Since 2017 ended the exact opposite I thought it would, I wanted to spend the last few days of the year focusing on me and doing something I wanted to do. Me, by myself, taking time to do something I enjoy. So obviously that meant traveling somewhere new. I’ve actually been to Asheville a few times when I was younger but they were always family trips where I was interested in nothing but being an oblivious pre-teen child. 

So here are some quick things about Asheville that intrigued me to make the ~4.5 hour skid from Nashville:

Beautiful, scenic Blue Ridge Mountains | Pisgah National Forest

Small city with a vibant downtown, cool music and art scene, intoxicating southern charm

Many, many breweries and local beers 

History - Biltmore Estate

I loved Asheville because it still felt like home, just in a different place. I stayed in West Asheville, an eclectic part of town that allows you to experience local life easily. There isn’t much in the way of accommodations in that area (hotel-wise), but I found a cheap little Airbnb that was perfect for my stay.

I was a few minutes drive away from some cute and funky coffee shops, where I set up to work for a few hours each day before exploring. This one was my favorite, Odd’s Cafe.

I stopped at WALK to grab a quick lunch one day, a super cool spot in west Asheville that I highly recommend if you’re in the area. Good food, good vibes.

Just a bit of street art as I passed by.

I think my favorite place in Asheville was the Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar. Yep, CHAMPAGNE BAR. If that doesn’t have me written all over it...

And yes, I got a champagne flight. This is one of the coolest concepts I have ever seen. A book store, coffee shop, champagne and wine bar complete with cheese plates, pastries and desserts. A huge building with fancy couches and tables, fun artwork and an incredible wine and champagne selection. There are little nooks everywhere. It's like a labyrinth, no matter where you turn - something else opens up that you didn't even realize was there. 

The bartender explained each pour, and said that one of them was what they drank on The Titanic. Whether that is true or not, it was still tasty. 

Also, it’s PUPPY FRIENDLY. I wanted to take this place home with me.

The bookstore bar is located in the Grove Arcade shopping area, but I didn’t really find anything else that interested me, so I set out walking.

I found another cool bookstore called Malaprop’s, which was more of your standard (and sober) bookstore. I loved this section, where you could pick a book based on a set of adjectives describing the story on the front without knowing what it is.

Once it became an acceptable time to drink, I set out on a solo brewery tour. First up was High-Wire Brewing and actually was one of my favorites.

I got a flight to sample various beers and set up shop in a corner to plan my next trip. I liked the vibe of this place, though it got incredibly packed by the time I left an hour later. 

I walked over to Burial Beer, which was referred to me by several friends. 

It was cool, but the whole 'homage-to-the-dead' thing was trying a bit hard via the decor inside and extending to the names, but at least most of the art was eclectic and not as cheesy. 

Obviously my favorite part of this spot besides the beer was the mural. Though I might be a closet Tom Selleck lover...

I stopped at Catawbra Brewing next since it was getting dark outside and I didn’t want to walk far. There is a seemingly endless variety of breweries in the south slope neighborhood of Asheville, and while this place was certainly good, I wouldn't say it sets itself apart from the others around the area.

I got up early each morning to hike and watch the sunrise at Mt. Pisgah, and my God y’all, they were so beautiful. Getting up before the rest of the world while my head is still quiet is one of my favorite things. I feel like I found a bit of peace during these moments I had to myself and I’m grateful for that.

I ventured over to the Biltmore Estate, which is one of the top suggested things to do in Asheville. My family went when I was a kid, so I remembered it enough to not want to spend money on the extremely pricey tickets to tour again, despite the fact that I’d probably appreciate the history more at my current age.

I had to stop at Biscuit Head, which was recommended to me by many locals. It was good, but not life-changing. Nashville has a mean brunch game so I might be a little hard to impress.

Another favorite brewery that was a bit off the beaten path was Pisgah Brewing Company. This spot was truly a hidden gem. Once you find your way to the taproom, you are transported to hippie paradise. Awesome outdoor beer garden, great music and of course some just solid, good beer. I made a friend at the bar and we shared stories of our adventures over a drink. One thing I noticed traveling solo here was it was really hard to find other solo travelers Generally, I will sit at the bar as an easy way to strike up a conversation, but none of the bars I went to had seating, nor did I see anyone sitting alone. 

If you want a beautiful rooftop view for a drink, go to the Montford Rooftop Bar. I still cannot get over the beautiful sunsets. In a weird sense, it made me feel like I was exactly where I needed to be at that moment in time. Perfect way to end my last night.

Before I left on my last morning, I checked out the River Arts District. It’s in an industrial kind of area, not very sexy looking, but has been taken over by artists and transformed in an art Mecca of the area. It's fun, colorful, and street art is everywhere you look.

All in all, I really enjoyed Asheville. It’s your typical friendly, southern city and an easy place to go if you’re intimidated about traveling alone. I’m dying to get back into those mountains and explore some great hiking in the future. Some things I didn’t grab photos of were some of the music venues I hit up, but I highly recommend checking out some shows while you’re there! I heard some of the best old country picking and bluegrass. It was pure southern perfection. Some food recommendations would definitely be Curate (on the pricier side but sooo worth it)  and White Duck Taco Shop, which was pure heaven post-brewery tour. 

At the end of 2016, my reality was perfect. If you were to tell me a year ago at this time that this would be the way I'd be ending 2017, I would laugh in your face. 2017 was by far the best and worst year of my life, all in one.

Let’s just say the past few months have been the most emotionally and spiritually challenging phase of my twenty-seven years of life.

I lost a lot. I gained a lot. And I learned so much. A lot of pretty crappy things happened to me, and to the people I love. I ended this year in no way compared to the amazing way I started it, and that's a terrible yet great thing. I've grown so much as a person, in such a short amount of time, and for that, I am in a weird way thankful for 2017. This year has taught me how to think for myself, how to love myself, and how to be there for myself.

In life, pain comes—sometimes in waves, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes when we can feel it in our bones before it hits. Pain tries to break us permanently. But pain also teaches. And strengthens. And gives us lessons and purpose and power that we wouldn’t have without facing it, and coming out on the other side.

What if every painful thing you faced was actually pushing you forward, pushing you down a different road, a better road, the road you’re meant to be on?

I want to take away from 2017 that hard work produces results. (I got my dream job). That it isn’t a weakness to be vulnerable, care too much, and love too hard. (I loved someone hard enough to get my heart broken). That speaking up is always better than saying nothing at all. (Communicating can change EVERYTHING). That I make my own decisions, and I determine my own future. 

There’s much to be said about looking backwards, about using your past to guide you, about learning from your mistakes. There’s much to be said about holding out, hanging on, fighting for what you believe in for as long as you can. There’s much to be said about wondering what could have been and trying to reach for it, even when a person or situation feels far from your grasp. I’m still struggling with these things.

But then, there’s much to be said about letting go.

When you let go, you choose to let the cards of this life play out in your open palm. You allow yourself to be led, to be guided, and to embrace whatever comes. When you let go, you realize you simply cannot keep bad from coming, or the good from never falling on your path. You learn that people will disappoint you, walk away from you, leave you when you need them the most—but none of that dictates what you’ll do or where you’ll go next.

When you let go, you decide to let the past be the past, and watch ‘what could have been’ simply float away. You give life the chance to surprise you, teach you, heal you, as you willingly shed the heaviness that’s been holding you back for so long.

I am so ready to let go. 

Give yourself the freedom to move on, to say goodbye to what is not meant for you, to walk away from people and situations that are only bringing you down. Give yourself room to grow, to leave the past in the past, to rebuild, right from where you are. Give yourself possibility; rather than focusing on what didn’t come to fruition, see what could, what will.

And look to the future with open arms.

Instead of wondering about the person who left, about the words you never said, about the people who walked in and out of your life, about the memories you lost along the way, see what the world has in store for you next.

Starting over gives you a choice. A choice to become a better person. A choice to forget the past, the things that held you back and begin again. A choice to leave people behind and find people who make you happy. People who support you. People who make loving you look easy. A choice to redeem yourself and change what you weren’t happy with.

Starting over means you’re learning that life could be better somewhere else. You’re learning not to settle. You’re learning to see the blessings in endings and the good in goodbyes. You’re learning that there’s a place where you belong. A place where you don’t have to apologize for being yourself.

Starting over means you’ve seen it all fall apart and you learned how to put it back together. It means you know how to use everything you have ruined to create something beautiful. It means that you know how to rebuild what others have destroyed.

Starting over means you’re not afraid to be wrong. You’re not afraid to try again. You’re not giving up on yourself. You’re not giving up on your potential. You’re not just sitting there contemplating whether or not you can do something. You’re not just sitting there crying over your past and remembering all your mistakes. You’re changing your direction. You’re driving to a new place. You’re taking a new road because you understand that you’re not stuck. You can always move. You can always leave. You can always take a different route.

Starting over means you’re brave. You’re not afraid to end things. You’re not afraid to break your own heart. You’re not afraid to put yourself first and trust yourself that you can get things right. You’re not afraid of the unknown. You know that better things are out there. You believe that the best is yet to come.

Every year, I like to set myself some goals for the new year we are entering. Did I accomplish everything I said I wanted to do in 2017? Not exactly. But I am one step closer to accomplishing it all.

Key West, FL

I did Key West a little non-traditionally and differently than most. People traveling to the Keys often will fly into Miami and enjoy a scenic drive South, making stops at the other islands along the way. Had I had more time off, I would have definitely considered renting a car and doing that, but I opted to use some sky miles and fly straight into the one of the tiniest airport in the US - Key West International. 

While this was ‘work’ for my boyfriend (his band played at Sloppy Joe’s for the week) I saw it as a perfect opportunity to explore a new city. Generally my traveling consists of “Do everything! See everything! The more, the better!” This time, I wanted the complete opposite, and the whole sleeping-til-noon-every-day and drink-all-the-alcohol thing tells me I was somewhat successful. Work stress has been compounding for several months so this was so nice and necessary.

We didn’t do a lot of the typical tourist activities like snorkeling or visiting the Hemingway House and his cats (you can pay $18 or go play with street cats for free and invest that money in alcohol), but we truly embraced the slow island culture and relaxed. I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon several hours ahead of my boyfriend, so I headed straight to a little bed and breakfast I booked called the Heron House. Finding an affordable place was a pain in the ass but I had some luck and caught a decent deal. We had a really spacious, nice room, and there was a pool and light breakfast included -- I would highly recommend looking here if you’re ever visiting. I was able to check in early, so I dropped off my bags and set out on foot. 

Now, I’m no stranger to the southern heat and humidity. But this humidity was reminiscent of the air in the Philippines where it was so thick, you could chew it. Sweat is not a good look on me (is it a good look on anyone?) so unless you really like looking shiny, I would debate going in the winter months over the summer months. 

Key West kind of reminded me of New Orleans if it were a beach town. The beautiful architecture of the buildings and homes was really stunning. Lots of unaware tourists during the day, lots of nauseating partying at night. Having been less than impressed with the garishness of Miami, I was curious if Key West would be similar. Lots of the shops on the main streets are downright tacky, but the cute, seafaring town vibe make the more commercial areas tolerable. Charming even. The people watching is consuming and you get the impression that the local community is comprised mostly of hippies who drifted as far south as they could to avoid life from wherever they came from (seriously, this was the story of several locals I met). With Key West being the southernmost point in the United States, I had to be a good little tourist and take a photo of the monument to recognize my travel achievement. Obviously. 

I imagine the food would be exquisite if you are a fan of seafood (which unfortunately I am not. At all. I know). So while the food was wasted on me, the alcohol was not. The boy played for 4 hours each night, which meant hanging out at the bar solo and, well, drinking. No problems here. I met a lot of interesting people, albeit some creepy, but it was fun to interact with non-locals. 

Some of the things I do recommend doing are visiting Mallory Square, which is kind of the central hub of Key West. While we didn’t catch it, there is apparently a nightly street festival to celebrate the sunset. We ended our last night in Key West hanging out in the square and watching various boats and ships sail by as the sun descended. Sickeningly romantic.

One thing you must absolutely do is take a sunset sail. We looked at several different companies before finding a great deal (these can be really pricey if you’re not careful) with Sebago Water Sports, and it included a two-hour sail, and unlimited champagne, beer, wine, and sangria for $35 each. And YES SIR, we drank our monies worth. This was probably our favorite thing we did all week. 

Don’t go to Key West without trying local key lime pie (which I admit I’ve never actually tried before). We went to the Key Lime Pie Company and while I was skeptical (because um, no chocolate) it was delicious and light. 

Lastly, visit Duval Street. It’s like the Bourbon Street of Key West but way less smelly. Obviously I spent most of my time at night at Sloppy Joe’s watching the boy’s band, but there are lots of other bars and restaurants on the strip worth venturing too. Beware, though, it will be 4am before you know it and bars will still be willingly pouring and the next day you will definitely be reminded that you are no longer 21 years old anymore.

The only thing I completely regret not doing is venturing to find some cuban coffee! I was looking forward to finding some the whole trip but my laziness got the best of me. Cue side eye from the boy who sent me snapchats of a cubano the day after I had to fly home.

Virgin Falls Hike, Cookeville TN

Virgin Falls is an out and back hike, roughly 12 miles roundtrip depending on if you hike to some of the overlooks on the way. You’ll pass several waterfalls on the route out, and you’re at the turnaround point once you reach the biggest waterfall, Virgin Falls. There are a few sketchy water crossings you have to commit to early on, or you won’t make it very far. You’re essentially hiking downhill to the falls, which in turn means your ass in gonna be burning on the way back when you’re climbing the elevation you so naively pranced down. 

Food (literally ANYTHING in Nashville is delish, but these are my faves):

Burgers - The Pharmacy

BBQ - Edley’s

Hot Chicken - Hattie B’s

Pizza - Five Points 

Brunch - Tavern | Biscuit Love

Cocktails - Patterson House

Breweries - Jackalope | Yazoo

Neighborhoods/Nightlife/Bars

Downtown: Acme Feed & Seed, Rippy’s, Tootsies, Paradise Park

12 South: The Filling Station, Bartaco, 12 South Taproom

Midtown: Tin Roof, Two Bits, Red Door Saloon

The Gulch: Flying Saucer, 12th & Porter, St. Anejo, Whiskey Kitchen

East Nashville: The 5 Spot, Barista Parlor, Fat Bottom Brewing

Attractions

Centennial Park (Parthenon)

Frist Center

Country Music Hall of Fame

Cheekwood

Jack Daniels Distillery 

Arrington Vineyards

Opryland

Don’t let the smile fool you, being spoiled with a few snow days made it hard to go back to work this morning. I live less than 2 miles from the office yet it took me over an hour to get there today -- traffic was insane. Chugging coffee to help these tired eyes, and beginning the work grind. 

Saturday

After sleeping in until the ripe hour of 8am (seriously, you know you have a problem when this feels like ‘sleeping in’) we were pumped to go grab some donuts for breakfast. I’m a religious stalker of Cely’s blog, and after drooling over her posts about these donuts when she lived in Texas, I put it high on our list of must-do’s. 

Enter: Gordough’s.  It was everything I thought it would be: greasy, delicious, sweet, and doughnut heaven. If I die and go to heaven, take me to Gourdough's on the way. I’m grateful I don’t live in Austin -- I’d be a regular and 40lbs heavier. After eating, I thought “I’LL NEVER BE HUNGRY AGAIN.” I don’t have enough stomachs for that city. (p.s. they also have savory donuts/donut burgers).

Another spot that was recommended to me was the Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theater that basically has staff waiting on you hand and foot. What’s to hate about super comfy chairs and people bringing you food and drinks throughout your movie? Nothing. WHY DON’T WE HAVE THIS IS NASHVILLE?! Absolutely genius. We saw Sisters, and I thought it was hilarious. 

Post-movie and after we let our diabetes settle, we checked out HandleBar. Cheap drinks and a sweet rooftop bar, but also the manliest hipster almost-dive bar we went to. The place had see-saws for grown-ups and giant jenga, I wasn’t mad about it. 

Because we were really on a quest for our pants not to fit, burgers at Hopdoddy were on tap for dinner. You know that anywhere with a line wrapping around the building is going to be good. Luckily, we didn’t go at lunch hour, so we didn’t have to wait. 

Are you drooling? I’m drooling. I was unreasonable sad when I finished this meal. And truffle fries, heart eyes. You could tell they used fresh, high quality meat, too. Mmmmm.

(Can you tell I love the graffiti?) The obvious place in Austin to hang out on a Saturday night is famous 6th Street, where nightlife and bars galore live. I’m not old, but I felt old on this street. We felt surrounded by college kids and much younger people. Seems like a cool spot if you’re going to drink a lot and make a night of it. My friend and I wanted to keep it a little more low key, so we walked to check it out just to say we did, and then headed over to The Belmont for some live music.

We had just picked a random spot to go to that was on Austin’s free week list, not knowing what we were about to experience. Let me just say, I’ve seen a lot of weird bands. Nashville is Music City, you get a little bit of everything. But I cannot accurately describe how weird the bands I saw that night were. The first band called Total Unicorn consisted of two ‘DJs’ and a dancer...all wearing unicorn masks. It was so strange yet intriguing. The second band was like if Queen and Freddie Mercury had a lovechild. The lead singer broke out a flute and kept chugging Big Red on stage. Both bands must be popular in Austin -- they had a ton of fans. Unfortunately it decided to be winter in Texas on Saturday, and the concerts were outside, so once we no longer had circulation in our limbs we called it a night.

Sunday

I rarely hit up the same place twice on a trip, but I had heard Banger’s served a mean brunch. But the real star of the show? ONE LITER MIMOSAS. Jesus, y’all. Get drunk and diabetes all at once. The food took a close second -- fries topped with a prime rib glazed over BBQ sauce, two fried eggs, and jalapenos. HELLO. You better believe a nap happened after this. Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. 

After we felt human again, we found ourselves at a little treasure in Austin. The Cathedral of Junk. Remember when you used to build forts as a kid? No, not the nice plywood one your dad built for you, but the ones that used household objects and crap you found in the backyard? Take that, add some structural engineering knowledge, a lot of crap, 20 years, and multiply it all by like a bazillion and you have the cathedral of junk: a spectacular, three story structure made out of years of trash. 

This is, quite literally, a cathedral of junk in this guy's backyard. He's built it up, a piece at a time, since 1989. And it is magnificent. As weird as it sounds, as terrific as it gets. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure...

OH HEY LOOK IT’S TIME TO EAT AGAIN. Yet another recommendation, Lucy’s, famous for fried chicken, was delicious. I had the chicken and waffles, and they were good. Not life changing, but good. The waffles were fried too, which I did not like, because they were way too crispy and really hard to eat. Maybe I’m picky because Nashville has perfected chicken and waffles for me. That mac n cheese though. I wanted to swim in it. It was PERFECT and I’m still dreaming about it.

With an early Monday morning flight, we knew we would want to take it easy on Sunday night, so we made a reservation to Midnight Cowboy, a speakeasy in downtown Austin. A true speakeasy, this place has a very narrow door as its entrance, and if you didn't know the address, you would easily miss this spot.  Upon arriving at their door, there's a list of name options to buzz, and Harry Craddock was our guy.  The drinks are all specialty cocktails with ingredients I’ve never heard of, and while I’m not a big cocktail fan, these were pretty decent. Most speakeasy-type bars I’ve visited are generally snooty and pretentious. This one was not. It was not about being exclusionary; instead it was about enjoying tasty drinks in a comfortable atmosphere. I recommend it if you’re in the Austin area!

And because we have no self control, we ended our night at Voodoo. I’ve visited the one in Portland but my friends hadn’t been before, so they really had to twist my arm to get me to go. Rough life. 

We woke up at 4:30am the next morning to catch our flight, where I went straight to work. Most glamorous. 

Thursday

Oh, Austin. How I’ve been longing to visit you. As soon as I heard that Austin is basically a more liberal and eclectic carbon copy of Nashville, I have been dying to visit. I booked this trip with a friend months ago during a sale Southwest was having, and figured January would be the perfect time to go and escape the winter. While we were greeted with two perfect 70 degree, sunny days, we also got a taste of ‘winter’ in Texas, leaving us borderline frostbitten the other two days. Oh well. We survived. Buckle up, this is gonna be a long ride.

Luckily, my friend I traveled with loves food just as much as I do, and we basically spent four days seeing how much we could eat. You think I’m kidding...

I would’ve flown to Austin purely for the mexican food. I wanted to cry this was so good. We went to a couple different spots but our favorite was Tyson’s Tacos (recommended by this lovely soul). Tears of joy, I tell you. (Side story: we went to a random hole-in-the-wall mexican joint and they served us this bowl of green stuff with the chips they bring you. Being the daredevil of sorts, we generously dipped our chips in this pot of hellfire and thought ‘nope, this is it, this is how we die.’ Apparently it’s called ‘green sauce’ -- is this a thing in Texas? It was like a pure bowl of mashed up jalapenos or something and we were sweating flames it was so spicy. BEWARE THE GREEN SAUCE).

Once we were no longer hangry, we walked around the UT campus and then toward South Congress, where a lot of cute, local (and weird) shops and boutiques live. We passed a Hey Cupcake! trailer, so obviously we had to test them out. They were just okay, but definitely made me feel sugar drunk. 

Austin was legitimately screaming to be instagrammed. I tried to show some restraint (apparently some people get annoyed when you post multiple times on instagram but WHATEVER DON’T CARE. South Congress (or, SOCO) was completely adorable.

To not completely feel like a gluttonous asshole (basically the theme of this trip), we decided to explore Mt. Bonnell, which was recommended to us by one of our uber drivers. I was expecting more of a hike, but it’s really just a few stairs and then you’re at the top (you drive most of the way up). The view is rewarding and you get a great view of the river and downtown skyline. It would have been the perfect place to bring a couple of beers and just chill. 

After baking in the Texas sun for a bit, we retreated back to our hotel and then headed out to Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden (another recommendation from multiple friends who clearly know the way to my heart). The have 100+ beers on tap, and inappropriately good sausage. I’m not a huge sausage fan (...did you just laugh out loud? because I did. i’m a child) but these quickly changed my mind. It was almost at this moment I decided maybe I’d be okay with being fat forever, fitting in pants be damned.

I got a local beer flight, and I wasn’t a big fan of a the Pearlsnap or Buckethead, but the Hefeweizen and Pecan Porter were delicious. We stuck around for a while as a local bluegrass band just started playing. Definitely my kind of place that I wish we had back home. 

Once we were out of our food coma, we headed to the Continental Club, a cozy dive bar and music venue on South Congress. The dirtiest couches you've ever sat on force you to get on up out of your seat and dance the night away to a good old fashioned rock n’ roll country band. It just so happened to be Free Week when we were visiting, so we didn’t have to pay any covers to get in places or see bands. A+ job, Austin. Definitely a fun place to check out.

Friday

Being the ambitious soul that I am, I woke up early-ish on Friday morning to check out the Lady Bird Trail. The weather was a perfect 50 degrees and gorgeous. The heavy breathing and side cramps were not. The trail runs alongside the river and offers soft dirt (where I ran, at least) but if there’s one thing that really stood out, it was all of the runners that looked like they just stepped off the cover of Runner’s World. Is everyone is Austin gorgeous or something? I just kept trucking along, feeling incredibly inadequate, but at least I ran slogged, right? Right. Phew. 

After my 45 minutes of near-cardiac arrest, I put my stretchiest pants on and we went around 9:45 a.m. to plant ourselves in line at Franklin Barbecue. We weren’t familiar with Franklin’s, we were just told 1) it was the best BBQ in Texas, and 2) you better get your ass in line early. That picture was of the line when we got there. A sweet girl came by and gave us an estimated wait time (3 hours later, which was surprisingly accurate) and asked how much meat we were planning to order so that they know where to cut off the line. Meanwhile, they have a pile of chairs you can use while you sit there and smell the evils of delicious food that you won’t be eating for at least 3 hours. 

Despite feeling like I had aged five years by the time we got in, it was so, so worth it. I got an embarrassing amount of meat and I ate every damn bit of it. If you’re a BBQ fan, run to Franklin’s, don’t walk. The only thing I wished we had considered was bringing a 6 pack and a deck of cards while we were waiting in line like the people in front of us. They were basically BBQ tailgating, which I think is genius. If you go, I definitely recommend trying a little bit of everything. I will, now and forever, worship at the Church of the Holy Franklin Brisket. Amen.

I did not plan a single second of this trip, which is very unlike me. I’d generally at least come up with a list of places/restaurants/things to do but we went decided to just wing it, and it ended up being such a relaxing, fun trip. I was scrolling through instagram and saw a post about Austin’s Graffiti Park (also known as Hope Outdoor Gallery) and we knew we had to check it out. Despite not having an artistic bone in my body, I was all over this spot.

This place is the definition of "Keep Austin Weird". I applaud the city of Austin for allowing and encouraging such a place to exist. There is just an abundance of color everywhere that assaults you immediately. It takes you a minute to orient yourself and finally see the individual graffiti. You could climb from the bottom to the top by little trails on the sides of the walls (if you do, wear good shoes!!! The ‘trail’ is slippery and doesn’t have good footing, and there are spray cans and broken glass everywhere) but once you get to the top, there is a great view of downtown. We stayed while the sun set and called it a day when we started getting loopy off of spray paint fumes. 

A friend recommended Craft Pride for local beer and it did not disappoint. The bartender told me there were 54 crafts and 2 cask taps available, and they were ALL local Texas beers. If you're looking for the anti-Budweiser crowd, this is it. I got the ‘Best of Texas’ flight because why get one beer when you can get five. 

After there, we headed to Container Bar on Rainey St. (we ended up on Rainey a lot -- tons of cool bars and good eats), to drink our dinner because after Franklin’s, we could literally not handle the thought of more food. It ended up being one of my favorite spots. Such a cool concept! It reminded me a lot of a restaurant Betsy and I went to in Amsterdam that was inside shipping containers. We only grabbed a beer there, so I can’t say much for food, but I imagine it to be one of those spots you could spend hours at on Sunday Funday with a group of friends. 

If you’re tired and didn’t sleep enough, clap your hands. I’ve been rewatching the Sherlock series with a new friend who has never seen it (which obviously needed to be fixed) but it also means I stayed up way too late last night because I couldn’t not watch just one. Now he’s super into it *pat on back* and we can’t stop watching. Oh Sherlock, how I love you. 

TN decided winter finally showed up, and I was greeted with lovely 20 degree temps this morning. Nothing to some of you, I know, but cold for this southerner! I’m excited for warmer temps in Austin this weekend. I have so much to do before Thursday, and as typical, I don’t want to do any of it. But I did manage to pack a gym bag for after work, so at least I’ll be somewhat productive. 

Christmas 2015

I could only hope that everyone’s day was as great as mine was. Generally, our Christmas Day tradition is to have brunch and open presents with my sisters and parents at our house, and then go to my Grandmother’s house to have dinner with my Mom’s side of the family. We lost our Grandmother this past summer, and I knew today would be rough on my Mom. Lots of extra hugs and laughs (and food) were just what we needed, though.

We take our food very seriously in our family, as you can see there was enough to feed the neighborhood, but I’m not complaining. Everything was amazing and I don’t think I stopped eating all day. Totally worth it. 

Last year, my aunt ended up bringing Jello shots to dinner, and my Grandmother threw one back like a pro. So this year we decided to make them in her honor, except we didn’t have any plastic cups so we had a hard time getting them out of the pan. Oops. We just ended up taking a spoonful like any classy family would. 

As I get older, I’m learning how important it is to truly cherish each moment I get to spend with my parents. They’re not going to be around forever, and these are the times I’ll love remembering most. My sisters, well, they’re alright too :)

Happy Wednesday, from my couch and my cheese. There’s a big storm rolling through Nashville over the next several hours (like, TORNADOES) so I’m hunkering down with a few of my favorite things and some Netflix. 

I haven’t been in the office at all this week, which has been amazing, but I’ve still been ‘working’ and also taking a VBA course. Not terribly fun or life changing but it’s nice to not have to put pants on and just work from my bed. #bum

Over the weekend, one of my friend’s celebrated her birthday, and every year she throws a murder mystery party with a different theme. This year’s theme was 80′s prom and do you know how impossible it is to find a ratchet old 80′s dress when you’re actually looking for one? Goodwill has a million any other time of the year, of course, but I couldn’t find one so I was super lame and just threw on a lot of makeup and teased the shit out of my hair. I also learned that when I tease my hair it looks like ‘post-bedroom’ hair, so that was real cute. Anyway, I ended up being the murderer, and nobody guessed me! A+ acting skills over here.

I’m sitting around in my usual sleep deprived state and watching the sky become more gray, debating going to get thai food and a redbox movie, both of which would require putting on pants. It’s a rough life over here.

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. 

Friday night I went to a black tie event and took zero pictures. I don’t even know who I am anymore. I love any excuse to dress to the nines and have a night out. My friend and I sat to two guys who came together and I swear I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. I love when complete strangers really can turn into friends in just hours. Also, #scoredsomedigits. It was definitely an A+ night.

All throughout last week I kept a note in my phone titled “Get Your Life Together” and wrote out every little thing I’ve been needing to do but putting off. I got about 80% through the list (looking at you, 800 loads of laundry) but managed to finish Christmas shopping, grocery shop, car maintenance, clean the shit out of my apartment, clean out car, post office, blah blah blah. MUCH EXCITEMENT. 

My productivity did not go unrewarded, as Saturday night was the annual Santa Rampage. Literally a rampage of hundreds of Santa’s bar crawling around downtown. We go every year, and it’s always a blast. But I will say being a sober Santa (christmas tree?) was…interesting. I definitely can tolerate a lot more once I’ve had a few drinks.

But I woke up feeling super duper Sunday morning, went for a run (in the sunshine! YAY sunshine!), got to work on some baking for office christmas gifts, threw some weights around (I am now the proud owner of an oly bar and weight set! WOOT), and meal prepped for the week. Filed under things that were stupid, hello insane weather. I had to TURN THE AC ON. What is happening. I hate it. I want winter.