Where Were You? March 17, 2018

 First, Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀 I am not only celebrating St. Patrick's Day today but I am also celebrating Eleanor's Birthday! Eleanor who?! Eleanor the Encore aka my car. Eleanor is turning 3 today and I am so happy to celebrate my car's birthday because I bought Eleanor, all by myself and got exactly what I wanted. 

In January 2018, I was driving Lux the Elentra. I was coming up on it being 5 years old and I was itching for a change. I started to to think about what kind of car I wanted to purchase next. I decided a small SUV would be fun to have. Before Lux, I had a Nissan Cube named Chloe. I loved the room in that car and I missed it. My mind was now set on a small SUV.  I looked online at different ones and I remembered seeing a commercial where there were women about my age hopping into this cute and stylish SUV. It was exactly what I was looking for. It just so happened to be Buick. 

Buick's had the reputation of being an old lady car- big old boats driving down the street. Buick resigned their cars to be more stylish and more appealing to my generation. I did my research and found that, that little SUV in the commercial was really affordable and in my price range. I talked with my parents about this car and what their thoughts were on it.  I told them that I wanted to do this on my own. 

Armed with a pink notebook filled with questions and a pink pen, I made an appointment with Buick to see the Encore and to get more information I was ready. 

Now I know there always be a stigma around buying cars and how women always needed men to be with them to when buying a car to make sure women don't get taken advantaged of and end up spending more then they wanted. This always infuriated me- why do we need to rely on men to help us negotiate? Are we, as women, not capable to handle negotiations? Well, I wanted to do this on my own. 

I will let you in on a secret- I was so NERVOUS! I knew I was prepared but it was still super nerve wracking. 

On March 3, 2018, I went to Buick for the first time. They had me on the board for the day and my car representative came over and introduced himself as Tom and we went to his desk to talk first. I told him exactly what I was looking for and before I know it we were outside looking at it. I wanted a black exterior, black interior automatic with no moon/sunroof Buick Encore. Tom listened to exactly what I wanted and found it for me. 

We test drove it; I was so nervous to drive this car. It had only THREE miles on it. As we pulled onto Route 37, I eased into driving it. Now at this point, I haven't driven anything bigger than my sedan so this was a bit of a change and I loved it! 

After the test drive, we went back to his desk and talked money. I was trading in Lux and putting money down and I said to him, what is your best price, with my most serious face I could muster up. He came back after about 15 minutes with a price and I was shocked... in a good way. I liked the price but I knew I had to keep my cool. 

I was sold on buying the Buick Encore but I wanted to think about it. I gathered all the information Tom gave me and told him I would call him in a few days. 

I went home and told my parents all about what went on and showed them the numbers. I decided to sleep on it for the weekend. On Monday, I was still thinking about this little SUV. I decided to go back and see the car again. My parents met me at the dealership and the three of us looked over and spoke with Tom about the price and the car. I think, they even let us take it for a test drive by ourselves.

I was still head over heels about this SUV and now I wanted to get it. BUT I would have to wait almost 10 days before it became mine. Sometime between Monday and Friday, I came down with a terrible head cold. I couldn't get off the couch. I called Tom, sniffling between sentences, to tell him I want the car and can he hold it until next week. I was more than willing to give him my credit card over the phone to put a deposit on it.

He said that would not be necessary and they would hold it for me. I was so EXCITED. I immediately starting to think of names for my new car (because you know #priorities). I made my list and I gathered everything I need to get ready for Saturday to go pick up my new car. 

My parents accompanied me to the dealership and I was so excited to get my new car. On the way to the dealership, I explained to my current car Lux, that he was going to a great new family and I appreciate all the love he had given me the past 5 years. Lux was very sad to leave me. I was sad to leave Lux truth be told. 

After a few hours of waiting and signing lots of documents, the keys were finally mine! I had one last thing to do before leaving the dealership- ringing the bell. That signifies someone just purchased a new car. I did this with Lux and I couldn't wait to do it again. 

We walked out to the parking lot and there she was- all shiny and new and all mine. Tom helped me set up OnStar and went over some controls. I was so happy this was all mine. It smelled new and still only had the miles I put on it (which at this point I think was 11 miles). Paperwork in hand, keys in hand, I was ready to take my Buick home. 

I talked to my new car all the way home, telling her how excited I was to have her and what fun adventures we were going to have. Once we got home, she seemed excited to meet my parents cars and get settled in. I still didn't have a name just yet. I wanted to sleep on it and I knew it would come to me. 

I woke up the next morning, thrilled to look outside to see my new SUV sitting in the drive way. I decided on her name, Eleanor. 

_______

It has been fun driving Eleanor around for 3 years now. We have gone to lots of places, parked in a lot of different parking lots and experienced a whole range of emotions together. She did great in her first real winter (this year!) and loves playing in the snow. Her favorite places to drive are across any bridge, back roads with farm animals and to Target. We have had our fair share of snacks and meals together and she might or might not have hit a few curbs or (gently) backed into things.  

Happy Birthday Eleanor! Here's to another year of personal concerts, adventures and road snacks. I promise to always park you next to your favorite cars and give you the gas you love. 

This was one of my favorite decisions I made in the past few years. While Eleanor might be small she is mighty. 

Buying a car by yourself, as a woman, sounds so intimidating but I am here to tell you, its not. If you do your research, know exactly what you want, know your price you are willing to pay AND remember you are strong and tough, you will be able to buy a car on your own and really anything else. 

Have you bought a car on your own and got exactly what you wanted?

[[Life is a highway...]]

Where Were You? February 1, 2011

Today in the series, Where Were You? I am celebrating an everyday moment; if I wasn't who I am I would have even realized this was important but starting somewhere is so important. Everyone is a beginner at some point and today I am celebrating that. 

This month, I am celebrating 10 years blogging on Blogger. There were a few years missing and most years prior to 2020, I was not always the most consistent but I always came back to it. I had a few name changes over the years too (Just Simply Elle>Everyday Jersey Girl>Wonder, Grace & Joy). One of my favorite things to do is to go back and read old blog posts; I love seeing where I was in life and what I was doing. 

I have said it before, and I will say it again, writing has been such a breath of fresh air in the past year or so. I feel like I have found a rhythm and while its sometimes hard to fit into my schedule, I am always happy to. I look forward to writing more this year and expanding what I write about. 

Below is a screen grab from the very first post on Just Simply Elle that was posted today, February 1st. I really wish I had linked the other blog I was talking about, I would love to read it. I am not sure what other blog I was actually talking about BUT I found my old Xanga journal for 2004-2005 and oh my word! 16/17 year old gabrielle was exactly what you would expect as a teenager in the early 2000's- angsty and vague. I will spare you from the posts, no one should ever read them again. HA! It was a trip to find them again. 

Looking at these posts, from 2011, I think about how simple they were- basically what was actually on my mind, nothing was planned or thought out; it was literally what was on my mind. Maybe I will bring that back- Just a random post of whats on my mind like a mind dump. 

Thanks for coming down memory lane with me today! 

Does February 1st hold any importance to you? Let me know in the comments.

[[celebrate everyday moments]]

Where were you today? January 20, 2020

Happy first birthday WONDER, GRACE & JOY!*

This little idea, Wonder, Grace & Joy, was swirling around in my head for months before I decided to actually sit down and start writing. I was no stranger to blogging (more about that next month) but I wasn't sure if I would stick with this or even still be interested in it again. All I knew is that I wanted to write again. It had been a long while since I blogged, April of 2016 as a matter of fact. In that last post, I shared that I decided to hit the pause button on writing and focus on my health and getting better. I was really struggling with Crohn's Disease and all the unknowns that come along with it during that time. True to my word, I did finally come back when my health finally returned to my normal. 

*If I'm being honest, Wonder, Grace and Joy was actually born in March of 2019. I was super sick at the time and I thought, blogging would help distract me. Life got in the way in 2019 and while I wrote random things between April and September, my heart wasn't in it just yet. It wasn't until right after my birthday, when I got the bug again to write and truly commit. I consider today, January 20th, WGJ's true birthday, because that's when I really jumped in with both feet. 

WGJ has been such a wonderful place to share what is on my mind, especially during this past year. Writing for me, has been so great and therapeutic- this is something 12 year old Gabrielle would ever say. I used to detest writing in school. Now, I love sharing my life with all of you, the good and the bad. Writing about the good times along with the messy times, provides me a way to process things but also to be able to look back (especially during this pandemic) and see how I was really feeling. I wish that I wrote more during certain parts of my life (especially the hard parts). I am proud of what I have written and I am so excited to share more with you all in the next year. 

This is my big THANK YOU for reading my adventures, leaving the sweetest comments and letting me share my story. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

If I could just ask one, tiny favor of you- Can you please take a moment to take my reader survey? You can find it here. I really appreciate your time. Thanks a bunch! 

[[Until further notice, celebrate everything!]]

Where were you today? December 14, 2019

🚨New Series Alert!🚨 

Where were you today? Google photos loves to show me what I took photos of last year,  the year before and so on. This was my inspiration. To kick this series off, I figured this would be the perfect place to start:

O.A.R. in Atlantic City 

I have loved O.A.R. since I saw them back in 2003 at the Ritacco (now known as the Poland Springs Arena) for the B98.5 Jingle Jam. At that point they were still sorta new but they were SO good! I remember asking for their CDs that Christmas. 

I was a fan after that show. I listened to them for years and it was almost 16 years until I saw them again. I was able to see them again in June of 2019 at The Met in Philadelphia. It was such an awesome show. I found they were doing a Fall tour and they would be in Atlantic City in December. 

Flash forward to December, the tickets had been purchased for months now and I couldn't wait. I will let the photos and videos speak for themselves.

Throwing Cards during Crazy Game of Poker

After Crazy Game of Poker (and maybe a vodka soda or 2)

Let me tell you, this concert was one of the most memorable and best concert I saw. It was such a great win to end such a crazy year. The thing I love about O.A.R. is their fans- the crowd was such a mixed bag- there were little kids with their parents and then there couples in their 70s. Its a true testament of their music- its relatable to anyone. They played for 2 solid hours. 

Who knew this would be my last concert before Quarantine. 

Listen to the exact set list they played here

What was your last concert you saw?

[[I want love, I want us, I want you, I want me, I want peace- OAR]]

-Gabrielle