Hinton Happenings: 2012

29 December 2012

27 December 2012

I love this Thursday link-up and haven't participated in a while, so I'm glad to be back at it again today. After two weeks of traveling for work, a holiday, and two pups that are driving me bonkers, I think it's appropriate, ha! Happy Thursday friends. :)

Hey, It's ok... ...to be eating leftover holiday cookies from the neighbors and the food from that meat/cheese/cracker gift set your aunt and uncle sent you for Christmas as regular meals. Can't let good food go to waste! ...to not have taken down the Christmas tree and decorations yet. I mean, get real. Christmas was two days ago. ...to be on my 3rd cup of coffee at 9am. Don't judge. ...to be so behind in laundry that my husband has moved all laundry baskets into the foyer so that I cannot miss that every towl we own is dirty (yikes!). ...to continue ignoring those piles of laundry because when you work from 7am to midnight everyday, the last thing you want to think about is laundry. ...to feed the pups little dog snacks and lunch meat when their food runs out. It's freezing outside and driving to the store is such an effort... ...to love your job, even during the crazy, peak season when you're slammed with the most outrageous to-do list ever and could really use an additional 5-6 hours for things like landry and grocery shopping. Luke actually helps out a TON and I really am blessed to love what I do (but hurry up April 15th!!). If anyone is looking for a part-time personal assistant job, I just may be looking for you! *wink*

25 December 2012

A City Christmas.

Although it wasn't our traditional Christmas and we were sad to be away from family, we made the best of it by taking a trip into the city. We walked through The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park, ate chocolate-covered strawberries, drank hot tea, walked up to Central Park, and then took a pedicab ride about 24 blocks back to our car. Although it was a quick trip, we had a great time getting out of the apartment and enjoying the Christmas spirit in one of the greatest cities in the world.

P.S. Happy 18 months of wedded bliss to my sweet husband. :)

24 December 2012

A Christmas surprise.

So, it's been snowing like crazy in upstate New York and all the way up New England, but all that North New Jersey was forecasted to receive was some rainy, slushy stuff. So this evening, we went outside to let the dogs out and much to our surprise...

It was snowing!!!

Of course this prompted a photo op. :)

Thanks to my sweet momma for the Christmas PJs and thanks to God for our second white Christmas ever! Second, you ask? Why, yes. Do any of my South Texas friends and family remember Christmas Eve 2004? That was NUTS!

{And Tim Lawley--if you see this, I borrowed your pic. Hope you don't mind. :)}

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas Eve!

22 December 2012

Merry Christmas from The Hintons!

Thanks to all of of friends and family for all of your love and support this year. 2012 has definitely been one for the books! A big move, new jobs, and more blessings than we deserve. God has been so good.
I pray that you all have a blessed Christmas with your families and a very happy new year!

12 December 2012

So excited!!

GREAT NEWS!! Luke accepted a job in New Jersey! I'm so, SO happy for him. He's going to be working for a protection/security agency in New Jersey and if you know Luke, you know this is totally up his alley. Like I said in my previous post, he took the NYPD acceptance test a few weeks back, but the process of getting into the NYPD is pretty long and extensive. We're hoping that this new job will give Luke some great experience until the NYPD dream can become a reality. This is such a huge answer to prayer. It's definitely been an adjustment for Luke to go from 12+ hour days to no-hour days in this move to New Jersey. He's been the greatest support for me in my new job and I can't wait to help support him in this new adventure!

{Plus, look how cute he is. I just LOVE him!!}

09 December 2012

Lately.

It's sort of crazy to me that we've only lived in New Jersey a little over a month and living here already feels so normal. I think we've started to find our routine; me working from home, Luke job hunting, and the pups adjusting to their new surroundings. There has definitely been some adjustment, but I'm so greatful for this time. Want to strengthen a marriage? Move 1800 miles across the country. :) Luke had his first job interview last Friday and it sounds promising! The company he interviewed with said he should hear back early this next week, so please say a prayer that we hear some good news. Also, Luke took the NYPD application test. Have I told y'all this yet? He made a 95 out of 100, which is awesome, because it's a really hard test. I'm SO proud of him! Joining the NYPD takes months, with multiple interviews, background checks, etc., so this won't be something that happens tomorrow, but we're excited to have begun the process. I start my New England "roadshow" this week. This is what my colleagues call traveling for days at a time, doing what we do a.k.a. field marketing. Please pray for safe and easy travels. This Texas girl has never driven in snow, or mountains for that matter, so I'd appreciate your prayers. At the same time, I'm so excited to see Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. I've never been to any of these states and I'll be driving quite a bit. Should be fun! One other things that has been heavy on mine and Luke's hearts lately is church and the fellowship that church offers. We are actively looking for a church home in New Jersey, but haven't found one just yet. We've visited three different churches so far, and we understand that this isn't something that happens overnight or even in a few weeks. But this can be a frustrating process, too. As Christians, we hunger for fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ and we are praying earnestly that God would show us where He would like for us to lay roots. If you can, please add this one to your prayer list, too. So, that's what's been going on around here lately. That, and a bunch of watching Hulu/Netflix, drinking coffee, and checking out the Christmas light around our new little town. They are quite lovely. :)

03 December 2012

A little light.

We finally got a few Christmas decorations put out around the apartment over the weekend. I feel like I'm so behind on a pic like this, ha! I had forgotten how much fun Christmas lights hung indoors can be. I just love turning off the normal lights, leaving on the Christmas ones, and snuggling under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate. Don't you? Hope you all had a great Monday. I must go to bed now because I'm headed to Edison, NJ tomorrow to give a marketing presentation. Nighty night. :)

27 November 2012

Snow day.

It snowed today. Lovely little white flakes fell from the wee hours of the morning until about 5pm this evening. I loved waking up to snow falling and watching it outside of our windows all day. It will probably be melted by tomorrow, but for now, I'm going to continue ooing and aaahing over this freshly fallen white blanket. :)

And of course, we couldn't pass up a little family photo-op!

These pups aren't too sure what to do in all of this snow, but we think they love it!

Happy Snow Day from New Jersey!

26 November 2012

Cyber Monday Finds

Cyber Monday is genius! I hate Black Friday (or Thursday, whatever it's become...) because I don't want to fight the crowds at the mall and I absolutely refuse to wake up early on my day off. And of course, I began receiving Cyber Monday emails on Saturday, so I've had plenty of time to prep and research sales prior to making any purchases. These tricksters! They totally have me figured out. :)
Here are just a couple of items I purchased today...

{I love all sweater dresses. I tend to think that they flatter most body types and they look so cute with tights and boots! I picked this one up today at Old Navy for $20}

{I also tend to think that skinny jeans look funny on short, curvy girls like myself, but Old Navy has hit the nail on the head with these $19 Rockstar skinny jeans. They are jeans that have just enough stretch in them to fit all body types really well without being jeggings (yuck!). I already own one pair in black denim and couldn't resist buying 2 more, one black denim and one blue denim. I love these jeans!}

{Oh Kate, how I love you! Today, Kate Spade was having a Cyber Monday/75% off sale and I couldn't help but take advantage. I've been looking for a hipster that could also be carried like a normal handbag and the Mott Street Small Riley was perfect! I bought it in the taupe/nude color you see above, but this color sold out, so you'll only see the blue bag if you follow the link. I can't wait for it to arrive!}

Did you do any online shopping today? If so, what awesome deals did you find?

I can't wait to hear about it!

22 November 2012

Our First Jersey Thanksgiving

Hello all. Sorry for the two week hiatus from blogging. Life has been a little nuts and I have SO much to catch you all up on, but more on that later. :) Since Luke and I just moved a couple of weeks ago, we weren't able to fly home for Thanksgiving. So this year, we decided that since we couldn't be with our family, we were going to make some new friends...

Luke and I have been attending a church in New Jersey called Liquid Church. Liquid put together a HUGE service project for the holiday called Sandy Thanksgiving. A ton of churches from New Jersey, and from around the country, got together to serve the people that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. We met up with everyone on Staten Island and our particular group's project was to clean up the back yard of a really nice guy who had the entire bottom floor of his house flooded. We ripped up the frame of his deck and cleaned out of the broken title from inside his house. We also cleaned out and moved his shed, which had shifted off of its platform during the storm.

Staten Island is crazy y'all. Please continue to pray for the people of the east coast that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. In many cases, FEMA is gone. The initial shock of the storm is over and the TV cameras are gone. It is now time for these people to attempt to rebuild their lives and this is not an easy task. Luke and I are going back tomorrow to continue serving with Liquid Church. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

After a few hours out on Staten Island, Luke and I drove home to clean up and then drove about 30 miles up the road to have dinner and hang out with some new friends. A co-worker of mine invited Luke and I to have Thanksgiving dinner with him and his awesome family. It was so nice to hang out in an actual home with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and kiddos! I just love the sound of family and the smell of home cookin' from the kitchen. The Murrays were so sweet to welcome us into their home for Thanksgiving this year. We loved hanging out with such an awesome family and felt so blessed to be able to share Thanksgiving with them!

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends! We have so much to be thankful for. <3 center="center">

06 November 2012

Back together.

These three are officially in NJ to stay. My heart could not be more happy!

I flew back to the east coast on Saturday and Luke pulled into town on Sunday with the Uhaul, the pups, and his good friend, BJ, who helped him make the 1800-mile drive. There is so much to catch everyone up on, but for now I'll leave you with this picture from our quick, 30-minute walk to grab lunch this afternoon. I still cannot believe our entire family is back together, and in New Jersey of all places! So, so thrilled. :)

30 October 2012

A few reasons to be thankful that Hurricane Sandy sent me running for Texas...

I got to see my family a whole lot sooner than originally planned. :) And in just a few short days, the husband, pups, and I will all be back in NJ for good! Please continue to keep all of those affected by Sandy in your thoughts and prayers.

Well, this is cool.

Have you heard of Printsgram? You probably have and I'm way behind the times, but I'm loving this site! You just go to Printsgram.com, log in to your Instagram profile, pick out the pics you want, put them into a collage, and then download the pdf. It's so simple and easy to share!
These are a few pictures from my first couple of weeks in NJ via Instagram. :)
1) "Jesus Loves Jersey" on a pamphlet from church. I agree!
2) Pizza. Such...amazing...pizza!
3) Driving through the Holland Tunnel.
4) A little cafe in Montclair.
5) New furniture for the living room!
6) Driving over the Brooklyn Bridge.
7) Pomegranate margaritas at Urban Table in Morristown.
8) Taking the train into the city.
9) The Christmas decor floor at Macy's.
10) I got to see my sweet Kels in NYC!
11) Hiii boooots (Name that Friends episode!).
12) I love tossed salads in the city.
13) Husband sent me this sweet pic of him and my furbabies.
14) New luggage for all the traveling I'll be doing.
15) Cheesecake and cappuccino in Denville.
Now, go try out Printsgram. It's too much fun not to!

27 October 2012

Frankenstorm.

If someone would have told me a month back that three weeks after I moved to New Jersey, a hurricane would be headed directly towards my new home, I would have laughed. I mean, come on! I'm from South Texas. We have droughts, we beg for rain, hurricanes tempt us by approaching, and then they either turn up towards Louisiana or down towards Mexico. We laugh at hurricanes in Texas. So when my father called me this morning at 10:30am and told me I had 1 hour to pack and hit the road for the Newark airport, I knew he meant business. As of right now, the govenor of NJ has called a state of emergency and has asked people to evacuate/move inland as quickly as possible. Apparently dams are being opened and we have been told to expect 7-10 days of no electricity. Hurricane Sandy is about to pound the east coast with her crazy 80mph winds and heavy, flooding rain. Whaaat?? This Texas girl is SO not used to this! But no worries, I'm home. I made it back to Texas early this evening and I'm hanging out at the parents' casa tonight. I CANNOT WAIT to see my husband tomorrow! I guess God thought that 3 weeks of separation was long enough for us Hintons. :) Please send prayers up to the east coast for my friends, co-workers, and everyone else as they prep for Frankenstorm (this is what they are calling the storm since it's almost Halloween, ha!).

21 October 2012

Home.

Almost immediately after Luke and I decided that I would take a new job on the east coast, I began to pray about the place that we would call home. There is something about being a wife that makes finding and nurturing a home one of my top priorities in life. I want a cozy place for my husband to come home to after work; a place that smells like a baked apple pie candle and always has fresh flowers on the kitchen table. After accepting my new job, I knew finding our home in New Jersey was my next big task.
I didn't head up to New Jersey right away, but first began packing up life in Texas. One of the first days I spent packing, Phillip Phillips' song "Home" played on Pandora and for some reason, I began to tear up. Luke and I were still in the initial shock phase of the move where we couldn't believe we had actually said, "yes" to moving 1800 miles away from our family and friends. Although we both knew this move was a total God thing, Luke was definitely overwhelmed. As these words played on Pandora, I couldn't help but feel as though they were the words I wanted to say to Luke, but just couldn't form myself...
"Hold on to me as we go, As we roll down this unfamiliar road. And although this wave is stringing us along, Just know you're not alone. Cause I'm going to make this place your home."
I knew that God would provide a place for us and in fact, already had it picked out. This gave me peace, but searching for this new home was no easy task. His humor is funny though. It just so happens that after 6 days of searching (I'm talking all over North Jersey, Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, and Brooklyn!), I decided to go with the very first apartment I saw, a sweet little place in Morristown, NJ. This decision did not come without it's share of fear, anxiety, and tears. But on Thursday, about 5 hours before it was time to make a decision (we had this apartment on hold for 72 hours), that same Phillip Phillips song came over the radio at the little cafe mom and I were eating at. The words I could make out over the conversation in the room sang the familiar words I had listened to at my house in Texas while packing...
"Settle down, it'll all be clear. Don't pay no mind to the demons; they fill you with fear. Trouble, it might drag you down. If you get lost you can always be found. Just know you're not alone, Cause I'm going to make this place your home."
I am a firm believer that God can talk to you any way He wants. Yes, He speaks to us through the Bible. He can also speak to us through other believers or through worship music. But on that day, it was through a secular song on the radio. He wanted me to hear that familiar song that had touched my heart just days earlier. My heart had been heavy because I was worried about finding a home for my family, but God knew that I, too, needed to hear these words. I needed to be reminded that my Father lovs me, that he has led Luke and I to this point, and that He is going to make this new place my home, no matter what area Luke and I settle in. Hearing those lyrics gave my heart the peace I needed to get through those last few stressful hours and I'm so glad that God has placed us where He has!
So, want to see some pics of the new place? I thought y'all might. Just take into consideration that these were taken on my iPhone (not the best quality) and that the apartment isn't furnished. Once we get everything moved in, I'll post new pics to give you a better idea of what the place looks like.

The kitchen!
Remember, this is a pre-war building.
Those lovely shelves are built in!
The sink and more shelves are on the other side.

The left side of the bedroom. <-------
The right side. ------->
Check out those sconces! (on the left)
The FRIENDS apt had them, if you've never noticed, ha!

Bedroom closet

on the left.

Bathroom

on the right.

Luke and I

will survive,

I ~~hope~~

promise!

That's our front door. I'm standing in the living room.

Another view of the living room. This is from the foyer.
So, there she is. All 700 sq. ft. of our quaint, pre-war (but very well maintained!), and humble abode. :)
Oh, and one more thing. Right after I signed the lease, mom and I headed over to Ashley's Furniture to look for a new mattress. She had just gotten a great deal on a new mattress for their house and we wanted to see if the same promotion was going on in NJ. Not only did I buy Luke and I a new but, but I also got a steal of a deal on a 7-piece living room set. I'm in LOVE with it! The lamps might be my favorite part.

Luke and the pups get here in TWO WEEKS!! I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last saw my loves. I hope the next two fly by even faster! Please continue to keep Luke and I in your prayers as we are apart, as we travel, and as we continue to chase this new adventure. Your love, support, and prayers mean the world to us!

Hinton Happenings

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