40 Bags in 40 Days Update

So every year during Lent, I do 40 Bags in 40 Days.  This year I am behind, but as my fiancé is calling it, the "great purge of 2014" is underway.  He has done well at this task..getting rid of most of the 1990s that somehow stayed in his closet for all of these years.  Now if I can only get rid of that velour track suit...if only!

I am slowly but surely getting rid of the clutter, and will continue to keep myself honest. 

I just donated 3 bags of clothes, shoes, and purses to Goodwill.  Things that I haven't used in 1+ years, usually doesn't make the cut in my closet.  I have it paired down quite a bit, and I also have an area of clothes to sell.  Standby for the next great Ebay extravaganza.  Some lucky lady got a JCREW coat for the cheap last time! 

I am also a binder girl.  Yup.  I said it.  Binders.  Everywhere.  Work, Home, School.  Binders. 

I have one for recipes, one for the wedding, one for finances...you get the picture.  Supa dupa organized.  Have to be in this crazy world. 

40 bags in 40 days

I have followed Sarah's blog for quite some time, and she has motivated me to do 40 bags in 40 days.  I do this each year during Lent, as well as the time leading up to a big move.

How easy is it to just go after 1 thing a day, and get your house pared down to just the essentials?  I have found so many clothes to donate, magazines to toss, and expired Benadryl.  Don't we all have these things...aka..gremlins in our homes? 

I have taken all of my old tee shirts to mail off and make a blanket with project repat.  30 old tee shirts just lying around in my drawers.  30 shirts I never wear anymore.  Wowsa.  I have probably moved with these tees about 10 times.  Thank goodness for repurposing things in life! 

I have also started selling old clothes I don't wear on ebay.  I figure if I buy new things, sell the old things that are still in good condition, and make some money back. 

Off to binge and purge my friends!

More Decor!

Many of you have seen my post "All Settled" where I wrote about my new apartment in Jacksonville, Florida.  I still had a few more pieces of art work at Michaels getting framed.  Here they are! 

I purchased the Pineapple print from the Third and Elm Press.  It is owned and operated by a sweet woman, named Mrs. Nesbitt.  I bought this print and other cards from her at her shop. 

The other two prints I purchased from a local Newport artist by the name of Anthony Gill.  His shop is located in Bannister's Wharf. 

I absolutely love these three pieces, and they embody Newport to the fullest.  The pineapple is a major symbol of hospitality, especially on the East Coast.  The other two pieces show the Newport Pell Bridge and the lighthouse, as well as Bannister's Wharf, two prominent locations in town.  I really want to visit Newport more often, perhaps even purchase a home or a time share there.  Dreams...dreams. :)

All Settled...

So folks..I am all settled into my new apt.  I absolutely love it!  I have already hosted 1 party, and had my bf visit..while still working on some decor.

Here are a few pics of the new place so far.  I love the location, and the fact that it has an amazing pool.  Perhaps I will go there tomorrow??

Pics in my bedroom.  Got these from www.photobarn.com

Art in my bedroom.  Center is a print I got while studying in France over 10 years ago.  The other two are Art Institute prints.

Above my desk.  Irish Prayer, Last name/family crest, and St. Brigid's Cross

Entry Way.  Name from Spain and the San Damiano Cross.

Living room and Dining room

I <3 Chicago.

Housewarming orchid from my love.

Moving!!

Well everyone..I have been on a hiatus lately because I was on the hunt for the "perfect" place to live in Jacksonville, Florida.  I had so many set backs, but I have settled on an amazing apartment! 

I move in asap, and am looking forward to having a steady life again.  I haven't seen my "stuff" since July 2011.  Yep.  Crazy, huh? 

Things I am looking forward to: my own bathroom.  I hate sharing bathrooms with people.  I am also looking forward to using my "stuff" to cook with again! 

Cons: Moving away from my "family".  It is what I call my roomies, because we are like family.

I can't wait to make the following recipes in my new kitchen!
Blueberry Banana Smoothie
4th of July Skewers
Southwestern Salad
Banana Split


Onto moving!!!

Moving Day..From Hell

So I was super excited to see my stuff once again.  I lived in a furnished place in Rhode Island, and am currently in a furnished house.  Thus, I have moved my stuff from storage in one place, to storage in Florida.  I have some stuff, clothes etc here at the Florida house, but majority of my items went to a storage place until after my deployment.  I am lucky to have some amazing houses that I have, and am living in!

Today was the day that most military members fear.  Moving day.  And this is why.

I woke up, lucky to have the day off to do this.  Slept in til 6..don't tell my boss.  I showered, got ready, and drove to my storage unit.  Got some DD coffee, and called the moving company.  Fail #1.  They did not call me yesterday to give me a window for delivery times.  The nice lady on the phone said the truck was being loaded, and would arrive shortly, at least before 9.

I sat in my car, taking work phone calls on the cell.  9 am passes.  930.  10.  WTH?!  I call the nice lady again.  They were around the corner.  Nice.  Sigh of relief.  1030.  1100.  #$%@!  I call the HR company who set up my move.  I am livid.  I have sat in my car for over 3 hours waiting.  1130 I get a call from the moving truck.  They arrive at 1135.

Holy moly, not a good start.  Then the fun begins.  They are all pissed off because they got lost. If they had called me to begin with, it would have never happened.  Whatever.  Lets get this party started.  Then the unloading starts.  Checking items off the bill of lading.  Box #222.  Got it.  Box #226.  Got it.  You get the idea.  Then, as we unfold a mysterious looking furniture pad, I see it has a broken leg in it.  A leg that belonged to a new dresser.  #%*@!  Seriously?   So then I get even more suspicious of everything.  I check the condition of all the items off the truck, but woah.  Then they bring up a mattress.  A soiled, urinated on, pepsi stained, holy bodily fluids everywhere, nasty mattress.  Mine was months old when they packed it, IN A BOX.  This was wrapped, and had no # on it.  I told them it was't mine, and spent 15 minutes convincing him.  At least I keep good files, so I can prove which one IS mine. No box spring either.  Lost both!

So a broken dresser, missing mattress and box spring.  Here comes the couch.  It was wrapped and sealed in plastic.  The plastic was ripped, and mold covered the bottom of the couch.  OMGoodness!  It just kept getting worse.

I just tried to keep my cool the whole day.  Tried valiantly.  So I ended up doing some $400+ in retail therapy at Target.  Stocked up with toiletries and other items necessary for deployment.

Tomorrow is a new day.  A day where I go to work, and start my claims process.  Looks like I am getting some new furniture.

The Sunshine State

It is official.  I live in Florida.  I started my drive at 6am Saturday morning.  I love to drive, mostly if it is by myself.  I get to control the pace, the music, etc.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good road trip, if time is not an issue.

I got to Jax around 4pm, which was pretty amazing time. I got to hang with my new roomies, and they made me dinner.  So delicious.  I got up early this am, shopped for necessities, and got a pedicure.  Much needed pedicure.  I also bought groceries so I can make a nice Sunday dinner.  Caesar salad, baked ziti, and garlic knots.  Yum!

I start my new job tomorrow.  Wish me luck!!

Took this at the Florida Welcome Center.  Free OJ too!

Farewell to the Ocean State

It is that time to say goodbye to Rhode Island.  Time has surely flown by since my post in October.

It has been fun.  I have seen the sights, eaten great seafood, made great friendships.

I was able to host friends visiting, make brunch for friends, have District 9 (aka barracks) dinners, walk Bella on the ocean, sing karaoke at Celtica, savor food and drink at White Horse Tavern, enjoy burgers at Pour Judgement, the typical pumpkin beer at Coddingtons, amazing seafood at Scales and Shells, the list goes on.

I hope to visit again, and perhaps buy a timeshare here.  I loved living in Newport.  I wish I had visited more of the New England area while here, but school kept me rather busy.

Onto my next adventure, the next state.

5 States in 4 Weeks!

Fist state: Missouri.  Great visit.  Pictures and recap will be posted soon.
Second State: Illinois.
Third State: Leaving Rhody for good.  Will be bittersweet.
Fourth State: Virginia.  Another bittersweet stop.  Looking forward to catching up and learning at school.
Fifth and final State: Florida.  I can't wait to get there.  It means I start the next chapter of my life.

So..if I don't post a lot on here this next month..it is because I am flying and driving a few thousand miles.  Looking forward to the adventure!!

It is...

that time again.  Moving time.  I confirmed that my moving company will be here next Wednesday and Thursday.  Holy cow, time flies!

I have been packing the essentials from my "how to" series.  You can read my madness here.  Today I concentrated on the clothes and uniforms part of it.

I need to do the admin, other, bathroom, stuff, etc.

I feel okay I guess..but with a final exam in between all of this, the stress factor goes up a bit.  Just trying to stay on a roll today, and get as much done as possible.  Thank goodness I am in a furnished house!

I just have to go through the stuff that has to go with me to Florida, and the rest goes into storage.  So sad that I haven't seen my stuff since last July, and I won't see it until next Spring.  It will be like Christmas morning unpacking my storage unit!

I will post all of my lessons learned on here later!

Sunny Beaches...

Here I come! 

I passed my oral exams today, now I have a written one next week I need to hurdle.  In the mean time, I just booked my flight to check out new places to live in Florida!

I can't believe I move in two months.  Yikes.  I'll be flying down for a weekend to scope out some apartments for my next duty station. 

In the mean time, I will be cleaning this weekend, getting my taxes done/or at least prepped, etc.  I am so excited to finally book this trip.  Who knew that a travel site would actually save me that much money.  I tried the flight, hotel, car separately, and it was almost $400 more expensive.  No thanks. 

The Ocean State

I have officially lived in Rhode Island for about 1 week.  It has been pretty incredible so far.  I have seen a lot, but mostly felt like I ate my way through Newport this past week.  That is what happens when you have visitors! 

I have walked around a lot, and now even more with Bella.  My youngest brother brought her to Newport Thursday afternoon.  She is definitely loving the walks, the backyard, and even saw the ocean for the first time.  She just watched the waves and contemplated jumping in.  The water is cold, so there is no way I was letting her!  Many of the photos have the Newport Bridge in the background.  You can read about it here.

Sunset walk on The Point

Goat Island is across the water..

Newport Bridge..or the Pell Bridge

Hello Rhode Island!

I have arrived in Newport, RI.  I moved here Saturday, and it has been busy ever since.  Unpacking, walking around the new neighborhood, shopping, eating amazing seafood, etc. 

I get my puppy dog back today!  I will have to write more later, and post photos of the great week I have had so far. 

**********************************************************************************

On a separate note, Happy Birthday to the Navy!  I will be celebrating tonight!

Goodbye Virginia...helllooo Rhode Island!

I will be moving once again this weekend, from Virginia to Rhode Island.  I am excited because I am going to see my guy, getting my dog back, and starting part 2 of my 3 part adventure.  I will be so happy when my class is finished tomorrow. 

I can't wait to cook again, have a place to call my own, and be out of the barracks.  Just having a kitchen, a yard, again..wow! 

Plus, I can't wait for all the adventures that I have waiting for me in New England!

via

How To: Pack and Prepare for a PCS

No matter how many times I have moved, I have never felt "prepared" for the move.  I always seem so frazzled, because until that moving truck drives away with all of my possessions, I don't feel at ease.  Then you have the wait on the other end, driving/flying to your next destination, and unpacking when you get to your new home!

I did a lot of stuff before my move.  First, I did a lot of purging.  When I say a lot, I mean a lot!  I found a post a while ago from one blog, Clover Lane.  She has this post about 40 bags in 40 days for Lent.  I definitely did this in my apartment, and it helped so much in the long run.  Plus, it made me realize what I really need.  I started this purge about 3-4 months before I moved.  Every weekend I did a room.  Plus, I did something crazy and went through all of my magazines to keep the articles I wanted (recipes, workout routines, etc).  This got rid of all of those Real Simple magazines sitting around the apartment (recycled them of course!)

After that, I needed to see what I wanted to bring with me.  I had to drive to Virginia and live out of a hotel room/barracks room for 2 months, and then, I have to drive to move to another state for 6 months, and then my final destination.  Did you get all that?  It is crazy.  Which makes being prepared that important.  I broke it down by paperwork/admin, bathroom/hygiene items, uniforms, clothes, and other.

Admin-financial information, "I love me binder", and my orders.  The financial is obvious, but the I love me binder is something I made about 5 years ago.  My second XO had us organize our careers in a nice binder.  Qualifications, certificates, awards, FITREPs, etc.  I always keep this safe, because I always have to reference it for something.  Orders and my moving info from the moving company.  Both of these are vital for checking in, and ensuring I get all of my household goods (especially getting them in one piece. Still praying for that). I also hand carried all of my medical records, must have for any and every move.  If you know anything about me (at least my friends and those who work with me know) I love binders.  It is kind of crazy, but it keeps me so organized, in a way that I can make sense of all admin stuff I have.  I even have a special PCS binder that I made.  It contains orders, helpful hints, barracks reservation info, travel info, and apartment searches/leases for all of my moves. 

Bathroom/Hygiene Items-I had to make sure I had all of my medications, and other stuff like cold medicine, vitamins etc.  I am glad I had off of these things in a shoe box sized clear tote.  It made it easy when I came down with a sinus infection to find what I needed, and not have to run out and buy more meds (which I had to do anyway..).  I have two of those clear totes for cold meds and for hair/makeup stuff.  I also have two larger totes for soaps, shampoo, sunscreen, hair products, anything the movers couldn't move because it was a liquid.  I had all of these totes packed full, and have definitely used each item I packed.  Ahh, bug spray, bandaids, and anti biotic ointment always comes in handy, especially in the summer!

Uniforms-This was tough.  The Navy has a million Officer uniforms, and I will be travelling between two seasons.  That means summer and winter uniforms, along with working uniforms.  It also equates to more shoes.  I am not even kidding that I have an entire closet dedicated to uniforms.  I wish I had a closet just for shoes!

Clothes-I had a hard time with this.  I did the 30 for 30 list and packed accordingly.  I had to make this list accordingly, planning for August, September, and October.  Imagine living out of a suitcase, sans closet for 3 months.  I am not even that "fashion forward", but it was still tough to pack.  I am glad I did this, because so far I have not been at a loss for what to wear.  I had to make sure I had clothes for football tailgates, parties, etc.  Let's just hope it is a success.  I have been with out an apt for a month, and it has been a success so far!

Other-I packed some of my photos, etc.  Some stuff I don't want the movers to lose.  I didn't pack a lot of this, just a few things that have sentimental value.  I also have an entire suitcase with clean sheets/bedding/pillow for my first few nights at my new home.  I figured I would hate to show up after an 8-10 hour drive and not have any of that stuff available to me.  I am glad I packed my photos.  It is nice having a photo in my barracks room of my guy and me.  Makes it feel like home. 

I just hope I keep all of these helpful hints in mind with each step of my move!

Moving

You would think that after moving 9 times in the past 10 years, I would get used to it.  Get used to the planning, packing, living out of a suitcase, etc.  You really don't.  You get better at the small stuff, like knowing what to pack, knowing how much room you will have in your car, knowing what uniforms to bring. 
Luckily for me, I brought a lot of hygiene items with me, and the cold medicine has been quite useful this week.  Seems that my whole class has gotten the "crud".  Which is why I am sitting in a hotel room on a Saturday night in the middle of no where, VA. 

I hate leaving behind my "old" haunts, my friends, my life that I had just gotten used to.  I think it finally hit me today, that this is it.  That I am training for the next step, the next job.  Creating new haunts, building new friendships, and rekindling old ones. 

I really want to buy this for my new temporary home..

Can be found/bought Here

Goodbyes..little things..and Adventure!!

This past week was a whirlwind.  Literally. 

I did so much!  I almost feel like I can't remember it, which is probably why I started this blog to begin with.  Even though I have a photographic-rand-mcnally-like memory (seriously, its nuts), I started this to document places, things, events, etc.  I always know where my favorite pizzeria in country X is, but I know by walking down this street by this monument, etc.  That confuses people, and viola, here is ChicagoGirlAroundTheWorld.  I have now left Chicago, and am starting my travels.  I'll be here, there, everywhere for about 1.5 years....

First off, I hate goodbyes.  I hate them because they are emotional, and I am not an emotional person.  I am a girl that lives surrounded by walls..thus, I will not cry or get emotional.  Nope. 

I had two goodbye dinners and a lunch last week.  It was so nice spending time with my friends.  I love my girls!  From the girls I went to high school with, to the ones I am serving in the Navy with, etc, we all have a special bond.  I can't wait to see them again. 

Then came the work goodbye.  I tried to leave silently.  Then, as I was doing last minute errands, some how, people kept "finding" my cell # and called me and texted me.  They had to say goodbye in person.  It was nice to see that I had enough of an impact on people, that they did that.  I am a very tough person at work, and I know that.  I expect the best out of my guys/gals, and I try to give them my best in return.  I really enjoyed working this job, and each of my leading chiefs made it enjoyable to go to work every day.  I really hope my next job is like that. 

The goodbye with my guy was easier, because we spent a week together.  A week doing everything and nothing at the same time.  Bbqing, doing laundry, cleaning the house, watching season 1 of the Wire ( I am addicted, and have to buy my own copy now), trying new places for dinner, everything.  He helped me pack up my car today, and took me to breakfast before I started the first trek of my drive out East.  He is amazing, and I can't wait for our next visit.  It won't be for a while, because we have a lot going on at work, but it will be a great visit nonetheless. 

So here I am, sitting in a little hotel room in no-where-in-particular Pennsylvania.  Starting the next leg of my adventure after I am well rested tomorrow.  Looking forward to where to road takes me, and taking advantage of every single weekend I have out East. 

Done!

I finally finished my move yesterday. The movers came on Wednesday, and after a day of exciting packing up my apartment, I decided I would clean the apartment on Thursday.  I went back, cleaned, and turned in my keys.  It wasn't sad like I thought it would be, kind of liberating actually.  I loved my building and most of my neighbors, but as soon as the building was remodeled, a lot of young, yuppie, a-hole neighbors moved in.  Some of the rudest people you would ever meet.  So, hopefully the next 3 states I move to in the next year will have better neighbors!  The ones who don't pull your laundry out of the washer while the cycle is still going, ones who don't always slam the elevator door in your face, etc. 

I spent yesterday having dinner with the girls, and it was nice to just relax, and enjoy the day.  I just finished bbq-ing and making dinner with my guy.  Glad to spend the next couple of days with him.  I definitely need it before I leave town. 

Waiting to start my next adventure.  Just hope I packed enough clothes for it all!

2 Weeks...

Holy cow...2 more weeks left in this beautiful city.  Movers come next week, and I have a few days to say good byes, etc etc. 

Finally setting in, but I have to go.  Looking forward to something new..but will miss everyone!

Been Busy

I feel like the past two weeks have been a blur...

My guy has been on vacation for a few weeks, so we have been spending a lot of time together.  I move in a month, so that has made it more and less chaotic at the same time.  I need to buckle down, and start purging, getting stuff together for my move.  The only saving grace of my moves, is that the movers also pack my stuff.  The downside, is that it is a split move, so I have to decide what goes to RI, and what stays in storage.  Yikes! 

Time to start making lists, and figuring out what I am doing until I leave.  I have one trip planned to move my puppy somewhere she can go while I live in the barracks.  I am going to miss her:(