This past weekend was one of the best that I’ve had in a long time. I had a friend date on Friday where we had dinner, drinks and saw a movie as is our tradition; then on Saturday, I had a lovely brunch with a friend I haven’t seen in a few weeks; all ending with Nick and I grilling out and got a lot of yard work done.

We ended up having an impromtu fiesta for two with grilled steak fajitas and a delicious black bean and corn salad. We ate outside on our deck, which we haven’t done in a long time. It was the perfect little fiesta!

We grilled the fajita veggies (red, yellow, and orange peppers along with a white onion) in the cast iron skillet on the grill and they tasted fantastic.

Our black bean and corn salad was thrown together using black beans, corn, a diced jalapeno, a small can of rotel tomatoes, and diced red onion. We also threw it in the cast iron skillet and it turned out really well with the perfect amount of spiciness.

On a separate note, I haven’t done much shopping these last few months, but I really wanted a new denim jacket that is much lighter than my current one. While I was out, I picked up a few extra tops and a pair of coral pants, because they’re all the rage right now. I’m sure you’ll be seeing both of these outfits show up on the blog in the near future.

Dressing room photos from Gap

It’s time for another round of Friday Four, a fun survey I’m doing so that my readers can get to know me a little better. This week I’m talking about four of my favorite foods. This one will be a little more difficult than my last four, simply because I LOVE food so paring it down to just four won’t be easy.

1. Sushi. Hands down, this is my favorite food on the face of the planet.  I’ll eat any type of sushi, sashimi, nigiri, etc. It’s one of those foods that makes me feel better if I’ve had a bad day or if I’m feeling a little down. It’s also great for a celebration dinner. It’s even where I requested we eat for my bachelorette party! Nick gets annoyed that I love sushi so much because I always want to eat it when we go out, but it’s just one of those things he loves about me. We have some amazing sushi spots here in Durham.

Sushi rolls from my favorite sushi spot: Shiki Sushi in Durham.

2. Cheese. If I were superwoman, cheese would probably be my kryptonite. I don’t know what it is about cheese, but I love it so much. I put it on everything that requires cheese. Frozen pizza from the supermaket? Add a little extra cheese before popping it in the oven. Lasagna? Extra layer of cheese, please! Tacos? Cheese. Burgers? Cheese. Sandwiches? You better believe there will be cheese.

3. Pizza. Oh how I wish pizza were more healthy for us all. It’s delicious – especially when covered in cheese! – and I would eat it every other day (you know, the days I’m not eathing sushi) if there were more health benefits to it. I’m a simply gal and really love a simple pepperoni pizza, or pepperoni and mushroom, but I’ll eat just about any kind of pizza. Again, we have some amazing pizza places here in Durham so going out for pizza is easy and fun and delicious.

Spicy Philly Pizza from Mattie B’s Public House in Durham. Delicious shaved beef with pepers and onions, jalapenos, and aioli.

4. Berries. I feel I have to include something healthy and I love berries, which are healthy so there you go. I love all kinds but my top three are blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I also love cherries, but they’re not really a berry, are they?

Honorable mentions: coffee, most fruits and vegetables, ice cream, potatoes, vanilla, tacos (or any kind of Mexican food), tapas, and wine.

On Saturday, May 9, 2015, I graduated with my Master of Public Health degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University!

We had a hooding ceremony, a special recognition ceremony for masters’ degree candidates during which a faculty member places the hood over the head of the graduate, signifying his or her success in completing the graduate program. Nick was upset that he didn’t get better photos of my hooding, but I think they turned out just fine!

Hooded!

Nikki Crews, MPH!

I’m so thankful to everyone who supported me over the past two years, but especially to my wonderful husband, without whom I don’t think I would have made it! He was there for me mentally, physically, financially, and most importantly, he was one of my biggest fans. Thanks, babe. Now we can take on the world together!

Earning my masters’ degree is one of those things that has always been on my to-do list, but the longer I put it off, the more I felt like it might not happen. It doesn’t feel real yet, but I’m hoping that will change once I find a job! The last two years were very challenging, but mostly on account of all the commuting I had to do and all the time I had to spend away from home. I’m so happy to be home and ready to make a real difference in the world… or, at the very least, in people’s health here in NC.

🙂

…you have no where to be. I’ve officially completed my graduate program and am graduating on Saturday. I haven’t had anywhere to be this week, since I finshed my finals on Monday and I don’t have a job, so I’ve been hanging out at home in my pajamas. The next few weeks are going to be filled with job searching and, hopefully, interviewing. I’ve applied for several jobs with a few rejections, one phone interview, but mainly a bunch of silence. I suppose I could get dressed for job hunting, to boost my confidence or something like that, but my pajamas are so much more comfortable!

Until I begin to feel motivated again, I’ll leave you with a few Instagrams of what my life has been the past few weeks.

This is the compelted, bound copy of my thesis. Isn’t it a beauty? 🙂

After my thesis presentation, we took a much-needed break to attend the Walk the Moon show in Greensboro. I’ve been a huge fan of WTM since discovering them almost two years ago, so I was extremly excited to get to see them perform. But I think the best thing about the whole event was getting VIP/Early Entry tickets so we could get in early, have the bar come to us, and have comfy seats while waiting for the show to begin. I will never not be VIP ever again! This is how you do shows in your 30s.

The evening after submitting my very last final, I met some friends for some celebratory drinks. It was such a nice evening!

That’s it for now. I plan to have actual outfit photos up next week. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

(NC)²

Dear readers, life lately has been somewhat of a whirlwind! School has taken up ALL of my time but I’m so close to finishing up my program and earning my Masters’ degree that the light at the end of the tunnel is shining brighter every day. I finished my presentation (photo below) and I’m making a few edits to my Professional Paper/thesis so that I can turn it in next week. Then I’ll only have two finals that stand between me and that degree.

This is a photo that my amazingly awesome content advisor took of me during my presentation.

She uploaded it to Facebook with the most touching caption ever, saying that I was “one of the brightest new professionals who is so passionate about sexuality education” and that I “hit it out of the park today.” She went on to say,”Thank you for all your hard work, professionalism and dedication. It is students like you that make this all worthwhile. Congratulations on your awesome research and MPH!!” [Monica, if you’re reading this, I hope you don’t mind me sharing your words; I just really wanted to toot my own horn a little :-)] Also, if anyone is interested in learning more about my research, which is a look at the barriers of implementing the Healthy Youth Act in NC schools, let me know. I’m happy to talk to you about it 🙂

If you’re a new reader and unfamiliar with my situation, allow me to briefly recap: Two years ago, I started a graduate program that is not distance education BUT at a school that is 1.5 hours from my home. So, I’ve spent the last two years commuting to school at least 4 counties away and staying at various places in town so I didn’t have to make that drive every. single. day. I would stay with my mother-in-law, crash at friends’ apartments, and at one point I rented a small studio (that I ended up hating!) and went back to commuting every day. But all of that is over on May 9, when I’m finished for good and walk across that stage!

As a little reward for a job well done, I treated myself with a trip to Target.

I had a hard time deciding which purse to choose but ultimately went with the blue one!

I loved the back of this sweater and have worn it several times already!

Then on Sunday, we celebrated Nick’s birthday with tapas at our favorite restaurant, Mateo’s bar de tapas, and I enjoyed a Cheerwine Sangria.

Cheerwine is a soft drink that was created here in North Carolina and is one of the most delicious beverages that ever existed. I don’t drink sodas very often, but when I do, it’s usually a Cheerwine. So you can imagine how yummy a beverage would be when it’s Cheerwine, wine, and fruit. Yum!

That’s about it for now. I’ll definitely have more time to post outfit photos once my finals are over. I’ve created some really cute outfits these past few weeks that I will no doubt be wearing again so I’ll be sure to get photos to post. Thanks for hanging in there with me, everyone. You’re amazing!

Talk soon,
Nikki