City Guide: Savannah and Charleston
If you remove the oppressive humidity from the memory of this trip, it might be one of my favorites of the summer. Alas, you cannot have southern beaches in the summer without humidity and sky-high temperatures, so we spent a good deal of time ducking from one air-conditioned building to the next, but it was still a good time.
My husband had not yet been to Savannah or Charleston and as many of my childhood beach memories revolve around those two places, it was time to visit. The two cities are so iconically southern, and I was excited to spend some time in areas with such rich culture.
Campfire Stories
After participating in NaNoWriMo in November, I wasn’t sure if I would also gather ’round for their “camp” sessions, which are less structured, and can have any target word count. I thought I should save up that kind of marathon energy for a once-a-year event.
By the time April rolled around, though, I knew a deadline was all that was going to motivate me to knock out some crucial scenes for the novel I started in November. I figured, why not just a little campfire story? Surely I can work time for that into my schedule. (And maybe sneak in a few chocolates and marshmallows while “camping out” with @NaNoWordSprints, my favorite writing prompt buddies!) So I set a small goal of 10,000 words, which I handily achieved.
City Guide: Dallas
As I hadn’t been to Texas since I was too small to remember it, I was excited to spend a few days in Dallas for a work conference. Considering the many Texan stereotypes, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would everything truly be bigger? (You know what they say…) Would everyone wear cowboy hats? Would it be far more southern than where I’m from in southern Georgia? While I did see several gentlemen in cowboy hats on the airplane and the city is enormous (my cousin quipped that there are multiple skylines in Dallas), Dallas surprised me with its charm and modern feel. Of course, I had the pleasure of touring the city with my cousins, who were perfect hosts, so that certainly made the experience memorable.
City Guide: New York City
This trip was a bit of a whirlwind since we were packing tourism into my brother’s wedding weekend. While we had both been to New York City on separate occasions, this was the first time I had visited NYC with my husband, and we had such a good time exploring the city together.
I can’t say it’s a place I want to live, but it is a place I love visiting. I could keep making trips there for the rest of my life, and I don’t think I’ll ever see it all. We flew into La Guardia on Friday, spent the night in Times Square, woke up early Saturday to go to New Jersey for the wedding festivities, and then on Monday and Tuesday, we were back in NYC to hit the town.
Travel in 2013, Part 2
In Travels in 2013, Part 1, I covered where we went in the first part of the year, and now I’m covering the second half, which was just as fun, if not more so.
View our travels by location, rather than chronological order:
City Guide: Atlanta, 2014 Edition
At the beginning of the year, I made what is now becoming my annual pilgrimage to see one of my best friends, Katie, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Now with Katie as my guide, it’s like I’ve rediscovered Atlanta, a city that was once “just Atlanta” to me. A place I went on occasional weekends, since I grew up in Augusta, Georgia, just two hours southeast of the big city. A place that I thought I didn’t like, but that now has restaurants and locations I find myself wishing to be in from time to time. Thanks, Katie, for helping me re-appreciate my Georgia roots and the big city of ATL!
No matter what, I’ll always be a Georgia girl, that’s for sure.
Travel in 2013, Part 1
There are a few reasons why I felt inspired to talk about where we traveled last year.
- We traveled almost every month in 2013, sometimes two to three times in a month!
- As I haven’t posted an album to Facebook since 2012, I thought this might appease the few who enjoy our travel photos.
- We got a lot of Christmas cards and letters this season, and they were quite enjoyable. This is my way of doing “the letter.”
In the order that they were visited, I present 2013’s list of travel highlights!
And if you don’t want to view them in order, you can view them by location (just click whichever one you want to see).
What I Read in 2013
Since graduating from college, I have mostly succeeded in my commitment to read more books. While an English major, I struggled to complete the pile of books I was assigned to read each semester, much less make room for any additional “fun” reading. I’ve been getting better at reading more (and by that I mean, making time for reading more), and this year is probably … Continue reading What I Read in 2013
NaNoWriMo 2013: I feel like a winner!
By the numbers, I didn’t “win” NaNoWriMo. I didn’t clinch the prize of having a draft filled with 50,000 words, and I certainly do not have a document that is in any way ready for publishing. But, I feel like I won. I attempted something that I would have typically considered impossible, and just the fact that I was able to get somewhere with it … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2013: I feel like a winner!
NaNoWriMo 2013: Sprints can surprise you
If you’ve ever competed in a sport, you probably know that your body can surprise you sometimes, especially when you push it to the limit and a prize is in sight. Writing sprints are no different from a physical sprint. It’s just for your brain. You tell your brain, “Hey, guess what? We’re gonna go FULL POWER NONSTOP and see what happens!” At first, your … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2013: Sprints can surprise you
Activate Good’s 5th Annual Couture for a Cause
This spectacular event is coming to downtown Raleigh for its 5th year next week. Support an amazing nonprofit, Activate Good, while watching a fashion show and participating in a live auction! The 5th Annual Couture for a Cause fashion show fundraiser and auction will be held at Marbles Kids Museum on Saturday, November 9. Tickets are available for pre-sale for $25 (buy them now!) until … Continue reading Activate Good’s 5th Annual Couture for a Cause
NaNoWriMo 2013: I’m doing it!
I don’t often get motivated enough to write in my spare time like I dream of doing in my head. In order to put an end to that, I’ve finally decided (after many years of saying “next year”) to dive into NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. This is also how I intend to honor a promise I made to myself in college as an … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2013: I’m doing it!
Booked & Ready 