WHAT HAPPENED?

WED NOV. 15 | 2012

A month without blogging? What happened to you Melissa?
Well, life happened and it surely does not slow down for any one.  There have been lots of changes professionally, personally and generally. From your best friends getting married to landing a full-time job, post graduate life isn't so bad, right? First and foremost, here are some quick updates to cushion my apology for being such a lame and uninteresting blogger >>

THE JOB(S)
About a month and a half ago I started working for a mortgage banking company as a Loan Processor. Like any full-time position, there are dull moments, moments when I want to pull my hair out, moments when I feel really secure and moments when I feel like I don't know what the heck I am doing! More so on the latter. It has absolutely nothing to do what I initially wanted to do professionally, but has created some wonderful opportunities for me. It is definitely a challenge, but who doesn't love those?

Even though I help process loans in the day, by night/weekends, I am a graphic designer & content developer part time! In college I interned with a wonderful business, Yoga G33k Health Promotions (YGHP), founded by Courtney Pearce, and in September she officially hired me. THIS my friends, is my absolute dream job. I get to work with the most inspiring, creative and down-to-earth person I have ever met and express myself creatively through my work. It may be just part-time right now, but my heart is in it one hundred percent. We have some big plans in the works and I can't wait to share it with the world soon enough!

ETC, ETC
Other than work, I have taken a few small road trips, become a god mother, spent some time with family/friends and started creating my post-graduate life. Moving back to Raleigh was never in the plan, but that's the funny thing about life, plans change. At first I was really bummed out I was back in the town I called home through most of my life, but Raleigh is quite a different city in your twenties. I plan to explore more of this city and find all its hidden gems! It's not where you are, it's who you're with ;)

I have some great posts in the works, but if I suck at blogging, feel free to follow me via Twitter & Instagram! I am trying to stay connected to the blogging world but forgive me if I start to slack again. I need to start finding that "extra hour" as my blog advocates.

*Photo (c) Melissa Vega
Taken in Washington D.C. during a weekend trip for my Dad's marathon.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

WED Oct 3, 2012

It's October and you know what that means...ridiculous amounts of pumpkin-related pins, tweets, lattes, desserts and recipes! In honor of welcoming October - by the way... how the heck is October already here? - I thought it was only appropriate to share my favorite (and easy) pumpkin cookie recipe. Like...really easy.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies (makes about two dozen)

Ingredients
1 box of Spice Cake mix (18 1/4 ounce)
1 can of Pumpkin (15 ounce)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Spray cookie sheet lightly with vegetable spray, i.e. Pam
3. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and pumpkin until well blended
4. Use a spoon to drop large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet
Cookies are soft and cake-like so they don't flatten in the oven. How you put them on the sheet resembles how they will bake
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes
6. Cool before frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting via Sprinkles cupcakes - my favorite recipe!

Ingredients
8 oz Cream Cheese
4 oz Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
3 3/4 Powered Sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions
1. Make sure cream cheese and butter are softened. Stick in the microwave for a few seconds if need be
2. Mix cream cheese, butter and salt until light and fluffy
3. Gradually add powdered sugar until incorporated
4. Add vanilla extract and mix
5. Voila! My favorite cream cheese frosting recipe

Final step: After frosting your cookies, sprinkle a little cinnamon for a little kick!

These go pretty fast at parties so be sure to save yourself a couple cookies ;)
Enjoy!

TUESDAY TUNES v.15 | THE PAPER KITES

TUES Oct 2, 2012

 

I have been waiting for a new band to really captivate me musically and this week, I give credit to The Paper Kites. Their simple yet heavy melody and lyrics got me within the first five seconds. I heard "Bloom" (which I shared in the last post) and was instantly hooked. Plus, I have a soft spot for interesting female vocals exemplified by their band member, Christina and a huge soft spot for the banjo! Definitely a keeper. So far, I've only listened to a handful of their songs including "Woodland" and "Featherstone", but word on the street is that they have a new EP called "Young North" and touring in Australia.

Facebook // Website // Tumblr

I'll let the music speak for itself.

Here are my favorites thus far. I still have some listening to do myself.
photo source

View other Tuesday Tunes posts here.

SONGS + FLOWERS

SUN. Sept 30, 2012

 

Last Spring, my college roommate Hannah received these beautiful tulips from our friend. They looked wonderful in our plastic-straw-holder-turned-vase, so of course I had to snap a few photos. I've always loved tulips. I have always thought of them as classic, clean, crisp and "springy". Once upon a time a past high school boyfriend bought me some. But sadly, have not received any since. Oh someone, please buy me some tulips! They are definitely in my top five favorite kinds of flowers. I used to say I hated receiving flowers because they were a waste and belonged with Mother Nature, not in my home.

I was such a liar.

You know when you hear 2.5 seconds of a song and know you are going to just love it? Well, it happened with this song. I have been waiting for a musical moment like this. When I heard the song "Bloom" by the newly-discovered band The Paper Kites, it make me think of passing these tulips everyday in our kitchen and watching them bloom in our little mountain home. The photos I took of them were tucked away in an album labeled "March 29, 2012" on my computer so naturally I forgot they existed! This perfect little song made me remember those perfect little flowers and for that, I accuse fate.

The model in the photo is my beautiful college roommate Kaleigh. I have a weird obsession with taking photos of her hands, although her face is quite breathtaking, too.

ON TRAVELING

FRI. Sept 28 2012
listening to: Mumford & Sons, Babel

Have you read this article yet? Converge Magazine wrote an article about traveling young and the author could not have put it in better words. Oh...you haven't read it? Well, go read the article and then come back to my blog.

Done? Good. Let's continue.

"You won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you. So travel, young person. Experience the world for all its worth. Become a person of culture, adventure, and compassion. While you still can."

"This is my calling! My life! I don’t want what you have. I will always be an adventurer.”

Adventure.

We all crave it. We read about it in novels, close our eyes and wish for it but didn't you know it is right in front of you? It's on that plane/train/bus ticket you have yet to purchase, in the pages of your passport, stuck between the tires of your car and right in the palm of your hand. It's that road trip you have planned on taking but just "never had a good weekend" and that international trip you just "couldn't afford". It happens when you escape your world for a little bit to discover another. It's what you get when you travel.

It is easy to find a comfortable place and stay in it. There's nothing wrong with that, but I urge you all to get out of your comfort zone even if it's just the next county over. Traveling doesn't have to cost you thousands. It is exploring the unknown. I love nothing more than visiting a new city, checking out the local places and discovering what makes the heart beat in that particular town. I think every place has a little something to offer in the world. Whether it's a quick trip to Atlanta or a month-long trip to the Philippines (I recently did both), it changes you. It challenges you to be lost in the unknown and start from scratch because only when you're lost do you find yourself.

When asked the question, "What is one thing you would love to do right now?" many people reply "Travel". If I could drop all responsibilities and had an infinite amount of money that is all I would do! Wouldn't you? Most of us want it, we crave it, we desire it, we cling to those two week vacations from work. Make sure you travel as soon as you can because one day you may not have that luxury anymore. 

Travel my dear friends.
Enjoy your life, spend a little bit of your earnings and reach out because the world really is in arms reach. You may find yourself falling in love - with a place, a person, an idea and a new perspective. Traveling refreshes you, energizes you, changes you, moves you, and makes you a better person. A person who is cultured, who understands the world around them, who breaks barriers and begins the little steps of linking us all together. We all live in this crazy world together and really should get to know one another. There's something great in all of us and traveling can help us discover that.

The feelings I get when I travel are indescribable. I wish I could capture the moments when I rode an elephant, saw the Madrid skyline, experienced the night markets in The Philippines and Thailand, ziplined through the Costa Rican mountains or swam near waterfalls with more than my camera and my stories. I wish I could describe those sensations, the scents and make you feel the wind or how the water felt, but it is merely impossible. You must experience it for yourself.

Next time you are stuck between "What should I do with my life?" or "What should I do this weekend?"...travel dearest friends. It would be an absolute shame for this beautiful world to go unseen, for cultures to be unknown and for people to stay strangers.

And this is why I travel.