Ireland

Sometimes I forget about this ol' blog. Now that it's been over a month since we returned from our trip overseas, I figured it's high time I showed you some photos!

We seriously had the best time. While the trip sure had its share of stress and lack of sleep, we feel so grateful for all that we were able to see and do. Of course we only wish we had more time! Ireland is a beautiful, beautiful country. The neat thing about it is that while there are so many tourists who travel through every year, you can go see the famous spots and they still feel untouched.

Europe!

photo credit

When we got back from our trip up north, it dawned on us that we only had a month left to plan out our trip to Europe in September. That's right, we're going to England and Ireland in just a few weeks! We had been wanting to do a trip to Europe this year, and the fact that my friend moved to a town right outside London just sealed the deal. I cannot wait to see London and walk some cobblestone streets in the Cotswolds. I'm also dying to explore the gorgeous green Irish countryside that I've heard about so much about! We have our flights and hotels booked, but all of our activities are going to be a little flexible, based on what we want to see the most while we're there. If you've ever been to either country, I'd love to hear what your favorite spots are!

Summer vacation: 1000 Islands

Oh Mudlunta, how I love you.

A couple weeks ago we took a long road trip up to the family cottage in the 1000 Islands. It was an incredible week! We had a bit of rain, but that didn't stop us from enjoying our vacation. The best part of the 1000 islands is just being there. Soaking in the peaceful quiet of the river, spending time with family, reading until your heart's content, taking a ride in the kayak whenever you want to (even in when it's raining!), sailing in the open water. There's so much to do all the time, but somehow it's a slow pace too. I don't think I realized how much I needed the island. I needed that week off from work. I needed that quality time with my little family. But I think mostly I needed the break from life - a pause from the normal day-to-day stuff that tends to wear you down after a while. I was able to find some rest for my mind, and that is the best part about vacation no matter where you are.

To the Island we go

Tomorrow (!!) we are headed up north to Canada to stay in Michael's family cabin in the Thousand Islands.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be up there for a whole week - boating around the St. Lawrence River, enjoying the crisp clear weather, and just simply taking a break from life for a bit. It's been at least 2 years since I've had a full week's vacation from work, and to say I've needed it recently is an understatement.

It's kind of hard to describe how amazing it is up there, but it really is some kind of dreamland. The cabin is super old and rickety (occasionally we see bugs and mice), we shower in the outdoor showers, and we are either wearing a swimsuit or sweatpants 24/7. So I wouldn't exactly call it glamorous, but it is seriously the best vacation from the hustle and bustle of normal life. We will have no wifi or cell service, which I'm about 90% excited / 10% freaking out about. It will be good for me. To go whole days with no email, no instagram, no facebook, and just BE. I have a stack of books to read - The Paris Wife, The Guernsey Potato Peel Literary Society, and The Book Thief, to name a few - and for the most part I'll either be doing that or exploring out on the water. Cooper is going with us, and he is going to have the time of his life exploring the island, swimming, and running around with his favorite buddy Snickers. I. Can't. Wait.

I'll be posting photos on Instagram when I can, but I don't really know how often that will be. I'll for sure be blogging our trip when return!

>> Have you ever been to the Thousand Islands? Do you have any small town recommendations for exploring along the St. Lawrence River? Last time I was up there we went to Clayton, Alexandria, and Gananoque, but I'm open to exploring new places! I even thought about making the 2.5 hour drive up to Montreal since I've never been. Would it be worth it?

Girls Weekend in New York City

Back in April, my mom, sisters, and I got to realize a dream that we've had for awhile - spend a weekend together in New York. And it was everything we'd hoped it would be! It was a quick trip, but we had two full days to eat and tour our way around the city, and that was enough to do a lot. I flew in from North Carolina, and they drove up from DC and we met at our hotel on Saturday morning to drop off our things and get started on our day! We had the best time just being together, having girl talk and seeing bits of the big city. I think we need to make this happen more than once in our lifetime.

New York City: Day 4

New York City: Day 3

New York City: Day 2

New York City: Day 1

Camping in a cloud

The Beach

France: A day trip to Ventimiglia, Italy

Let's get back to the France trip! Shall we?

This post isn't really about France though. This is the one day that I left the country and dipped my toes in the Italian shore. A group of us heard that it only takes an hour to get to Italy, so we decided to take a day trip out to this little Italian coastal town literally right across the border. Ventimiglia was so charming and so quaint that I just wanted to stay there forever. While it was very similar to the French coastal towns, it felt distinctly different and was full of a totally unique culture and language. We ate lunch at a cute little restaurant that was so perfect. I had the BEST pasta of my life. Not exaggerating here. Really, the best. We walked through the town and went down to the coast, which we found was covered in large pebbles! I had never seen a beach like that. We may or may not have seen a few topless Italians.

We finished the day off with gelato and then took the train home. I'm so glad we took the time to explore a different area not included in our itinerary. I know it was a random town that no one has ever heard of, but I can say I've been to Italy! One day hopefully I will see the rest.

France: Monaco

On this excursion, we actually did a legit field trip to a famous hotel to discuss the business aspects of technology and hospitality. While that was exciting, the better part of the day was when we got to explore Monaco. And lucky us, we were right smack in the middle of the setup for the annual Grand Prix! It was quite a sight to see, and I have never seen that quantity of expensive cars in my life. The Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis, and Paganis were literally parked on the streets everywhere we went. We also got to see the gorgeous Monte Carlo Casino! [We didn't go in because it cost money just to get in. Clearly we were on quite a different level than those Ferrari drivers.] Did you know Monaco is actually its own government entity? It is a principality that is geographically located within France, but is totally excluded from French government and law. It's the second smallest and most densely populated country in the world. Due to seeing references to Grace Kelly everywhere (she was the famous American actress who was also princess of Monaco), it was not surprising that there was lot of quoting of the "Can I have your number?" video. Stupid Americans. Stupid Americans we were. And ashamed we were not.

Enjoy the pics of my day in Monaco!

France: Cannes Film Festival

Because my trip was organized through a study abroad program, we had a lot of group activities built into the calendar. Class wasn't really first priority for our professors - hands on activities were. And we were not complaining one bit. The first thing we did outside of Antibes was visit the city of Cannes during the infamous Cannes Film Festival. I had high hopes of spotting Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, or Julia Roberts, but alas, we did not see anyone famous! We did, however, get to see the festival itself and explore the gorgeous city that is Cannes. The festival felt a lot like an American festival, just in a European city. We walked around like tourists, seeing all of the hullabaloo going on for the festival, ate lunch at a cute little outdoor cafe, and people watched. It was hot and crowded, but it was a great day for exploring.

France: Arriving in Antibes

Throughout my junior year of college, I had several friends do semester-long study abroad programs and got to hear about their amazing experiences. I have always loved travel, but seeing it through my friends' photos and experiences really got me interested. I realized that there was no better time than while I was in school to do a long trip overseas, because once I started working in the real world, how much time off would I really have (and not to mention money)? I knew I didn't have the money to do an entire semester, and honestly I didn't want to miss out on a whole semester of my senior year of college. So when I heard about this summer program in the French Riviera that my business school was offering, I attended an interest meeting and immediately knew I needed to apply.

Over winter break I discussed it with my dad, and he basically told me that he was willing to make it happen but that I would be paying for it in student loans later. I knew I would have student loans to pay when I graduated anyway, and I figured what's a few thousand more dollars in the whole grand scheme of things? Having an opportunity to travel with a group of peers for an entire month and explore places I had always wanted to see was not something I could put a dollar amount on. I knew the experience would be worth far more than the extra debt I would carry after school. I decided that this trip was worth it. And let me tell you - it totally was.

A trip down memory lane: My Study Abroad in France

Back in 2009 I went on a summer study abroad trip to France for a month. It was in between my junior and senior years in college and it really is in the top five best decisions I've ever made in life. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to go overseas and really experience the French culture for longer than just a week long vacation. I don't know if there's ever another time in my life where I'll get to do that!

Dreamland

Last week we were on vacation. And when I say vacation, I mean we went to one of the most relaxing, beautiful, quintessentially southern places we've ever been to. And it was glorious! Michael's granddad was generous enough to host a vacation for the whole family down in Bluffton, SC at a magical resort (and I don't ever use the word "magical" lightly) that was basically a little Southern town right on the water, with a similar feel to the little town of Beaufort. We stayed in the cute little village in one of those old, southern style homes with a big huge porch and wide planked floors.

We biked, we kayaked, and we climbed tree houses. We saw alligators and green lizards and dolphins. We lounged by the pool and roasted s'mores by the fire. We did some serious front porch sittin'. We played with our nieces and nephews, who are all too much fun! It really was the best week ever.

Most of the time, I am ready to come home after a trip away from home. Not often do I wish I could stay on vacation because I like being at home where I'm comfortable and have my things and my routine. This was one of the few places I've been where I just wanted to stay forever. It just felt like home. I felt like I was in a dream, and I literally did not think about work or everyday stresses at all the whole time we were down there. Even though it was hard to leave, I came home feeling rested and just all sorts of good feelings inside. And that, my friends, is how a vacation should leave you.

Mini-vacation: Florida

I don't normally try to do "catch-up" posts, but we've had so many great weekends recently that I figured I should share a bit from each of them (and now that I finally have some time to catch a breath). This post is all about Florida!

Michael goes to Miami a couple times a year for work, so when we found out he was going down again in April we immediately started brainstorming how to make a trip out of it. Vacations are a lot cheaper when one of your plane tickets is already paid for! Michael's grandmother lives in Naples, so we figured out a way to spend a long weekend with her before his work commitment. We flew into Naples on Friday, rented a car to drive around for the weekend, and then on Monday drove across the state to Ft. Lauderdale, where we got some lunch on the water and then I flew out from there and Michael headed down to Miami to stay for the week. It worked out perfectly!

We had such a great weekend down there. I was seriously at my limit with the longest winter in the history of the world, and Florida was just the way to get me through it. Grandmom showed us around her neighborhood community (which was awesome by the way. Think a college campus with palm trees and golf carts, without the class part) and took us to Perkins for dinner. We spent our afternoons at the beach and soaked up that Florida sun we needed so much. We took Grandmom out for pizza and ice cream, and also to go see the sunset on the water. It was just a really great weekend.

Then I came home and it was finally spring! Thank you, Florida!

I had the BEST fish tacos at Casablanca in Ft. Lauderdale. If you're ever down in Florida and need a good lunch spot, this is where you should go! Not to mention the view was incredible!

Lucky

Sometimes, we just get lucky. I don't mean that to say that things happen by chance, but that we are so purposefully blessed that we just feel so lucky to have been given this wonderful life. Being grateful for what I have, instead of pining after what I wish I had, does wonders for the soul.

A couple weekends ago my husband and I were able to spend a weekend away in Beaufort, SC. We had some amazing quality time that I don't think we knew we needed so much. I'm so thankful to be married to this man for over two years and still be so in love. I think we need to do weekends like this more often.