Life Update | Bye, Bye USA! (For Two Weeks).

My summer semester is over and I am officially halfway done with my master’s degree! One year down, one to go. The past year has been a giant learning curve, but I know that I still have so much left to figure out about this profession. I’ll be doing my “advanced practicum” in the fall – in other words, I only have one more semester on campus and then I’ll be off working in the “real” world (for free…) on externships. What a learning curve that will be. I’m kind of excited to have one semester left to be in my “comfort zone” before being thrown into new settings. But until then…

I am off to Europe TONIGHT! I’m visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Bulgaria, and we’ll be taking a quick four-hour road trip down to Kavala, Greece (how fun that she can just road trip to Greece anytime she wants?!). I’ll be there until August 14^th, so make sure to follow along on Instagram for posts and stories…when I have WiFi, that is.

Also – last night I called my bank to let them know I’d be traveling internationally, and she asked me which countries so she could fill out the travel plan.

Me: Bulgaria and Greece.

Banker: Okay, but what country is Bulgaria in?

Me: Bulgaria is its own country. It’s in Europe.

Banker: No but what COUNTRY is Bulgaria in?

Me: …I don’t know how else I can explain this. I mean, it’s in Europe?! B-U-L-G-A-R-I-A.

Banker: I can’t seem to find it…

Me: *trying not to lose my cool* Well my parents were just there and they have the same bank and they didn’t seem to have a problem but um okay well that’s going to be where I’ll be for most of the trip so I don’t know I guess I’ll try---

Banker: OH. Here it is!!! Been looking right at it the whole time. Sorry!

Me:

OI VEY. Crisis averted in all of two minutes. 

Since I always talk about having no extra money I figure I should give full disclosure and say that my sister bought my plane ticket. I have my savings and keep decent track of my finances, but it’s safe to say that I don’t typically have the travel funds for a Eurotrip, so this was a special treat from my family and I am so thankful for it! I’m super excited, but also pretty bummed Ryan isn’t coming along (planned this trip back in April, he would’ve had to notify work about a two-week trip at the very beginning of the year…totally understandable!). I’ll miss him and the pooches, but it’ll be great having sister time!  

I am currently...

Watching: Game of Thrones…finally on that bandwagon! Finishing up season one. Also watched one of Netflix’s newest movies about a girl suffering from an eating disorder called To The Bone and really enjoyed it. May or may not have watched it whilst eating a large pizza and garlic knots #irony.

Reading: What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty. I’m a little more than halfway through it, so I’ll need to download some new books on my Kindle Paper White before boarding the plane tonight! Any suggestions?

Listening: Summer Air by ItaloBrothers, Two High by Moon Taxi, and More Than You Know by Axwell /\ Ingrosso. Nothing life changing, but fun summer songs for dancing with girlfriends or working out.

Side note: How cute is that passport holder (pictured!)? I've been eyeing this for months and had to scoop it up before my trip...I love ban.do anything! Shop it here.

I'm bringing my laptop with me, so I'm hoping to crank out a few blog posts here and there when I can. Like I said, be sure to follow along on Instagram if you'd like to stay updated on my trip 

:) 

TGIF, friends...have a wonderful weekend!

Messy, Inconsistent Living.

I'm going to get real honest with you today, my friends.

Most mornings, I hit the snooze button for an extra 5, 10, 30 minutes of sleep, dependent upon the amount of responsibility I have to tend to that day. I have no semblance of a real routine, as I'll usually head straight to the coffee maker, plop onto the chaise bit of my couch, and catch up on BlogLovin' (or the #nsale, duh) before really beginning my day. It might sound luxurious, having all this extra time to spend "waking up." Except truthfully, I make myself way too comfortable and suddenly I have 10 minutes to take the dogs out, get my shit together, and become a real life human. AKA I'm a self-induced stress fest nearly every day.

Most days, I eat pretty well. I'm like one of my fave celebrities on the cover of every women's health magazine you've ever read: "in the mornings I'll have an omelette or oats, a salad for lunch, and grilled protein with veggies for dinner because #omgHEALTH." I work out anywhere from 2-5 times a week because I like to keep myself guessing. I don't drink during the week unless there's a special occasion because I don't want to waste the calories. But come Friday night, you'll find me two 24 oz. margaritas deep with the promise of bottomless mimosas at brunch the next day because it's all about balance, right? Still wondering why my rock hard abs haven't surfaced yet (JK I am not wondering).

As a grad student, I rarely start assignments early. Due tomorrow means do tomorrow, right? Okay, just kidding, I'm not that bad. But I have a job, and a boyfriend, and friends that aren't in my school program. I make a lot of time for myself and my work & social schedule during the weekend, and then I kick myself in the ass for it during the week when I stay up until 3 a.m. with an 8 a.m. wake up call. But here's the thing: whatever it is, it always gets done, and I have a 3.9 GPA to show for it (damn you, voice disorders, for that B+). I may not be the "model" student, but I'm still learning, and I still do a pretty good job at what I do.

Sometimes I go weeks without writing in my journal, without picking up a novel, without creating a meaningful blog post. Sometimes I would rather sit in front of the TV or play Candy Crush or scroll mindlessly through social media than be creative. I've accepted the fact that about 98% of my outfits are not Instagram worthy, that I'm not super phenomenal at applying bronzer (or any kind of makeup, actually), that I'm not a perfect human (obvssss).

I guess what I'm getting at with all this self-deprecation is that I kind of enjoy this messy life - a life that doesn't always need to be documented via social media (although I still try, let's be real). As much as I love (and I mean LOVE) my favorite fashion bloggers and their perfectly curated feeds, I'm kind of okay with my saggy Abercrombie jeggings and $16 Target slides. I'm okay with clothes on the floor and dishes in the sink because it means I'm too busy living life and making plans to worry about the inconsequential bits. Not to say I don't appreciate beautiful clothing and a clean house...but I think we all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to live our lives a certain way, don't we? I feel like, in the blogging world especially, we're constantly thinking of ways to better ourselves - to get to the next step, to make way for the future - whether it's a green smoothie or a new business idea, writing a novel or buying a house.

My "take home" today is that I think it's okay to not have your life together every waking moment. It's okay to just be doing the best you can be, to live a full and heart warming life. It's okay to not be perfect. You're not an awful person if you don't meditate every morning (having said that, you are an awesome person if you do that every morning - but you're equally as awesome if you don't). You're not a bad blogger if you don't make the time to write for awhile. You're not a lazy person if you prefer to pick and choose the days that you conquer your own little world. Messy, inconsistent lives can be a real treat. Don't beat yourself up, and enjoy the ride. Self, I am talking to you.

Can you relate?

What I've Learned About "Home."

In case you didn't know, Ryan and I had been house sitting at my parents' place while they visited my sister in Europe. Well, we are finally back into our humble little abode after two weeks of "living in luxury" complete with our own pool, grill, and even horses in the backyard...and we miss house living already. Even though it took a couple of days to get adjusted to our new routines (horses fed and let out, check the radar to make sure the horses wouldn't be caught in a bad storm during a Target run, bringing the horses back in for dinner before eating our own, staying up until 11 to feed them again), I think we both really enjoyed spending time there. So much so, that I didn't even really miss our apartment at all. And I love our little apartment.

For some reason, I kept thinking about how that could be. Even when I visit my parents back at home, after a day or two, I'm itching to get back to the familiarity of our place, back into our routine. So why wasn't that the case now?

That's when I had a bit of an "a-ha!" moment - it's true what everyone says: "home isn't a place, it's a feeling, it's who you're with." Our apartment might be where we live, but my home is wherever I am with Ryan and our fruit loop pooches. I didn't miss our apartment because everything I needed to feel "at home" was already with me. It's wherever we can set up shop with our nightly television shows, or cook dinner together, or talk about our plans for the future, or scratch our dogs above the tail (their fave). 

I can't sit here and pretend that I know everything about life and relationships, but I think it's safe to say that if you ever have that feeling, where it be with your boyfriend or girlfriend or friend or cat or goldfish, you're on the right track. 

This Summer Looks Like...

This summer looks a lot like double rainbows after a hellacious thunderstorm; blonde hair tinted green because going swimming just isn’t any fun without getting your hair wet; sweat dripping down my back after being outside for two minutes because living in Florida is comparable to living in Satan’s underpants (hot & humid AF); 22 oz. mimosas and avocado shrimp toast two days in a row; late night swims and underwater handstand competitions; cheddar cheeseburgers and Publix garlic butter mussels and Philly Swirl ice pops; breweries and endless games of crazy 8’s; leaving schoolwork until the last minute because sometimes making proper summer memories has to take priority, you know?

 What does your summer look like so far?