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?

Roasted pepper, goat cheese, & basil pasta

Happy Friday! Thank goodness it's the weekend, amiright?! The weather here has suddenly cooled to a beautiful 80-degrees-and-sunny for the last couple days, which is unheard of mid-July in North Carolina. We have been eating out on our back patio in the evenings, exercising outside, and overall just enjoying the lack of humidity. It's been lovely. It also makes it especially hard to sit in an office all day, hence the strong TGIF emotions I've been feeling all day!

4th of July Weekend

How was your 4th of July weekend? Ours was fantastic. I loved that the holiday fell on a weekend this year! The weather was unbelievably gorgeous and unusually not humid, so we got to spend most of it outside and I have to say I loved it. I can't remember a 4th of July with such amazing weather!

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.

Hello!

Okay, so it's been a while since I blogged. Like over two months. I didn't really plan on taking an extended break from blogging, it just kind of naturally happened and I went with it. There's no reason for me to write a forced post if my heart isn't in it, amiright?

So I'm stopping in to say hello! And let you know that I will be posting some life updates sometime soon. I can tell you some of what I've been up to: working a lot (work has been pretty stressful lately, to say the least), playing with my puppy, enjoying the glorious warmer weather, and doing a bit of jet-setting (the above photo is from a quick trip to Ocean Isle last weekend). I hope to recap all of that in the next couple weeks! It's good to be back!

High 5 for Friday

I haven't done one of these posts in a while! I decided I'd do a low 5 along with my high 5. I'll start with the lows and build up from there.

This week's lows:

1. I found 4 gray hairs this week - eek! Feeling really old. I may have to start dyeing my hair in the near future.
2. I cleaned the whole main level the other night - vacuumed, cleaned the powder room, straightened up. Thanks to the Coop man, not even 2 days later it looked like it needed a thorough cleaning again.
3. This has been a looong week at work. I am so ready for a vacation.
4. The rain. And the cold. I am just SICK of it! So ready for spring to come and STAY.
5. Since we were out of town last weekend and got home late Sunday night, the laundry and grocery shopping have yet to be caught up on... I am thinking it probably won't happen tonight either, even though it should.