Birthday!

My birthday has past but it is still my birthday month & don't worry I will be taking full advantage. I kicked off my birthday with a Swedish massage that I bought a few months ago off Groupon. I have been looking forward to this since I bought it. I don't recall ever having a Swedish massage or a massage that wasn't sports injury related & I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew what I was hoping for: a massage that worked my sore muscles. Needless to say I was disappointed. It was relaxing but she did not work my muscles hardly at all. At one point she found a knot on my back and began to "work it out" but it was so gentle. I now know that I need to get a deep tissue massage. There is always next year.... or the next Groupon.

After my sleep inducing massage, Geoff & I went to Petsmart and bought the Stay + Play Wireless Fence System. It was on sale & something we have thought about buying for a while. Geoff's sister has the system and it works very well with her dog. Originally we were going to do the underground system but that requires wires and such and this seems more practical. Geoff is training the dog so we shall see....

This is what happens with no fence.

We then ventured to Dicks Sporting Goods. I played in a golf scramble yesterday and after attempting to hit golf balls at the driving range on Wednesday I realized I needed a golf glove. Not just any golf glove but a pink one. Of course. I also picked up a golf polo that was on sale from $50 to $19. I only have one polo and it was black and not made of the athletic material that can breath. 

Needless to say I don't golf, I don't have clubs but I have a friend that was ok with that. Allison & I had a great time & it was a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon. I am now in need of a deep tissue massage. Come on Groupon!

I love sporting goods stores. They seem to motivate me & make me want to spend way too much money. Somehow I managed to get out of there with spending less than $30. 

We then ventured to Whole Foods. Let me point out that Dicks Sporting Goods & Pets mart is about 45 minutes from were we live so this was a big deal. Tack on 20 more minutes and you are at Whole Foods. We tackled the salad & hot food bar hard and had a beer. Eating dinner (or lunch) at WF is always my favorite. You can pick and choose and you know what ingredients are used. If you have food allergies and are vegan this is also a big deal. 

Our last stop = my favorite stop: Babycakes! As many of you may know, Babycakes is a Bakery in NYC that is gluten free, vegan, soy, and refined sugar free. A year or two ago they opened a location in CA. This year for my birthday (which I decided about 6 months ago), I asked Geoff to order cupcakes form there since I was thinking about ordering cupcakes from there for our wedding. Well, I went to the website & much to my surprise, they opened a location at downtown Disney. This is an hour from my house! It isn't a full store but they have doughnuts, cupcakes, brownies & frosting that I can eat.  

The self control it has taken for me to not stop by there every single time I drive by that exit has been a lot to handle but TOTALLY worth it. It is now going to take more self control to stay away..... 

The lady at the counter made the mistake of saying "if you buy 5 the 6th is free" SOLD. Geoff quickly stated that we did not need that many. Boy was he wrong.

We got a vanilla with vanilla frosting, a chocolate with chocolate frosting, and a pumpkin with cinnamon frosting as well as a cinnamon sugar, chocolate cookie crunch and vanilla cookie crunch doughnuts. These 6 treats came to $19 & at over $3 a pop, they are a little expensive for a regular treat but perfect for a birthday. 

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a perfect day & am looking forward to an amazing year.

I will be back soon with the simplest tomato soup recipe that I have made multiple times this week. 

.live creatively well.

-nicole. 

Welcome & Hello

who am i? 
This is obviously a loaded question for my first post & you will soon get to know who I actually am BUT in a nut shell I am a 20 something female who moved from CA to GA now to my forever (I hope!) spot in Central (basically middle of nowhere) Sunny Florida. By middle of nowhere I mean we don't have a Starbucks, Target or Whole Foods. Its ok though, someday we will catch up. Besides the lack of conveniences Florida is amazing and I have fallen in love. Lakes, fresh produce and the beach less than two hours away leaves very little to complain about. 

Must love the corporate head shot.

 why the moves? 
California is California and you have perfect weather, beaches, mountains, delicious food, and shopping but high school graduation led to college and for college I decided to go to school in Atlanta (Go Yellow Jackets!) Atlanta was great for 5 years (who goes to college for 4 years now-a-days anyway?) but like many females that attend a college with a MUCH larger percentage of men, I fell in love with a boy from Florida. This boy and I are now engaged, bought a house in his home town where his family's business is. 


ATL Skyline on top of a building I got to work on

 what do I do? 
I handle marketing for a general contractor in my town. My degree was Building Construction NOT marketing but it is within the same industry and I am love learning more and more about the industry. My free time consists of renovating our house (more on that soon), experimenting in the kitchen, training for various races, DIYing everything, and planning our wedding. 


Everyone needs to do a mud run in a tutu at least once

 why a blog?
I have attempted this before in 2009 & 2010 and never got much past this point. The reasoning? I didn't know what I was passionate about yet. I was in college, working multiple jobs, and wanted to have fun. I know know what I want to share with the blogging world: how to live creatively well. 

I did mention I live basically in the middle of nowhere

what does "creatively well" mean?
I feel that to live "well" one must take care of themselves physically, nutritionally and mentally. When you allow your individual creativity to flow, whatever the outlet may be, you enter a state of relaxation, healing and stress relief. At least I think so. I am not a artist by any means (I wish) but through cooking a meal, refurbishing an old piece of furniture, or creating a training plan I am able to be creative in my own life. 



I LOVE wedding season

who is this "boy"? 
This "boy" that moved me to Florida is Geoffrey and I obviously think he is amazing. He works in the agriculture industry although he also studied Building Construction with me in school. He knows how to fix everything and anything and is extremely hands on. He may or may not be a better cook then me, depending who you ask but I don't mind. 



Our pink house

what about this house? 
We bought our house in April 2010 & we moved in June 2011. Calling it a fixer upper would be an understatement and it may have become a larger project then what we were originally expecting (we thought we would move in October 2010) but we love it. We are on a lake and we are making it ours. I can't wait to share all of the projects and progress with you. Trust me there is still plenty to do & this picture is from the day we bought it....

I am so excited for this opportunity and look forward to Pink String & Green Beans future :)