live it - getaway

I have had a rough start to 2014 and never did I need a beach vacation more than I did this month! I was able to spend Memorial Day weekend in Florida for a girl's reunion weekend and it was SO lovely! I have known these girls since my freshmen year of college (...a very long time ago) and I haven't seen them in two years, this trip was overdue.

Coming from Washington D.C., Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale(ish) and NASHVILLE :)we all met up in Panama City Beach, FL for our getaway adventure. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. to catch my flight (shout out to the best roommate who drove me to the airport at 4 a.m.!) was not fun, but it was definitely worth it. I was the last to arrive, so we went right from the airport to the beach and after our driver (cough- Kayla) nearly ran over a cyclist, we made it to the white sand and gorgeous blue water. I forgot how perfect Florida beaches are on a sunny day!

It was so awesome to spend time with these girls again. I am so thankful for the friendships that can pick right back up, even if you haven't been around each other in a while. There were four of us that met up and we really couldn't be more different from one another. Britt (the other one) is super beachy, has a natural chill/beach style I wish I could pull off, Kayla sports a sweet Alabama accent, loves football and never wears the same outfit twice (<-impressive!), Beach is a southern business lady with heels, pearls and monogrammed everything, super tan and always put together, then there is me- the only one who had vintage granny sandals instead of flip-flops at the beach and searched for weeks for a high waist bikini (not-so-awesome tan lines).

Even though we are so different and when we drove along the coast with windows down, blaring country music (ironic the one from Nashville doesn't really listen to country) it was very apparent, but we just get one another on a rare level. These are girls that I don't have to try around, they just get me. Maybe it is because all of us have lived together at one point, but there is not one question or topic we don't cover or ask, nothing is held back even to the most blunt of statements. The rawness, realness of our friendship is so refreshing and rare.

Nearly running over pedestrians, turning down movie requests, wasp stings, observing the amount of germs living on money, staying in sketchy hotel motel holiday inns, exploring small beach towns, singing songs about treading water like an egg beater, late night chats about past, present and future boys, running near-marathons in airports, can't wait for the next reunion.

live it - end of an era

(arriving for the last time at my family's Grass Lake home.)

I vividly remember the phone call I received a few months ago from my mom. It was something I never ever expected to hear from her, "We are going to sell the house." As silly as this may seem, I was devastated. Growing up, we moved around roughly every two years and this place felt like our first real home. I always thought my parents would stay at that house forever and it didn't seem real. I loved our fireplace, our forest, our barns, what were they thinking?!

Sure enough, someone fell in love and purchased my utopia a few months later. I traveled to Michigan this weekend to help my parents move from our family home of 14 years. Though I moved out many years ago for college, we built this place and it always felt like it was my home no matter where I lived. It felt strange when I arrived this time and walked into a mostly packed and more empty house. It was even more strange when a few minutes later I met the excited new buyers who were around my age.

As a family, we spent countless Saturdays working on the land around our home, clearing brush, raking leaves, mowing the lawn, planting flowers, and it finally had turned into a beautiful piece of land. My last afternoon there, I walked the property with my dad, ran into the house taking one last mental picture of each room and then drove down the long driveway for the last time.

Recently, I have come to realize that stuff, is just stuff. Though we may get super attached to things, they are just blessings that may only be with us for a season. I am so grateful we had that house for the time that we did and I am excited for the new adventure that my parents are on now. Their new home is lovely, tons of sunshiny windows and lush green fields, it is just what they needed and they will make this new home just as cozy.

(what I woke up to each morning.)

(that's my mama!)

(all the effort to move that mattress and it was brought to the wrong bed.)

The best part of the trip was seeing all of my friends and family. There is something so refreshing about surrounding yourself with people who get you completely and love you despite all of your issues. There is never a dull moment in my family, trying to catch runaway chickens and runaway dogs, digging up baby trees to start our new forest, bonfires and spontaneous parties, just laughing until we cry (thanks for that trait mom), it was an incredible weekend and a reminder of what actually matters. I came back to Nashville feeling blessed for the time I had with them and with a deeper sense of Nashville being my home (...at least for now!).

(Their new driveway and start of the new adventure!)