New Years!!!

Adam flew out for our 6 year anniversary on the 29th and to celebrate New Years together!

 Katie invited us to join her and her friends at a brewery in Manayunk for a wonderful party. We danced the night away with good friends, good food and good music. It was the perfect way to bring in the New Year.

Adam and I, 2011

Katie and her boyfriend Mitchell

Brianna, Katie and I

New Years Kiss

New  Years toast!

On New Year's day, Adam was given 2 tickets to MetLife Stadium's luxury suite to watch the Giants vs Cowboys Play! It was an experience I will never forget. I couldn't believe how amazing the suite was and have never enjoy watching a football game as much as I did that night. I have never seen my boyfriend so happy in my entire life!

On our way to the stadium! 

Adam infront of Metlife Stadium. He was like a kid in a candy shop :)

Out front of the luxury suite!

MetLife is a pretty amazing company!

XOXO, KB

The Holiday Recap!

I booked my holiday flights before I even arrived in PA. I had to secure the cheapest flights possible in order to make coming home for both events possible. I don't know if I was asleep or drunk when booking these particular flights but I guess I decided that taking the redeye home both times would be a great idea. After Thanksgiving and Christmas break, arriving in PA at 6 am and taking the train to work was two of the hardest work days of my life.

Thanksgiving was my first time coming home since moving out here to Penn. I could not wait to see everyone and update them on my first 3 weeks. I was even more glad that I would be able to be home to participate in my brother and Anna's first Thanksgiving in their new house! When planning my holiday schedule when working at POB I wasn't going to be able to make it, so this was a HUGE treat for me. Thanksgiving was also the first holiday that Adam and I tried (keyword tried) to eat at both of our families dinners! (I had never been so full or tired in all my life!) Another plus of being home for the weekend, Anna planned to take me to her wedding venue, and book it! (FYI it is going to be stunning). I have really enjoyed being her Maid of Honor and I am dedicating all my vacation time this year to her bridal shower, bachelorette party and wedding. I can not wait for all the festivities to begin!

Christmas break included many events. 

My boyfriend and one of my best friends Ariel through a fabulous birthday party for me on the 23rd! It was so much fun seeing my friends from highschool, reuniting with my beff from LB, enjoying time with my brother/sister and ringing in my big 2-4 on the 24th! 

Lacie and Sarah

Beff/roomie from Long Beach! 

Adam and I 

Ariel, Anna and I 

One of the best party hosts ever, Ariel!

BHS reunion!

Everyone please remind me next birthday to not celebrate the night before because I was shot for the entire day of my actual birthday! The night of the 24th we had 22 people for dinner including aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins and Adam's family. It was so much fun catching up with everybody and really made me feel like it was finally Christmas.

Christmas day was fun as usual. We drank mimosas, dressed up the dogs, opened gifts and lounged the entire day! 

Dakota loved her santa hat :)

Big deal this year, Adam got his stuffed animal stocking. He now has a place on our mantle :)

In our family tradition, crazy christmas pajamas!

They can never take a bad picture! Matt and Anna

My favorite Christmas Gift, all the Harry Potter movies! Can't wait to visit Harry Potter World this year!

My favorite moment of Christmas morning! Dad did good with his present giving :)

The framed professional pictures of Anna, Matt, Adam and I

XOXO, KB

The people and experiences that make my life complete!

First off, please let me give my sincere apology for not updating since moving to Penn. Life has been pretty crazy and I haven't really had a chance to take a breath...until now!

Yesterday, I celebrated my 2 month anniversary of starting work at DB corporate. I have thoroughly enjoyed my job and can not wait for the future. I have met some wonderful girls, experienced a whole new world, and been supported by friends and family the entire way.

This picture is for my Dad. He always said he picked my name because it would look good on a nameplate!

My home away from home! My cubicle :)

 Most people warned me when I was moving out here that this would be the worst time due to weather. But the weather has been beautiful (no snow yet) and I have had 2 holidays that have given me the ability to see my family. It has broken up the time here well and I haven't felt a strong feeling of home sickness yet. The next few months will be a huge test for me because the next time I will be home to see my family is undecided and looking like it may be this summer.

My first few weekends living in Penn I  have spent pretty primarily alone getting used to the area and shopping a lot! I was fine with being alone but realized if I was going to make Penn a home I would need to find a support system here.

Becoming close with my host family has been one of the biggest blessings I have. Heather and her family have welcomed me with open arms. We eat dinner together during the week, gone out for drinks after long days of work and more.

I have also created friendships with girls from work. They have taken me to lunch, offered to help winterize myself and my car, mentored me through each project and they all have been extremely welcoming. Two girls in particular, Anna and Katie have been my sounding board. Anna was actually the Merchandise Assistant before I came (Now is an Assistant Buyer) and has helped mentor me since day one. We instantly clicked because of our background of working in DB stores (she worked in stores for 7 years!) and our long distance (kinda) relationships with the men in our lives. Katie is the Merchandise Assistant for everything else - (Or at least it feels like it!) She assists White by Vera Wang,  DB Studio, and Bridal Accessories. Katie and I share our greek collegiate experience, long term serious relationships, and love of everything fashion. I could not be happier with the girls I am surrounded with at work.

After spending these last 2 months here, I have come to appreciate the friends and family that I do have  back home as well. The Skype dates with my beff/roomies (Marge, Katie and Kelso) have been exactly what I needed to get through my work week. The visits home when I can see my best friends from high school, Ariel and Lacie, remind me that Benicia will always be my home. And every phone call, text message, Facetime, Skype session, email I have with my amazing boyfriend Adam keeps me sane and grateful that I know without a shadow of a doubt that our relationship will only become stronger with this new chapter. And of course, my family who have been the best family a girl could ask for. The constant phone calls from my mom :) help remind me that I am not alone, every success I have at work I instantly think of my Dad and my brother/sister have become 2 of my very best friends.

I can't forget my little Callie baby! (She's not really so little anymore!) She is the best non-human roommate a girl could ask for :)

XOXO, KB

1st Day of Work!

Work went great today! I mean amazing girls, have my own desk/cubicle and already finished my first project with flying colors! This was the right decision and I can't wait to see what the future will hold!

Driving up to work for the first time!

The view from my parking spot, this is unreal!

XO, KB

My first weekend!

We spent the rest of the weekend, sightseeing, enjoying eachothers company and eating great food! Here are some great pics to show you what we got in to!

Adam and I in line to see the Liberty Bell

Adam, Mom and I at the Liberty Bell!

Liberty Bell

My absolutely wonderful parents at the Liberty Bell!

Horse drawn carriage tour around historic Philly!

Posing with the first soda made!

Adam trying our first Philly Cheesesteak!

The famous Jim's Steaks, the most popular Philly Cheesesteak in town!

The Philly skyline, very impressive!

Adam attempting to put my bike back together and hanging out with Callie!

These pictures say a thousand words! This weekend was perfect, amazing and a great way to start my time here in PA!

XO, KB

The End of the Road Trip!

I can not believe how fast this road trip has flown by. I am sorry I haven't posted this weekend, when we arrived at my new place I didn't have the wireless password and wasn't able to sign on at all! Ugh! So I am going to try to get you updated on all the happenings since then!

Friday was an extremely easy drive! We left Harrisonburg, TN, bright and early and started our 4 hour trek! What was fun on this leg of the trip was the amount of states we drove through in such a short amount of time! Of course the signs were hung over the freeway, making it impossible to pull over and pose with them :( but we still managed to document our route. :)

West Virginia State Line

Maryland State Line

Pennsylvania State Line! Home sweet Home!

Because PA was going to be my new home away from home, we decided to pull over at the visitors center and try to find a PA sign to pose with! Look how perfect this was!

PA Visitors Center

 We arrived at my new abode by 1 pm and we both were so excited to get out of the car. The weather was beautiful, blue sky, sun for days and a great chill in the air. A perfect start to my first weekend in Pennsylvania!

Mom and I infront of my new home!

 We started unpacking the car and setting up my new room when I got the dreaded phone call from Adam. The plan was that Adam was flying out of the Orange County Airport straight from work and my  amazzzzing best friends, Marge, Katie and Kelso were going to pick up Callie from our apartment and bring her to him before he left for the airport. Well it didn't go as easy as planned.

Adam called and said the girls were having an awful time getting Callie in her crate and she was hiding under the bed, in the corner, hissing and scratching anyone in her way. I felt completely helpless 3,000 miles away and I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to put my friends in harms way, my boyfriend to miss his flight and my cat left in California. After an hour or so, the girls found a hero in a friend, Jeff, who came by and managed to maneuver Callie in her carrier, and the girls rushed her to the airport and met Adam just in time! Phew!! Thank you Jeff, Marge, Katie, Kelso and of course Adam for managing to get my cat across country!

After getting over a minor anxiety attack, we finished our errands, set up my room and went to have our last dinner with the two of us, only to find yet another surprise! Snow! In the parking lot of the restaurant was piles of snow from last weekends storm. Todo we are not in Kansas anymore!!! eek!

 We picked our men (my Dad and Adam) at the airport around midnight and drove them safely back to the house! I was sooo happy to see both of them and could not wait for the weekend ahead. I needed both of them to love this place in order for myself to feel confidant in this decision!

XO, KB

Day Four - Virginia through and through

Day Four was supposed to be our most stress free day of the trip. We didn't pick a end destination and decided to just drive until we felt tired but the stress was definitely still there. First off, we slept in (well until 7 at least) and woke up to a great breakfast with the Hart Family in Brentwood, TN. It started raining at the beginning of breakfast and didn't let up until after we were on our the road. 

The night before we had decided to leave our roof bag on the roof because the neighborhood was safe and we were tired of taking it all off/on. Bad Idea! When we came out to the car at 9:30 am, I opened the door and was faced with soaking wet seats and damp cargo in the back. It was awful! I was horrified, I purchased this roof bag and even upgraded it so it could handle extreme weather and long distances, but of course that's not true at all. We believe the culprit was the straps that wrap through the inside ceiling to the top of the bag. From the leak pattern, it looked as if the strap soaked up all the water and transferred it through the break of seal in the door to the interior. 

And this isn't the worst of it, as we spent about 30 minutes soaking/covering up everything we could, I finished loading the bag on the wet car, and when I jumped to get off the roof... I fell. I landed on the wet concrete, sprained my ankle, and felt completely defeated. This was the icing on my cake and after getting in the car I had my first break down. It had been a very long week and all the rain just killed all hope for my extremely tired self. I was definitely ready to throw in the towel and give up when after an hour or so the rain gave up and my mom talked me through it. 

The next few hours of driving in Tennessee once the the rain gave up was beautiful! The trees were stunning and really helped change our moods!

The rest of the drive in Tennessee

The Virginia Border!

The only state we entered on this leg of the trip was Virginia. It was very uneventful and was full of trees, towns and most importantly traffic! I don't know why this was the case, but the last few states have had the most awful traffic accidents that end up closing down all the lanes (all 2 of them :)) on one side of the freeway. This caused all cars to stop dead in their tracks for over 30 minutes! Boring!!!!!!!

Us being bored in traffic!

One of many depressing signs!

Life is good! We arrived in Harrisonburg, Virginia at 8:00 pm and was greeted at the front desk with fresh cookies at our hotel. Now we have one bum shoulder, one sprained ankle, 4 more hours of driving, and the end in sight! Tomorrow I will be moving in to my new apartment and starting a new chapter of my life! Oh I can't wait to see what the future holds!

XO, KB