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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Currently, Pt. 1

I came across The Daily Tay on BlogLovin' the other day, saw this post, loved it, and immediately wanted to replicate. Maybe it'll even become a weekly thing. Or something.

Currently

Listening to: I mentioned Spotify's Afternoon Acoustic playlist awhile back, and I just started listening to it again. Right now I'm listening to a cover of "Fast Car" (originally Tracy Chapman) by Kina Grannis and loving it. I've also been excessively listening to Taylor Swift's 1989 deluxe album - current favorites: All You Had To Do Was Stay, Clean, Wonderland, and New Romantics. If you're a fan and haven't picked it up yet, do it. Now.

Loving: Pure Barre! I'm going to sound 100% like a yuppy but I tried it out a few weeks ago and so far I really like it. I bought one month unlimited, so I've been trying to go as much as possible. If you're not familiar with barre, it's basically a lot of small, small movements to elongate and strengthen your muscles. Every class, you spend time working your arms, thighs, seat, and abs. And it burns...a good kind of burn that you start to crave. It is, however, an expensive habit, and if I don't switch up my routine every couple of days, I can definitely see myself getting bored with it. But like I said, I love it!

Doing: Cleaning up my computer. Or my startup disk. Or whatever keeps pestering me to "clear because it's getting too full." Perhaps it's the 20,000+ photos I have saved. I have to say, even though it's proving to be a real pain at the moment, it's also kind of refreshing to delete unnecessary clutter and in truth, unnecessary people from my life. And by life, I mean my Macbook. Okay great.

Watching: Rewatching Grey's Anatomy season one, because I truly miss it. Seriously, I got into that show in November 2012 and finished the first nine seasons by August 2013. For more hardcore Netflix goers, that might not be very impressive, but I digress. I really feel like I have a group of best friends that just so happen to be surgeons. I'm also in love with Patrick Dempsey, so there's that.

Wishing: For it to be after 5 p.m. today because that means it's a four day weekend! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so I'm really looking forward to spending time with my parents, grandparents and Ryan. My sister and brother-in-law live in Europe, so they won't be with us this year...which means I just need to plan another visit over to that side of the pond next year [insert hair flipping emoji here].

XO







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Monday, November 24, 2014

Gifting Ideas - Courtesy of Savannah.

When I was in Savannah, I spent most of my money on food. Rather than accumulating a bunch of goofy souvenirs that I would later forget about, I like to research the best eats in whatever city I'm visiting and get to...well, eating. 

Ryan and I spent a good chunk of our Saturday in Savannah shopping along Broughton street. While we stopped into stores we could find back home like J. Crew, Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic, I made sure we stopped into a few shops that I felt were unique to the historic city. Two of my favorites were The Ancient Olive (later found out they also have a couple stores in Florida...whatevs) and Savannah Bee Company. I bought a little something for myself in both stores, but later realized that these would be great stores to pick up a few holiday gifts, so I thought I'd share!

  • The Ancient Olive - This store is also a tasting room, so as a foodie, I was pumped about it. In addition to a wide array of olive oils, they also had hot sauces, jams and marmalades, and balsamic vinegars. I bought myself a chipotle infused olive oil, which I drizzled on a frozen pizza earlier this week and it was superb. Yes, superb. And it was only $13. If you're buying for a foodie like myself this season, I'd hop on over here. I was also intrigued by the basil infused olive oil. 
  • Savannah Bee Company - To be honest, I wish I spent more time in here. When you first walk in, there's a honey tasting bar, and a bazillion different types of honey to choose from. As usual, I headed straight for the bath and body care and fell in love with this orange blossom honey lotion. I picked up the travel size for $5 and I'll probably end up buying their body wash to match. I was also really close to buying this Doggie and Me Balm . It works to moisturize your own elbows, heels and knees, while doing the same thing for your pup's foot pads, nose and dry spots. As far as holiday gifts go, I'm planning on purchasing the four pack of travel size lotions and distributing them to a few of my faves. 
Enjoy, and happy shopping! I'm hoping to have all of my holiday shopping done before the Black Friday madness ensues. Here's hoping. XO





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Friday, November 21, 2014

Ready to reset!

It's finally Friday, and despite the fact that I had another four day work week, I am so ready for the weekend. I feel like I desperately need to hit my reset button and start next week fresh. And what better week to start fresh than yet another short work week?! Thanksgiving and the day after are both paid holidays for me, which [tis the season, right?] I am really thankful for. It looks like reestablishing a routine for myself will just have to wait until after the holiday season.

Having said that, I can't believe we're more than halfway through November - I haven't even had time to complain that Christmas music is being played before Thanksgiving. In all honesty, I think I've secretly enjoyed it this year, only because it reminds me to keep an eye out for potential gift ideas. Well played, department stores. Well played, indeed.

In other news, I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I'm making Ryan watch Maleficent tonight, and then tomorrow we're going to take Einstein on a little adventure, go and see Mockingjay Part 1 at Cinebistro, and end the night with an engagement party. I hope everyone has a superb weekend as well! XO


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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Post-Savannah Rambling.

Ah, vacation is over already. As [semi] happy as I am to be home, I already miss Savannah. Ryan and I had such an amazing time. From bar hopping and stumbling home in the cold, to shopping on Broughton, to hunting aparitions, I couldn't have asked for a better traveling partner. Our B&B was way better than any hotel we could have booked, and we knocked off basically everything on my to-do list, and then some! 
  • Go on a late night ghost tour! This is a must do for me. It was pretty much the main reason I wanted to plan a trip to Savannah in the first place. Oh boy, did we accomplish this! We took a tour with Afterlife, and our guide, Ryan, was awesome. He's an official ghost hunter/investigator, and has stayed the night in every place we toured. I had chills throughout a good majority of the tour, and it wasn't just because we took a walking tour when it was 40 degrees outside. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well on Saturday night...especially after remembering that our B&B was built in 1854. Talk about history!
  • Have a fancy date night at a signature restaurant. I'm thinking the Olde Pink House, but I'm going to look into other menus a little more before making a reservation. I was a little late making the reservations, so we ended up at Vic's on the River, which was still absolutely amazing. Ryan and I split a bottle of wine and had a wonderful start to our evening. Plus, after hearing a few ghost stories about the Olde Pink House, I'm happy we ended up where we did! 
  • Go on a biking pub crawl. Apparently you pedal a multi-person trolley-esque bicycle through historic Savannah and make four stops at local pubs for a brewski, all while taking in the sights. Hey, I'm all for a good pub crawl. We ended up not doing this, but we did hit up a couple really awesome bars. Jen's and Friends martini bar was hands down my favorite. There were more than 200 martinis on the menu, ranging only from $7-$9, and there was literally every flavor imaginable. Being lactose intolerant and all, I knew I wouldn't be able to handle flavors with creamy liquor like mint Oreo or strawberry cheesecake, so I went for the strawberry lemon drop and blackberry lemon drop. I loved it so much, Ryan even bought me a t-shirt promoting the bar. And Jen, the owner, was our bartender all night, which I thought was pretty cool.
  • Take a stroll down River Street. I've heard the shops there can be kind of touristy, but I'm always down for a little tackiness during my travels. This was the very first thing we did in Savannah. A lot of the shops were pretty cheesy, but it was definitely a neat little area. My only regret is not picking up a caramel apple when I had the chance. I've been craving one for months!

Pictures will be up soon! I stole my dad's fancy Canon camera for the weekend, so they may even be halfway decent shots. I'm sad the weekend was over, but I know we'll be back! XO














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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Tomorrow!!!

I can't believe it, but our little trip to Savannah is finally here. Well, close enough. Tomorrow. I've been counting down the days since before we even booked our trip. After scouring through tons of travel booking websites, I came to find that virtually every hotel in downtown/historic Savannah had awful reviews, so we decided to throw down a few extra bucks and stay at a B&B we found with rave reviews. And I mean, who doesn't love free breakfast?

I'm such a planner when it comes to short trips, because I feel like we have so much to accomplish in just 48 hours(ish), so we're going to sit down and plan what restaurants we want to eat at, bars to hop, tours to take, etc. Just a few things on our to-do list:

  • Go on a late night ghost tour! This is a must do for me. It was pretty much the main reason I wanted to plan a trip to Savannah in the first place.
  • Have a fancy date night at a signature restaurant. I'm thinking the Olde Pink House, but I'm going to look into other menus a little more before making a reservation.
  • Go on a biking pub crawl. Apparently you pedal a multi-person trolley-esque bicycle through historic Savannah and make four stops at local pubs for a brewski, all while taking in the sights. Hey, I'm all for a good pub crawl.
  • Take a stroll down River Street. I've heard the shops there can be kind of touristy, but I'm always down for a little tackiness during my travels. 
I have a few other ideas, but that's pretty much the extent of it so far. Any recommendations?! Let us know. XO
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

A little follow up.

If you're a regular around these parts, follow me on Instagram or Twitter, or we're just real life BFF's, you would most definitely know by now that I adopted a dog two weeks ago. 

Adopting a dog is something I'd been thinking about doing on and off for a really long time. Then one Sunday morning, I woke up and thought, "I am ready for a dog. I want a dog." So I did my research at shelters and rescues all week long, came across Einstein, and adopted him the following Sunday. All of the sudden I was a dog mom, and it was real, and I was, for lack of better words, scared shitless.

Now, a mere two weeks later, I can easily say it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. 

I always grew up having dogs, but Einstein is my dog. He whines for me when I leave, and jumps all up on me when I come home. He stretches on top of my chest and licks my face every single morning. He growls at strange men when I take him on walks at night. He plays ball with Micki (my family's dog), sits down in the tub when I give him a bath, and closes his eyes when I brush his head. He is my most favorite friend, and after just two weeks, I can't imagine my life without him.

So, as a little follow up to my taking chances post, I took a leap of faith. I blindly took a step into a semi-unknown realm, and I came out with a new best friend that I get to call mine for the rest of his furry forever. It was scary, but so worth it. XO


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Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Coming Home.

A person's relationship with their parents is such a strange, yet predictable progression. As an infant, a toddler, a child, you want nothing more than to be hooked around your parents' ankles - figuratively and sometimes even literally. As an adolescent, as a teenager, you throw temper tantrums and lose your mind on a regular basis and complain that "nobody understands" followed by the occasional "I hate you!" You can't wait to get out of the house, be on your own. And then you grow up, and you move out. And that's when you realize that your parents are actually freaking amazing.

Well, I kind of already knew that all along, even as a whiny "misunderstood" teenager. But I've been thinking lately just how lucky I am to live so close to my parents. Seriously, I live 20 minutes away. Maybe 25 with bad traffic...and I live in Tampa Bay so let's get real, traffic is a constant kinda thing. But seriously. From helping out with newly adopted Einstein to heart-to-hearts over a hot cup of English tea, coming home is the equivalent putting on my favorite pajama pants and wrapping myself up in a sweater blanket (ahem...that means it's awesome). 

I went home four times in the last nine days. I voted with my mom. Picked up groceries and Food in the Wall (Panda Express...long story). Watched Einstein and our family poodle Micki play tug of war. Snuggled in my favorite love seat with my Pinterest iPad app and just reveled in the comfort of home. I am so grateful to have a family that makes coming home my favorite part of the week. XO




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Monday, November 3, 2014

Recovering.

The last week has been nothing short of a whirlwind. Between the new addition to my family, unexpected rejection, and Halloween, my roller coaster of emotions peaked at around 600 feet, plummeted at the speed of light, and slowly yet all at once shot back up and plateaued at a solid level of happy. 

Today is the start of a new week, and it's the third day into November. It's been pretty chilly here for my Floridian blood, which has been unexpectedly wonderful and makes everything feel new. Despite a few bumps in the road, I'm feeling so grateful for the people in my life, and the direction I'm going in. Having said that, as of now, I'm not really sure what direction that is. All I can do is keeping trekking along, and that's exactly what I intend to do.

I also intend to blog more this week. Sorry for the lapse. XO
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