It has been far too long.

It has been way too long since my last post but I have been a busy little bee. I finally did it, I am now a college graduate! I am beginning to think that, was the easy part. The job search seems to be getting harder and harder as the weeks go on. I feel as though I might be running out of options. On the plus side, I am moving next week!! Out of Murfreesboro, to start my life as an adult. My new place is in Smyrna, TN.  It is a gated community. After 5 years, I will finally be on my own and roommate-less!!! yay! I cannot express how excited I am about this. I will make sure to post some pictures of my new home :) as soon as I get moved in. I am hoping to get my first pet soon too but, one baby step at a time :)

Godiva Chocolatier contest

Hello again,
This semester I am taking a portfolio class for my major, we were assigned a retail project that happened to be a competition through Godiva as well. The project in a nut shell is that we had to design a 25 by 40 feet space that can be used inside a mall or on it's own. Here is my final presentation :) enjoy.

My concept statement:
It is truly a golden moment when you walk into the 1,000 square foot Godiva Chocolatier store. With a storefront on 40 feet wide and ceiling heights ranging between 10 and 11 feet, you get the reassurance that you are in for more than just a regular chocolate treat. The dark chocolate raised panel acoustical tile ceiling flows into the caramel colored wall covering and melts onto the white chocolate and caramel floors. The walls are lined with boxed gift sets and a variety of individual treats.
A theater with dark chocolate cabinets and a light marble counter top provides a spacious are for the chefs to sip seasonal fruits, create pastries, and display finished products will provide you with some entertainment as all as some knowledge of this delectable treat and how it was made. A friendly serving counter stocked with chocolate drinks, coffee and teas is just a few steps away from the spacious seating area where you can sit and enjoy your chocolate treats. The whole store gives the visitor a feeling of being inside a nice chocolaty treat.

My grade has yet to be determined and whether or not it will be sent to Godiva for the competition, has not been determined either. I will update asap :)

The beginning of my last semester at MTSU!!

Tomorrow my last semester at MTSU begins. I am worried, scared and already stressed. While my roommate who is in the IDES program with me is relaxed and convinced this will be a breeze. I think that I am feeling a little anxious about it because during my summer class my teacher decided to tell us that they had to put us through the ringer one more time before we could finally graduate. I felt as though she was attacking us and out to get us already. Mondays and Wednesdays I have 2 classes, starting at 9:10 and ending at 3:10. Those will be my long days. Tuesday and Thursday I only have one class from 8:00 to 10:40. Thursdays I will go from class straight to work. Then I have to work Fridays and Saturdays. So if Class 4 days a week and work 3 days a week doesn't kill me, maybe I can do this :)
I moved into my new apartment last Sunday and I am really excited about how that is looking :) I have some awesome roommates and I think it is going to help my stress level living with a fellow IDES Girlie! I'll keep you updated. Here are some pictures of my new 4 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment.

From the front door, our dining table and living room

From the window, into the Kitchen

Down the hall to our bedrooms

our sinks

our shower

Into my room

My bed

another of my bed

my little desk nook (AND my speakers-early birthday present from my boyfriend)

from the desk nook!

REVIT FINAL!

Ah, a long five weeks but I have finished the final project with a whole day and a half to spare. We have a comprehensive final test on Thursday and then I will be finished with this class and have my A! Our final project consisted of a 2 story house that we had to input into Revit. We used the "client's floorplan" to produce our project. We also used basic furniture and casework to create a furniture layout for the house, unfortunately some of the materials and colors are default so they do not give the best look. Here are some renderings from my project! Enjoy! Renderings are computer aided drawings with color and texture. We have learned to HAND render as well as use programs such as Revit, Photoshop, and SketchUp. Enjoy!

Rendering of the Exterior

Rendering of the Kitchen using only Sunlight through the windows

Another rendering of the Kitchen using only Sunlight through the windows

Rendering of the Living Room

Another rendering of the Living room

Once again, Thank you for reading. Sorry so short! Time to move!

Love is the arms that are holding you, Love never fails you.

As most of you know, Michelle Collins (my cousin) married Austin Harris this Saturday, July 31st. My mom, Cody and I flew up on Thursday night, after my class and several errands. After a number of setbacks on the way there, we finally made it to my God parent/ Mother and Father of the Bride's house at 1:30 am, very very late Thursday night. Friday morning we got our nails done!!

A few snap shots before I began my duties for the wedding, handing out the programs and reading a wonderful verse.

My grandmother and I

The Father and Mother of the Bride

Announcing Mr. and Mrs. Harris

Mother of the Bride and the Groom dancing.

It was a beautiful, yet casual wedding. Michelle did not miss a thing. Everything went off with out a hitch and even most of the rain held off for the ceremony. Definitely got some ideas for my own wedding, you know, 9 years from now. haha.
I would like to leave you with this beautiful song.

Love will not cease at the end of time.

Week two. Blushing is the color of virtue.

Today is Day 5 of my Summer class. Only 15 more days of class. I am really liking Revit! It is a pretty easy but advanced computer program that allows for you to draw in 2D, add specific materials to the project, and view it all in 3D. So far we have just had a tutorial of the program, learning the different tools and how they work but this week, we have started to actually put it to use for Interior Design. We are working on a house right now. It is a two story house with a basement. Revit allows you to keep the different drawings that you normally have with a Residential (or any) Project in order as well as work on them separately. What I find very useful about this program is that you can make an adjustment in any view and all other views will be adjusted accordingly. So if you are viewing the house in 3D and you realize you don't like that there is a window there, then you can simply select the window and delete it. It will then be deleted from the 2D drawing, the window list, as well as the 3D view. It is a pretty cool program and I definitely think that it will benefit me in the future. I will hope to post some pictures very soon! (once we actually have something good to show rather than silly exercises to teach us the tools!!)

A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

About 6 months ago, a little girl lost her life to what Doctors say was the swine flu. The CDC has yet to report to her family whether or not it was actually the swine flu. I was fortunate enough to meet the mother of this little girl. Around 4:45 a woman came in (we close at 5), I was far past ready to go home so I was dreading helping her when I saw this woman bring in a bedroom accent pillow. Little did I know, just what this woman was going through, she was not shy to tell us either. She had only married her current husband a few months before her daughter died. They had been living separately, her in her house with her kids, her husband in his house with his kids. After her daughter died they continued living separately, her in her house with her now kid, and him in his house with his kids. Until one day her 16 year old daughter came to her and told her that she did not want to be the only child anymore. So they are now moving everyone into one house and have come to me to help her create an oasis, a get away, a private place for her daughter to call her own. She had a certain bedspread in her house with her sister, and she wanted to take that with her into the new house, however she has a bigger bed at the new house, so her mother went to target and bought the SAME bedspread only a size bigger. I did a quick 15 minute color consultation with her and she left promising to bring her daughter back to finalize the colors when they were ready to paint. I can not begin to tell you how honored I feel that God has allowed me to help this woman create a space of her own for her mourning daughter. Once again, God has shown me just how blessed I truly am.