i heart austin: food
Recent travels have taken me to Texas, where my appetite is definitely bigger. I visit Houston at least once a year to see family, but now that I have a cousin studying at UT, a mini road trip to Austin was a no-brainer. The highlight of this weekend trip? Oysters, burgers, and barbecue. It’s a wonder how I was able to keep the button on my jeans from popping off.
The oysters at Perlas were like dipping your toes into the cold salt water of the ocean. Briny, but in the most Invigorating and refreshing way possible. I’m not picky when it comes to oysters because I’ll take what I can get, but seriously. These were amazing.
orlando eats
Thanks to some awesomely hospitable friends, a recent trip to Orlando was not just to see the happiest place in the world. Two delightful meals make Christina one happy camper. Cask & Larder‘s brunch was wonderfully fattily decadent, complete with their own cronut iteration and a deadly bloody mary (so I’m told).
meet me in st louis: the gateway
St. Louis had never really crossed my mind before I met Ben. I guess the Midwest in general just wasn’t on my radar because I had no family, no friends, no ties to the area. But as you can see from previous posts, it’s actually a pretty wonderful place if you have the right guide. We were only there for a weekend, but saw so much beauty and vitality – a truly burgeoning city. And of course, a visit to the 314 would not be complete without an up-close look at the infamous landmark arch.
In pictures it tends to just look like this big curve over the city. And while that is true, you don’t truly realize the magnificence of the structure until you’re standing right underneath it. The sheer enormity is overwhelming and though I didn’t manage to ride to the top (too long of a line for the time we had), I can easily imagine how incredible it must be.
meet me in st louis: visuals
Little did I know that St. Louis would have some great art in store for me. It truly shows that all it takes is a few donors who truly appreciate art to transform the visual landscape of a city. Atlanta, please take note. Here are pictures from our visits to The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, The St. Louis Museum of Art, and Citygarden (a downtown sculpture park). We also visited the Contemporary, but I failed to take pictures there. However, what I did manage to capture was pretty magnificent…
meet me in st. louis: gardens and grove
Thanks to the generosity of my beau’s parents, I had the pleasure of visiting St. Louis at the end of July. Let me tell you, St. Louis is a hidden gem. I had no idea that one weekend there would pack so much lovely sights and entertainment! It didn’t hurt that the STL heat seemed mysteriously absent the minute we got there. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and everything was beautiful. I couldn’t contain all of this within just a single post, so I’ll start off sharing two highlights: Tower Grove Farmer’s Market and Ben’s mother’s garden.
This market was pretty darn wonderful. Nestled within a park beautiful on its own, the farmer’s market was everything you could ever really want or need out of a farmer’s market. There was an abundance of seasonal fruit, adorable families with puppies, and even a jazz band to brighten your mood. Though I wanted to buy a truckload of food, I just went with my morning usual of a french baguette. I do love me some bread.
georgia country sights
When my family comes to visit me, they usually take me to places I would have never gone myself. One of these places is Helen, Georgia. In an effort to see some natural beauty, we set out on a short road trip and found ourselves meeting the Blue Ridge Mountains of North GA. Here, just a couple hours from Atlanta, is where you’ll find Anna Ruby Falls – a humble yet still gorgeous spot in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The actual trek to see the falls is really easy so it’s a bit more fitting for a leisurely afternoon stroll rather than a true forest hike.
Just as interesting as the waterfall were all the quirky country shops speckled throughout the town of Helen. The architecture of the main street is meant to be a re-creation of historical German alpine villages (I tried to take pictures but they all looked hella boring), but it ends up being sort of like a second-rate Epcot scene. While it feels a bit lame, there’s something that’s also weirdly charming about it all.
A Georgia road trip just isn’t complete without a stop for boiled peanuts and tchotchke-browsing. Although it seems like my family and I never actually manage to eat all the peanuts we buy for ourselves.
….Oh, also gem stones. Yes, I said GEM STONES. Are they real? Maybe. Are they pretty? Definitely. I didn’t purchase any because I have no earthly idea of what I would do with them. So I thought I should at least take some pretty pictures.
claim your succulence
My life has been riddled with fear of failure and self-doubt of my talent, despite all the evidence of my success. But thanks to divine luck, I have a best friend slash life coach who has a never-ending arsenal of encouraging words of wisdom. During my visit to see her graduate, she was actually the one giving me source for life inspiration. She handed me three books by Sark and asked me to choose one of them, as a gift to take home with me. I chose The Bodacious Book of Succulence: Daring to Live Your Succulent Wild Life.
For this week’s Love Yourself Linkup, I present to you my favorite excepts from this motivational read paired with pictures from a study abroad trip I took to Ireland about five years ago (I still yearn to go back).
A succulent is a plant that gets its nourishment and water from the inside – it replenishes itself.
I wish for you the ability to self-replenish, to be juicy, ripe, filled to over-flowing.
We deserve to be the caretakers for our spirits and dreams, and this means truly sensing and listening for our most alive route.
Step back into the light of your creative purpose even if you’re not sure what it is.
this post features kittens
I’m not quite sure what’s happening with the amount of adorableness in my blog posts. I just can’t help it, I guess! This last road trip I went solo which sucked but was awesome at the same time. I very much enjoyed being able to sing as loud as I can and stop wherever I wanted. The most surprising stop for me was the Plantation House gas station in Tifton, Georgia.
(an abandoned building beside the gas station)
The pumps were old and I felt like an alien in the whole scene. But there were two amazing things at Plantation House. First one being, feral KITTENS.
moments in gatorville: part 2
My recent trip to the ‘Ville was bursting at the seams with things to do. One of the most important was a bridal shower for my amazing best friend who is getting married in June! The combination bridal shower and graduation party was a joyous gathering of friends, family, laughter, and love. Prepare yourself for lovable moments ahead…
