portland, maybe?

Hi friends,

It has been a crazy couple of weeks filled with birthdays, wonderful friends, food adventures, summer bucket lists, completing summer bucket lists and a slight bit of unexpected car trouble. Actually, when is car trouble ever expected? Never. Somehow though, even the car trouble turned into an awesome weekend trip packed with lots of friends and fun.

A few of weekends ago, I went down to Port St. Lucie to visit my friend Carolyn. She had planned a weekend FULL of fun and checking things off the summer bucket list for my birthday. We went to a minor league baseball game, made a kite, flew a kite, rode bikes, swam in the pool, swam in the ocean, picked up shells, made popsicles, went vertiglow bowling and ate delicious food. Whew, it was awesome and consequently, I can’t wait to be retired and living at the beach. There I said it.

The next weekend was spent in Tallahassee visiting my brother, spending time with old friends and meeting a few new ones. There was also a trip to Krispy Kreme because the hot now light was on and well, it just had to be done.

During the past couple of weeks a really exciting thing happened too! I had two skype interviews and was hired as an intern at Sseko! I should mention that Sseko is located in Portland, Oregon. So my friends, on Saturday (!!!) I will be flying three thousand miles into the pacific time zone. 

I will be blogging about blog adventures in Portland on another blog called Plant by Water. You can find it [here]! The PSL will still be here but it may be on a slight hiatus until December. So come visit me over there!

Here are some pictures from my most recent adventures: 

ps. I'm moving to Portland.  
pps: Typing that felt crazy and kind of awesome. 

oh to be at the beach!

Now I know why people retire at the beach. Imagine if everyday you were just snoozin' away like the lady in the first photo. Really? What a life. The beach is also so full of color and there is no denying that bright colors make people happy. It's just a fact of life. And it's a fact I like.

I also included a picture of my mom texting on the beach because it made me laugh and because if you have a mom who texts, it might make you laugh too. If nothing else, I hope these pictures get you excited for the summer months ahead of us!

ringling museum of art. part two.

Good morning!

A few pictures of the beautiful secret garden, rose garden and banyan trees of the ringling museum of art. The Mable Ringling rose garden was incredible. I wouldn't say that roses are my favorite flower in the world (leave that to peonies, hydrangeas and daisies) but I'm definitely able to appreciate their beauty. They are really quite a marvel when you stop to look them closely. Their intricate petals are so delicate yet full of bold color. While I was walking through the garden I couldn't help but think of the splendor of God and the gift that nature is. I mean really, 1,200 roses filled this garden and not one was alike. That's kind of awesome. 

ringling museum of art. part one.

Hi friends,

While my mom and I were in Sarasota last week, we visited the The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. It was the best decision we made all weekend! The museum is one of the prettiest places I have been in Florida. I'm gong to share with you a little history about this place so when you and your family decide to visit you can impress them with your facts.

In 1925, the construction of John and Mable Ringling's mansion was completed allowing them to reside there in the winter months. A few years later, their extensive art and sculpture collection was made into an art museum on the same property. The grounds of their estate include their beautiful home that sits on the edge of the Sarasota Bay, a rose garden planted by Mable Ringling in 1913, a secret garden, the coolest banyan trees I've ever seen, and the world's largest miniature circus! It was a very fun place to visit and naturally I took a few too many pictures so they will show up here in installments.

Side note and fun fact: In 2000, Florida State University (go noles!) was given responsibility of the museum.

Here we go!

just in time.

Hi friends,

Mom and I made it just in time to eat dinner and watch the sunset on Siesta Key beach last night. The beach is one of the most calming and beautiful places to be. We're not sure how the weather is going to be the rest of the weekend but we are good at finding a fun adventure. Here are a few snapshots of the beautiful sunset last night.

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.