunately, it was super chaotic and there were people everywhere. I give my dad so much credit for driving through there.

It was still great to see everything! While I think that I can adjust to city life during the work week, I’m not sure that I can see myself living right in the heart of all the craziness. After we left the city, we headed back to the hotel and we all passed out. It was a long day that took a lot out of us! Around 8 PM, we rallied and headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings to grab some supper and finish off the day.

On Sunday morning, we headed back to Hoboken so that I could get one last look around before going home. We stopped at O’Bagel for (pumpkin spice) coffee and home-made bagels.

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They were so yummy. 🙂

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We all piled back in the car and were able to make it back to my dad’s house in time for the Pats game! I was trying to multitask by studying and watching the game, but Sadie didn’t seem to want that…

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Overall, it was a great weekend!

xo,

Jaclyn

Flannel Love Affair

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love love love being cozy when the temperatures get colder. There’s nothing better than being wrapped up on the couch in a warm blanket with a nice big cup of coffee. With the winter months just around the corner, my all-time favorite blanket to snuggle up under is my Vermont Flannel.

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Over the years, I have collected more blankets than I care to admit. However, since receiving this gem 2.5 years ago as a gift, I haven’t touched another one! All Vermont Flannel products are hand-made in the USA and are of extremely high quality. Mine has been heavily used and washed countless times over the years – yet it just seems to get softer and softer.

I also love these flannel pants. I have one pair and wear them too often to count during the colder months. Just like the blanket, they get softer with each wash.

I’m not usually one to promote a brand or product on here, but I feel so strongly about this company. To give you an idea, everyone in my family got a blanket from here last Christmas! We now have four of them in my house alone. On top of that, I am considering investing in another pair of pajama pants for myself :).

I guarantee you that if you find yourself investing in a Vermont Flannel blanket, you won’t ever want to leave your couch come December and January! (and yes- I am speaking from experience 😉 ).

xo,

Jaclyn

Short and Sweet

This is going to be a short and sweet recap post of my fun weekend!

On Friday, I spent most of my day running errands and doing homework. It wasn’t super fun but it was very productive. I woke up early to get my workout in before going to get my teeth cleaned and my eyebrows threaded.

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After all of that was done, I spent my afternoon drinking coffee and studying for my upcoming Fundamentals of Engineering exam. I finished off the day with a short jog on the treadmill before heading to Dan’s for movie night. We made chocolate chip cookies and watched Boondock Saints.

On Saturday, I went up to Merrimack, NH to get together with some friends that I went to college with. For some of us, it was the first time getting together since graduation- which is crazy because just six months ago we couldn’t go more than 48 hours without each other. We spent the entire day catching up, playing games, eating snacks, and cooking delicious food. It was so nice to just spend time together again and relax. Unfortunately I made the mistake of taking no pictures besides this one…

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Sunday was my grandma’s annual craft show called “The Pumpkin Patch.” She makes beautiful crafts and opens her home for the weekend to all sorts of vendors and customers. The weather was dreary, but I had a great time during the few hours that I was there. I spent most of my time playing with Max, who is such a little ball of sunshine.

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screen-shot-2016-10-03-at-9-47-03-pm — Max loves his desserts!

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xo,

Jaclyn

The Next Step

The past month has been a stressful, chaotic whirlwind in regards to finding a full-time job. After my internship this summer, I wasn’t sure that I chose the right field and I was making myself sick about it. My summer was spent largely staring at a computer screen and entering data into excel sheets. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life doing this.

I have always dreamed of making a difference in some way, and I felt like my work was completely irrelevant- affecting nobody. I worked so hard over the past 18 years to get a great education, so that in turn I could have a great career and a comfortable lifestyle. Come the end of August, I just couldn’t see that happening with the position that I was in. Everyday I was miserable and regretting my decision to pursue engineering. I questioned whether it was too late to apply for medical school or dental school. I questioned whether I should have pursued teaching. I questioned everything.

Eventually I had to force myself to stop stressing out about it and I did what I always do when I feel lost… I made a list. I made a list of all of the things that I wanted in a future career, no matter how far-fetched they seemed, and I prayed that some clarity would come to me.

A few weeks later, still worrying about a job, I emailed a contact in my field. Within moments, he called me and said that he had the perfect opportunity for me and that I was the exact type of candidate they were looking for… The only catch was that the position was in New York City.

My first reaction was to say “no, absolutely not.” My entire life has been spent in Massachusetts, almost my entire family is here, my friends are here, everything is here. Against my first instinct, I said that I would go to New York City for the day to meet with the team there and that I would honestly try to have an open mind about it.

Within a week, I found myself on a train to New York City. Only two days after that, I found myself signing the offer letter for my very first full-time job in Manhattan!

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It’s hard to explain, but during the day that I spent visiting with the company in New York, I could see so much potential. It was by far the best career opportunity that I came across as somebody fresh out of college. It met 9/10 of the things that were on my “list” (which I never thought I would find)- atmosphere, growth potential, flexibility, field work, etc. I felt comfortable and welcome. Never once had moving to New York City been part of my plan, but I felt excited.

With this job, I will not be stuck behind a desk for 40 hours per week. I will be working with a small team, being challenged daily, and exploring New York City. Approximately half of my time will be spent out in the field, reviewing the buildings of the city and interacting with clients, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

I am so excited for all of the potential that this opportunity brings. I am so nervous to move to a new (huge) city all by myself. I am so sad that I will no longer be within 20 minutes of my family. I am so worried about how this will change my relationships. I am so happy that I will be closer to my dad and stepmom. I am so grateful for the support I’ve felt regarding this decision. I am just SO full of emotion.

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The next few months will surely be crazy as I begin to prepare for this next stage in my life, but I’m ready for it. God works in mysterious ways and I know in my heart that this is what I’m meant to be doing right now. Regardless of how scary it seems, I worked hard for this and now it’s my turn to spread my wings. I would not be in this position if it weren’t for my family and friends who supported me over the years and I am so so thankful for them.

I’m sure there will be many posts over the next few months as I get ready for this move, so be sure to check in!

xo,

Jaclyn