My Second Home

Tomorrow, James and I are road tripping to the place my heart loves the most, Hilton Head, South Carolina. My second home. Although, I have many "homes," this island, holds a place in my heart that no matter how hard other cities and towns try to squeeze in, there will always be a space for Hilton
Head.

I grew up going to Hilton Head every year for the week of July 4th, and the memories are ones that I will cherish for a lifetime. We have missed going the past couple of years due to things like being on summer staff in Colorado, or just deciding to change up vacations, but this year we are back in action and I couldn't be more thrilled! Although, when we go, we tend to eat at the same restaurants, visit the same shops, and stay at the same places, (almost as if it's ritual), the redundancy is left behind when we arrive. I could visit the same Harbor town, with the same red and white lighthouse every year because of all of the many flavors of emotions I feel.

 I am overflowing with excitement on top of everything because this year I have the pleasure of bringing James!! Yay! (might I add, I have never taken any other person on this vaca.) I can't wait to share all about this week and all the new memories we made!!

Whether it's a cookout, a lake trip, a beach trip, or any other festivities you and your friends might be having, I hope everyone is safe and enjoys this fun filled week. Happy 4th of July!!

Cold Tangerines

I haven't been on this baby in quite awhile. Looking back through old posts from this time last year, my summer has quite a different feel than last. Last summer was filled with taking my first trip to Charleston, taking YoungLife friends to Windy Gap, being out in Colorado for a month while I was on summer staff at Crooked Creek Ranch, and everything in between. This summer I have a lot more down time, and a lot more me time.

I am currently curled up in my apartment, in Milledgeville, watching the rain pour like I've never seen, whilst watching E news and a mug filled with coffee ice cream. Many would read and think, wow that sounds peaceful and cozy. Well......it is. And I am SO thankful for this moment right now. This summer hasn't been one that I thought it would look like, but after reading, "Cold Tangerines," by Shauna Niequist, I have tried to discover the little celebrations in my day to day even if it is that E news is on and I'm obsessed with Guiliana Rancic and I want to cut my hair again because of her even though I would never forgive myself if I actually went through with it. Mrs. Niequist has taught me that celebrations don't just have to be when we celebrate birthdays, holidays, and the end of school (even though those are WONDERFUL to celebrate!). Celebrations can be about having a cold tangerine, and that is what I am discovering. Within the past month, these are some celebrations worth sharing.

I spent the month of May with my very best friend and we love to celebrate with chikfila ice cream

Dinner with friends before many move away

Spent a lovely night at the Marietta square when some of my friends and I sat down next to THIS.

When Derek and Kari Beth became Mr. and Mrs. Chitwood!!

seeing old but beautiful friends

Road tripped from the wedding all the way to Nolensville, Tennessee, (my new favorite town), to surprise James' family!! I also got to finally meet Abiella, one of THE greatest bundles of joy to celebrate!!

Arrington Vineyards with the Mcconnells, wine never tasted so good.

my handsome boyfriend is always worth celebrating

What are some of the little things you've found in your every day life worth celebrating?

What is unseen

Today I am weary. 

I am weary of my thoughts concerning the pain and heartache of this world. 

I am saddened each time I read or hear about the news more and more as the days pass by.

Sometimes this fear of the world and what could happened consumes my thoughts before any action I take.

I was talking about this to one of my very best friends the other day and she told me that these horrible things that "could" happen, aren't anything that I can control. 

To live in a state of fear and let it consume you, isn't living, and it isn't showing the Lord that you trust Him with your life and with the plans He has for you.

I think this is something that is very hard for me, and as soon as I feel as if I'm letting the control of my life go, and into the Lord's hands..this feeling of wanting control comes back.

This is something I dealt with a lot in Colorado last Summer.

I think this is just one of my many struggles that, obviously, won't be connected to any sort of "formula."

I think that's why the Lord's relationship with us is so special.

Getting to a certain point with the Lord isn't enough.

Pursuing Him daily even in the confusion, heartache, pain, and anger is.

Today, I'm taking a breath, and stepping back from being so "quick to anger."

Today I am digging in to 2 Corinthians and letting God breathed word sink in to my yearning soul.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"You Can't Play Cards Here"

On this fine long weekend, I got to hang out with these wonderful people in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.

Our original plan was to go skiing in Boone, Nc, and this was going to be James' gift to me for my 21st birthday!!! (best boyfriend award right??) But.... there was a quick change in plans when the warm front came in and the majority of the snow turned muddy. We were bummed because Emily and I had never been skiing and were really excited about it, but that didn't stop us from finding something adventurous to do.

On Friday, James and I loaded up the car when he got off work, and headed to Lilburn, Ga to pick up Derrick and Emily (we also headed to Lilburn only knowing we are going to Asheville with no other details....ahhh panic). We headed to Asheville and stayed in a boys camp, thanks to Emily's connectionsssss!!!! AND it was freeeee. SCORE.

Saturday we headed in to the city to find exciting local restaurants and cool mountain shops. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was exciting, and there were too many dreads on heads to count (yes I'm referring to dreadlocks. It's just cooler to refer to them as dreads, well at least that's what I heard). We then headed to the beautiful Grove Park Inn and walked around to catch glimpses of the breathtaking view.

How beautiful is this place?! STILL the perfect birthday getaway.

By dinner time we were winding down and the boys were dying to take Emily & I to this place called the Grey Eagle to eat to-die-for hush puppies and listen to mumford & sons type music. I was pumped. I love the idea of chowing down on a bunch of appetizers while listening to live music. We arrive...and...well it went a little different as planned.

1. I get the mark of hey-you-aren't-21-so-let-me-black-sharpie-all-over-both-hands

2. THE MAN WAS RUDE

3. We walk in and we are the only people there...besides the cook and bartender

4. THERE ARE NO TO-DIE-FOR HUSHPUPPIES

5. We have two hours before the band starts to play

6. THE BARTENDER WAS RUDE

......then we had the brilliant idea to play cards..pitch to be exact. Just a little harmless competition between girls & boys. Then the following hostile man comes into the picture.

(bodyguard with bald head, glasses, and sleeve tattoos leans over our little table of four): "Um. You guys can't play cards here."

(one of us laughs): "Are you serious?"

Bodyguard: Yes. (sternly)

Emily: (laughs) "We've been playing for the past 30 min. and no one has said anything to us."

Bodyguard: (bobble head )"WELLL, I am TELLing you now."

OH NO HE DIDNT.

Long story short...that little mess set James over the edge, and he had no problem walking straight up to the bartender and letting him know how our experience had gone that night at the Grey Eagle while taking his tab back. We walked right out the door, but not without asking for our money back for the show.

As we drove away we started coming up with "what we should have done" scenarios which involved James fake crying, punching the bodyguard AND bartender, and asking the bodyguard to join in our game, which left us all in tears of laughter, which made out for a great night. We decided to end our night at a local coffee shop and tasted some heavenly hot chocolate. 

The next day we woke up thinking we were going to spend the day hiking before we went home, (obviously we thought a lot of things during this weekend that went differently) but ended up walking around the little town of Black Mountain, and venturing in to probably one of the most beautiful college campuses I've ever seen at Montreat College.

After this visit, we jumped in the car, made a pit stop at the Tanger Outlets, and headed home just in time for Revenge!!!

mmm. My weekend is complete.

meredith. 

Jingle Jam

My mom won tickets to star 94's Jingle Jam concert & she invited me!! I wasn't sure who many of the artists singing were until they actually were singing their hit songs, but it ended up being a lot of fun! Who knew this british guy named Ed Sheeran was a teen heart throb (seriously, I had no clue I could experience the screams I heard when his name was even mentioned), and who knew the latest American Idol winner, Phillip Phillips was someone I actually really enjoyed listening to.

For any of you that don't know what Jingle Jam is, it is a concert that is put on by star 94 radio, and they ask 6 artists to perform 5 or so songs, and the last person sings a whole set list. This lucky one that sang their whole set was none other than Ed Sheeran. Seriously guys, ha I had no clue who this guy was and yet my ears were ringing the screams were so loud. Now, the 6 artists that performed (in order) were: Andy Grammer, Grace Potter, Alex Clare, Phillip Phillips, Jason Mraz, and Ed Sheeran.

We got to sit in the club level!!

Grace Potter killin it.

Phillip Phillips

On top of the awesome people watching at a place that supports many different tastes in music, the middle-aged women dancing around us to the one and only rockstar Grace Potter all the way to the "Ginger Jesus" Ed Sheeran...I('m serious guys...that quote was on a poster by two teenage girls), it was quite a show & I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was when J Mraz asked everyone to turn their phone lights on, it was soo pretty.

Now I will leave you with a new favorite song of mine...

Enjoy.

Lately

Life lately has been quite peaceful; filled with lots of sleep and the people that warm my heart. 

Everyone meet my boyfriend. 

Wearing some sort of santa/pimp hat, casually drinking starbucks with an oh-so-loved shirt of his that has "plenty of holes to tell plenty of stories", so he says.

This wonderful boyfriend of my mine just so happened to take me to the Nutcracker and sit through a ballet where I soaked in the elegance, grace, and beauty of it all. There were around 30 little girls as mice, gum drops, lamb chops, and so on...and we couldn't get over how adorable they were. James was cackling so hard at one point, this lady turned around to see what was going on (apparently The Nutcracker isn't supposed to be funny). These little girls were waving at their parents, running back and forth, and just looking as precious as they could be.

The next day, I packed up my car and headed home for a long but needed month of Christmas break. James came along for the weekend, and we ended up going ice skating with a college group from a church that his best friend is an intern with. Although ice skating isn't something I die to do, it was definitely memorable...

As you can see, they are professionals, and they were getting plenty of looks from people petrified they were going to run in to them.

Baby, it's Cold Outside

I wish. Where's the cold weather? I never thought I'd say this, but I want the chill in the air that makes it feel like Christmas!!

Finishing my first semester of the Early Childhood Cohort...I feel so free!! This semester has probably been the hardest semester of my life along with many different emotions. Things changed a lot this semester, but I'm hopeful to see the outcome of the changes starting Spring semester along with when I get to be with my Kindergarten babies!!

I am SO excited to be home with my family and have sporadic hang outs with my sweet friends that live near me, or near enough to meet up. I am excited for all the Christmas movies (thank goodness for ABC family), and decorations all throughout my town.

I get to be an elf on the square, you guys, it is going to be so much fun. Picture it...

Sadly, I don't have to wear an elf outfit like zooey, but I do get to watch the joy of little kids visit Santa himself.There are so many things I am excited for over the next month, and I can't wait to start the festivities on Friday. My wonderful boyfriend is taking me to see the Nutcracker, and then it's all uphill from there.

In the meantime, I will be listening to my new favorite Pandora station: She and Him

Zooey is full of Christmas spirit.