Las Vegas

This weekend, my family and I all piled into the car and headed out to Las Vegas, baby!

It's been a while since we've gotten to go on vacation just the four of us (besides Staycation, of course) and this weekend reminded me why all, repeat: ALL of my favorite memories of growing up are from vacations like these.

We walked around the strip, visited the Neon Museum and ate overly expensive Gelato. (Eating gelato at $5 a scoop is still better than no gelato at all though, I'd have to say ;)

My parents (semi)surprised Kaitlin and I with tickets to see Faith Hill and Tim McGraw at the Venetian and the concert was SO SO SO GOOD. Go ahead and give me all the crap you want about liking country music and say what you will about the sappy lyrics and twangy tunes, but this. concert. rocked. The whole venue only seats 1,800 people and so every seat in the house was still relatively close to the stage in comparison to the 50-60,000 seat arenas they usually play. And then the venue felt even smaller when Tim and Faith walked through the crowd just three rows away from us! I can confirm that yes, Faith Hill is just as beautiful in person and yes, Tim McGraw is just as hot. Oy vei.

Kaitlin and I each left our phones (aka: cameras) in the hotel room and I was kicking myself when they walked by and a major Kodak moment was slipping through my finger tips, but when I noticed the lady in front of me taking a ton of pictures, I waited until the end of the concert and then very nicely asked her to send one to me. Now, I can look at the picture whenever I want and reminisce about the time Tim Mcgraw winked at me. (I mean, some people may call closing both eyes at the same time a "blink", and no, maybe he wasn't, like, totally looking just at me directly, but I knew what he was trying to communicate. We had a moment.)

We came back to Newport early on Sunday, but it was truly wonderful to have such concentrated family time.  I am so blessed to have such a great family. Seriously weird, but seriously great.

Marketing

I went grocery shopping today (or, "marketing" as I, and everyone else in my family calls it... even though we may get made fun of from time to time...) and when I came home and started unloading all my goods, I noticed something sort of funny. Without even thinking, I started to clear out a shelf in the fridge and in the pantry to put my "Julia" stuff, just like I do at school. It's nice to be home and be able to put as much food in the fridge as I want or to disperse all of my food evenly throughout every single shelf in the freezer instead of a special section just for me. Funny how little weird things like that stick with you.

That's it. Just a funny little thought. 

PS- As much as I love this food storage freedom that comes with being home, I must say that I am now issuing a formal complaint to the other three inhabitants of my home for unlawful thievery in regards to  Oreos which do not belong to them. Whatever little mouse is stealing my double stufs is messing with the extensive Oreo eating schedule and regimen that I have perfectly crafted. BACK OFF! 

Miss Them Already

After three years, my whole family finally visited little old Savannah for a long weekend. And it was glorious. I showed them around to my favorite SCAD spots, introduced them to the greatest sandwich this side of the Mississippi, and took in the brisk(ish) air of changing seasons. 

In return, they bought me pumpkins, made me tacos, took me shopping and told me that my art was the greatest they'd ever seen. Like I said-- glorious. 

It felt great to have them see all the things that I've been talking about for the last three years-- especially this year when I feel the most comfortable and maybe just a little bit like a local. Just a little. Teensy. I can't wait to see them all again back in Newport in four weeks!

Back Again

Virginia and the wedding this weekend were beyond magical. Cool, Fall temperatures, great food, much needed family time and getting to witness two people making the ultimate commitment in front of valued members of their community. Such a great time. 

The wedding, as I mentioned before, was on a beautiful farm in the countryside of Virgina-- a state, I have realized, that before this weekend, had been largely underrated in my book and has since gone up about 10 notches in my personal rankings.

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but this one of the tent where the reception was held is my favorite. The candles made a path to the middle of the field where all the fun was had. 

Now, I'm back in Savannah with a major lack of motivation because all I want is for it to be Wednesday when mom, dad, and Kaitlin road trip their way down in the next couple of days from Virginia where we said goodbye to Savannah to spend a weekend with me! 

Virginia Wedding

I am leaving right after class today to get on a plane and take a little trip up north for the weekend to see an old friend of mine, Walker, get married! How exciting is that!? 

It's crazy to think that I'm at that stage of life when friends and peers of mine are getting hitched, but even more exciting is that this gives me the wonderful excuse of getting to buy wedding appropriate dresses that I never have reasons to buy otherwise.

A few weeks ago, when I was home, I got to see Walker in all of her bridal glory decked out in her wedding dress and let me tell you- so beautiful! I can't wait to see all of the details that she told me about come together on the big day.

And-- Bonus! I get to see my mom, dad and sister who are also coming to the wedding! Isn't that great?

Virginia, I'm comin for ya!