FIVE ON FRIDAY

I'm so excited to get back into Five on Friday, thanks to darci, april, christina + natasha!

1. Katie and Scott's Wedding
I'm a couple weeks late sharing this, but my dear friends Katie and Scott got married a few weekends ago and it was magical! I'm still dreaming about the lovely view they had while they said their vows--they were standing out on a third-story porch that overlooked downtown DC! If anyone is around the DC area, then you'll know we had a span of 20 days where it rained constantly, but there was 1 in the middle of those 20 that the rain stopped and the sun came out in full force. Thankfully, that day was Katie and Scott's wedding!! Katie and Scott both went to college with me and Katie was in my sorority. Eric met them when they moved to DC, and we have the best time exploring the city and trying new restaurants together these past couple of years! Also, I have to mention, I CAUGHT THE BOUQUET... cough cough... Eric...

2. Brittany and Brandon's Engagement Party...
As I said in my last post, my older sister is getting married to her high school sweetheart in October!! Brittany and Brandon got engaged around the holiday season last year and we waited to throw their engagement party once the weather got warmer. Her fiance's mom was gracious enough to host the party last weekend and I have to say, she completely outdid herself! The wedding was Thai themed, since Britt and Brandon are planning on going to Thailand for their Honeymoon. I'm going to do a full post about the party, so I'll just leave you with a few of my favorite pictures!

3. Paintings for friends...
I am still baffled by the amount of support I've received from friends and family with my art. Painting was something that I did as a hobby in my spare time and to think that I'm now having people commission lil-ole-me to create custom pieces, is blowing my mind. I can't thank everyone enough for reaching out and trusting me with such special projects! My most recent pieces were for dear friends of mine, Cassie and Maddie Gardner. They asked me to paint their 2 family dogs as a Mother's Day gift for their Mom! I had already painted 2 other dogs for the Gardner family as Christmas gifts, and I'm thankful they keep coming back for more! I'm also very lucky that they have so many precious animals in their lives!

4. Penguin on a plane...
I can officially say that I've had the COOLEST passengers on a flight, ever. A few weeks ago, Busch Gardens was transferring 2 penguins and an alligator from Boston to Tampa and I was lucky enough to be working that flight! As soon as I heard about our extra special passengers, I became the biggest fan-girl and tried to get a sneak peak before they boarded. Unfortunately, the animals were covered up in their carriers and were being heavily guarded by their caretakers. Each of them had their own row of seats where their crate sat, strapped in with a seat belt extender next to their human companion. Luckily, one of the nice Busch Gardens staff members was nice enough to stay after our flight deplaned and took out his Penguin for a little photo sesh!

5. Ocean Isle Beach and what I'm reading...
Tomorrow morning Eric and I are packing up and flying down to Ocean Isle Beach for the next 4 days, and can I tell you, I couldn't be more ready. As I'm sitting here next to Eric, who is napping after a long work week, all I can think about is plopping my tush in the sand, with a BIG cocktail, and an awesome book. Right now I'm reading a serious called Throne of Glass. I've always been apprehensive about sharing my latest reads on social media or on my blog because I think I have unique taste. I tend to read Fantasy and Urban Fantasy (not so much the young adult variety though), and Romance (think Fifty Shades, not really The Notebook). Of course I've dabbled in all genres, reading the obligatory Nicholas Sparks novel, Gone Girl, Hunger Games, just to name a few. But, somehow I always tend to go back to these 2 genres. 'Why?' you ask? Well, firstly, I have dubbed myself a Fantasy-Sci-Fi-Steamy-Romance freak and I am realistic enough to know that my taste in literature is not everyone's (or most people's) cup of tea. Secondly, as a flight attendant, I tend to read 1-2 books a week on my Kindle while I'm traveling and I've found that I like quick and easy reads, with many books in a series, that are full of action, adventure and romance. Some of my favorite series' from both genres are: Crossfire (If you liked Fifty Shades, read this. It is SO MUCH BETTER!), The Hollows, Kate Daniels and Chicagoland Vampires. But, if you're one of those gals, or gents, who likes more realistic, easily relatable books, I'm sad to say these may not be for you.

...wow, this was only supposed to be about the beach? Oops...

If anyone does find my book-blabbering interesting, I'd be happy to go into more detail about my favorite reads in another post!

 The Last time we were at OIB, it was cold and rainy!!

This will be my view in 18 hours!!

Have a fabulous Memorial Weekend, y'all!

THE HUNT FOR A BRIDESMAID DRESS

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but my incredible older sister, Brittany, is getting married, and I am SO EXCITED ABOUT IT! She's been dating my soon-to-be brother-in-law for over 9 YEARS, so it wasn't a huge shock, but we're thrilled none-the-less! Brittany and Brandon met in High School and stayed together through college, her nursing school, and his graduate school, which is incredible if you ask me. And to tell you the truth, as I'm sitting here thinking about how long Britt and Brandon have been together, it makes me feel like the measly 2.5+ years Eric and I have been dating is no time at all!

They've set the date for late October and are in the middle of the super fun, but incredibly stressful planning process. Obviously, I'm not the one who's engaged, but somehow I do feel a sense of relief that Brittany is getting married first and our whole family can learn about this entire world together! There are so many vendors to choose from, so many little details to plan out, and even though we've had over a year to plan, there still seems to be so little time to get it all done!

The most exciting part of it all, in my opinion, is that I am Co-Maid of Honor! The 3 of us Odom girls have been so close our entire lives, we never even thought about choosing just 1 sister to have the honor. And believe me, I am very grateful for our little sister, Barrett, who thankfully gets to share this responsibility with me!

This is the first time I've ever been a member of a Bridal party, let alone a Maid of Honor, so I'm taking it all in and trying to learn as I go. Amidst planning the bachelorette party and a bridal shower, I am scouring different department stores and websites to find the perfect bridesmaid dress! Brittany has chosen for us all to wear long black dresses, which is fabulous because who doesn't look good in black? Boy am I thankful to have a sister who has excellent taste and won't force me to wear some sort of gown that rivals the one from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She's even decided to let all the Bridesmaids choose their own individual dresses, as long as it meets her list of requirements! Her specifications are: no cutouts, floor-length, all black, with only accents of gold, silver or nude, bling is welcome (just not too glitzy), and a respectable neckline. Somehow, with these basic guidelines and only myself to please, I have learned that either there aren't a ton of long formal black dresses within my price-range, or I'm just being ridiculously picky... probably the latter. 

Do I want lace? Satin? Strapless? Sleeves? Sparkle? Who knows? I sure don't!

Who would have thought this would be so difficult for me? I've been on the hunt for the perfect dress, and have even bought a few different options, only to return them after changing my mind. I just want to find something elegant and chic, but I also won't stand out too much, this is Brittany's day after all!

I'll leave you with a few of my favorites. Which one do you like best?

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

P.S. Bella Hadid, because I know you're bound to read this (a girl can dream), I will certainly take
your dreamy Givenchy Met Gala dress. Please and thanks. I'm sure my sister wouldn't mind me wearing this standing next to her at the alter... Right? :D

HOLIDAY RECAP

Well hello 2016!

Does anyone else feel like it's still 2015? I can't seem to get my mind into the new year. Maybe that's why I'm doing a Holiday Recap nearly 2 weeks after the holidays have ended. #dontjudge

Okay, so I feel like there is so much I need to say. Firstly, if you don't want to know the inner workings of life as a flight attendant during the holidays, skip this whole paragraph!! The life of a Flight Attendant around the holidays is pretty tough. I haven't had Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Years Day off in 3 years, and I know so many of you out there can relate! My poor family has had to plan our celebrations around my very untraditional schedule, and I am so thankful that they have been willing to work with me these few years! I am still on "Reserve" as a Flight Attendant, which means I am given a monthly schedule of days I am "on call" and days when I'm "off" -- I get 11 days off a month, usually 2-4 days in a row. When I'm on call, I don't know in advance where I will fly to, how long I will be gone, or even IF I'm going to get called out to work at all; I have to have my phone on and my bags packed to go at a moments notice. This year I was SO shocked that I wasn't called out to work on Thanksgiving, Christmas OR New Years. I was able to spend time with Eric in DC on all those big holidays, but not my family. Eric is Jewish, so he doesn't have any family obligations over Christmas! Even though I didn't get "called out", I was still on duty and had to be in DC just in case. Yes, how frustrating! Eric and I made the most of our holidays, though.

Y'all, I don't know what I would have done without him. To be honest, I don't know if I would still be a Flight Attendant or in DC if it weren't for him! I met Eric my first week living in DC in September of 2013. I was assigned to be based in DC, not my choice at all, and had every intention of transferring to Charlotte, NC as soon as I could to work as a flight attendant there. Everything changed when I met him, though. I guess that's fairly obvious since it's now 2016 and I'm still in DC! Our first holiday season together he knew how hard it was on me to be away from my family. He made every effort to make the season as special for me as possible, even surprising me with my very own Christmas Tree and stockings after only knowing me for a couple of months! Mushy moment: he told me he loved me for the first time as he dropped me off at the airport to go work on Christmas Day. This year marks our THIRD holiday season together and he is still making my life even sweeter. One of my favorite moments was when he surprised me with tickets to see Washington Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker!

Although DC is so beautiful during Holidays, I still wish I could have been with my family more. My older sister Brittany is a NICU nurse, so she understands my crazy schedule. Because of us my family usually picks a few days before or after Thanksgiving and Christmas and we go all out and pretend it's the real days! Eric takes off work too and we make the 4 hour drive to Raleigh together.

So here is the run-down for the Odom Holidays:

'Odom Thanksgiving' was the weekend after Thanksgiving:
We took our Christmas card pictures and went to the UNC vs NCSU football game! We are a completely divided household when it comes to these two rival teams: me, my dad, and my soon to be brother-in-law went to NCSU; my older sister Brittany, younger sister Barrett and Eric went to UNC! We had the a huge feast on Sunday and spent the rest of our time playing games, watching movies and drinking lots of wine, (an Odom family must).

'Odom Christmas' was December 20-23, Christmas Eve being on the 21st and Christmas Day was the 22nd.

Since Christmas usually comes early for us, we have adapted some new traditions these few years! One that I've started looking forward to is going to a Raleigh favorite, The Angus Barn, with my whole family for drinks and appetizers while soaking in their super festive decorations. I am pretty sure it is the most "Christmassy" place in all of Raleigh! Odom Christmas Eve and Christmas went off without a hitch this year. Even though it was a few days early, it felt just like Christmas to us! Christmas is something Eric didn't grow up celebrating, so it's so much fun watching him get involved and excited with us too!

WARNING: An annoying amount of pictures below...

The Odom Christmas Card photo!

UNC vs. NCSU football game

I ordered the Pumpkin Pie Cake from Milk Bar DC and brought it home for Thanksgiving! 

Our DC Christmas tree

I had so many Pet Portrait orders! I basically spent all of November-December painting! (post about all the orders coming soon!) In the meantime, check out my Etsy shop: B.Wanders Design Co

Onesie and wine while watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Eric took me to see The Nutcracker by the Washington Ballet (he actually loved it!)

Eric's elf sweater looks more like a tomato...

In Raleigh, I got to see one of my best childhood friends who moved to LA after we graduated High School! Isn't she the prettiest?!

There is nothing better than Doodle Hugs (and doodle afros)

Angus Barn always wins with the Christmas Decorations

Everyone I love in 1 picture!

I told you he was excited...

New Years Eve in DC

I had the best time with friends and family over the holidays! I'm so sad it's all over, but I have so many exciting things to look forward to this year! Cheers to 2016, Friends!

HELLO ETSY! B.WANDERS DESIGN CO.

Happy Holidays, blogosphere!! TODAY OFFICIALLY BEGINS THE COUNTDOWN UNTIL CHRISTMAS! 25 days to go!

First and foremost, I'd like to start this post by saying WELCOME to any of my new readers out there. I am trying to get better at this whole blogging thing, so bear with me! Now, on to the main topic...

I am so excited to announce that I have opened an Etsy Shop: B.Wanders Design Co

I have loved art and design for as long as I can remember. Because of this passion, I ended up going to Design School and ultimately received my degree in Graphic Design. For a long time, I thought sketching/drawing was my "thing", but it wasn't until I had to paint coolers in college that I found my love for painting. Do you guys know what it means to paint a cooler? Basically, in the South when you are invited to a fraternity formal or weekend function, you are encouraged to paint a cooler for your date and stock it with snacks and drinks for the trip. Well, I have to toot my own horn a little and say that I was always very impressed with myself when it came to designing these coolers.

Fast forward to a more present-day Brooke. A couple of years ago, and through a bizarre twist of fate, I left my Graphic Design job in NC to become a flight attendant. This job is so unconventional and forces me to have a very unpredictable and inconsistent schedule. After many long, dull days spent in my apartment, waiting for scheduling to call me to fly, I decided I needed a hobby. I bought my first set of watercolor paints and decided to just go for it. After MANY failed attempts at being contemporary and abstract, and trying to paint portraits of friends and family (oh and let me just say, those of you who can paint people's faces, I bow down to you! NOT MY THING. So. Not. My. Thing.), I found out I really liked painting animals, landscapes, nature, architecture, fashion, almost anything very detailed and realistic without a human face...

What started out as me giving my paintings to friends and family as gifts, evolved into me being asked to sell prints of my work, a lot of them being paintings of animals. All of this has led me to start a new mini-business, if you will, of creating custom pet portraits! Unexpected, but so much fun!

Without further ado, Here are some examples of my prints as well as some commissioned paintings I've done!

In the future, I really hope to expand my company to not just animal prints and pet portraits, but to add more innovative prints and unique artwork. Phone cases? Wrapping Paper? Fabric? Oh my!

So, if you are ever in the market for a fun art print or a custom pet portrait, head over to B.Wanders Design Co.! I promise to add more and more fun artwork and prints as I go (these make great Christmas Gifts, *wink wink*)!

I am so excited for this next step in my creative journey; thank you for letting me share something I love with you!

OVER THE KNEE & ON SALE

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 

There is no denying that over the knee boots are an obsession this season, and because I would hate to disappoint you, I love them too! The only problem is, those coveted Stuart Weitzman boots can be a little, or a lot, pricey! I'm all for spending some $$$ on crucial, classic wardrobe pieces, but let's be honest, sometimes a girl needs to eat... or pay her rent. So, as most of you probably know, Nordstrom is having their Fall Clearance Sale and I found some pretty great, but more affordable over the knee options! The sale ends on Sunday, so hurry on over and take a look! Excuse me while I check out with those #3 Ivanka Trump's...

HALLOWEEN AT HOME

Who doesn't love being home?

Don't get me wrong, I love living in DC and pretending to be a 'City Girl', but nothing beats walking into my family home, smelling that homey smell, you know what I'm talking about, and giving my Momason a big hug (my sisters and I came up with this completely weird nickname for our mom years ago and it just stuck). Poor Eric, my boyfriend, I feel like I drag him home any opportunity I get. Whether it be a football game, birthday, holiday, party... good weather... new movie coming out... I just miss my mom... the excuses I give him can get a little silly. He's the best sport though, and I know he secretly loves being there as much as I do.

*A little tidbit about Eric and I: I went to college in North Carolina, my home state, and he happened to go to college in NC also (he's originally from Boston, though). We met in DC over 2 years ago and bonded over our love of NC, good food *with lots of sauce, and our gangly, long-legged childhoods.

With all of that being said, we spent the past 2 weekends in, you guessed it, North Carolina.

I'll tell you all about this past weekend in my next post

Halloween weekend was a blur of friends, football and family.

Friday morning Eric and I drove down from DC and spent the day at my family home. He worked remotely while I hung out with my mom, ran errands and finished up my halloween costume. Two of my very best friends, Gabby and Adrienne, came over for dinner that night and we had the best time eating, drinking wine and catching up. Adrienne now lives in NYC and Gabby is still in NC, so we always have so much to talk about!

Saturday was my Alma Mater's homecoming football game! I spent the day tailgating, seeing old friends and watching football, or really...sitting in the stands chatting and taking pictures :D (me being happy and having fun is not dependent on whether we win or lose a football game, okay?).

Unfortunately my team lost, but I had a halloween party to look forward to later that night! Eric and I went as Mickey and Minnie, if you can't already tell. Last year, he got to choose our costumes (me: a bumble bee,  Eric: a bee keeper............ like I said, his idea). This year was my turn, and not surprisingly, Eric was totally on board!

He even sacrificed one of his old suit jackets to let me make his "tux". 

 Gabby left, was a cereal killer and Adrienne middle was Zenon (remember, from Disney channel?!)

Later that night, we went to a halloween party. Morgan, Sriracha, is another one of my very best friends and was kind enough to host everyone!

All in all, it was an incredible weekend back at home! I always hate leaving my friends, family and beloved North Carolina, but DC and my flight attendant life was waiting...