Closing Time.

Closing time...one last call for alcohol so grab your whiskey and beer.

That song has been in my head all week.

Tomorrow is the final closing on being a homeowner (for now).

In the past three months we sold the house, had to sell a lot of the furniture and transfer furniture/ belongings to NEW homes and dealt the with ups and downs of having a house on the market.

Luckily, we used a dynamic team of realtors, personal friends Asha and Danny of Team Reyes that truly helped us through every step of the process and got us pretty much our asking price on the home. 

If you are in the Tampa Bay area (and beyond) and looking for a rental, selling or buying a home I highly suggest checking them out, like their Facebook page here and tell them I sent you :-) 

We were lucky to have sold our home and now it's time for that chapter to close.

Every time I entered or left the home I now once I owned with my ex it makes me feel sad, broken and confused. 

This was the home we were supposed to have a family in, our first "grown up" purchase really and we were so proud of being able to do that at such a young age.

I'm glad that it's over with sale wise but the emotional after math is always going to hit home for me.

No one ever plans these things when they get married, build a life together, a home but I'm dealing with the reality of it all and while it sucks it also allows me to finally move on from that chapter and look to the future.

I wish the next family that lives in this home nothing but happy memories and laughter as I can honestly say it had over several years. So many fun parties and big moments were had in this home. Even though our story didn't end up as a happy ending, I am positive someone else will enjoy this home and love it just as much as we did.

So for now, it's goodbye to a first home, one that I will never forget. 

xo

Lauren

Life's Surprises...

Life...why have you surprised me so much this past year?

Some good. Some awful. Some just blissful things have happened.

Let's focus on the good.

My career is back on track...in more ways then one. 

I decided to not talk too much on here about what I will now be taking on, for fear of jinxing it (no just kidding) but really I want to try and keep that part a bit private for now until I feel comfortable divulging. 

I know this is going to sound cliche, BUT I have seriously never been happier in my life.

I have a wonderful man that makes me giddy with happiness, sure we aren't perfect and have had some obstacles these past almost six months now but I am just so blessed to have someone that I found that loves me the way he does and makes me anticipate our future life together being one of much love and just pure joy. 

Just a few of the things my boyfriend does that make me feel like the luckiest girl....

- He calls me beautiful every single day.
- He cooks for me, without me asking him to...I mean yes he's a professional chef but even if he works all day he always makes sure I have something delicious to eat...oh and he let's me try out new recipes on him and always tells me what an awesome job I did and how much he loved my dish.
-He calls me cute nicknames...that no one else would ever get besides us.
-He texts me even when he is busy running an event, just to say hi or calls me on a quick break to let me know he's thinking of me.
-He watches Dancing with the Stars and Pretty Little Liars with me...and he gets into it (sorry babe haha).
-He helps me bring in whatever I have in my car from going shopping or moving items, even if he's had a long day.
-He will go and hang out with my friends just because they want to meet him, and say how much he enjoyed whatever we did.
-He takes time to get to know my family and also makes me feel included with his family...so important.
-He shares my love now of USF Bulls football and he taught me all about his team the Tampa Bay Lightning...:-)
-He let's me plan activities for his kids when they come visit us and makes me feel even more included when they are around.
-He let's me help design/ decorate our place and always tells me what an awesome job I did on something as small as hanging a photo up.
-He loves to take selfies with me #letstakeanotherselfie
-He speaks in hashtags with me over text, about the most ridiculous things. #weareridiculous
-He and I can talk for hours and just laugh till it hurts.
-He jokes around with me and we can be goofy together, even in front of others his laugh is contagious.

and last but not least...

-He makes me feel like the most important girl in the world and loved every day..I couldn't truly ask for anything better in life.

*Coming up next time on the blog I will share photos and details from our first ever dinner party we hosted this past weekend!*

xo
Lauren

Learning a new sport...becoming a "super" fan.

For those of you familiar with the Tampa Bay area, you know we LOVE our home team sports teams. 

I have been going to the USF Bulls football games religiously since I was in college (back in 2001) and also frequently get the opportunity to go see teams play like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Bucs, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay STORM, etc. Tampa sure is a busy place full of fun sporting events!

Recently, I started to being to go to more Lightning hockey games, my boyfriend is a HUGE what I call a "super fan" of theirs and I have loved learning more about the sport and supporting yet another Tampa Bay team!

I've been to four games so far this season all thanks to friends that have offered us tickets or special deals going on and have had a blast each time. We usually start out and "pre-game" (kinda like tailgating for football season) at Splitsville in Channelside about an hour before game start so we have plenty of time to take advantage of happy hour specials (the drinks and food inside the arena where the Lightning play is crazy expensive!!!!) and get pumped up for the game. 

I've also started building my "Bolts" wardrobe week by week and now am up to 4 t-shirts and a pullover (perfect for the chilly atmosphere in the game). Next up I'm thinking a jersey!

Decked out in our Lightning gear!

The game itself is full of awesome fans supporting a great hockey team and the energy is contagious.

I really have enjoyed getting to learn the sport and love running into our friends and family at the games, it's so fun especially since we live pretty close to where the arena is, makes for a fun night out during the week and "date night" per say. 

We also make sure to end the night with a trip to the Bud Light Party Deck where they have a DJ and serve $2 beers! The view is simply amazing of downtown Tampa, highly suggest checking it out next time you are at the arena. 

Do you support any local sports teams? What is your favorite game day tradition?

xo
Lauren

Halloween 2014

Like every year, I always look forward to any fun holidays like Halloween.

We really didn't have many plans in mind since my boyfriend is a chef and he often has to work weddings or private events on the weekends.

We found out last minute he was off so we went searching for some last minute costumes and decided to go out to a local bar and meetup with a couple friends for a low key night.

Arrrrrr! These costumes as pirates were perfect for us and also will be able to multi purpose them for Gasparilla coming up in a few months here in Tampa :-) 

Had a great time and also love that it was our first year carving a pumpkin together.

Things like this remind me how different my life is now but how much I am looking forward to what the future holds.

Can't believe it's already November, Christmas is next month which is just crazy to think about...

Hope everyone has a great one! 

xo
Lauren

In a blink....

I know I have been pretty absent on this blog lately but it's been for a good reason.

Up until about a month ago I thought I had it all figured out, new job, things were going well and life was pretty darn good.

About two weeks ago that all changed in a blink. 

I was in a pretty bad car accident and without going into details I am very lucky to be alive and my outlook on life has changed. 

I totaled my car, so having to find a new car now and my career is once again going into another direction.

I have to thank especially my parents, sister, boyfriend and best friend for being my rocks throughout this whole thing. 

This year has been full of surprises, both good and bad.

Learning how to grow and learn through mistakes and learning through experiences has been my challenge but I am getting there.

So thank you to everyone that has been keeping track of my crazy ever changing life and my wish is for more of a stability leading into 2015.

I know I can do it and I'm very able so let's tackle this thing called life with eyes wide open.

xo
Lauren

Green & Gold

For those who know me, you know I am a proud graduate of the University of South Florida.

Football season has started and even though my schedule hasn't worked out to attend the past few home games we were able to attend one so far this fall season.

I love that my entire family is USF Bulls Alumni. 

It's a great feeling to have that school pride that all connects us. 
I love to tailgate and can't wait to get out to more games this season if my job allows, we won last week and hope we can continue to show everyone what the BULLS are all about.

Do you support your college team?

xo

Lauren

Identity Crisis

Lately I feel as if I am having somewhat of an identity crisis.

I know that sounds weird and at 31 not ideal obviously.

I'm not saying that I'm not happy or not confident in who I am in this stage of my life but it's been a very confusing time.

I was used to being a wife for the past almost 7 years, something that I thought was my main identity.

Only to find out it was only a part of who I was and I am still trying to figure out what really defines me and who "Lauren" is.

Now I am a girlfriend, a career girl, close to my family and have that strong group of girlfriends that have really been there for me throughout the past 4 months.

I am blessed.

But I am also hurting.

Some days when I wake up I miss my old job when I was working in weddings, although I still work in events now it just isn't the same. 

My goal is to keep doing some wedding coordinating on the side since I just simply cannot get out of the field, I love it too much.
That is a part of me that is special and near to my heart and even though I am going through a divorce I do believe that many people can get married and have their happily ever after.

Sometimes it's weird not wearing my wedding rings anymore, at first I felt very insecure like I wasn't myself and with the rings not present anymore I do get some questions but I am more comfortable as time goes on.

I am confident in my new relationship and it's thriving.

Recently my boyfriend accepted a new chef position with an amazing and very well known and respected catering company here in Florida. I was proud to have helped him with some career coaching like I do on the side at times and just seeing him so happy and excited about starting this new opportunity makes me thrilled.

Our relationship is open and honest and we communicate like I have never with anyone in my life.

It's an amazing feeling to have found someone I care about and connect with so much, it really is.

So as for my identity crisis, I am figuring out who I am again one step at a time. 

Getting back to my roots and exploring new opportunities when they come along in my career.

It's exciting but can be stressful at times as well, but I am sure that I will figure it out and just learn to be happy, appreciate life and live it fully.


xo

Lauren