Move-In Disaster

I am overjoyed to announce that we are FINALLY able to move into our own new place!!!  (Cue the confetti and balloon drop).  We slept on the floor the first night, but it was worth it to sleep in our very own place again!  I love my family for letting us stay with them, but nothing is better than our own space.  Even if it's a disaster zone.

Ahhhhhh!!!!  This corner is where our bed will live. Our bedroom is Andy's study space.

Our living area

Dining area and Andy's 6 foot photo (8 with the frame)

My brother Henry and his friend Zach, or Strudel-Cakes as I call him, were champs and helped us load up and unload the U-Haul. We had to feed them $20 worth of McDonald's and a pizza. Teenage boys are bottomless pits!!  Aren't they so cute resting after all that work?

Gaining Momentum

Well - they liked me enough at my interview to ask me back for a second interview!  I like second interviews much better because I know the people a little and usually I feel more comfortable. This second interview, however, is totally different from any other interview I've ever done! This job is working at a drop-in center with homeless youth, so the second interview is me coming into the center and hanging out for an hour - interacting with the youth while staff observes. Sounds like this introvert's version of hell. BUT, I viewed it as a learning experience, spent a lot of time alone prior, and put on my best extroverted face.

 I bought a new journal and brought it along with me as I thought it would be a good conversation starter. It wasn't. These perfectly yellow flats, however, were.

flowery shirt: Forever 21

purple tank: Primp

skinny jeans: NY & Co.

yellow shoes: Fun Sisters

ruby slippers journal: B&N

Le Baron Ranch: Petite Syrah

My first wine review! I am excited to try new wines now that I'm working at the wine shop. I love red wine, but don't know that I've ever had a petite syrah.  I'm excited to learn all about language used when describing wine, but for now you will have to love and support my process ;)
This was a 2008 from Sonoma County. The price for the bottle was $17.99.
Ratings A - F, A = best; F = worst
Smell the wine: A - dark fruit smell
Taste the wine: B - a hint of cherry and chocolate flavors
Did you enjoy it: B
Would I buy this again? Yes
Comments: Delicious - smooth, tangy after bite.

I really enjoyed this wine. I paired it with a light salad for dinner and the salad opened up the flavors of the wine nicely.

Losing momentum

I have another interview. Are you tired of interview posts? Probably not as much as I'm tired of interviewing!  This is for a real/full-time/health insurance/kind of in my field/day job, however! So I'm excited about that.  Otherwise, I'm losing momentum with the job search world.

Remember in my interview tips post I mentioned that I bring a lot of stuff to the interview (resumes, questions, pens, references, etc)? Well, this folder is what I carry all those papers in, so that I appear to be organized.

I adore this dress. I got it from a great thrift shop in NE Minneapolis. I went shopping with one of my favorite people under 10 years old - my BFF's daughter Lily. She loves accompanying my shopping and picking out potentials for me. This dress is something she picked out (she DOES want to be a fashion designer when she grows up...although she also acts much older than me already so she's not  very far off) and I tried it on and fell in love. To see pictures of a zoo trip Andy, his 5 year old nephew and I made with Lily and her family, click here. Lily is the oldest of the three adorable kiddos (not to mention Andy's adorable nephew who is also pictured)

dress: Thrifted via Rewind Minneapolis
sweater: Cabi via my mom's closet :)
purse: Nine West via my momma's closet again
shoe: TJ Maxx
folder: Target

Lending a hand

Since moving away from St Paul I've realized something: one of my communities was the advocate community. I never really thought about fellow advocates as a community, but people who work at rape crisis centers are unique. And we get each other. Now that I'm up in Northern Minnesota I've decided that I want to be a part of that community again, so I've decided to volunteer for the local sexual assault program: Program to Aid Victims of Sexual Assault or PAVSA for short.

I've mentioned previously that I feel like I'm living in survival mode, and how important it is to have a support network - people who understand who you are or how you feel. I have been working as a crisis counselor with people who have experienced sexual violence for six years now and I feel honored to be able to provide support to people during their times of crisis/survival. I can't wait to jump back into crisis counseling and meet some new friends!  And lend a hand along the way.

I GOT THE JOB!!!

Raise your glasses folks because I got my first job in Duluth!! It's VERY part time, so don't pour the expensive champagne...every Saturday evening at the wine shop. The shop has a great vibe and I get some wicked discounts on wine/beer/liquor in general. 

What I'd like to start doing now that I'm working at a wine shop is to track different wines and blog about what I learn. I have always wanted to keep a wine journal but never got around to doing it. Better late than never I suppose!  I'm off to drink some pinot noir with Andy and celebrate!!

Why not?

So this just sort of happened. I asked Andy to pick up an application for me at a local restaurant, and next door to the restaurant is a little wine shop. Andy said to himself: Jennie likes wine, so why not? And picked up a wine shop resume. Fast forward and I'm getting ready for an interview at the wine shop!

Well, the manager actually called it a "conversation" and not an interview, so I'm pretty relaxed about it. I chose this outfit because it's a little dressy (no pun intended) but not very formal.

sweater: Express

maxi dress: Forever 21

strappy wedges: Nine West outlet

green dot pin: Green Dot store

earrings: Jewelry Deli

For those of you who know me well, you will see that I wasn't in a very good mood when taking these photos and it's written all over my face....