A Letter to a Lost Friend

To a Lost Friend -

I spoke to you a few months ago - a brief Facebook conversation that felt hours longer than the 15 minutes it actually lasted.  It was the first time I'd heard from you in what seems like years....what actually is years, now I think about it.

And it's strange, because we spent those minutes awkwardly catching up -
"what major did you end up declaring?"
"are you still with that guy?"
"can you believe we're almost seniors???"

- when just a few years ago, your answers to those questions came as easily to me as my own answers.

And I think my professor phrased it perfectly, without ever really meaning to -
"you used to be so close, and now you don't even know where they are."

And I just wanted to say that I missed you.  And I do, but I think the small talk is more painful than not knowing where you are in life.  So I think, maybe, this should be our "goodbye" - the one we were both always too afraid to say to one another all those years ago.

The Conversations we Have

Sometimes I think that the best conversations we have are the ones here, at the scratched up and beer stained hand-me-down table in our apartment, the walls quiet around us as we drink tea and laugh at jokes that only we think are funny.

<3

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The Things I Need

When everything feels like crap, and I think I'm running out of the time I think I need so badly...I make lists.
I outline my life in words, pictures, ideas...
So today, here is a list of the things I need right now.

(1)

(2)
Cheerios and chocolate.  Because who doesn't need those things?
And coincidentally, I have both.

(3)
How I Met Your Mother

(4)
Green trees. Colorful flowers.  Blue sky.  Bright, beautiful sunshine.
Okay...maybe it's a not so much on that last one right now, but at least the life outside my window is finally starting to bloom.

Here

(5)
Friends who remind me to just. breathe.

<3

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The Reasons I Love Lifestyle Blogging

(1) I'm a fairly introverted person (INTJ anyone?), but I love knowing about people (because I'm weird that way).  The lifestyle blogging community is so well-connected, and it's so easy to get to know other women that way! (or maybe I'm just nosy....)

(2) I'm not that good at any one thing, except maybe for writing.  Lifestyle blogging lets me write about a little bit of everything, but not a lot of anything.

(3) I never really know what to expect on the blogs I read!

(4) I can spend an entire post talking about how much I adore my cat, about the cookies I failed to make, or just posting photos if that's what I feel like doing that day.  And best of all, I can tell my roommates how much I love them (seriously guys, a week and a half!!!)

(5) I get to justify spending hours on the internet (I'm looking at you Pinterest and Twitter) and it's totally justified because it's for the good of the blog!  Or is that still weird anyway....

(6) When it's a Wednesday, and I'm too tired to think of a legitimate post, I can make a ridiculous list like this.

<3

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Of Trail Rides and Picnics

Yesterday I went horse-back riding for the first time in what feels like forever (4ish years is forever, right?)

It felt so good to be back up there, and I swear I never wanted to get back down.  And it helps that the trail we rode through was absolutely gorgeous...

But afterwards, I had a 2-person picnic to attend, and so of course I donned my camera and popped some blackberries!

Day 73

And, incredibly, the rain held off for us all day!

Next weekend, I head back to college.  But for now, I think I'll enjoy days like yesterday, eating up the last bits of sunshine and summer before the cold descends again.  

(why don't I move somewhere WARM???)

<3

Disappearing Act

Over the past couple of weeks since my disappearance from this blog, I've had SO much going on.

And I feel like I owe you an explanation, at least a little one, because I had plans for posts.

Primarily, I've been busy with work.  But it's been more than that.  

Life just gets in the way sometimes, and I'll be honest...I've loved every minute of it.

Instead of telling you what's been going on though, I'll give you some pictures.

Day 71

No matter where I end up in life...I think the Philadelphia skyline will always be one of the most beautiful things I've seen

Day 72

Say what you want about Philadelphia fans, and certainly I can't pretend I know anything about baseball.  But I do know that these players love each other, and the game.  How many major league teams run into each other's arms when they win a simple regular-season game?

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been babies born, and parties planned for those still on their way.  Relationships have been formed, and old ones rekindled, while those that never left have carried on.  

As the final weeks of summer wind down, and I get ready for my Junior year of college, I'm loving every minute of the sunshine - whether I've photographed them or not, little or small.

<3

"Have You Ever Seen the Rain

comin' down on a sunny day?"

Outside of our window, the sun is shining over the bay.  But true to the word of the hourly forecast, it's been thundering and raining all most of the morning.  

Perhaps that's a personal bias based on the fact that it's my first time in Avalon and I've always had a place in my heart for beach towns, but I never want to go home.

disclaimer: these are not my feet, nor did I take this picture - my friend did

Well hello, Ocean

Our view from outside of our window

Sunset outside of the house

Cape May Zoo :)  (the reason behind my wearing PANTS on an 80degree trip to the zoo is unknown even to me)

I just wanted to hug this little guy

Day 59 (yesterday)

Day 60 (today) **

I'd just like to add that over the course of writing this post (about 20 minutes) it's gone from sunny, to rainy, to now sunny again.  Ohhh, beach weather.

<3


** The photo for today was added hours after I originally wrote this post

The Woes of Packing

I’m a forgetful packer.

This is a problem that you’d think two years of living at college (moving to one place or another every few months) would have fixed.  But twenty minutes into the 2-hour car drive to the beach, and I’ve already compiled a list of things I’ve forgotten:

• suntan lotion (oo, my Irish blood)
• Dramamine (my motion sickness is rivaled by no other)
• a sweater (like a newborn, it can be depended upon that I will be cold in any climate)

My laptop though, I did not forget. Or my teddy bear - he and I have a long-standing agreement that I will go nowhere without him.  To this point, I’ve held my part of the deal up.

What kind of a packer are you?  Do you overpack? Forget things? Pack weeks ahead of time?

**This post was written last night, en route to the beach.

Day 58

<3

Strawberry Fields Forever

Day 57

Yesterday, I went strawberry picking with old friends.

It was 100 degrees, and most of the strawberries were long gone; but it was so much fun, and now there are plans in the works for apple picking come fall.

We traipsed through the fields sprinkled over with red, singing Strawberry Fields Forever and slowly filling our baskets, stopping every so often to taste the burst of flavor that you can't find from store-bought fruits.

We took pictures, the way we always used to.

And tomorrow, I leave for the beach with another (old) friend. I can't wait!

What did you all spend your Wednesdays doing?

<3