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

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

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

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

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