this past week, Brendan and I headed down to Nashville for a daytrip. we visited once before when we first started dating and we had a blast but I’m gonna venture to say this trip was even better! we started our day at Biscuit Love which was super yummy and since it was a monday, we got a seat in about 20 minutes, which was nice compared to the two hour weekend waits I read about on yelp. I had shrimp and grits which has been a favorite breakfast dish of mine lately and it was excellent! after breakfast, we headed to the Opry Mills Outlet Mall to escape the heat and do some shopping. we got some seriously good deals so I didn’t feel too guilty we went to an ordinary mall instead of site-seeing. next, we went to Crema, which I can honestly say I’ve been looking forward to visiting since we left the last time. they have this amazing concoction called coffee soda which is basically exactly what it sounds like: carbonated coffee! Brendan got a condensed milk latte which he assures me was great (I don’t like condensed milk but I’ll trust him).
we still had some time to kill before dinner so we headed back to the opry area to check out the Grande Ole Opry theater, which was closed but we wandered around anyways. i read on a travel blog that the hotel next door, The Gaylord Opryland Resort, had an indoor garden so we thought we might as well check it out. it was free to go inside but the parking was pricy so we opted to park at the mall and walk instead. it was a little bit of a hike, especially in the burning heat but WOW was it worth it! the gardens were beautiful and massive and the air conditioning didn’t hurt either. it was truly a phenomenal hotel! finally it was time for dinner at Rolf and Daughter, which I’ve literally been waiting years to try! we didn’t have reservations so we sat outside in the 100° heat (at 10pm!!) but the ambiance was so nice outside and the food was so good, I didn’t mind it much. I had the squid ink linguine, a dish I first tried while living in Nice at a wonderful restaurant on the beach, and I am happy to say this dish was just as yummy! we didn’t order drinks or dessert, which I’m regretting now but at least we have another reason to go back now.
this past weekend, Brendan and I took a day trip to westerly and newport, rhode island. we basically just went to westerly to see taylor swift’s rhode island mansion but it was a really enjoyable, abet a bit sleepy, typical east coast beach town. after walking around as long as we could bear in the chilly beach breeze, we got in the car and headed to newport.
we found a cute little coffee shop to get some mochas and boba (I’m obsessed even in the new england cold) then drove around to see the beautiful home newport is known for. we found some gorgeous mansions and great views and looped back to town in time for dinner at one of newport’s yummy seafood restaurants for oysters, lobster rolls and cheesecake. yum! newport is definitely my favorite spot I’ve explored while living here these past few months and I’m looking forward to going back again soon
{closest we could get to Taylor Swift’s house}
i know i didn’t post on this blog much but 2015 was quite a year! i had so many wonderful experiences, made a lot of lasting memories and learned to really love and cherish those close to me. there were also some hard moments but those only made the good moments sweeter. here are a few highlights from each month of 2015. greatly looking forward to 2016 and praying for joy, health, peace and love in this coming year.
january
went back for my second semester at UC. went to the detroit auto show.
february
got a whole week of snow days!
march
visited my friend emily in cedarville. spent a day in columbus.
april
had a blast at my sorority’s spring formal. moved out of my house in cincinnati.
may
watched my friends from cedarville graduate. started summer classes at art center. spent a day at disneyland.
june
turned 22. started dating the most wonderful guy i know. had my friend ingliv stay for a few weeks. took a road trip to northern california.
july
visited the santa monica farmers market. spent lots of time at the beach.
august
spent a week with my sorority sisters. met up with brendan for the first time in ohio. moved into a new apartment.
september
started my third semester of college. had the flu for two weeks. helped recruit an amazing new pledge class with my theta sisters.
october
prepared a portfolio and started job searching. got a co-op in rhode island! visited nashville with Brendan.
november
was invited to be apart of a design think tank for a major company. got an amazing little in my sorority. went to canada for thanksgiving.
december
went to formal with brendan. survived two weeks of ‘hell week’. celebrated christmas with my wonderful family. rang in the new year with brendan in california.
even before 2014 started, i knew it was gonna be a good year. literally as soon as i woke up on new year’s day, i received an email from the director of my program in france that the course would be ending six months early. in that moment, along with a million other emotions, i knew it was going to be a very different year than i expected. if i’m being honest, i was so relieved that it was ending and that i had the opportunity to start new adventures. and adventure there were, along with new friends, hours of hard work, great travels, unexpected blessings and dreams coming true. looking back on this year is so bittersweet because 2014 seems unbeatable. i know God has so much in store in this coming year and all the years after that but 2014 will always hold a special place in my heart. here are a few highlights and favorite pictures of my year from january to december.
january
found out i wasn’t going back to france. decided to study in england for a semester. spent an extra 3 weeks in california. left for england.
february
arrived in york, england. met new friends. went to an awesome valentine’s party. discovered great coffee shops. made dinners with my roommates. explored york.
march
watched the daffodils pop up around york. cooked a traditional german dinner with german friends. traveled to iraq for outreach week. visited the capital of kurdistan.
april
discovered my favorite coffee shop: brew and brownie. went to the yorkshire dales for speakers week. had a beautiful easter.
may
tried to figure out what i was going to do next with my life. found out i got into university of cincinnati. said many sad goodbyes. left england. spent a week in paris with emily.
june
saw the fault in our stars on opening day. turned 21. emily arrived in california for her summer internship. visited the new anaheim packing house.
july
went to the sawdust festival. was a wedding coordinator for a wedding in san diego. spent a girl’s weekend in palm springs for kayla’s 21st. visited carmel for a week.
august
road tripped out to ohio with my mom. visited santa fe and springfield, mo. started university of cincinnati. moved into a new house.
september
pulled my first all nighter. participated in sorority rush. joined kappa alpha theta. visited cedarville for the first time since i was a student there.
october
was initiated into theta. went on a church retreat in the mountains. walked in a fashion show. went to a few halloween parties as tinker belle.
november
had a blast at my sorority’s winter semi formal. spent thanksgiving break with friends in connecticut. experienced my first snow in cincinnati. broke my car’s window.
december
survived finals week. had our end of semester show. got on the deans list. came home to california. spent christmas with family.
happy belated christmas! this year was certainly a good one. it was filled with my favorite things like baking and good food and walks by the beach and presents but best of all, it was filled with spending time with people i love. here are a few snapshots of my wonderful christmas.
{on christmas eve morning, we went on a walk around Balboa island as a family. for christmas eve dinner, we went to cucina enoteca at fashion island, which is the new location of one of my favorite restaurants. i didn’t get any good pictures but the snapper i had was superb and i ended up really loving this new location. after dinner, we came home and had dessert and opened a few presents. i made a dark chocolate beet cake which i really regret not photographing but it ended up tasting much better than it sounds. i received the cookbook plenty more and i can’t wait to try some of the recipes!}//christmas day//
{christmas morning went from chill and quiet to stressful and crazy real fast. after we woke up, we sat around the tree and started opening presents. i got a lot of clothes, another fjallraven backpack to lug my laptop around school and a beautiful necklace i had been eying, which was a huge surprise because i was convinced the store had sold their last. after present time, my mom and i got down to cooking then we were off to grandmas house}
{every christmas afternoon, we go to my grandmas house with the rest of our family and have a late lunch together. it was a really warm day so my dad and i walked the dog around the neighborhood before we ate. when it finally was time to eat, we had italian soup, courtesy of my mom, shrimp and grits, courtesy of my aunt and a quinoa apple salad, which i made. after lunch, we had desserts and opened more gifts and chatted around the table}