First Stop on the East Coast Farewell Tour

So I've been bouncing around a lot since I quit my job -- NYC to Charlotte to Asheville.. and a few more places in between.  Soon I'll be heading to ATL then to NOLA eventually, but on my first stop to see S$ for her 24th bday we had a redic amount of fun.  Recap in pics.

Bros Icing Bros.

bottle service, obv.

top. weekend.

Wish You Were Here

So before I update y'all on the weekend and life in general -- I wanted to give a shoutout to S$ and CHB who couldn't be at TBMF this weekend.  It just wasn't the same without them, and although we (RSJ and I) poured one out for the homies.. we also did one better.  it's like y'all WERE there with us!

I know y'all are impressed with my adobe photoshop skills.  I'm available for freelance jobs anytime between the hours of 9 and 5, monday-friday (not to be confused with my current lab tech job during the same hours).

Anndddd the rest of Vegas.

Day drinking watching the NCSU game.  Dank Mex.  Also, the location of a local bride's reception..?  #killyourself.

My ladies are KILLING it. 

Fab.

Feedem Feedem Feedem #slots.

gah love these girls.  miss them everyday!!

Vegas. For the parents.

Here's our day-time pics of Vegas in our beautiful hotel.  The arrangements were put up overnight (when we arrived) and everything is made out of fresh flowers.  So gorgeous!

And here's our pics for each of our Moms haha:

Vegas: Night One.

So finally I'm posting the Vegas pics -- and I love reliving it!  We went from tired on a late late flight, to looking to amazing in about an hour flat.  And let's head to the slot machines!

10 Things I Can't Live Without..

One of my reg blogs I've been reading, La Dolce Vita, has recently been doing this series of various fav design bloggers/friends who list the 10 Things I Can't Live Without.. and I fig'd I'd give it a go..  

1.  Family/Friends -- that's a duh.  I'd be lost without ya'll.  (and dig this throwback. My hair was LONG.. well for me.)

 2.  My Blackberry.  If you don't have a BB (or at least a smartphone, seriously.), we're probably not friends.  My life's on it, and I keep up with everything/everyone on it.

3.  Cooper.  The love of my life.

4.  Etsy.  I usually don't have time/don't want to go physically shopping.  It exhausts me.  I'd MUCH rather prioritize my time at work to do my shopping.  And Etsy is where I've found the majority of my vintage clothing and gifts.  Love everything about it.

5.  Benetint.  It's perfect for cheeks, lips.. and I can wear it when I have no makeup on at all just to give me a glow.

6.  Google Reader.  Perfect procrastination tool at work, and the best way to keep up with all my blogs.


7.  My passport.  Traveling is essential to me.  It's so nice to get away sometime, and many of my greatest memories are of by abroad travels.

8.  My iPod.  Can't really get through a workout or workday without it.  It just kills me when people don't know iPod etiquette.. ear buds in = no chatting.

9. Mexican Food.  As you can tell from my many food posts, all things Mexican food (especially the taco variety) I am obsessed with.  You can't go wrong with anything that involves salsa, cheese, and tortillas.

 

10.  Used Bookstores.  I could spend hours browsing their shelves, and much prefer the feel of a weathered book than one hot off the presses.  Currently, I'm reading a book I randomly picked up by Dale Peck, The Law of Enclosures.  So far, I really like it.

 

That was kinda fun!

RSJ -- My Heart and My Rock

A few weekends back I went to Greensboro to celebrate RSJ's 24th Birthday. It was absolutely a ridic amazing time, and the only thing that would make it better would be S$ coming down to make the reunion complete. RSJ is one of my very best friends, who is absolutely essential to my life. She is my rock, and the pragmatic one in the Trifecta (S$, RSJ, and me).. and let's be clear.. although RSJ keeps us all level-headed and chill, she is still as bananas as the rest of us. Top night, ladies.
RSJ and LKW. These girls look like trouble.
Bananas. Blackout or Backout.

The Birthday girl getting decorated -- mandatory shots were included (not shown).
LOVE love her.

To sum up the night. We met in Gboro, went out in Winston Salem. Someone (not us, be clear) sober drove us to a friends house where the majority of Surry County's finest went to the afterparty. Flipcup, beers, food thievery (my bad). Woke up. The mandatory Bojangle's trip with LKW (our original ride left us) then to Pilot Mountain for a bit until we traveled back to our cars in Greensboro. Sounds like a whirlwind. and it was. And the best piece of advice LKW's mom gave us upon seeing our hangovers was "Good. Luck." hahaha -- perfect post-grad weekend.

I miss RSJ everyday and wish she wasn't so far away in the mountains and the cold. Stay warm boo! (Also, please move to ATL. Kthanks.)

These kind of girls.

Now. I don't like a whole lot of types of girls. The girls that become "my girls" are a special breed of woman and once you make it to that point, I'm ride or die for you.

Things I don't like?
-laziness
-trashy girls
-drama girls
-girls who always need to have a guys attention. always.
-girls who get engaged at a young ass age (can you wait til graduation?)
-people who can't live alone. or be alone.
-needy girls
-girls who cling to their sig other

..well you get the picture. that being said. I need to keep an open mind. Case in point.. there's this girl who goes to school where I work, she's young. and of course, engaged. from what I can see she seems to be a really fun girl, but may be attached at the hip to her fiancee. And, well, we're going to be classmates.

I know I need to start keeping an open mind about people, b/c you never know who you'll be friends with.. and I get that. But there are some things that inately bother me, such as the aforementioned list. And I also know, I will be practically eating, breathing, sleeping around these people for 4 years, so we better figure out a way to be friends. I can get along with everyone -- but only a handful make it to "my girls" status.

And I think I'm ok with that.

But at the same time, I need to learn not to write people off immediately just because one thing about them really bothers me.

..and then I think.. should I really compromise..?

It's a tough call.

..what are you thankful for?

Coop.
LS in NoLa
my best girls S$ and RSJ
Hometown best KB

The inevitable question always asked every Thanksgiving.. and while it sometimes seems contrived, I do like the tradition. Here's what I got:

-Wonderful family and friends. I don't know where I'd be without them.

-My blackberry, so I can keep up with everyone even though we're all over the country.

-Getting into med school early in the game -- now I can breathe, and spend my work days dreaming of my new life in NoLa

-my job -- even though I hate it, I got to make money somehow. and my work friends make it so much better, especially when Ping and Peng are obnoxious to deal with.

-a car that works -- it needs to stay with me all the way to NoLa b/c biking in that summer heat is going to be a killer otherwise

-Cooper, my handsome dog. He really has lifted my spirits and is the best dog I could ask for -- even when he's a handful.

-Diet Mountain Dew. for obvious caffeinated reasons.

-My apartment -- even though it's messy at times, it's cozy, and home to me.

-My friends and my ability to travel. Without it, we'd never get to see each other!

Southern Girls.

Now, let me preface by saying that while I'm only 23 years old, and that is very young still -- I do feel as if I have grown up a lot and into the adult I will be for the rest of my life. There's nothing that bugs me more than a girl who has graduated college (even worse if she's older than me) and still is a child.

I began thinking about this first when I read the list of 20 Things Every Woman Should Do Before She Gets Married (I'm sure ya'll have stumbled across this at some point, and if not, enjoy.)

I think it's a great list, and I know I have a few more to go (turn 25, get my finances in order, in particular).. but lately, I've noticed that some of my hometown friends could barely get through one item with a checkmark.

My hometown bff (doubt she reads this blog, but if she does, I guess tough love is what is about to happen), KB just had a her 23rd birthday. She's a teacher, and a server, and an absolute fireball. I love her to death, and we have been through a lot together, especially in the high school years.

But. She has a roommate. Who is younger than my brother (He's turns 21 in April. She turns 21 in July). KB has 2 jobs, and lives in Columbia. Rent is cheap. That girl asked to use my ID to get into the bar. Really, KB? This girl is a naive child (a story for another day), and should be living in the dorms.. or at home with her parents. I cannot understand having roommates after college, unless it's a sig other, or you're living in a part of the world where you'd have to live in a closet-sized apartment if you were solo (a la S$). Maybe I'm a little more independent than some girls, or am more comfortable being on my own than some.

Want more examples of what irks me about these kind of girls? My pleasure.

My other friend AQ would have rather lived with someone she barely likes than live alone. I can't help but think that's pathetic in a way, because she is older than me and can't be OK with being alone sometimes.

Then there was this girl at the bar this weekend gave her card to the bartender, then turns to us with such enthusiasm to say "This the first time I've opened a bar tab by myself." Her age? 24. That is unbelievable to me. And I guess I'd understand if she wasn't a drinker, and this was maybe her 21st bday. But it's not. She's a lush. She described it as being a "Southern Girl".

I guess she's right. B/c a Southern Woman, wouldn't have gone that long letting guys do everything for her. I get the whole "southern gentility" thing, and do enjoy our culture down here for the most part. But since when did being a woman in the south mean we can't do anything on our own? I think especially in the last year, I have grown a lot and am really coming into my own. I'm also watching as a lot of my core college friends are off on their own and doing the same. Strong, independent, southern women. And I'm proud they're my girls.