A Little Update

 Hello, hello!

Since the last time I posted, I left my job, was unemployed for two months, and then started a new job.  Now, I am preparing to move in two weeks! Wow, finally moving out of my mom's house into an apartment.  From attending community college and living at home, to living in Chapel Hill for the shortest (and somehow the longest) two years, to living at home again for another year and a half, I am so ready for this change. I'll be honest that I am sort of nervous because I will be paying for everything and will have to cook and I am no chef. 

I honestly... sort of... enjoyed quarantine.  Thankfully, COVID rates in my area were low.  I am definitely staying home more and am very picky about events and gatherings that I attend. Not that there are that many to choose from, but you get what I mean.  I think quarantining has been a little bit harder with fall because I am missing football games in Chapel Hill which has been a huge part of my fall Saturdays from a young age.  

On top of the new job and moving, I've also started grad school.  It hasn't been THAT demanding, but I don't adjust to change well so it has been difficult to balance everything when I'm at my office for 10 hours a day and training.  My last assignments are due during the weekend that I move so I am trying to be diligent about working on these last few assignments beforehand and this post is a form of me procrastinating lol.  

I know I am sooooo quiet on the blog like it's pretty sad.  But, I am always reading blogs each and everyday (not exaggerating). I use my time on bloglovin' as time for me to either unwind or find a little bit more motivation in me.  I check my blog instagram account daily (@baileysbulletin), I don't post up there really but I love having a separate place to follow all of the bloggers that I have loved for so long and am always discovering new ones! 

Sorry for the brain dump, but I hope each of you enjoy your weekends and have a Happy Halloween!

How I've Been Feeling During Quarantine

There is only one word to describe this time as... weird.  Truly no one knows what they're doing some days.  

When schools closed a little over a month ago,  I wasn't sure of how to react.  In some ways, I was relieved because I had a lot of overwhelming events to plan that ultimately were cancelled.  I was scared because I didn't know what quarantine would look like.  I was also stressed from the adjustments that I had to make while working from home.  The first two weeks of it were pretty awful.  Not in the sense of not be able to go anywhere, but just the fact that there was so much unknown and I didn't know how to communicate those feelings.  Then, the third week rolled along and I had a better understanding of what was going on and why we were social distancing.  And it most certainly helped that more and more people were sharing these exact same feelings as me.  Now I am on my fifth week of social distancing and it has become to feel like the new norm...

I do want to address how blessed I am to be able to continue to work and get a paycheck.  The longer this goes on, the more thankful I have become.  This time at home has given me more time to look for new jobs (I am optimistic!) as my service year comes to a close.  I have a little less than two months before this becomes a pressing issue for me,  but I know that there are others out there that are under a lot more pressure. 

I find it so interesting to see how some people are reacting to the quarantine.  I live in an area that has a low population density, so there are a wide range of reactions. Some are social distancing more than others is all I will say on that.... My school is on "spring break" this week which has been a nice reprieve from working even though I am not going anywhere. But with work, I have been able to keep myself somewhat busy throughout the days and not giving me the opportunity to get completely bored. I have been using this time to exercise more regularly through walks, pure barre classes, and youtube.  I also am trying to do a one second everyday video and am using Duolingo to brush up on my Spanish (not that I've ever been fluent, but I did take 4 levels in high school and 3 in college!)

How are you feeling in the midst of all of this? 

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend a Champagne dinner at the Chef and the Farmer.  This is my hometown's claim to fame as it has had its own TV show on PBS and there will soon be a spin-off from the same show capturing food in the south.  This four course meal was different, yet phenomenal.  I have only recently begun to like wine and champagne, so this was going to be an adventure. I attended this dinner with my mom and my bf's step-mom which made for a fun girl's night out.

As soon as we walked in the door, we greeted with bags of popcorn. Duck-fat popcorn to be exact. This was paired with the champagne of beers, Miller High Life.  I am not a beer drinker at all, nor have I tried this beer before but the combo of the popcorn and the champagne glass (tbh) made it go down pretty easily. 

The first course was probably my favorite overall as I enjoyed both the rose champagne and the entree equally.  Rose champagne is always so fun to drink as it is pretty to look at! Pork Belly Skewers are always my weakness when I go to Chef. These did not disappoint in the slightest and it was topped with cotton candy! There were major carnival vibes at this event for an added flair!

Y'all, let me tell you... this was probably THE BEST ENTREE. I probably will not eat a crabcake ever again after having this lobster corn dog. It was topped with a champagne dijionaise and spicy tomato ketchup with chow chow on the side (also, DELICIOUS!)  It was lobster formed into a cake as a crab cake would be, but it was breaded in corn meal.  The southern hospitality came over me and I devoured the entire dish! This was my favorite regular champagne that we had as it was the right combination of sweet and dry.  (I'm no connoisseur when it comes to drinks, although I might be a self-acclaimed foodie)

I was most looking forward to trying this bucket-o-....quail.  I have never had anything other than chicken when it comes to poultry cuisines and I especially have not had it fried.  The quail were small, but they filled the basket up! There were probably about eight pieces per plate.  The three of us could have just split one plate, to be quite honest.  The breading had a honey glaze to it which really added to the flavor.  The ranch on the side was really good with the quail. We were also served french fries underneath the quail which were good... I mean its pretty hard to have a bad french fry.  The champagne with this entree was probably my least favorite as it was the most bitter one we had.  Of course, this was my mom and bf's step-mom's favorite because it was bitter. 

The fourth course was super adorable! The funnel cake was served with toffee apples and marscarpone ice cream topped with powdered sugar and it truly felt like I was at the fair.  The champagne was a blanc de blanc and it was very, very sweet.  I liked it the most out of group for that reason.  

This was such a fun night with great people! I hope I get to attend another themed dinner at the Chef and the Farmer again in the coming months!