Christmas Eve in Carolina!

Y'all this is one of the best Christmas Eves I've had in awhile.  I had the opportunity to sleep in, work out and get some reading in before having to get ready for the day!  The family and I got dressed up to take Christmas pictures.  After some complaining, a little bit of fooling around and a lot of laughing, we finally got a few pictures that'll do!

The family (above) and the girls (to the right).
Do y'all like the dress?  It was the gift from the boy!  And how about my sisters outfit?  Because it's all my clothes ...

After pictures, we crammed into the car and headed to a Christmas Eve service at the Summit.  We were welcomed with hot chocolate, cookies and fake snow!  The music was amazing and of course, JD's message really hit home.  There are two things that we need to know about the birth of Christ:

1. That God gave us an incredible gift - something we couldn't do for ourselves!  
2. That Jesus Christ is Lord of all.  Though we may be facing difficult situations, He is in control and He has our best interest at heart.

After church we headed to the one and only: OLIVE GARDEN for dinner!  Following a delicious dinner, we drove around looking at lights.  We finished the night with a win from Southern Miss (hopefully, this bodes well for the Tar Heels!) and quality family bonding.

Before you open gifts tomorrow morning, take a minute to thank God for sending Jesus to be our Savior ... and to take our place.  He lived a perfect life and suffered a horrible death, so that we wouldn't have to.  We say what do I need to DO to have salvation; Jesus says it's already DONE. That's the best gift of all :)

Merry Christmas y'all!

Almost Time for Christmas!

Another long, difficult semester comes to a close at Carolina and with it comes my favorite holiday of the year - Christmas!  Time off of school with absolutely nothing to do has been an absolute blessing!  I've been able to sleep, finish The Help, craft and spend time with friends and family.  I even made it out to Chapel Hill to watch the Heels dominate Texas!  My boyfriend came and spent a few days with my family - we caught up with friends from school over lunch, watched movies and exchanged gifts!  I got him a new study Bible, a bow tie from Southern Ties, a long sleeve t-shirt from Southern Point and monogrammed cuff links!  His mom got me a frame from Lilly and he got me a gorgeous dress with a matching necklace at Bevellos!  

 Jackie and his new Bible!  

 Jack's bow tie and my new Lilly frame!

My new dress!

Since all of my extended family is on the west coast, plans for my family and I are pretty simple.  We're taking a few Christmas pictures tomorrow and attending the Summit Church's Christmas service.   

My friends and I had a Christmas party the other night - we all got a chance to catch up and watch the Grinch!  We were supposed to make a gingerbread house, but with college boys, you can never count on these things.  Instead, we leave them alone for one second and come to find this:

What kinds of food do y'all eat for Christmas dinner?  Anything special?  Anything out of the ordinary?  What are the best gifts y'all received?  What do you plan on giving to your friends/family?  


Enjoy the holiday and remember that Jesus Christ is our reason to celebrate!

A Perfect Holiday Giveaway!

As much as I don't want to ruin my chances of winning, I couldn't help but sharing this with y'all!  Bowties and Boatshoes having an amazing giveaway right now until Decemeber 23rd!  They're giving away an awesome hat (y'all I have a weakness for anchors) and a GORGEOUS Madras bow tie from Starboard Clothing!  You can't go wrong entering this giveaway!  Even if you aren't interested in entering ... which I know applies to none of you ... check out their blog!  What a great style guide.  I'm sending it to my beau as we speak :)

The End of the Semester at Carolina ...

The end of the semester brings two things:

1. Exams, Stress, Never-ending hours in the library ...

AND

2. Christmas Time at Carolina!  

One of my favorite things about the winter months here at school (and about the only thing that keeps me sane during finals ...) is the fact that absolutely EVERYONE gets into the Christmas spirit!  After talking with a few friends, I found out that this year the fraternities are     competing for the title of "Best Decorated House."  Tell me what y'all think!

DKE

Sigma Chi

SAE
(notice the Budweiser tree ...)

Sigma Nu

PKA

But the fraternities aren't the only ones getting into the Christmas spirit!  Phi Beta Chi has done some of their own decorating and celebrating!  Last night we had our annual Tacky Christmas Party which included Secret Santa, ornament decorating and watching Christmas movies.  

PBX tree :)

Mary and baby Jesus?

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT!

my little making her ornaments!

the roomie and I 

Another "friend" of mine also decided to get into the Christmas spirit - my big's puppy Samson!

If only there was no such thing as exams and we could just celebrate Christmas ...

Thanksgiving in the South

Is Thanksgiving in the South different than Thanksgiving in other parts of the US?  YES.  Very much so.


For starters - turkeys aren't baked in the oven.  They're fried ... in a fryer.  My initial thought was something along the lines of Bojangles fried chicken ... I was wrong.  Y'all, let me tell you - THE BEST TURKEY I'VE EVER EATEN.

  Here's Daddy putting the turkey in the fryer.  It cooks for about 45 minutes or so (it depends on the weight of the turkey) and when it comes out, it looks like this: 

It's moist and tasty!

Some of the other things that you can find on a Southern Thanksgiving table are corn pudding, bread pudding, broccoli and green bean casserole, red velvet cake, tons of pies, tons of vegetables, etc.  

We had Thanksgiving dinner on Friday because my grandmother flew in late on Thursday night - we started the morning with pumpkin waffles, turkey sausage and eggs.  We had potato chowder for lunch and then fried turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, salad and pumpkin muffins for dinner.  For dessert - pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll!  It was a great evening!

I spent today crafting, reading the Help (I know, I know ... I'm late!) and knitting.  My grandmother has been teaching my sister, mom and I how to knit.  Y'all ... I am a HOPELESS CASE!  I got far enough to make a bonnet of sorts but I either get it knotted or it falls off of the needle ... I've had to restart at least 25 times!  

I hope y'all had a great break.  Time to get ready for finals ... can't wait for Christmas Break.

I'm off to watch Kim and Kourtney Take New York!

AMAZING GIVEAWAY!

One of my FAVORITE blogs, College Prep, is teaming with Marley Lilley for an AMAZING giveaway!  Y'all need to check it out!  Who doesn't love monogrammed necklaces? 

CHECK IT OUT! 

Additionally, be sure to follow College Prepster - she has great insight to fashion, style and class!

Hope that y'all had a great break ... I'm off to spend the last few hours with my grandmother before she leaves for Charleston tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Y'all have the BEST Thanksgiving!  There are so many things to be thankful for today, but most importantly: be thankful for the Lord and everything that He gives us.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures FOREVER."

Psalm 107:1

My list of things to be thankful for includes:

My family and my grandma who comes today!

My mom and Grandma!

My Grandma 

My Daddy and sister

I am also thankful for my friends, my amazing boyfriend and my sorority!  I am thankful to go to an amazing university (go heels!) and to live in a great state!  I just feel so fortunate!  

boyfriend Jack <3

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Quick Hello

Happy Thanksgiving Break!  


Y'all I have been MIA for quite some time now ... my apologies!  I've been tremendously busy with school, sorority stuff and trying to have a social life!  SO many updates!  My daddy is on his way to pick me up and bring me home, so for now this'll have to be quick!


This Thanksgiving, my grandma is coming from California to spend a few days with us.  My big will also be joining the family because all of her family is in New York.  A very exciting addition to the Thanksgiving feast will be Samson, Kelly's Maltese puppy!  We don't have a lot of plans except to visit Maple View Country Store to get some ice cream (y'all if you're in the area, you MUST go to Maple View - AMAZING!) and to go to the UNC-Duke football game!  GO HEELS!


Speaking of the heels ... did anyone catch the Carrier Classic?  What an honor y'all!  But more importantly, what a great way to give back to those who give so much to us.  


Hope that y'all are enjoying your time off from work/school!
Love,
Kiley        

Carolina Girls

"If I had it my way, I'd have every girl sent to North Carolina to learn to smile and to talk with that accent that drives me wild." - Hank Williams Jr.

Who doesn't love Southern Belles?

American Eagle - More than Just a Brand

While Hurricane Irene is taking it's toll on North Carolina and I am stranded inside, I thought of no better way to celebrate the weather than to bundle up in a sweatshirt and catch up on blogging!  Don't tell my boyfriend - he thinks I'm doing "homework" right now!  


Y'all I am about 2 hours from the coast and even we are experiencing the damage of Irene.

 That's my front yard!  And yes, that is a TREE.  I have absolutely no idea what to do about this situation ... I hope my roommates know what they're doing.  From the looks above, it looks like we're all pretty helpless.

Last weekend I had a really neat opportunity.  One of my sorority sisters is a Campus Enthusiast for American Eagle and invited us to participate in their Freshmen Move-In.  We had about 40 girls from our sorority and about 20-30 people from other organizations come out.

  

We spent the afternoon passing out American Eagle products (water bottles, pens, coupons, etc.), as well as helping families move their freshmen children in.  It was an awesome experience and was so great to be able to help make the transition to college a little bit easier for these families.  The New York Times was there and interviewed incoming freshmen, as well as the move-in crew.  Yours truly was an interviewee :) The article will be in the newspaper tomorrow, August 28th, so check it out!

This week also marked the FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL!  I am taking 5 different classes - two economics classes, a psychology class and a personal health class.  I like my classes ... for the most part ... but it's going to be so much work!  I don't know how I will survive.  Here are some first day of school pictures :)

The roommates and I (minus one) on our first day!

Well y'all, I've got to get to work!  Stay safe and try to stay dry!

Kiley

Home Sweet Home :)

After what seems like a lifetime, Phi Beta Chi has finally gotten a house!!!  And an absolutely gorgeous one at that :)

The house is over 10,000 square feet, has 10 large bedrooms and 2 porches extending the entire length of the house!  Getting this house has been no easy feat - it's taken a lot of prayer, a lot of planning and a whole lot of faith.  We've signed a four year lease and are using it as an event space the first year and are living in it the remaining three years.  

Being a young (and when I say young, I mean YOUNG) sorority we've found it difficult to find a house and a space to fit the needs of our group.  However, because God is so good, he's opened up an amazing opportunity for us!

Saturday was the first "work day" at the house and we spent the day hanging composites and cleaning the kitchen.  The sorority that had the house before us went bankrupt while trying to stock and build the house and completely abandoned ship.  As great as that is for us, it means a lot of work trying to organize and get things together!  We had 7 or 8 alums and their parents stop by throughout the day to bring tools, help clean or come and visit!  We made A LOT of progress too!   Here's a look at the house!

 the amazing porch!

of course I made my sister help out :)

I will continue to keep you updated on what happens with our house!  The girls are starting to come back to school and I can't wait to see what happens in the coming months!  

There's Nowhere Like the Carolina Coast

With school just around the corner and work becoming somewhat overwhelming, I knew I needed a change of scenery.  Friday after work I packed my bags, picked up my best friend and headed east as far as the road would take me.

For those of you who "aren't from around here," the North Carolina coast is a little bit different than most other coasts.  As you can see in the picture above, there is a small little sliver of land (The Outer Banks) that runs the length of the state and that separates the ocean from a body of freshwater called the Sound.  Whether created from storms or from God's magic touch, the Outer Banks is a place like no other.  


Mary and I arrived just outside of Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills around 11:45 pm (we were a little delayed in time due to a need for a candy stop) and headed straight for the water.  No, we didn't get in the water, but we sat on the dock and watched the stars light up the sky and the fish illuminate the water as they swam.  According to my friend's mom, during the summer the water glows with any sort movement.  I didn't believe this until I ran my hand through the water creating a fluorescent trail.  We sat and talked for about an hour or two before finally calling it a night.


The next morning, friends from Chapel Hill who also live in the OBX came over and we packed a cooler and made our way to the boat.  Oh, my friend and his family own a business - OBX Wakeboard and Waterski - and so we're really fortunate that every time we visit, we spend our time on the boat and in the water, learning something!  We spent the day wake skimming/surfing and tubing until the weather forced us inside.

    
Once inside we attempted to play card games.  That lasted for all of 5 minutes.  We then spent the remainder of the afternoon watching movies and drinking wine.  I guess I should clarify on the "we" - it wasn't long into the movie before I was out, as in sound asleep.  I woke up in time for dinner with one of my best friends and old roommates at the Bad Bean.  We caught up over mahi mahi (her) and chicken/steak (me) tacos and had the absolute best time together.  You can tell when someone is a true friend - you can go months without talking, but once you're around each other it's like you haven't spent a day apart.  That's how Liz and I are and that's why this dinner was so great.  Not long after dinner, we met up with the rest of the crowd from earlier for sushi and martinis at Aqua S - a restaurant and day spa.  Following that, we headed back to Southern Shores for round 2 of cards and movies.  


We spent the following morning on the boat again and I learned how to WAKEBOARD!  And by wakeboard, I mean in a relative way.

I made it up momentarily ...

And then ended up right back down.    

Though I was absolutely terrible, I had the most amazing time and enjoyed soaking up the sun (a little too much ... I'm now as red as a lobster) and spending time with good friends.  

After a little more wakeboarding (by the pros) and a little more tubing, we called in an afternoon and headed to the beach for an annual Float Away Party.  The only requirement: get ready to float.  Everyone brings their floats, surfboards, skim boards and beach chairs and spends an afternoon on the ocean.  Since the ocean was approximately 5 degrees, I didn't make it very far out on my shark floatie. 

Yes, that is me - brown hair, shark floatie, loner.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the water, playing cornhole and filling our tummies with the best food imaginable.  After that, Mary and I stocked up on sodas and snacks and made our way home.   

It was a low-key weekend, but exactly what I needed before classes start and I'm cooped up in the library day in and day out!  Have y'all taken any relaxing summer vacations?  Do any of y'all do something along the lines of a float away?

Always,

Kiley