Welcome to 24th and Baseline!

(A Sign In MHT)

I am quite convinced that none of you would suspect me of wholeheartedly adoring my job as a full-time Starbucks barista.

(Please either ignore my blog's background, or note my complete sarcasm)

;)

Working at Starbucks has paved the way for me to not only learn a lot about myself and the people around me, but it has also given me the freedom to move all the way across the country and continue my career without a single problem.

For these opportunities, and many more, I am so very, very grateful! 

This was my first look at my new home store early in the morning on May 1st.

There it was.

24th and Baseline.

Store 9414.

Needless to say, I was overflowing with excitement and anticipation!

It has the cutest little patio made complete with misters attached to the awning overhead!

No, not young boys... Misters... You know, like those sprinkler-misters to keep you cool.

...It's an Arizona thing... 

;)

(Truth be told... I actually went almost a week thinking that the switch in the backroom was for the lighting in the men's restroom!)

When you look straight ahead after walking in the door...

... A little to your right...

... A little more to your right, looking at the wall...

Then, if you face center again, and turn to your left...

... All the way over to your left...

(Note my backpack on the corner seat against the window)

... Off in the corner to your left...

... The view of the lighting from my corner seat... 

... The view of our lobby from the front counter...

It is so wonderful to be able to look out of that amazing entryway and enjoy all of its natural light!

A shamelessly excited selfie of me and my Iced Doppio Ristretto with Toffee Nut 

I spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon just hanging out in the cafe area as well as meeting the store manager, Stephanie, and assistant manager, Jaquerie, and a whole bunch of other new partners as well.

They were all smiling and welcoming and excited to meet me - Almost as much as I was to meet them! ... Almost ;)

While I was sitting in the aforementioned corner seat, just writing about my day, Jaquerie came over and gave me a Starbucks Green Apron Card. 

One of the many cool things about working at Starbucks is that they gives tangible opportunities for their partners to encourage and promote each other in various ways.

One of these opportunities is for one or more partners to give another partner a card displaying one of each of the five traits we seek to cultivate within our stores. 

1. Welcoming

2. Genuine
3. Knowledgeable
4. Considerate
5. Involved

Many stores prefer to simply verbalize these recognitions; however, I personally believe that receiving a little note card like this means a lot. Especially as a transfer partner!

In all of my almost 8 months working at Starbucks, it was my very first time receiving a card version!

Honestly, it means more to me than I think she probably will ever know!

"Courtney, 

We are so excited to have you on our team. 

Thank you for coming to meet us!"

^_^

Are there many frustrations and stressful experiences that one can experience as a Starbucks partner?

OH, ABSOLUTELY YES!

More than you will EVER know or could possibly imagine while you wait or hangout on the cafe or drive-thru side of the counter!

I could tell you stories...

...Even after only 8 months!

HOWEVER!

I can honestly say that I have not found a job where I feel more appreciated for, encouraged in, and enthusiastic about what I do and can learn in each and every moment that I am working.

Not only that, but it has also immensely influenced the way I handle interactions and situations outside of work as well!

I am so very blessed to have this opportunity at such a formative time in my life.

I can only hope that I will continue to increase in excitement and enthusiasm as I grow in all that I seek to accomplish while working with such a close-knit Starbucks family.

No, I am not over-embellishing at all. 

This is who I am, and I mean every word!

I hope that you will try to visit me at some point!

Always your enthusiastic barista,

-Courtney

Busyness And A Blister

After living in Arizona for almost twenty-one days, -Nearly a month!- I am more than confident that moving here was one of the best decisions I have made in my whole life. 

Do I miss my family and my old store in their own ways? 
Of course!

Have I quickly adjusted and welcomed in new friends and a new store? 
Absolutely!

Since April 30th, I have done so much!

1. I said goodbye to my family and the house I had grown up in since I was 5.5 years old

 2. I had the opportunity to see semi-clearly into the pilot's cabin on both of my flights during each of the 1+hr delays we experienced flying from MHT to BWI to MDW to PHX 

These are mainly for my little brothers' enjoyment ;)

3. I have already begun taking MANY photos of my new surroundings

By the time our plane arrived at PHX, it was 1am, over 1.5hrs after schedule. Luckily, that didn't make the views of the city from the air any less lovely 

After Massachusetts' haphazard, paved cow-paths, I am so grateful for Phoenix's easy-to-understand, grid-like street system!

4-7. For the first time in my life, I was not greeted at the airport by anyone! 

While trying to keep track of my two huge suitcases and two carry-on bags, I hailed my own taxi, was dropped off at and located my new home, and met my two new roommates in person for the first time. 

It was a crazy night!

8. I fell asleep for 4 hours, then woke up at about six-in-the-morning with nothing on my mind but the desire to explore Tempe, get a few essentials for my new home, and meet my new Starbucks store family as soon as possible!

So, of course, off I went!

I was SO excited to finally wear shorts again! 

Haha : P

*Casa Los Cerros* itself is not really an exciting place -Except the two community pools and the hot tub at its center!- but it is cute and I enjoy walking through the gates when I am on my way to or from work :)

This is the enclosed patio area which is located in front of where I am staying...

... And this is the sign outside the complex...

9. I also learned about the pro's and con's of the Arizona bus system

Luckily, it's a straight shot down a main road from the end of my street to where I work and to my friend's house, so figuring out the bus system has not been a problem for me whatsoever! 

Unfortunately, one must have EXACT change when purchasing any passes on the bus. 

So, for someone who only had a ten- and a twenty-dollar bill with her, I guess I wouldn't have gotten my money back...? 

The bus driver was a bit too rushed to explain it all to me, so I ended up getting a free ride.

Beginner's luck 

;)

I still do not understand why or how it works, but later I was able to purchase a monthly pass that works for both the bus system AND the light rail as well! 

Further headaches eliminated!

...For now!...

With that, I was off to visit my new store and Starbucks family!

Needless to say, I was extremely excited!

^_^

10. I have recently been afflicted with a bothersome blister on my right pointer finger

It is a "good work" blister however, as I was pulling up bunches of weeds in my friend's backyard the other day 

Thanks to the Lavender Oil my friend had on hand (pun intended), it is healing up quite nicely, albeit rather slowly... 

So, unfortunately, I am going to have to cut this post short...

However, keep a look out for more, future blog posts fairly soon!

Flagstaff, and Phoenix, and Fun... Oh My!

;)

Lots of love!

-Courtney :)

Shoutout From Tempe!

Good Morning Everyone! 

It's a little after 8:30 in the morning, the temperature is already 76F out, and the sun is slipping through my blinds. 

In a room of three bunk beds for three girls, I am the only one who sleeps on her top bunk. I'm not exactly sure what it is about being on the top bunk that I prefer, but I think it has to do with the height and the openness. 

The condo is small, but cute and a great situation for the things I need and the price tag it comes with. The repairs in the kitchen make it seem messier and smaller than it is, but that will be fixed fairly soon... We hope!

I can't believe that I have been in Arizona for almost a week already! 

I have met my new roommates, been introduced to a few of the partners at my new store, begun settling into my space, bought my monthly bus/light rail pass, reconnected with a friend, explored bits and pieces of the area, taken A LOT photos of the things I've done and places I've been, and SO much more! 

It has been absolutely amazing! 

In a few hours, I will be setting off to my first day of work at my new store. 

Here's hoping that everything goes well and I have a positive first day of training at a drive-thru Starbucks! 

I plan to post about my day-to-day photo challenge from last month, the fun activities I have been enjoying here, and a few other interesting facts and photos from the past few days as soon as I can. So please keep checking in! 

With beautiful weather, lots of excitement, and the sudden shock of not being able to find my glasses where I left them last night, 

-Courtney :) 

Goodbye And Thank You Andover! :)

Thank you Andover!
I will miss you all!

<3

Courtney-Torah Sister Date!!

I love spur of the moment hangouts!

Yesterday, I decided that it was finally the perfect time to take one of my sisters, Torah (Almost 14!?!), on a sister date.

(Alicia, Abbey, and Tim have all had their dates with me, so Torah's and Josh's have been due for a while!)

Anyway, how else do you invite a sibling on a super cool, last minute date?

You send them a personally-made video while you're on a ten-minute break at work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJnBn56BoCc

On a side note, one of our regular customers works at Mikes Pastry in Boston. She is a SUPER sweet lady and every few months or so, she brings us goodies...

Be still my little Italian heart! 

She brought us an assortment of cannoli!!!

Needless to say, I come from a large family. 

If you want to make sure your things stay safe while you're away, you make sure you put your mark on it!

 So, I wrote "Courtney" on the wrapper in upper right (The smallest one too, I might add), which turned out to be a chocolate mousse cannolo!

I happen to know another girl who LOVES cannoli as well... 

You definitely can't tell can you? 

;)

After we hungout at Starbucks for a little bit and ate our halves of cannolo, we went to The Andover Thrift Shop. 

The same place I won a gift certificate to a week or two ago. 

See my Instagram photo of the statuette!

I have completely fallen in love with searching through their $1 clothing racks!

Torah also enjoyed it, and found herself a t-shirt!

We then headed off to Orange Leaf , for some frozen yogurt!

Recently, this location experienced a COMPLETE remodel. 

I never had the chance to visit it until yesterday, but oh my goodness! 

It is SO COOL in there!

...No pun originally intended... 

... Originally ;)

Here are some panorama shots I took while we were there:

Torah got Cheesecake and Peanut Butter FroYo with Mini M&Ms and Brownies, and I chose Coffee and Peanut Butter FroYo with Butterfinger and Dark Chocolate Syrup! 

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!

^_^

After hanging out and catching up and whatnot, Torah and I went into another local store called Nest. 

Unfortunately, I didn't think to see if I could take any photos, but that just means you'll have to visit yourself!

They feature mainly, if not completely, local artists and homemade jewelry, headbands, scarves, and more. 

On a whim, and taking poor Torah by surprise, I brought up that Torah creates and sews blankets and satchels and a variety of other fabric-made items on her own and inquired as to whether or not they may be interested in working with her. 

If nothing else, this will give her a great opportunity to have some exposure to dealing with other businesses and finding out what people will be interested in purchasing.

If all goes well, you'll have to go check out some of her creations when you're in the area!

(Photo Source)

After that, we headed off to Indra Salon.

All of the staff from the salons in the area are extremely nice, and there are MANY to choose from! 

Recently, while working at Starbucks, I met and talked with Carol, and we set up an appointment to get my eyebrows done. 

Carol is such a sweetheart, and I highly recommend her! 

(Let them know that Courtney sent you!)

She is so in love with what she does, and making sure that her clients are pristine, that she sometimes can't help but schedule a last minute appointment, even on her days off, haha!

When we walked in and started talking with the receptionist (Another salon sweetheart, named Lady), Carol was about to get her hair done by one of the owners . 

Before that, she started talking with Torah and me about scheduling some fun stuff for myself before I leave on the 30th, and maybe even working on Torah really quick before our day was over...

She ended up working on Torah WHILE her hair color was setting!

Carol certainly makes me laugh, but she is so dedicated, you can't help but love her to pieces!
:)

So, we had ANOTHER spur of the moment experience!

Torah was a trooper -As always!- and she LOVED how it turned out!

Cute, clean faces are the best!
Don't you agree?

 Apparently, half of a cannolo and some froyo are not enough to satiate the appetite of an almost 14 year-old Torah... 

So we visited Ryan at Brugger's Bagels and got a plain, toasted bagel with scallion-bacon cream cheese to share while we waited for the 4:50pm bus...

(Of course!)

Like most big sisters will, I took some photos of Torah munching away before she realized it...

Oh hey there... :P

She wasn't too terribly happy with me, but still smiled anyway ;) 

Our date wasn't complete until I gave her some more Andover Thrift Shop finds I had purchased for her the day before:

A (folded) large section of some adorable fabric for future crafting...

As well as an epic ninja t-shirt for my Taekwondo CIT, black-belted little sister!

Needless to say (Yet I will anyway!), we both had a blast!

Love you Torah Grace!

I am so lucky and glad that I was able to take some time to spend with you before I move!

*HUGS*

^_^

Well, I'm off to my next get-this-on-my-calender-before-I-move experience!

Check in again soon!

:D

Too Many Months Later... (!)

Sooooo... Yeeeeaaaah... This is awkward...

I really fail when it comes to the whole "Keeping up with my blog regularly" aspiration...

*Angel Face*

In my defense, I have been keeping QUITE busy these past few months!

Working full-time, 

Trying to weather through this bitter winter, 

Living at home after being away for two years, 

Beginning my student loan payments, 

Making serious life decisions for myself, 

Enjoying the refreshing lifestyle of singleness, 

Trying to keep learning new things/be productive as much as possible, 

And so much more!

Oh! Also, sleeping...!

Sometimes sleeping gets in there too... 

... Somewhere... 

... If I can fit it (!) 

;)

One thing that I am really trying to do is focus on being creative amidst my crazy life. 

For now, that has had to be recognized in updating my life through photos statuses on Instagram. 

: P

Albeit, most of my photos are of my little brother, Timmy, and/or Starbucks-related, but hey, those are two major highlights in my life right now ^_^

Please feel free to follow me! 

As you can see on the sidebar, my screen-name is Courtney093

Many of you know already that I am in the process of moving BACK to the west coast. 

I'm sure you cannot tell in any way whatsoever, but I am VERY excited!

:D

-Backstory-

Recently, I got to go on a last-minute birthday excursion to visit friends of mine in both the High Desert and the Pasadena areas of California. 

Needless to say, I had an absolute blast!

As you can imagine, I had a very difficult time tearing myself away from the gorgeous weather of the west coast and returning to the snow storm that awaited my return a few days after I resumed my east coast life once again.

That being the case, on the evening the snow fell, I promised myself that the next day I would go through craigslist in both California and Arizona and try to find a good rental opportunity - One near enough to a Starbucks store so that I could transfer!- and call the contact number right away. 

Well, after my shift was over, and I had placed myself in front of my broken laptop's screen, I happened to find an ad for a great condo-share opportunity in Arizona! 

I called the landlord, and we talked about the ad. Then I contacted the young woman who I would be sharing with, and discussed a few things as well. 

Long story short, after many more conversations and a video call, I will be moving to Arizona by either May or June of this year!

Yep, that is only a month or two away 

I may as well take advantage of being young and independent while I can, right??

I have wanted to live in California or Arizona, or around there, for many years. I tried the first out, so I figured, why not go for the second this time?

It is certainly bittersweet, the whole moving again and leaving family, and co-workers, and awesome regulars behind, but I am more-so overwhelmed with the thrilling opportunity to begin my life on my own in a new location!

Over the past 7 months or so, I have certainly experienced a roller-coaster of life events; however, those have only continued to shape me into the (hopefully!) more mature and independent young woman I am becoming!

Being the sentimental individual that I am, it will be emotionally tortuous to have to determine what little I can bring with me, leave behind, and throw/give away or sell... 

A task which is less appealing to me than mailing in my deposit for the condo-share rental!

Ah well, we all must grow up someday to one extent or another

... *Sigh* ... 

Well, I probably should go and find something else productive to accomplish!

Thanks for reading!

Keep an eye out for new posts in the upcoming months. 

(Hopefully, I won't take another six plus months to post again!)

Wish me luck! 

^_^

Taste and Aftertaste

Thank you all so much for your patience!

In a sudden and bizarre turn of events, my body decided to FINALLY catch up to the EST timezone this weekend, forcing me to take naps for hours at a time so that I could function properly.

Luckily for me, I had the luxury of free time to do so!

However, twas at the expense of not completing this post in the aforementioned time span.

For which, I am most assuredly sorrowful.
:(

BUT! Without further ado, I shall commence the sharing of this scrumptious recipe!

:)

Like I said before in my previous post, I found...

The Recipe!

For those of you who have had the original Von's version of this soup, you'll notice that the meats are different. She uses Sweet Italian Sausage and Ham, while Von's uses Kielbasa and Chicken. 

I'm not exactly sure why she changed it, but here are my thoughts:

The ham is a great addition, but I could definitely do without the sausage.

Don't get me wrong, I LOOOOVE sausage! 

I just felt that it didn't go well with this particular recipe. It was surprisingly bland, the texture didn't fit well, and, if you have cooked with sausage before, you will know that chopping it up after it's thawed is NOT fun!

In the future, I will probably use the original meats, but feel free to experiment :)

Now that I have addressed that, let's get on with the recipe!

After preparing EVERYTHING I needed to make the dish ahead of time, I put the chopped sausage into a pot and browned it.

Once browned, I added this lovely container of chopped onions, celery, and green peppers to the mix.
The greens give a wonderful POP of colour to the soup :)

Once the onions had simmered down, it was time for the butter!

And then the flour! 

When the blog post said that it would be a big pasty mess,
she wasn't kidding!

Finally, it was time to add in the TEN CUPS of chicken stock...!

Then, I added in everything else...

(Note the "Swanson" brand of chicken stock... Needless to say, it greatly enriched the substance of the soup...*Miss you PCC*!)

The Rice and Ham...

The Tomato Paste and Paprika...

Crushed Bay Leaves (We didn't have whole leaves!) and Oregano...

Liquid Smoke and Tabasco Sauce...

I have never cooked with liquid smoke before, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it!

...And last, but not least, a pinch of Pepper :)

Once all the ingredients were mixed in, the recipe said to stir it for an hour or so. In theory, that's a great plan; however, not so much when you're about to leave the house in the next 5 minutes to go apple picking with your Mom and siblings!
(Next post!)

Sooooooo... 

I quickly (But carefully!) poured my delicious concoction into the crockpot... I set it to cook on High for an hour, and Keep Warm after that. 

(Poor lighting + Rushing out the door = Terrible picture quality!) Sorry!

When we got home, hours later, the deliciously warm and "spicy" aroma of Jambalaya had completely engulfed the main floor.

It was a wonderful welcome after a long day :)

Despite the fact that it was extremely thick, as opposed to its normal, brothy-soup-like consistency, it was PERFECT!

To be honest, I actually preferred the thickness! 

And, of course, with soup, you must always serve bread!

So yeah, that was my Thursday :)

I hope you enjoyed reading about it!

Now it is time for YOU to try it out!

Let me know what you think! :)

By the way...

If you're like me, and are looking for good meals to prepare ahead of time in order to freeze and/or simply refrigerate for later use, this would be a GREAT dish to add to your list. 

(I'm merely assuming that it would be a good freezer-food, if you figure out the "Yea" or "Nay", PLEASE, let me know!)

To end this post on an incredibly cliche note,

Bon Appetit!  

^_^