Thursday Tunes: Mastodon

This week's "Thursday Tunes" is a little different. I chose "A Commotion" by Mastodon, because while writing the recap for our 2013 PNW road trip, I came across this hilarious video from our Germany trip in 2012. The footage mixed with the music pretty much sums up what a fun trip it was and is a bit of a reminder of what it's like to be a girl traveling with 3 dudes...haha!

Although our friend Kyle made the video, Ken took most of the footage. I'm pretty sure there is another video out there somewhere...Kenny B?

Read more about our trip here, here, and here!

I'll also be going to Cologne, Germany on my upcoming Europe trip for a few days to attend Gamescom after leaving Paris. I'm so excited to be back in Germany! Counting down the days...

If you have any Cologne recommendations, let me know!

xo

A BIG happy birthday to my lovely lady, Lily!
I can't wait to celebrate you in ONE WEEK with lots of wine and cheese! I love you to the moon and back...and thank you for being my biggest supporter/ only person who comments on my blog posts! Haha! I'm so thankful for that English class where I met you 11 years ago (however, I am not thankful for the girl who kept making me move when I tried sitting next to you in class though! Assigned seats!). You are such an inspiration and the most beautiful, down-to-earth person I know!

♥♥♥ 

Paris Countdown: 1 Week!

 I can't believe that I'll be leaving for Paris, France in exactly 1 week! 
Lily has already been sending me places and pictures that we should visit while I'm in Paris. I'm so excited to just walk around the city with my best friend and take in the architecture, lovely people, and amazing food (and wine)!

I've already been thinking about what I want to pack for my French Getaway and here are some of the items I'm thinking of for nights out...sadly I don't own all of these items, but it's a fun wish list regardless! I'll obviously be sporting my vans, jeans/ shorts, and tank tops for most of the trip, but it's always fun to dress up a bit, n'est pas?

Any items you'd recommend bringing to Paris? Also, I'd love any recommended places or restaurants!
Merci!
xo

Weekly Tiny Home: West Virginia Shack

One of the best parts about tiny homes is that they do not greatly interfere with their surrounding natural settings. A huge house would take away from these beautiful rolling hills of West Virginia.

This week's tiny home is almost a mix between a full home and camping experience. Per the builder, "this fundamental shelter has no electricity. Oil lamps provide light. Heat is provided by a small wood stove, which is also used to heat water that is delivered to the “kitchen” sink by a gravity system." They use rain water, collected from the roof, for the outdoor shower. They don't mention any bathroom or show the kitchen, so I'd be interested in seeing more of this tiny home! 

 Although I'd like a little more room for a kitchen or guests, this tiny home is so lovely and cozy.

"The southeastern façade of the building is opened to a cantilevered wood deck with an overhead-acting aluminum and glass garage door. A removable canvas awning serves to shade the deck and extend the living space during wet weather. Small windows on the northwestern façade allow the mountain breezes to flow through the building, and allow occasional views of cows on the adjacent pasture." 

Sounds pretty magical to me!

Go here to check out more about this weekend getaway shack.

 Loving this fitting quote!

♥

Weekend Recap

 This past week and weekend was so much fun (and busy)! Although technically these first few photos are from last Tuesday, I wanted to share them anyways. We went out to Book House Pub for their Tiki Tuesday. It's awesome, because you get to keep whatever cup they serve your drink in so I have a fu manchu mug now. Pretty awesome, eh? I also got to spend more time with Kelly, Johnny, and Ray so it was a blast. 

 On Friday for lunch at work, we went to Sweet Auburn Market. I got a Rawesome Remix salad (with tahini dressing) and Superfood smoothie from Rawesome Juicery. It was amazing! Isn't Khelia the cutest? :)

Friday night, per usual, I went to my favorite Zumba Toning class and kicked butt. It's the best way to start my weekend - feeling strong and energized!

For dinner, we grilled out veggie burgers, grilled squash, onions, and peppers, and corn-on-the-cob on the back porch. YUM.

Saturday was really busy. I woke up for my 8 AM Zumba class, came home and we walked Townes for 1.5 hours. I laid out on the back deck for a while since it was so hot outside - could have used some water for sure! After a while, J left for Denver, and I watched a movie ("Chasing Mavericks") before deciding to mow the lawn. Although I finished the whole yard, it took a lot longer than usual and I may have almost passed out a few times from being hot and exhausted! Oops!

Afterwards, I took a shower and then drove to Czar Ice Bar in Buckhead to meet Kelly, Jess, and Heather for a girls' night out. The service was horrible, but the sushi was amazing. I had the veggie roll and avocado roll - it was all really good.

 After dinner, we tried to go to Prohibition Bar, because we had heard great things. In order to get in, you have to use the red phone booth with a password; however, there was a wait on Saturday night and then the door guy was a bit sketchy. By the time we got in, we were pretty over the whole experience. Plus the inside was not very cool and had a lot of cigar smoke. Oh well! We ended the night at some bar with live music before calling it a night. Thank goodness for lovely company, because Buckhead was a bust (which was somewhat expected). Lesson learned! I'm so sad that Kelly has gone back to Las Vegas - I am so lucky to have such an amazingly beautiful, smart, and funny woman like Kel in my life. She means the world to me!

♥

On Sunday, (after sleeping in a bit ;)) I took Townes on an hour hike before the day got too hot. We spent a lot of time in the woods and Townes spent a lot of time in the river. Always a great way to start the day...

 I enjoyed the afternoon on the back deck with a book and ate the cutest cantaloupe ever (it was the size of a grapefruit and so sweet)!

My mom, my aunts, and my lovely cousin, Taylor, all came over around lunch time for a girls' day. We went to lunch and then walked around downtown Decatur. I ended up with this AWESOME LBD. It is made of the softest material and is possibly my new favorite! 

 It's so great being able to just sit around and talk with the ladies in my family. Thanks to the 3 matriarchs in our family, we are a big family of strong women. Women definitely make the world go round!

 This week will be pretty busy since I leave for France and Germany the following week! I can't believe it's almost August - this summer has been a whirlwind.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

xo

Happy National Dance Day

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I love dancing so I wanted to wish everyone a happy National Dance Day today! The Dizzy Feet Foundation, a non-profit that "supports, improves, and increases access to dance education in the United States," makes every last Saturday in July a dance holiday and they provide routines to learn (check them out here) and then they even host dance events in select cities. 

I went to my 8 AM Zumba class this morning and celebrated National Dance Day. I danced my heart out and then, look what happened! Pretty crazy heart sweat mark, eh? It's also pretty gross and I acknowledge that! Haha.

In the spirit of dance, I wanted to share one of the routines we do in class, because although it's very ridiculous, it's a lot of fun! 

How will you celebrate and dance today?

xo

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

 I think this print/ quote is a pretty spot on daily mantra, don't you think? 

 Although I didn't need any more proof that hikers are healthier and happier, it still made my day to read this article. I also didn't need more reasons to hike, but I'll take any reason to get outside!

If all else fails, strike a pose. This is my truth.

I know this video has been making the rounds on the internet, but it's too cute not to share. I'm also partial to Beagles, naturally. 

These cute God's eye craft would be so much fun to do with my niece, Natalie!

These 10 reasons to go to Athens, GA are definitely making me homesick for my college town...and hungry! :)

One of my favorite girlfriends sent me a link to this new show, Amazing Spaces, that shows unique, lovely tiny getaway homes. Can't wait to check it out!

I know I post a lot of animal stories, but this dog melted my heart. Now if only humanity could be as compassionate!

This weekend should be pretty peaceful...which should be nice.

Kelly leaves Sunday so I'm sure we'll go out Saturday night so I'm excited about that! J is going to Denver so I'll be spending a lot of time in the hammock or by the pool (weather-permitting)!

Hope your weekend is magical.

xo

Thursday Tunes: Grizzly Bear "Two Weeks"

Although this video is pretty creepy (actually, it's really creepy), the song "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear is one of my favorites. Every time I hear this song, it makes me smile and feel so happy.

This song is especially inciting smiles today, because exactly 2 weeks from now, I'll be in Paris, France with Lily (and Jeremy)! Since their European adventure will be ending in a few months (you can read more about their adventure here) and because they will be in Paris for almost a month, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit!

The idea of walking the streets of Paris (with a baguette in hand) with my best girl, Lily, is so exciting. 

We are going to have the best time and I just can't wait!

[photo]

Stay tuned for more France-inspired posts!

 ♥

The Importance of Self Care

I recently came across this photo and it really got me thinking...

As I get older, I find myself putting a lot more effort into taking care of myself. Those nights of going to bed wearing makeup or not putting on moisturizer are things of the past. Socially, I try very hard not to be closed off to people and judge them without taking the time to walk in their shoes (or at least smile and say hello). I also make an effort into saying "yes" to more awesome things and "no" to things that I don't want to be a part of.

Like everyone else, I spend most of my time aiming to "be happy" or talking about ways to achieve that fulfilled-feeling; however, I think I prefer the idea of "self care" more than happiness.

Here's why...taking care of yourself, mentally and physically, really opens you up to feeling more positive and then spreading the love and good energy, don't you think? With self care, there are still good days and bad days, but there's more of an idea of forgiveness and growth. When talking about happiness, it feels more concrete (i.e., you either are happy or you're not) so maintaining seems a bit more difficult. 

When times get tough, I always notice that the first thing that I let suffer is taking care of myself: I may not work out as much, socialize with friends/ family as often, do things I love, or treat myself (with flowers or a long walk in the woods :)). When I am in a good place, I make the extra effort to make others smile, I dance (as much as possible), I'm more patient and calm, I prioritize volunteering (like giving blood today, for instance!), I take pleasure in the simple things by being truly present in the moment, and I really grow personally. When I'm focusing on nurturing myself, I am typically more cognizant of my body and more gentle in my opinion of myself. In turn, I become very aware of those around me and their battles; therefore, I try to be more caring and engaged.

[photo]

I hope you spend a little time today focusing on yourself and caring for your body and mind; more so, I hope you pay it forward and find ways to slow down and really appreciate each breath and those you love.

Namaste!
xo

Northwest Nostalgia

Last Summer, we did a road trip in the Pacific Northwest. Since we're all getting older, we figured we needed a solid adventure getaway with our closest friends before life got more complicated (i.e., babies for Victor and Anna :)) We all met up in Portland, OR to meet up with Ken to start the epic road trip.

Since I wasn't actively blogging at this time last year, I wanted to share some photos and this AWESOME VIDEO that Victor made from our adventure! Hope you enjoy it!

The five of us (Anna, Victor, Ken, Jason, and me) went camping at Ruby Beach and Olympic National Forest, hiked in the Hoh Rainforest, looked out over Hurricane Ridge, ferried across from Bainbridge Island to Seattle, slept on a sailboat, celebrated my 29th birthday by sailing in Elliott Bay with my best friend, Sasha, toured Sub Pop records, napped in many parks, hiked in the snow (in July!) on Mt. Rainier, marveled at the Grove of the Patriarchs, explored the Columbia River Gorge, swam in hot springs, played vintage arcade games at Ground Kontrol, ate at the Portland food trucks and Voodoo Donuts, drank beers at Deschutes Brewery, read books at the largest independent book store in the world, Powell's, had so many laughs, and made lifelong memories.

Just a few thoughts: there are a lot of fish eye lens photos below and it's so weird seeing myself with long hair! Crazy! :)

I remember taking this on the morning of my 29th birthday before anyone at the campsite was awake. It was a pretty incredible way to start my last year of my 20's...

Matching mates!

The Armadillo

 

 

 Pretty amazing, isn't it? If you haven't been to the PNW, I'd suggest you go as soon as possible!

xo