Starting Law School

Today, ladies and gents, was my first day of class in law school :O

I had two classes: Civil Procedure & Legal Writing. I came to class feeling pretty good - after all, I'd taken copious amounts of notes and felt prepared! I told my friends that I probably felt so great because I expected to feel so much worse! Everyone warned me how horrible the reading and homework would be - how I wouldn't understand the material for a while, but that it would get better.

Given that advice, I figured I wouldn't understand anything right away. Instead, I felt pretty good about the material.

No, this isn't come terrible story about how I was called on first and totally failed. My friend Abby (sitting right next to me) was called on though... and completely rocked it! I was so proud of her! :)

Since I completed my homework for tomorrow this weekend, it looks like I have a free evening... which I'll probably use to laze around the apartment and watch a romantic comedy, haha. Though in reality, I'll probably try to get some homework done for Wednesday. 

I figure it can't hurt to stay ahead of the homework, right? There's seriously sooo much. I thought people were exaggerating when they warned me about how much there would be... But no. Trust me on this: TONS of reading & writing.

In other news, I miss my boyfriend really freaking bad. I wish he was here. Counting down the months / days / hours / minutes...

Anyone else have their first day of school today? How did it go? Are you proud of me for surviving my first day? :)

What I Learned Today!

Today was my first day of law school Orientation at the University of New Hampshire School of Law! Here's what I learned today:

• According to one of my professors, we have until Monday at 8am to get into relationships, or stay celibate the rest of the year. Point being, it's going to be stressful enough being in law school and eventually a lack of sleep and an excess of stress will make our judgment disappear and make mistakes that we will regret later. Thankfully I'm already in a relationship.
• I don't like people who talk exceptionally loud and who interrupt other people without apologizing.
• J and I are a cute couple. It was said today. I giggled and stuff. :3
• The professors at the school are nerdy about what they do, and that is awesome.
• I already have homework for next Tuesday, which I didn't know.
• Apparently I am the type of person who thinks people can get smarter by working hard, which means that I will be less upset when I fail, which will probably be often. No big deal.
• Other people feel as lost as I do sometimes.
• One of the women in my class does roller derby.
• There are some sweet, intelligent ladies in my class. I'm feeling so much better about making friends here! I think I'm going to have some lifelong friends after law school. :)
• I am not the only person obsessed with "Say Yes to the Dress," thank God.
• Our law school dean is an amazing speaker!
• One of the judges on the New Hampshire Supreme Court came to administer an oath of professionalism to our class and she talked to us for a while - she was a COMPLETE badass! I mean, she wasn't Roxanne Conlin or anything, but still very cool. I love meeting strong, feisty women!
• I know that I am an ENF - type, but I think I'm a complete mix of P & J. We discussed this in Orientation today.
• James doesn't like being alone all day, but he's really happy to see me when I get home. :)

I still have two more days of Orientation left and I'm so excited! I'm not so excited to start on my homework already, especially since I have no books yet (my transferred money is still "pending" at my new bank and has been for two weeks. UGH). This is going to be quite the adventure!

How was your day today? Do you think I could be a badass roller derby lady?! Do you think people can be a mix of personality types?

(S)he Was A Skater Boi

Outfit:

Dress: Striped Skater Dress & belt 

from Ark & Co, via StitchFix

Shoes: Toms

Purse: Target

I wore this last week when J and I went out to get sushi and explore the area around Concord! I love this dress sooo much. It was above my price range, but it fits perfectly and is really flattering. I like that the neck is high and the back is a v-neck so I don't have to worry about showing too much chest. Plus it's still short enough to be a little sexy! Perfect for a date night!

I got to spend most of today with J before I dropped him off at the airport to go back to Iowa City. I'd been randomly crying during the week just thinking about him leaving. He's helped me put my room together and unpack all my things in this apartment, so it was pretty awful thinking about being here without him now. We've lived together for a year and a half already. The idea of being alone again (even with roommates) just plain sucked.

Anyway, I was relatively composed on the way to the airport, but once we got to security I completely broke down. To be clear, I'm not worried about the future of our relationship or how we're going to cope as a couple doing long-distance; we've done long-distance before and although it's not ideal, it's do-able! My issue is just missing him and not being around him all the time. I know people say that their significant other is their "best friend" all the time, but he is legitimately my best friend. I love being around him and he makes me the happiest... And now I don't get to see him every day. 

I cried a lot at the airport. I'm not sure if people were sympathetic or laughing at me inside. At that point, I really didn't care, haha. I was too busy trying to soak in every moment with J that I could! Thank goodness pride isn't one of my vices. ;)

Thankfully, we have phones, text, skype, facetime, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. And I'll get to see him when he flies up to visit, or when I fly back to Iowa for Thanksgiving and around Christmas! With our crazy busy schedules this semester, I feel like the time will pass faster than it feels right now.

Do you have any items in your closet that make you feel like a million bucks? Any other advice for long-distance couples? How much do you love/miss that Avril Lavigne song?

Concord Nights

++ J and I "discovered" Siam Orchid, the local Thai restaurant when we came and visited for UNH's open house! It was waaay necessary that we go back, so we took my Dad out to eat last Monday for lunch. We practically feasted! I could eat their spicy Tom Yum Seafood Soup every day of my life and be the happiest, so it'll be a challenge not to eat there every day, haha. We haven't gone back since, so I think my self control is winning out.

++ Before he flew back home on Tuesday, Dad and J and I walked around Concord and did some 'splorin! There's this beautiful little "cove" off the main street that has a fountain and is just gorgeous!
++ We also showed Dad around my law school! It's such a beautiful building and I was relieved that he loved it as much as I did. :)
++ "FART BUBBLE."
++ Street couple pictures while we wait for pedestrian crossing signs!

++ Dad took some cute pictures of me and J in front of UNH before we left! I'm almost ready to start classes!!!
++ We all went out to this local bar called The Barley House for dinner. I found a lobster BLT on the menu, so of course I had to try it. SO. GOOD. It was weird to have something else with the BLT because it's such a staple of mine, but besides the initial shock, it was delicious.
++ I am the hipster unpacking queen!

++ Penina and I went for a bike ride, so I finally got to try out the new back tire on my bike! We were planning on biking to the track, running, and biking back, but the track was being used by some guys and we ended up just biking back. It was still great to be outside!
++ One of the best parts of unpacking is that I finally get to use all of my things again instead of keeping some in storage! One of these treasures is the mug I bought myself last year from Modcloth. How adorable is it?!
++ J and I checked out a sushi restaurant in Manchester that was super cheap and had great reviews! It was really, really good and I can't wait to go back. Obviously I'll be trying to save money this year, but it's so decently priced that I don't mind splurging once in a while. :)

++ After sushi, J took some model shotz of me in front of the restaurant. Outfit post coming soon! :)
++ We headed back to Concord and hung out at this local coffee shop that I love! They have all these different, mix and match chairs that make it look so adorable!
++ We took more model shots in the backyard of my apartment. I love actually having my own little outdoor space!

++ After we got back from sushi and coffee, Penina and Adam suggested we go bowling - who was I to say no to that?! It was candle pin bowling, which meant that the pins were thinner and the balls were much smaller. You also get to bowl 3 times per turn instead of 2! It was sooo much fun! :)
++ Afterwards, we headed to Orange Leaf for J and I's dinner. The amount of fro-yo I got was obscene. A little bit ashamed still, but it lasted me 3 days!
++ Misspellings...
++ I finally bought myself an external hard drive!

++ J and I checked out a burrito place in town (I swear, we don't go out this much usually) that I'm seriously in love with! It's called Boloco and they actually just offered me a free burrito on twitter! WHOO!
++ I love my foxy salt and pepper shakers. :)
++ On Saturday, J and I accidentally found the Farmer's Market in Concord! We were going out for coffee, but quickly decided the FM was definitely worth checking out. Never in my life have I seen so many gorgeous dogs! I also treated myself to a giant glazed donut because it was fresh and local and SO delicious!

++ After the Farmer's Market, we did end up getting coffee at the local coffee shop. I read "The 5 Love Languages" and J read a Chuck Klosterman book!
++ We did another mini photo shoot in that little enclave off of the main street! I felt like a 70's girl!
++ Penina made our downstairs neighbor, Dan, and us a Reuben casserole on Saturday for dinner! We all drank beer and cider (Strongbow for me, thanks). It was super fun and the casserole was so good! It tasted just like a Reuben! After dinner, we watched Talladega Nights in Dan's movie room.
++ James has been doing really, really well here. He's super snugly and affectionate, and we think it's probably because he doesn't have Leif to keep him company anymore. He seems to be happy and well-adjusted!

++ Roomie selfies! :)
++ J and I bleached my roots yesterday evening, then (after drying my hair and fixing some spots we missed (oops), colored it with slightly diluted Manic Panic, Pretty Flamingo! It's such a sweet, light color and I love it! I might go over some blonder pieces and do some touch-ups, but I really love it! I can't believe I haven't used Manic Panic before!
++ We bought more ceiling stars at Michael's and J put all ~70 up on my ceiling last night, in actually constellations! It looked cool with the lights on, but it was overwhelmingly beautiful once the lights were off last night. I felt like I was looking at the night sky! I can't believe he did all that work for me. :)

Thanks for sticking with me during this big move, everyone! It's been relatively painless, but I'm excited to get back into a schedule and blogging regularly!

Welcome Home

It's kind of embarrassing showing pictures of the apartment right now since almost every room is still loaded with my unopened boxes! Since the kitchen was a shared space, J, Penina and I finished unpacking 90% of my things and figuring out where they're going to go. There may still be some changes as far as what cabinets hold what, but I think we're basically done... and that feels so good!

When Dad, J and I finished unloading the furniture in my room, the desk and bed were in different locations, which you can see in the earlier pictures. Unfortunately, my room has TWO different outlets and none where the desk used to be... I decided that the desk should be moved over to where the bottom of the bed used to be, and to rotate the bed to face the other window. We've had the room like this for almost 5 days and I really like this set up!

My room is still a disaster zone, haha! It feels like no matter how much I get put away, there are still boxes upon boxes to look through! I definitely, definitely have too many things, haha.

I've been doing pretty well emotionally - I did have a good cry the other day when I started realizing how few days J had left to live here with me. Living apart is going to really, really suck, but I know we're going to adjust. All we've had to do so far is make Target trips, trips to the grocery store, fun little excursions around town, and unpacking... and we've been so busy! I can't imagine how busy we're both going to be once school starts. If the days fly by as fast as they have this week, it'll be Thanksgiving before I know it!

What do you think of the apartment? What are your favorite parts? How do you make unpacking fun?

On The Road Again

++ DAY ONE
Our first day on the road was pretty uneventful, in a great way. I drove my car with J and James, while Dad drove an SUV with the trailer ahead of us. We offered to switch who was in which cars, but it never happened - first for convenience, and later for who was the least tired... We stopped at McDonald's for lunch, which was my first time in about 3 years. Later for dinner we had Subway, which rocked. Bread is the best.

J and I listened to the playlists I had made for the trip, as well as "Mr. Darcy, Vampyre" on audio book! We never actually finished it, so hopefully we'll get to this week. :)

++ DAY TWO
I wouldn't even call this a "day..." We stopped to find a hotel in Cleveland around 9:30pm, and there were none to be found. Literally, every single hotel was booked. We checked all over Cleveland. We checked in Erie, Pennsylvania. We checked in Buffolo, New York. Literally. None.

Eventually, Dad and J and I decided just to drive as far as we could and stop at a rest stop when we needed to sleep. I got a cheap gas station coffee drink, bought Dad and J energy drinks, and we started on our way. We got until 3:30 am until we decided we needed to stop, so we found a rest stop somewhere in New York and konked out in our cars. I woke up around 4:00am, but thought I had slept  two hours (for unknown reasons, probably due to exhaustion - I clearly only slept 30 minutes). I waited until 5:15 or so to wake up J and Dad, and we continued driving. J was still sleeping beside me until we reached a Denny's further on. We all got out and had a real breakfast, which was much-needed at that point!

After breakfast, I made it until about 7 or 8 in the morning before I asked J to drive instead of me. At that point, I was having a hard time focusing on the road and we all agreed that it was probably best that he, now fully caffeinated and having slept 2 hours (compared to my 30 minutes and Dad's hour and a half), should take over. I didn't immediately fall asleep, but once I was out, I was OUT. I remember waking up with rain pouring down on our car once, and then woke up when we stopped at a gas station. I only slept an hour and a half the entire trip, but hey, that's what adventures are for!

J continued driving until we got to...

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Have you gone on any adventures lately? How do you prepare for road trips? Have you ever had to sleep in your car?