commercial break.

I am writing this to everyone out there who remembers commercials on the television. You know what I'm talking about? That 2ish minutes during your favorite TV show where you hopped off the couch, sprinted to the bathroom, zoomed back into the kitchen to grab a snack and sit back down just in time for "Boy Meets World" to pick back up again... remember that?

I know, I know... it is hard to believe that a time existed before Netflix! It is also hard to believe how much we accomplished in that short period of time, and how that doesn't really happen anymore in our modern world. The equivalent for us today is when Netflix asks "are you still watching?" And we all shamefully and in a very annoyed manner hit "DUHHHHH" and make sure no one saw us as we slip back into our binging. But that nanosecond of time it took for us to lean toward our laptops and tap the "continue watching" button (why is there even another option there really??!), is not enough time for us to get anything done!

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I am serious! I started thinking about what I would do now if I had commercials during my programs... I'd probably wash a dish or two, wipe down the table, probably still grab a snack because food, text a friend, get a glass of water, fold some laundry and SO MUCH MORE! If you were to add up the minutes of productivity during commercials of an hour long show... that is about 16 minutes! What kind of things could you do with 16 minutes? I'm serious!! Think about it!!!

You are probably asking yourself about now why I am rambling on about TV commercials. Lucky for you, I will tell you...

Just kidding I will tell you now LOL. So currently, the whole entire world, is on a commercial break. We have been on autopilot, binging life if you will, completely unaware of so much around us.

Have you ever been sitting on the couch watching "Gilmore Girls" and realized your Mom was standing on the other side of the room, and the ONLY way to get there is by walking in front of the screen? But the kicker is... you didn't even see her walk over there! At first your mind goes to the obvious things: she teleported or she is dabbling in dark magic or she is just a mirage!!! But you know what really happened? You (and me too) were so absorbed in the screen and catching every last ridiculously fast quip Lorelai and Rory share that your brain completely ignored her walking in front of your line of vision. I know it has happened to all of us at one time or another... right??

But anyway, back to reality! Right now we have been handed a "short commercial break." We have been given that time to wipe down those tables, cook those meals, plant those gardens, put away those clothes, FaceTime those friends and do those exercises we always said we would!

As a kid I always dreaded the commercials, but as an adult I see the value in being "shaken" out of "the zone." How much more do you enjoy the show when it comes back on? How much more do you appreciate it when it has been taken away from you?

Obviously this whole commercial/TV talk is a metaphor and hopefully foreshadowing for what is to come in the aftermath of Corona. I know we are all anticipating the end, looking forward to "normal" life and counting down the minutes until it is all over, but what small, but meaningful tasks can you complete in this time you do have? What will you do with your "commercial break?" And how much more will you appreciate life when you have the chance to "do it" again?

-R

solitude.

Happy Friday, Happy 35652 Day of Quarantine, Happy Day!

Yesterday that was green

The last two days have been meh. I'll be real honest with you. Yesterday after finally having a completely snow-free yard, Mother Nature had the audacity to dish out a fresh blanket of heavy snow! Don't get me wrong, I usually love snow, but really??! We just got rid of the stuff! And then there's today... let's just call it drippy and dreary day. It's the kind of day where you want to curl up on the couch under a blanket, drink a hot beverage and maybe even take a nap while you drool on the book you almost thought about reading. It's just cold, and staying inside seems a whole lot more comfortable.

In the past, days like these made me feel lonely. It's the kind of day where I would start thinking about all the people I can't see (virus or not), and how I wish they were here with me. The kind of day where I would start feeling sad because I was alone. The kind of day that made me wish I were a kid again with that incredible imagination that could take you anywhere besides right here on this couch. That kind of day...

Quarantine has definitely made it a little more challenging than a usual gloomy April shower day, because I can't just browse Homegoods or meet up with a friend to occupy my mind. I can't go to the beach in my raincoat or visit a local park. I must not be the only one who understands being "cooped up," right?

But let me tell you something... Since the onset of quarantine, something positive has sprouted in me. It is something that did not come naturally to me, nor did it formulate at day one or even day 6, but slowly transpired as more and more days passed and I was forced to be alone for many hours during the day. I discovered that loneliness is not the same as solitude.

Solitude is a choice. And just like being happy, we can choose to be content in solitude. These past few weeks has garnered a newfound appreciation for physical human connection, but at the same time, it has showed me how powerful I can be when I am in solitude.

An oldie, but I like these people!

I have ALWAYS been a people person! I enjoy silly banter with friends and loved ones, I love playing with kids and being as imaginative as they are, I love meeting new people and finding out what makes them tick, I love hearing people's emotions and being that person someone can trust, I love striking conversations with random people in the grocery store over what laundry detergent they use or where they bought their purse and I absolutely love watching friends roll their eyes as I spout out more ridiculous (but 387535267% necessary) puns every 10-15 seconds. I love people. I almost always choose to spend my time with family or friends over being alone because being around an intimate group of people is more interesting and fun to me than the activities I would usually do alone.

Activities I happily do alone:
-Write in my journal
-Watch Gilmore Girls
-Read a book
-cry in the shower

Activities I do alone, but would prefer to do with people:
-Everything else

Get the picture? I did not do a whole heck of a lot without other people! I have NEVER gone to a movie alone, I have NEVER gone to a bar and ordered a drink for one nor have I gone to a sit down restaurant and eaten by myself... have you?

Anyway... this isn't a story about the old adventures of "old Rachele," this is about the new concepts that "growing Rachele" is just starting to grasp. "Growing Rachele" realized fairly quickly in quarantine that she did not have a crystal ball and since she lacked that vital tool, she would not have any clue when this would all end. In fact... no one had a crystal ball. And you know what that means, right? She was forced to accept it and discover new ways, aside from friends and family and kids and co-workers, to make her happy. And you know what she discovered?!? She gets along way better with herself than she thought she would, and better yet, they have a lot in common!

While I still crave friendship and use that word regularly as the answer to every question people ask me (if you know me you understand that...), I have become way more comfortable being content with myself. I have created routines for my mornings, I have
set limits on certain activities, I have tried making new foods, I have "let my freak flag fly" in the creativity world, I have made sure I get fresh air almost every day and I have been able to turn my brain completely OFF instead of letting it spiral toward frustration about something I cannot control (most of the time)! I have found solitude and stepped away from loneliness.

And I am not saying I am perfect... I still feel lonely every now and again, but in all honesty, we were trained that way! I am not saying it is anyone's fault, but there is so much societal pressure to be social and to have friends, that no one is ever taught how to be by themselves. I have always felt the tremendous pull of F.O.M.O. (the fear of missing out) because intrinsically, I am terrified of feeling "left out." What if I chose instead, J.O.M.O. (the joy of missing out)? What if I decided I would rather spend time working on myself and my personal goals than feel alone.

Like I said, we can make that choice. It took me 27 years and a wicked contagious virus to teach me this one. What new thing have you learned in quarantine?

-R

reset.

Me & Zach

Hello there blogging world. It has been far too long, 4 years in fact! I may not be returning at the most positive time in our history, but timing is everything, and when something feels right you just go with it! Am I right??

I started blogging at a time in my life when I was alone in Florence, Italy, and I needed a space to connect with others. I stopped as life got busier, jobs changed, humans came in and out of my life and I moved to a whole new place! My journal just seemed like a simpler place to store all my emotions (and believe me... there are a TON of emotions in there). However, while chatting with my Mom about our new "normal," she referred back to my time writing in here. A time where I was isolated from many of my friends and I was in a foreign place without my family, and I feel somewhat connected to that 2013 Rachele. She may have been more immature, slightly skinnier and sitting in a more spectacular spot than 2020 Rachele (because seriously... who doesn't love Italy??!?), but we both still feel that inexplicable draw for human connection. And in that respect, we share a kindred spirit. A spirit that has drawn me back to this very place.

I find it interesting and also comforting that all of us are kindred spirits right now. No matter the season of our lives or our location in the world, we are ALL going through Covid-19 together. We are all shaken, we are all stirred and we are all mixed up. Some of us are juggling 475836 kids or teaching remote learning, some of us are still risking our lives in the workforce, some are working from home or trying to keep their small business afloat, some are learning new study platforms and hoping to remain sane, all the while trying to stay away from other human beings (who suddenly became very scary and also potentially very dirty overnight). And some of us are doing all of those things at once! Are we all superheroes? (anyway... that's a different blog post).

So, I am in no way saying this time is easy, but I want us to take a step back for a second... take a deep breath, and look at this situation from afar. Look down on yourself and say, "Hi [insert name here], you are amazing. You are doing your best. You are going to survive this. And you are going to use this as a fresh start... a RESET!"

RESET!!?
1. oh, the blender isn't working? Unplug it and plug it back in.
2. Your phone is on the fritz again? Turn it off and turn it back on again!
3. You aren't feeling well? Why don't you take a nap and when you wake up you'll feel better!

See that? All forms of a reset. We do it all the time... so why wouldn't the world/God/your cousin Jim (or whatever/whoever you believe in) do it to us? If you look back on our history, something like this has happened before... more than once.

Nonetheless, we could all (yes, even you!) use a reset. Humans have been nonstop for far too long. We just keep moving forward because we have to, and sometimes fairly aimlessly. This era of our history is full of so much distraction. Between phones at our fingertips and endless streams of TV shows on Netflix, WiFi connection EVERYWHERE, Tik Tok videos engulfing social media platforms and countless video games! We are losing time. Valuable time with our loved ones... mostly just scrolling! Aside from the obvious ways to reduce the spread of Corona (physical distancing, staying at home, masks... you get the picture), there is nothing we can do about it... so what if we just embrace it? (not a human, just the situation).

What if... WHAT IF... this is all happening so we can return to our roots? Return to the days of planting our own gardens, eating family dinners, playing outside until the sun sets behind the mountains, rolling with our dogs in the backyard, hearing stories about our great-great-grandparents, getting lost in the woods, learning how to bake bread or speak another language. These were once staples. But as our world has changed, priorities have shifted and moments that were once regular are now rare.

I always ask Zach if he wishes he was alive in a different time period. I ask him because I do wish I lived in a time where life moved a bit slower and human connection was a bit simpler. That does not mean I wished for this!! Believe me. I have struggled plenty with this and I have cried a lot, BUT...

THIS IS OUR CHANCE! Hopefully something like this will never happen again in our lifetimes. So why don't we just take it for what it's worth! Take advantage of it! Become a runner, learn Italian, make a loaf of sourdough bread (even if you fail 483753 times first!), work on a puzzle as a family, write letters!!, SIT IN SILENCE!, take in that amazing Spring sun, write a blog post (mostly added that one for myself), and last but not least... LOVE YOUR LOVED ONES! In fact, if you are near your quarantine buddy (human, dog, cat, pillow, whatever it may be), give it a hug right now (keep it PG).

And you know what else is getting a reset right now?

DRUM
ROLL
PLEASE

Isn't she a beaut?

OUR EARTH! There are dolphins in Venice's canals, the smog over China is dissipating, our ozone layer is healing and so much more! Right now we are being given a second chance to love this beautiful haven we live on! What strides are you going to take to make sure we keep our Earth safe once life goes back to... "normal?" Hopefully we won't take it for granted!

So... I will end this post shortly after a quick recap. This is clearly not a perfect situation. There are people scared, sick and even worse, but there are ways we can make lemonade from this lemon of a situation. There are ways for us to come together from afar to make our world more positive. There are ways for us to be happy again and to find the silver lining that must exist!!! (if you don't know the silver lining I am referring to... please scroll back to the top and read again!)

All in all, please be safe, healthy and happy!

Love you all,
R

diverCITY.

So here I am... back in the country where I first learned how delicious ice cream REALLY was; the country where I learned that even if you're only within a few miles of your destination at 1pm in a small town that the buses WILL NOT be running because people like their naps. The country where I could twirl in a grassy knoll & DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING & it's ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. The country where I can eat pizza, pasta & panini ALL DAY LONG & it's all "va bene." The country where I discovered one of my PASSIONS!

I am back & hopefully this time I can do all those things above & come back speaking Italish!? Wishful thinking? Spero che no.

Anyway... although I have done the Italy thing before (oh yeah! Did I not mention that I am in Italy? Well I was hoping you got that from the part where I talked about "PIZZA, PASTA & PANINI!!"), this time it is a little bit different.

There are no "Beverage Appreciation" courses where I can drink wine & there is no "Beginning Italian" course where I can pretend there's some "study" in my "abroad." There are no friends from school with me, who will casually hop on a train to Pisa or accompany me at all hours of the day (aka there is no comfort of familiarity). There are no spoon-fed field trips to Venice & Rome. There are no 4-day weekends & student discounts at museums. There is no fancy apartment on the river with a sweet exit straight into the city center... This kinda feels like real life.

Oh wait, it is?!

I've got my tiny apartment in the outskirts. I've got the directions to the laundromat saved in my phone. I've got the blue metro line just waiting for me a few blocks away. I've got my random locations of wifi throughout the city at my disposal. I've got my 5-day a week language school. & I've got the strangest set of 47853635345 keys that leave me baffled every time I look at them... (Yes, I did stand outside my building for 20 minutes fussing with my keys, unable to unlock my door. Yes, I did feel like an idiot. Yes, I am an idiot. Any more questions? ...). So there you have it...

Wait did I forget to tell you about all the good stuff? Because there are some good things! I promise. TONS OF GOOD THINGS! & I have also learned a few things in my time here as well...

First of all, I really like Rome. I love how the streets are small & the road names change every other foot. I love the random spots of ruins that just seem to pop out of the earth to say hello. I love the street signs & the small alleys. I love the smell of pizzas cooking. I love the salamis hanging from the windows & the blocks of cheese calling my name. I love the weather during the winter!!!! I love the way the ambulances sound as they wake me from my restful slumber. I love how the people divert their eyes as much as possible from your smile, but are actually the friendliest when you force them into conversation. I love the strange looks I get when I speak my broken Italian. I love walking past everything & knowing it's older than most things ever. I love that there are random cat sanctuaries/colonies (& to be honest they live in pretty nice real estate if you ask me...). I love that a cappuccino is like the cheapest thing ever... even though their size chart differs a bit from the Starbucks scale. I love the screeching noise the metro makes as it comes to a jerky halt. I love that I can walk around aimlessly, feeling no pressure & finding the best gelato shop by accident & then casually seeing a fortress... nbd. I love that I am forced to make friends since I don't know anyone!!! & with that, I also love how almost everyone I have met in my class is foreign, but barely any are from the United States.

There is some major diverCITY going on here (see what I did there?). It's so hard to forget sometimes that I am foreign, that I have an accent & that the United States is not the center of the world. But it's true. I now have friends from Barcelona & Brazil, Milan & Croatia, Germany & Switzerland, Columbia & France, China & Peru. I walk around with these friends & we all speak Italian (in our broken ways) & are excited to learn! Everyone is at different speaking & grammatical levels, everyone has a different mother tongue, everyone is staying for different lengths of time, but we all are here for the same reason: We all just really love pizza. Just kidding... we just want to learn Italian!!! It's pretty darn cool!

It is difficult at times... knowing I have 3 months here can sound daunting when I say it loud enough for myself to hear. The idea of knowing no one from home can be kind of scary. & living in a strange city, while doing laundry in a laundromat seems kind of out of my league. But hey... I've gotta learn sometime, & now is better than never!

Ci vediamo!

the cheese to my macaroni.

I love my family.

I don't have that much to say here, but do you get much better than this "stone cold pack of weirdos." How did I get so lucky?

~ciao~

explore.

Sometimes you need to just get out & explore! Life is so much more fun when you're seeing, touching, hearing, smelling & living in the outdoors & mingling with the natives.

Whether you're in New York preparing for a new step in your life, backpacking through Europe on your own after college, moving to another country with a one-way ticket or just traveling with your family, make the most of it! Have a little or a lot of fun & get out there & EXPLORE!

This holiday break (this is a bit belated), my parents & I traveled to Peru & the Galapagos. We met the people, we walked the streets, we learned how to make colors out of bugs, we trekked on ancient ruins & cities, we swam with sea lions, we got our hands dirty, we played local bar games, we watched Sally Lightfoot crabs' mating dance, we ate the food (guinea pig & alpaca) & drank the drink, we listened to the music & we (attempted) to talk the talk! It was an experience to remember & something I couldn't even try to forget.

We started off in Peru with our "dear friend," Guido & became engrossed immediately in the city of Lima.  Sometimes it's hard to get out of a geocentric mindset. I visit a city in another country knowing it's not permanent, knowing that in a few weeks, I will be back at home sleeping in my own bed.  I forget that for millions of other people, this is their life. They walk these streets every day, they wear these clothes & they pass those buildings. For me it's travel, for them it's life.

Lima was a bustling city. There were cars everywhere, tall buildings, shopping malls, museums & even a coast line. There were parks & homeless people, bicyclists, stray cats & litter on the streets.  There was graffiti on the walls, street art being sold, bus stops, Starbucks & Subways on the corners & restaurants everywhere. The city I'm describing doesn't sound that different from Chicago or New York, but let me tell you... it was a whole other world.

Something interesting about Lima is that it never rains. EVER. Lima averages less than 1 inch of rain per year & it shows too. The city is dry & the roofs of all the buildings & homes are flat. Who needs a slanting roof when there's no rain? Another different aspect is how Lima itself is broken up into several different areas. When driving in the city, you can cross an invisible line & the city goes from clean & neat to trash piled everywhere with dogs rolling in anything they can muster. That invisible line is the difference between a governor with money & a good following & a governor with no funds on the brink of being booted out. The city was a checker board of safe & sketchy areas.

Once in the country, there was no questioning where you were. The people dressed in the brightest colors, wore the coolest hats & lived the most interesting, yet simple lifestyle. While nothing seemed to be actually going on... everything was happening. Little girls would sing to us for petty change, small snacks or stickers, women would sell everything & anything they could get their hands on & kids would scream in excitement over a small bracelet or trinket. They were a crafty bunch & it was cool seeing different ways people use their skills. Every skill had a purpose.

Now it's time to talk about Machu Picchu... It was crazy. I literally (yes... actually literally) have goosebumbs as I am even thinking about the place. I can't even imagine what Hiram Bingham thought as he pushed aside the overgrown Amazon bushes & saw that he was standing on an ancient Incan city from the 15th century.  How did this society build & sustain a life on the side of a jagged mountain in the middle of nowhere? Seriously... how? It was so incredible that it is hard to explain. I would love to return one day & hike the four-day Inca trail.  I would love to walk up to the Sun Gate once again, but this time from the other side, & see Machu Picchu sneaking out from behind the fog. I know that would just taste so good after four days of hiking & waiting.

We did tons of other stuff in Peru too, but if you've actually made it this far... you're probably about ready for me to quit writing; however, I haven't even talked about the Galapagos yet & you don't want to miss this! It will be quick... I promise!!!

This was our friend, the sea lion... he just wanted to play & luckily he invited us to join him! This little guy had so much personality & it made our adventure awesome! He swam with us in the water, barked like a dog, chewed sticks & practically played fetch.  He is the dog of the sea & for good reasons too!

 
The final most incredible part of this adventure was the group we traveled with. We went on a tour to these amazing places with a company called, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) & we were lucky enough to have the most dynamic & incredible individuals traveling alongside us. It was great getting to interact with people who have done such amazing things, have lived in incredible places, have traveled to the strangest locations, have been through crazy experiences & in the end, all ended up on a dusty road in the middle of Ollantaytambo with a huge smile on their faces & a taste for adventure.  I know this experience could have been 100% different & 100% less thrilling if the group had been a dud. But the group was awesome & I wouldn't have wanted anything to change; not even 1%.

Anyway, now is the time to explore. Now is the time to go outside. Now is the time to travel. Now is the time to follow the wind. Because there just isn't a better time than now.  Whether you do it now, or do it in 5 years... guess how old you'll be in 5 years? You'll be 5 years older... (good math, I know).

This is cliche, but I love it, because it reminds me of my aunt... so here it goes.  "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years!"-Good ole Abe Lincoln. So I'll say it again, get out there & EXPLORE today!

~ciao~

sorority halloween.

Looking at Halloween through the eyes of an adult is an interesting experience.  One of my favorite things to refer to when I think about this strange shift in... let's just say STYLE, is "Mean Girls."

1: she missed it

2: she gets it

Basically, if you haven't seen it... "YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!"

But if you truly have no idea what I am talking about I will break it down for you... Picture number 1, with the lovely Cady Heron, dressed as an "ex-wife," is representing our childhood.  We aim to be scary, or cute or actually something other than a scandalous bunny. We aim to be masked & show off our hiding skills that we had been practicing all year during hide-and-go-seek.  We aim for candy & lots of it.

Picture number 2 is the epitome of a high school or college student.  We basically follow the (usually innocent) dogma, "less is more!"  & in the words of Cady Heron, "In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."

But is it really one day a year that we can dress a little scandalous?

Not in Sorority World! In this world it is acceptable every time we hear the word... SOCIAL.  It is always "social"ly acceptable to be scandalous & looking good.  In a way, every night is Halloween if you want it to be & if you don't move the bookmark on your agenda.

So you're gunna ask... does that make Halloween less fun every year if you dress up on the other 364 days of the year?

& the answer is... no, because it's just one more night that dressing up is 100% acceptable, & this night is even better because there is no theme & you can be as creative as you want! No restrictions & the sky is the limit! Express yourself in any dandy or scandy way you feel!

Personally, I'm still in it for the candy... I mean who doesn't love a good Twix Bar or Reese's Cup after a long night?  If only it were still socially acceptable to knock on strangers' doors wearing a costume & get candy as a 21-year-old... can I be 5 again??? I just want to wear my fairy wings & pink sneakers & count the "good candy" & trade off the "bad candy" in peace.  Ya dig?

Disclaimer: this is the only picture of me

Morals of this blog post...

1. Halloween is really really soon, so pick a costume... probably something scandalous (i.e. the classic "Risky Business" attire or the "I'm a mouse... duh" of the genius, Karen Smith)

2. Go to a college social & wear... probably something scandalous (i.e. "trash bash" or "Predator vs. Prey")

3. When you see it every day it becomes the norm... probably something scandalous (i.e. skinny mini high-waisted jorts & a bandeau)

4. Go watch "Mean Girls.." probably something scandalous (i.e. holes in your shirt with a purple bra & army pants & flip flops)

Anyway... HAPPY HALLOWEEN from a kid stuck in a 21-year-old's body!

~ciao~

senioritis.

I thought high school "senioritis" was bad, but let me tell you straight... college senioritis is 3735735 times worse.  & it's not that I am anti-work, rather I am itching to get out & take what I've learned & turn it into something real.  It's a scary thought though... this REAL WORLD enigma.  Most would probably describe it as a love/hate relationship.  You see... we don't want to go, but we don't want to leave.  We are in a state of limbo, caught between the comfort we feel in our (most-likely) paid-for apartments, with our close-by friends, our Nike shorts & big t-shirt combo, our "free" guidance counselors, the proximity we have to "pizza by the slice" & Chipotle, our weekly allowances, our flexibility to do as we please & 24/5 libraries with a Starbucks!

But the real world isn't this comfortable.  There are bills, there are the numbers 9 & 5 that become awfully repetitive, there are real consequences, there are scary (Sigourney Weaver-esque from "Working Girl") bosses, there are new people... & lots of them, there's actual commitment & there's real rejection.

For me, I am in denial.  I am denying the fact that in a few short months I will be turning (or feeling *Shout out to T-Swift) 22, that I will be signing up for my final semester of college, that I will be graduating from the University of Florida with a real college degree, that I will (hopefully) be leaving Florida & starting a career.

Although I am ready & I have stretched my wings in preparation for my flight out of "The Swamp..." I am scared.  Everything I know is here.  It's so scary stepping out of my comfort zone.  I know I'm not the only one who feels that way, but sometimes it just feels like a #personalproblem.  (Yes... I did just hashtag on my blog. "NO RAGRETS").

Anyway... there are a couple things that I feel lucky enough to have as I reach my final months of childhood (& I say child because... let's be honest) & they are:
1. My Mom
2. My Dad

The parents... aka, the rocks.  I know no matter where I go & what I do my parents have my back & will be there for me.  I am so lucky to have them in my life, especially now as I take the biggest leap of all... REALITY.   

Thank you so much for being more than just motivators & figures of respect, but also my friend.  I love you both so much!

Now I just need to get past the "slowness, the procrastination, the... blah blah blah... too lazy to write it all... blah blah blah... apathy" symptoms of sEnIoRiTiS!

~ciao~

charleston.

If you know me, than you know I am not too crazy.  I follow most the rules, I am always on time, I like food, I like photos, I enjoy sports, I like people, I like camp, I like my parents, I like wine nights, I like adventures, I like being outside in the day time & I don't like leaving my apartment after dark.  If you know me at all... I think that pretty much sums me up. 

 
This weekend I almost got to do all my favorite things:
-I followed most rules.
-I made it Charleston at almost exactly 5pm... even though Chloe was with me ;)
-I ATE LOTS OF FOOD!
-I took 7576537 photos & probably annoyed Chloe because I was her personal paparazzi all weekend.
-I watched some (weak) football.
-I spent some time with some new & some old.
-I didn't get camp, but I felt close by.
-I didn't get to see my parents, but I know I walked along the same streets they did from this summer.
-No wine, but something a bit different.
-I had an adventure in the best of places.
-& I spent time outside exploring with my mains.

However, this weekend I even explored my "leaving the apartment after dark" side & ventured into the streets of Charleston for my friend's 22nd birthday (am I really celebrating 22nd birthdays right now? How did I get this old?)!  But yeah, we braved the streets of Charleston! & this homebody had fun! 

Besides the quaint charm the city offers in the day time, the city has some great places to visit with friends at night! The bars are all so classy & cute compared to the clusters found in Gainesville.  As much as I love my second home here in "Gainesvegas" or my personal (more accurate) favorite, "Rainesville," Charleston was just perfect.  The homes were southern with their colorful shutters & side decks to catch the summer breeze off the Ashley River.  The trees were lined down the cobblestone roads, which the horse & carriages bounded along, the people had a pleasant air about them, & the weather was 73563557343 times better than anything you'll find in Florida.

Anyway... I just had the best time wandering with some good friends this weekend.  

I loved road tripinnnn' with my bestie, Chloe. 

I loved seeing Emily & meeting all her fantastic friends.  

I loved spending time with her parents & taking the carriage ride through the city.  

I LOVED the food, going out & my Moscow Mule.  

I loved seeing the beach & feeling like the protagonist of a Nicholas Sparks original. 

I loved (& always do) shopping & taking in the culture.  

    

I loved it all! Thank you so much Emily, Madison, Alli, Emily's parents & anyone else who made this weekend so awesome!

Ciao!