Future Mrs. Hall, MBA

December 2013 graduation

As of Friday February 28, 2014 at 1:59 am I submitted my last project for my MBA program! I am official! No more homework posts, textbooks, lectures, assignments, etc! It has been an experience. I enrolled full time while having a full time job and full time boyfriend, now fiance! It is a lot of work and patience, but definitely worth it! I am looking forward to the potential doors that it will open and I already see a difference in how I approach my work at the dance studio. But what I am really looking forward to is having my free time back! Only for it to be consumed with wedding planning, but that is a lot more exciting than homework ;). I do hope that I will get better about blogging too. I won't feel guilty trying to blog knowing there is no homework I should be doing. Check out the pictures from the December graduation. They allowed me to walk since I only had one class left (that was a fight in itself, but I won't waste cyber space on it).

Signed,
Future Mrs. Hall, MBA
(It ALL has an awesome ring to it, no pun intended hehe)

Collage my cousin made on IG

Venue Hunters

Have you ever watched the show House Hunters on HGTV? Well welcome to Venue Hunters! Last weekend the fiance and I flew to RI to begin venue hunting. We were excited and nervous and really thought it was going to be a great time. We did enjoy the overall experience, but it is not as glamorous as we thought. We were wearing our business hats more than our wedding hat that's for sure. So just like the show House Hunters I present to you 3 venues out of the 7 visited.

To give you a little background, long before his proposal, my fiance knew he wanted our wedding venue to include water, garden and castle. I immediately thought Rhode Island, my home state, because you can easily get all three. So I thought!

Our venue checklist
- garden ceremony with water views
- spacious reception to fit 250 guests comfortably
- late end time
- castle/historic interior (fiance)
- modern/contemporary interior (me)
- great food and drink options
- within our budget

Venue #1 - The new and improved blank canvas Harbor Lights (Warwick)

They claim to seat 310 comfortably, but it looks like a tight squeeze. Newly renovated, 2014 will be their first full wedding season with just 8 last summer. They ask for a small site fee and catering done through an exclusive caterer, Pranzi (that was an interesting phone call). They have a ceremony site on the green with a view of the Narragansett Bay. There is a marina to the right of the ceremony site. They only host one wedding at a time, which is nice as we quickly learned that is not the case at most venues. We could definitely see ourselves enjoying our day there, but the decor would have to be on point.

 

Venue #2 - The WOW venue
Belle Mer (Newport)

This place had exactly what we were looking for. My mom, who walked in first, was very impressed and excited at the possibility of us getting married there. There are two options, the Island House and the Salon. The island house was smaller and a little more casual and the salon was grand and a little more formal. The ceremony is on the grass with the Atlantic ocean behind us. There is also a view of the Newport bridge. There can be two weddings occurring and let's just say the price tag was WOW too. It would be the perfect site, but we aren't sure if we can justify the cost.

 

Venue #3 - Not quite on the water venue
Sapphire Estates (Sharon, MA)

When we arrived I felt like I was visiting a friend who had a little bit of money. There is a long driveway up to what looks like a white house. That's exactly what it was. A house turned into a reception hall. Although snowed up, we could see the beauty of the landscaping. The only problem with the ceremony site is that it is not on the water. The lake it is near is at the bottom of the driveway across the street. We would have access to it for pictures, but that's about it. Inside we walked right into the bar area for cocktail hour and it very much open concept, leading straight into the reception area. There would be no element of surprise. It is definitely do able, but there would definitely have to be some compromise.

 

So what will it be {insert dramatic background music}? Venue #1 the new and improved blank canvas, venue #2 the WOW venue or venue #3 not quite on the water venue???

It's really happening...

I'm getting married!! Well of course, but it just got real as we have our first site visit in the morning. Crazy!!!! It's like you know this day is coming, but it still feels surreal. I'm getting my Prince Charming and we are really committing to forever. It's cool and scary all at the same time. I'm look forward to our journey as husband and wife. Tomorrow is a mile closer to the exit off the highway check marked "single".

Coming Soon...

Has it really been this long?!?!? Wow! Well I can consider myself the worst blogger out there (for now). I think all my research on blogging was right. You have to really be dedicated to it to make it last and grow. Such is the life of this Sag, coming up with ideas and moving on to the next before it comes to fruition. I really still want to make this idea happen, I see its potential, but I really shouldn't put my blame on my Sag personality, but my school personality and my most recent gig, PLAIN TIRED! I will figure this out because I am determined and excited about this idea. In it for a the long hall, the blog, coming soon....

The beginning of the end

I work at a dance studio as an Office Manager. I have been there since September 2008 and I have loved my job! I started dancing at 2 and 9 months and still take classes. I do wish I did more towards my dancing, but I also wouldn't trade my alma mater, La Salle University, and I do enjoy the business world. So getting this position was the best of both worlds. When hired the schedule was/is evenings and Saturdays. 5 years of working Saturdays!! And today was my last Saturday! YAY! I am down to a 4 day work week. The decision to do that is a post in itself {transitioning to wifey and learning to trust your future hubby}. Why is this the beginning of the end? Well this is going to be my last season at my job. My fiancé and I are moving back to the northeast *insert happy dance* come July 2014. It's crazy because this is like the first step towards finishing this chapter in my life. It wasn't sad and since I spent the day training honestly I don't think it has hit me yet, but one thing that did make it sort of real was one student who asked me, "Are you going to visit us sometimes?" The reason I have stuck around is the kids, they tug at my heart.

My fabulous fiancé did stop by and gave me flowers {even after 8 years he still brings me flower for any occasion} for my last Saturday!

Last Saturday! 

Hair Talk: Background & Black Tea Rinse

I have technically been on a hair journey since January 2012. I actually created my first blog in attempt to journal my hair journey. It was a relaxed hair journey. I had been experiencing a lot of breakage and I just wasn't happy with my hair. I was stuck at the shoulder length, but I knew I didn't want to go natural. My mom had gone natural, my cousin and godsister, my bestie Leesh (nickname), but I have THICK, THICK hair. I still recall my childhood years with dry and thick hair, so going natural wasn't an option!

The first step, was to trim my hair! Then I started searching different hair blogs and forums and eventually found my way to YouTube (YT). I came across www.blackhairinformation.com, which I still check in to from time to time, that has a wealth of knowledge for both natural and relaxed hair. This site lead me to start following Ebony on Longing 4 Length, who I now follow mainly on Instagram, but will check out her YT videos from time to time. So I was really inspired and excited to begin this journey.

January 16, 2012 - one side didn't stay curled smh

January 27, 2012 - Trim/CUT!

I was excited, but overwhelmed because there was so much information. I decided to start stretching my relaxers first it was 8 weeks, than 9 and eventually got to 12 weeks, but that was by mistake. I even switched hair salons and I was trying products left and right. Although, I was learning to retain length I did notice the shedding. At first I thought it was a mind thing as I was reading the blogs about shedding and breakage, but then it increased. It was so bad I sat in my bathroom and cried after a wash once. I talked to my stylist and she encouraged me to drink more water, which I wasn't doing well on and take vitamins. It seem like nothing was working and I felt like my hair was thinning, which really it was that I didn't feel like I had enough strands on my head! So after some conversations with family members I decided to transition natural : O (I know I'm still shocked). I was already 13 weeks post from my last touch up (Feb 22, 2013), so why not. Well now it's damn near October and I haven't given up yet! *insert happy dance*

BUT the shedding is still there. It is not as bad and unfortunately/fortunately is now expected with the transition. I started taking my vitamins, added Biotin (another post for another day) and drinking more water. I had started working out and taking dance classes, so I did loss a little weight too. I think that all attributed to the reduced shedding, but it is still more than I would like. All that to bring me to the black tea rinse! (The whole purpose of this post). 

Sooooo I came across black tea rinses a little bit ago on YT when I was looking for ways to reduce shedding. I came across Tracyee's video. So I said for months I would do it and even bought the tea. Made the tea and the first attempt was a FAIL as I accidentally spilled most of it, completely missing my hair. SMH! Anyways, today I decided to give this rinse a try. The tea that I used was Stash' English Breakfast Black Tea that I got from Publix. 

So after I shampoo'd my hair I sprayed the black tea to my hair, which was already parted in 4 sections plus my bangs. I focused on my roots and massaged it in. I then poured the excess tea on all of my hair, which was now in 3 bun sections. I put a clear shower cap on and let that sit for about 30 minutes. Then I put Motions CPR Protein Reconstructor on each section then let that sit for about 10 - 15 minutes. I rinse it out and applied my Deep Conditioner, which is now in my head as I type. I want to use it consistently with each wash, which right now is every 2 weeks (too much work to wash every week with this transition), so I can see if it really works. I know it won't be a miraculous fix the first attempt, but I look forward to seeing the results. 

I will do better!

That weekend came and went and so did several weeks! I am still excited about the blog. I mean it took weeks to come up with a name and I have several topics, posts and events I want to share and discuss. I am still trying to figure out the best layout, but for the most part I was ready to go at the end of August. Then I got sick and it was all down here from there. I am doing much better now, but school and work have been killer. I am taking two classes one being my capstone class and well my advice to anyone especially in graduate school is never take a second class during your capstone! I repeat NEVER TAKE A SECOND CLASS DURING YOUR CAPSTONE! No matter how bad a$$ you think you are (and I think I'm pretty bad) it's not worth the added stress, pressure.(Too blessed to be stressed!) But I am so excited to be in the home stretch! I think once my schedule lightens up I will be so much better at this blogging! I will do better NOW!