The Weekly 8 is back and this week we have super-patriotic eyewear, an HGTV obsession, and Parisienne scarf tying.

These last two months have been crazy busy. I had some of the most difficult final exams/projects in school that I've ever had so a lot of my time was spent taking care of those. But the good news is (drumroll, please) I graduated! I am now a two-time college graduate, this time with my Bachelor of Science degree in Economics! To celebrate, my parents threw a Cookout party for me. Everyone who attended was in some way instrumental in my earning this degree. Everything from spending late nights in study groups before an exam to just keeping me sane in the last two years, they all played an important part. I wouldn't have wanted to celebrate any other way.

I'm so glad school is over! It's such a weight lifted off my shoulders and I finally feel like I can move on with my life and get the things I want which of course means that now comes the fun part: finding a job. I've been spending a lot of time applying to every company I can think of. I'm looking to move back to a big city. Pensacola is nice but I'm a city girl. Always have been, always will be. So I've applied to jobs in Chicago, New York, L.A., Atlanta, D.C., and Boston. I'm determined to leave Pensacola and I would like to get as far North as I can. Not only do I need to be in a bigger city, I need weather. This "Florida life" just isn't for me. I miss snow and changing leaves. Chicago would be ideal. I know Chicago since I spent five years there before going back to school but honestly, any of these cities would be better than where I am now.

So that's what I'm working on, getting out of Pensacola. Nothing yet but my job search has only just begun. I'm confident that I'll find something soon!

Of course, that's not all that's been going on:

We saved Nika!

I toured the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra with the UWF College of Business.

Pensacola recently suffered a devastating flood. Luckily, my friends and family pulled out ok. But many families lost cars, homes, everything.

But Pensacola Tough is pulling through!

I've volunteered to help out my friend Jayer Williamson's campaign through this summer. Click here for more information!

We also worked on the pergola area at my parents' house.

Travis does incredible work!

I received my first Love with Food box and I love it! Click here if you'd like to try it out!

My dad picked up a Starbucks espresso machine. I've been saving a ton by making my own iced lattes! (Psst! Don't tell the barista but I think mine are better.)

Don't forget to like Thoughts of Chic on Facebook!

This week, a new party favor collection from Oh Joy!, a delicious homemade Shamrock Shake, and mirrored building art in Paris!

Around the time we remodeled my bathroom, we also had the front steps redone. The steps that were there before were made of brick and matched the color of the house. When our contractor noticed that some of the bricks were coming loose, my parents decided it was a good time for a new front porch. They had been thinking about redoing the front to match the back patio which is all done in slate. It only took our contractor a few days to finish the steps and it made a huge change to the look of the house.

They started with tearing out the old bricks, breaking them up, and then using them to fill in the bottom step. Then they added concrete and built the other two steps. It's a remarkable improvement!

The set of Mississippi Grind

This week was Spring Break so there was a lot of free time. On Tuesday, my friend and I went to Mobile, Alabama to scope out the set of Mississippi Grind, Ryan Reynold's new movie.