5 Months Later... I'm BACK!

Well, hello there!

 

I know I have been MIA for 5 months (and 10 days), but I have had every intention of picking my blog back up where I left off when I had a moment to breathe
(and a moment when I felt like writing).

 

As you may recall, I started graduate school in the spring to obtain my MS in Merchandising from UNT. It's going really well!! I did awesome in my spring classes and I just started my fall semester yesterday. I've elected to only take one class this fall, however, because of football season, the holidays, and a couple other reasons that I'll elaborate on below...

 

1. I got a new joooooobbb!!!! I am super proud to say that I am in my 2nd week as the Assistant General Manager for Gucci at the Dallas Galleria. So many people have asked me why I left Louis Vuitton, and it's pretty simple; this is a better job, with better pay, more responsibility, doing more of what I love to do, and still working for one of the world's top luxury brands! At Louis Vuitton, I was the Operations Manager, which was a stepping stone to becoming a Store Manager someday. The Operations Manager spends most of their time in the back of house, ensuring that all bills are paid, maintenance issues are attended to, enforcing budget and audit compliance, managing housekeeping, electrical services, ordering all supplies, managing the shipping and receiving process (and the shipping/receiving employee), implementing new procedures to increase organization and efficiency... I could go on and on. It's a very broad role. However, that position was more about managing processes instead of people. In my new role as Assistant General Manager (a position that doesn't exist in the LV management structure in the Dallas market), I am still doing some of the same things that I did as Ops Manager, but I am also managing a large sales staff and a stock employee. This includes the responsibility of developing the team members to reach their individual sales goals, and ensuring that our store achieves monthly, quarterly, and annual sales goals. There really isn't much that I get more pumped up about than motivating a team to reach a goal, having one-on-one talks with each person to discuss how they can grow and improve, setting standards, following up, sharing ideas and best practices, and then watching the sales climb as a result of consistent, powerful, and thoughtful leadership. And the cherry on top? My boss (the GM) is amazing. Her name is Brenda and she is super smart, educated, experienced, tough but thoughtful, and very welcoming of feedback. She truly cares about her team and appreciates everyone for their individual strengths. Best of all, the really appreciates me and believes in my ability to lead the team. She loves my ideas. And I love that! Haha :)

 

Love these GUCCI sunglasses! I need these!

 

2. We are MOVING! It seems like we just moved in to our current home... and that's because it's true! We have lived here for only about a year and a half, but now we are required to move because of Eric's fantastic new job as the CFO of the Town of Addison! This was a HUUUUGE promotion for him and I could not be more excited and proud! Because he is a town executive, we are required to live within 15 "air miles" of the town, which is basically about 20-25 miles when driving. Currently, we are about 35 miles from Addison... but with all of the construction happening on Highway 114 and 635, it takes about an HOUR to get there! Moving will be awesome for me also, because the Galleria is about 4 minutes from Eric's office! It's not technically IN Addison, but it's right on the border of North Dallas and Addison. So, wherever we end up living, it will be closer for both of us-- and we're REALLY excited about THAT! We've had several showings on our home (you can view the listing here), but nothing serious yet. I'm getting pretty antsy because I just want to get the ball rolling! We are probably going to build a new home once our current home sells, and we'll live somewhere (like an apartment or condo) temporarily while the building takes place. I don't really like not knowing where we will be living in the future, although I have an idea of the general area... but I am really ready to get the process started! I started looking at builders in various areas, but they had a very limited number of lots left and they ended up selling out. Thus, I decided to stop looking until we are ready to start building so I don't get my hopes up for no reason. Hopefully someone will buy our house soon!

 

 

In other news...

• My brother turned 21 on August 2nd, and he moved into his very own (first) apartment on August 18th. I am so proud of him! He's becoming a real adult and it makes me feel ancient!

This was the 4th or 5th bar we visited on his birthday... He was drinking the Cactus Juice at Iron Cactus in Dallas. The pretty lady to his right is Elizabeth, his girlfriend :)

• I got a new CARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! My previous vehicle, Black Betty, was a 2002 Infiniti QX4 with almost 200,000 miles! We kept fixing things that would break because I didn't have a car payment, but Eric was starting to become more irritated as the problems became more frequent. In about a 6 month time frame, we replaced both catalytic converters, got all new tires, fixed some pipes that were leaking and causing the air conditioner to malfunction. Then, as I was driving down the highway in 102 degree heat, my compressor went out, which is vital for the air conditioner to blow cold air. So, there I was, driving down the road dripping in sweat, my hair sticking to my face and my shirt sticking to my back, not understanding why SUPER HOT AIR was coming out of my air vents. I turned the air OFF and I rolled the windows DOWN, but that wasn't a big help. It was still hotter than Hades. I drove as fast as possible to the nearest Christian Brothers Automotive, where they told me the estimated repairs would cost around $1,600. That was the final straw for Eric... so he told me to go test drive some cars. Only about 4 days later, and totally unbeknownst to me, Eric bought me the exact vehicle I wanted-- a brand new, 2012 Mercedes ML350! He picked me up from work in the new car, and I didn't even see him because I was looking for his truck! He honked at me and waved, and I started crying, obviously! I was so excited!



 

Let's see... what else...

• I CANNOT WAIT for TCU Football to start in 8 days! We have a brand new stadium and this is our first year in the BIG 12 CONFERENCE!!! LET'S GO FROGS!!
• Eric and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on August 28, 2012! Eric had a super late council meeting that night, but he sent flowers to me at work and when he finally got home, we went to Chilis (I LOVE that place-- don't hate)... but we plan to have a nice celebratory dinner in the near future! :)

 



Well... that's enough for now. Hopefully it won't be another 5 months between posts! Have a wonderful weekend!

 

XO,

B.CANNON