When in Rome!

Hi friends! I hope your weekend was full of fabulous fall finds and fantastic friends. Or at the very least you enjoyed the beautiful weather that seemed to be radiating throughout most of the south this weekend. I want you to know this was a great weekend for me. Two of my dear friends attend(ed) school at Berry College in Rome, Georgia and have told me a lot about the beautiful campus. This weekend I got a chance to visit. I met two of my very best friends there for Mountain Day and Marthapalooza. Yes, it was as fun as it sounds. Their description of the campus was not exaggerated one single bit. There was so much to love about this place. There were outdoor fireplaces, beautiful barns, a multitude of chapels and a place called Normandy. The classroom buildings resembled something from the national mall and there was a waterfall next to the food court. Amidst all these things though, there was something special about this pristine 26,000 acre campus that made you forget about all the activity and excitement. There was a certain peace that made you want to draw near to stillness and breathe a little deeper. It was quite lovely.

On Saturday afternoon while our tour guide was taking a nap, we decided to explore a bit. We stumbled upon cows. Lots of cows. Grazing cows. Pooping cows. Cows that pooped while they grazed. It was really something. Ok, ok, moo-ving on from the cows. We also came across some leaves changing color, a hot cup of apple cider, and two small children resembling Dora and Diego playing in the fountain against their father's wishes. He said to us as he walked by "never have children." I laughed but didn't take it too literally. They were cute kids and kids are even cuter in the fall. Fact.

We had dinner at the delicious Italian restaurant, Bella Roma. We spent most of the time talking about future kid names. Girls do weird things like that. None of us are having children for a long time. (A long time). We also spent a few minutes wondering when the Clemson football team got so good and wishing they would cut it out.  Weird.

Later that evening, we bundled up and headed to Marthapalooza. There were rides and fair food. One of the rides, Starship 2000 made some friends want to ralph. The silver lining: we learned an interesting home remedy for a nauseated friend is sprite and pop-corn. Boom, take that Web MD. We decided, post starship, that it was all fun and games until our toes were numb and the apple cider volunteer told us the urns were broken. Then we wanted to cry. So we left.

When it was time to leave the next morning, my heart was overwhelmed with thankfulness. I had speant the whole weekend smiling and realized once again that my friends are pretty awesome. Have you ever had that bittersweet heart feeling when you realize you haven't had that much fun in a long time? That's where I was. There are great challenges of moving to a new place but realizing you have friends that make you feel at home is a comfort that aides any process. This weekend was a wonderful source of happy.

A few pictures from the weekend:

How was your weekend? Did you have that happy heart feeling at all? I sure hope so.