Nikki by example - Just a girl trying to lead by example
  • Home
  • Style
  • Health
  • Motherhood
  • Travel
  • Extras
    • DIY
    • Food
    • Music
  • About Nikki
    • Our DIY Wedding
Home
Style
Health
Motherhood
Travel
Extras
    DIY
    Food
    Music
About Nikki
    Our DIY Wedding
Nikki by example - Just a girl trying to lead by example
  • Home
  • Style
  • Health
  • Motherhood
  • Travel
  • Extras
    • DIY
    • Food
    • Music
  • About Nikki
    • Our DIY Wedding
Life•Music

Sunday Morning Serenade

Valentine's Date | NCsquared Life
February 16, 2014 by Nikki 1 Comment

Goood morning! Today I’m serenading you with the song I’ve had stuck in my head all week: ‘Next in Line’ by Walk the Moon. I discovered it in a playlist made for running because I’m back to training for a 5K in April. I was on the treadmill when I heard it and immediately decided it was my jam. Mostly because I drive a stick shift 😉

 This Weeks’ Top 5:

1. Discovering awesome dive bars. We discovered the coolest dive bar downtown that was tucked away and fairly unknown. The bartenders were extremely knowledgeable and the spirits were delicious.

2. Catching up. I was able to catch up on some assigments, which is a huge relief, and I reorganized my home office so that I can continue to be productive. Wish me luck!

3. Surviving snow driving. Nick and I got stuck driving in a snow storm. That’s a scary thing in NC where we aren’t exactly prepared for winter weather. With my good driving skills, Nick’s awesome wisdom (he guided me the entire time) and a little luck, we made it home safely and only within in hour. I felt so bad for other drivers who got stuck on the interstates for hours.

4. Getting snowed in. After we made it home safely, we were snowed in for a few days.  It was the good kind of snowed in because we didn’t lose power, we had plenty of food, and had no where we had to be. The dogs were miserable though, and wouldn’t go for their walks because they’re big divas.

5.  Ice cream dates. We kept Valentine’s Day very low-key and went out for pad thai, some wine, and finished off with ice cream from our favorite place, The Parlour. They make their ice cream by hand, use local ingredients whenever possible, and rotate seasonal flavors. Photos below!

Photo(s) of the Week:

Valentine's Date | NCsquared Life

I took this photo on our ice cream date. Yummy ice cream, sexy husband. Doesn’t get much better. Below is the photo of the ice cream parlour we love so much.

The Parlour Durham | NCsquared Life

Share:
Reading time: 1 min
Life•Music

Sunday Morning Serenade

Coffee | Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life
February 9, 2014 by Nikki No Comments

Sunday, oh Sunday.

Today’s serenade is more Fitz and the Tantrums. The “More Than Just A Dream” album has been playing on repeat in my car, and we’re going to see them in May so I’ve been loading up. Anyway, this song, Last Raindrop, is beautifully poignant, but has a good beat. “Now that winter’s fallen / all of the color’s gone”. I mean, who hasn’t felt that way at one point or another during the somber winter season?

This Week’s Top 5:

1. Skype:  Commuting 1.5 hours for grad school is tough because I miss out on a lot of study groups. But, thanks to Skype, I’m able to do homework and study with my school partner (who affectionately calls me his MPH mama because I try to keep him organized) and learn the material much easier than if I was studying on my own.

2. New Phones: New things are always exciting. This week I said good bye to my iPhone and said hello to the new Moto X. It syncs with all of my google accounts, which is way more useful for me since I’m NOT an Apple/Mac person (and I loathe iTunes). I’ve only had it a few days but, so far, I’m loving it! “Okay, Google Now… find me a latte!”

3.  Being Organized. It has taken me several weeks to get back into the swing of school after my month-long winter break. But I finally sat down this week and filled in my planner, wrote out to-do lists, and organized my files and folders. I’m still working on the time management aspect of online courses but I think being better organized about the rest of my studies will help!

4. Good Habits: For a while, I turned into the stereotypical student, staying up all night and sleeing in until late morning/afternoon. It was fun for a while but then I started feeling guilty because Nick was up in the mornings being productive while I struggled to stay motivated to get dressed for class. This week I started going to bed earlier, getting up earlier, going to the gym (kind of… baby steps!) and being more productive. And it feels great 🙂

5. Parking Spaces. I don’t know why, but parking causes me so much anxiety. The other night, Nick and I went out to dinner at a restaurant that is usually packed but has terrible parking. After circling the area several times and debating whether we should risk parking acrossthe street (where there are signs literally every few feet about getting towed if you park there and go to one of the restaurants across the street) we were resigned to just going somewhere to else to eat. We drove past one last time and, boom, a parking spot opened up! We snagged it and had a yummy, anxiety-free dinner.

 

Photo of the Week:

Coffee | Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen this but it’s probably the best photo I’ve ever taken so I wanted to share it again! We were out for brunch again when I snapped it. I’m planning to print and frame this (all of the coffee photos I’ve taken, which is at least 3 at this point) and hang them in the kitchen. How fun is that?

Share:
Reading time: 2 min
Life•Music

Sunday Morning Serenade

Snowy Sunrise | NCsquared Life
February 2, 2014 by Nikki No Comments

I’ve been listening to Shakira on repeat again this week, first in English and then in Spanish, but I figured I would give you all a break! This week’s song is ‘Hurricane’ by MS MR. I first heard it on Spotify radio but now I’m hearing it on mainstream radio, which is exciting. Every time I hear it, I’m reminded of my freshman year of college and I can’t figure out why, but there’s something about the way it sounds that takes me back.

This Week’s Top 5:

1. Snow. Snow, snow, snowy snow! This week it snowed while I was at home and classes were cancelled so I didn’t have to worry about driving back and forth for class like I did the week before. I got to stay home and snuggle up with my furbabies and drink coffee and be warm. I also got to wear and photograph a casual snow outfit.

2. Dinner Parties.  A few weeks ago we attended a dinner party. This week we hosted a small dinner party for our neighbors. It’s almost creepy how similar we are to our neighbors. We live on the same street (duh!), we have two dogs that we love and spoil very much, we even have the same wedding anniversary, among many other things. So dinner was a blast!

3. Tiramisu. I don’t normally like tiramisu because I don’t like soggy bread and that’s what it is to me. But Nick decided to make some for our dinner party and, of course, it was delicious. His layering was perfect because the soggiest cookies were on the bottom and easy to eat around. I’ll only eat his tiramisu from now on!

4. Yoga. It always makes me feel better. I don’t go nearly as often as I should. I’m shooting for three times a week and usually only make it once, if I make it at all. I attend the Body Flow class at my gym and it’s never before 9 AM so I really have no excuse. I’m gonna have to get on that.

5. Good News. Good news is always exciting. This week Nick got good news about his job, my friend got good news about her law school applications, and I got good news when class was cancelled because of the snow (see what I did there?!).

Photo (s) of the Week:

This week you get two photos! And to all of you out there that are stuck in a snowy wonderland every winter, I apologize for all of the snowiness you’re about to see. We southerners don’t get snow very often so some of us get really excited when it comes (or, at least, this one does!)

Snowy Sunrise | NCsquared Life

Snowy Sunrise

The morning after the snow, I took this photo in our back yard. I love how you can see the peak of sun coming through the trees, so blissful. These are my favorite types of photos to take and see – the sun shining through trees. It was cold and bright, snowy and quiet. It was just perfect. I’m glad I get to share this moment with you!

Snowy Country Lane | NCsquared Life

Snowy Country Lane

My parents took this photo at their house this week, which is in a more moutainous region than mine, so they get a little more snow. I think this is a beautiful photo, with the falling snow and the pop of red from the poinsettia decorations. I bet my dad didn’t realize how artistic he was being when we took it!

Share:
Reading time: 2 min
Life•Music

Sunday Morning Serenade

Sunday Morning Serenade - It's Cold! | NCsquared Life
January 26, 2014 by Nikki No Comments

Oh yeah, you knew it was coming… Shakira’s new single in Spanish! You’re welcome.

I mentioned in last week’s Serenade that I absolutely adore Shakira. I’ve followed her ever since I first heard ‘Whenever, Wherever’ in 20o1 and even though I love her English music, I love her Spanish  songs even more. Which makes sense because it’s her native language where she can express herself best. One of the things I’ve always loved about her music is the way she uses metaphors to describe everything! Listen to more Shakira. You won’t regret it.

This Week’s Top 5:

1. Days Off.  We didn’t have class on Monday in observance of MLK, but I had a lot of school work to do so I didn’t really get the day off. However, on Thursday, I didn’t do any school work and instead slept in, drank coffee, and did a little shopping – which is good for new outfits but bad for my 30 for 30 Challenge. Oops. It was nice, though, but I had to make up for it by staying up late Friday night to finish a project before the deadline. It was definitely worth it.

2. Brownies. Probably my favorite dessert of all time, we made a fresh batch this week and they really hit the spot. Nick is going to learn how to make them from scratch and then I’ll make him bake homemade brownies all the time.

3. The Perfect Hair Bun. I love when it only takes me one try to put my hair up into the perfect bun. And by perfect, I mean there aren’t too many hairs falling loose so I only have to use, maybe, 2 bobby pins instead of 12.  There are days when I stand in front of the mirror and redo my hair so many times that my arms begin to hurt. It’s silly really, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!

4. Reading Journal Articles that You Actually Find Interesting. In graduate school you read a lot. A LOT. Mostly book chapters, but also journal articles that are chosen by the professor to really drive home a topic you’re learning. Those articles aren’t always the most fun reading you do but you also get to do some research on your own and read articles that you find really interesting and you think maybe you’re one step closer to choosing a topic for your thesis. This week I read an article that discussed the fact that our society does not generally support promoting body satisfaction and body acceptance among overweight and obese individuals, yet body dissatisfaction does not motivate overweight and obese youth to adopt healthier behaviors or gain less weight. But enhancing body satisfaction among overweight and obese girls could actually promote healthier weight-related behaviors and essentially lessen weight gain. It seems to be the best of both worlds. See, interesting!

5. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. It’s a perfect lunch for a chilly day. Especially when it’s made with Vermont white cheddar, fontina, chive & onion cream cheese, and then you add bacon. Yum! I think that’s all I need to say about that 🙂

Photo of the Week:

Sunday Morning Serenade - It's Cold! | NCsquared Life

It’s been very cold this week, even the furbabies need some extra warmth when they go out for their walks. Maybe we’re overdoing it a little, but Chico is wearing his sweater AND coat! Mia has more fur than Chico so she’s only wearing a coat. We do what we have to in order to keep our babies safe and warm.

Share:
Reading time: 2 min
Life•Music

Sunday Morning Serenade

January 19, 2014 by Nikki No Comments

Oh, what a happy Sunday it is!

Shakira released a new single this week featuring Rihanna called Can’t Remember to Forget You. I’ve been listening to it on repeat for days on end. If there’s one thing you should know about  me, it’s that I LOVE Shakira. Love might not be a strong enough word. I adore/cherish/worship/idolize/etc. etc. her. She’s the best person in the world, in my opinion. If you don’t agree, it’s all good, just don’t tell me!

This Week’s Top 5

1. Shakira. Are you at surprised to find that Shakira is number 1 on my list of favorite things this week? Really should could be on every list but we have to be realistic, right? I’ll be honest, this new single isn’t my absolute favorite that she’s done, but it’s definitely not bad. I don’t love Rihanna, which might have some small influence on my feelings toward the song, but I’ll listen to and adore anything Shakira does!

2. Hobbies. If you search this blog back far enough, you’ll find that one of my favorite activities is belly dancing. I’ve taken a break for about a year because of work and school, etc. but classes started back Wednesday night and we jumped right into learning a new choreography! It felt good to break out the hip scarves!

3. Library. I’m a graduate student taking two online classes this semester. I’ve realized that trying to study at home is extremely distracting. The dogs always want to cuddle and/or play (and it’s really hard to ignore their cuteness), the computer has social media, the television has shows, etc. Luckily, there’s a public library near my house where I can go to study and work on assigments without [much] distraction. So, I’ll be spending a lot of time there. 

4. Nick’s Cooking. On the nights I have class in person, I have to commute over an hour and a half each way. On those nights, Nick cooks dinner and he is a very good cook. When we first met, I would make him cook me ramen because, for some reason, his always tasted better than mine. That seems to be true of most everything (except eggs… I’m really good at those). He’s a great cook and I love it when he cooks for me.

5. Sunny Afternoon Walks. With Nick and the dogs. Exercise, sun, fresh air, and quality time with the family. There really isn’t anything better than that!

Photo of the Week:

Sunny Afternoon Walk | NCsquared Life

Speaking of sunny afternoon walks, we try to take  them most weekends, weather permitting. This past weekend, we brought the swanky new camera along and got some pretty pictures. This is one of my favorites!

Share:
Reading time: 2 min

About Me

Hi, I’m Nikki. This is where I blog about my life and personal style. I’m a wife and mom, public health professional, sushi lover, wine enthusiast, and coffee snob. Welcome to my little corner of the world where I try to lead by example!

Follow Me

Recent Posts

Instagram Outfit Roundup

Instagram Outfit Roundup

September 21, 2021

Yellow Skirt Two Ways

July 26, 2021
Life Lately: Summer Updates

Life Lately: Summer Updates

July 23, 2021

Popular Posts

I Love Being a Mom… Who Knew?

I Love Being a Mom… Who Knew?

August 2, 2017
The End of Summer

The End of Summer

September 5, 2017
A Short Girl Wears a Midi Skirt

A Short Girl Wears a Midi Skirt

September 8, 2014

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/nikkibyexample
Load More...Follow on Instagram

© 2018 copyright Nicole Crews // All rights reserved