“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”

I think I have to chalk most of my life up to "everything happens for a reason." I was pretty upset that St. Augustine didn't work out and really unsure of what I was going to do. I haven't really had a plan and I haven't really been feeling good about any of my options. I was just planning on moving somewhere in Birmingham and just hoping for the best.

Obviously, if you know me, you know I couldn't just sit still and accept that. So I have spent the last several weeks on craigslist at all hours of the night, scouring and hoping to find just what I'm looking for. Well, Tuesday night, about 1:30 in the morning, I was just about to get off the computer when I searched for places in Greensboro on a whim. I know Greensboro is a seriously tiny town with a lot of poverty but it is also one of the most hopeful, do-something towns I've ever encountered. HERO is an amazing organization and is well-respected in the community. I have worked with them before and I absolutely loved it. So I figured, why not? It's only 45 minutes from t-town and it would be an adventure. So I searched and what do you know? The day before, HERO had posted several of the Rural Studio houses for rent. I got super excited and emailed them, hoping for a response. Wednesday morning I woke up to an excited email saying of course they would love to show me the houses! So I called my mom and talked to Mrs. Batson and we all decided I should go down there that day so I didn't miss out on anything. So I worked until 1, convinced Cameron to come with me, and we headed down to Greensboro.

The drive down really isn't too bad. I think it took us about 35 minutes at the most, which is awesome. We met at the HERO office and Pam, who remembered me from the apron show (yay!) and one of the other people who work for HERO took us to see 1, 2 and 3 bedroom houses. The 1 was definitely too small for me. I go crazy in that little of a space. The 3 was awesome, but just didn't feel quite right. And thennn we hit the 2 bedroom. It was perfect. I knew as soon as I saw it I had to have it. So they let Cameron and I sit and talk about it, then I went back to the HERO office and explained that I loved it but I was hesitant, so Cameron suggested we drive around a bit and think about it. I called my mom and 2 minutes later pulled a U-turn in the road, pulled back in and marched into the office. Everyone laughed because I probably looked like a crazy person, but I told them I had decided and I definitely wanted it. It was amazing. I paid my deposit, gave them all of my info, and we are good to go as soon as I sign the lease!

My new house is amazing, by the way. It's energy efficient, made with rammed earth walls, insulation made from recycled blue jeans and pressed straw insulation in the floor. It has a huge backyard, a front porch and a back porch and amazing sliding glass doors in every room. Once I have better pictures I will try to share them. :)

After that, Cameron and I got some pie, then drove around to explore the rest of the town. It's small, it's quaint, and it feels just right for me. If you know me, you know I wasn't meant to go to New York. Most people would go insane in such a small town; not me. I'm absolutely giddy at the thought of having my own garden, a huge backyard and being able to walk to Main Street. The best part is how excited everyone was for me to join the community. They want me to get involved in HERO, help teach people how to sew, and come up with any grand ideas I might have. It is the perfect place for me to reflect on myself, work on my designs and do my part to make a difference in other people's lives.

So there you have it, folks. From New York City to Greensboro, Alabama and not a single regret in the process. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunities I did at Macy's and I cannot wait to start the next chapter in my life. Maybe someday I'll end up in New York, but for right now I cannot wait to go to my town of 2,500 people and a 25 mph speed limit.

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.”

Oh boy what a month it has been.

Jersey was an adventure. Fell through a dock and banged up my right leg quite a bit. The bruise is just now starting to fade but the weird pains in my knee are certainly new. I also have a lovely case of poison ivy on both of my legs, even though it's been three weeks. Oy. The cabin on the lake was amazing, though. I could have stayed there forever. We paddled the canoe, swam, I fell out of the kayak (a lot), and just had a nice time. Went to the wedding, then it was time to head back. Gabrielle and I flew to Charlotte, then I flew to Tampa and met up with my parents and Chris. Had to rent a car from Enterprise. Terrible experience. I absolutely hate them. Went to St. Augustine. Stayed at Casa Yallaha. Was terrified at first but it turned out to be pretty neat. $35 for a private room, can't really beat it. Met a man I assume was a Canadian drug dealer, but he was quite lovely and we had a fun time watching soccer. Left a day early, went back to Spring Hill. Hung out at home for a few days. We had a lot of fun the Friday night before I came back. Made pasta and pesto from scratch, played Yahtzee and baked carrot cake and vegan chocolate cake. It was so fun. Flew back the Saturday before my birthday. Hung out for the weekend. Monday was my birthday. Worked all day, then went to Mellow Mushroom for birthday dinner. Then swam a bit. Worked the rest of the week. Friday night we had my birthday party. Roommates did a wonderful job. It was a lot of fun. Spent the past weekend vegging basically. Worked today. Long day. Ready for the summer to end so I can move on with my life.

“Joy is not in things; it is in us.”

It seems I've spent a lot of my time lately in airports. Today, I'm in the Philly airport after flying from Charlotte. It was Gabrielle's first flight! How exciting. We were on a 767, which is huuuge! We ended up in the middle row, but we had it to ourselves so it wasn't so bad. This past weekend was grand. After the 7 hour wait in BHM, I finally got on the 7 pm flight and got to Charlotte. Had no problem getting my rental car, ended up with a Jeep Compass. It had 4WD and was REALLY fun to drive. I took my time getting to Hudson and stopped to get a toothbrush and some other stuff. I got to Hudson and being the idiot that I am, I decided it would be a GRAND idea to drive by Marika's old house. Of course, I lost it. Utterly and completely lost it. It wasn't pretty. So I called my mom and she calmed me down, then we had a hysterical laugh fest for a good ten minutes because I bought toilet paper. Only Marika, my mom and I know how funny this is. Every summer that I spent there, I brought my own toilet paper because Marika was convinced having me in the house depleted the toilet paper supply. So every year I would stop at the store on the way in and buy a big pack of toilet paper. I decided that I couldn't come here now without any, so I stopped at Walgreens and got a 59 cent roll. It seemed appropriate.

Spending time with my cousins was amazing. They have really grown up a lot and it's amazing to see how close they are. They really look out for each other. I know Marika must be proud.

We went up to Boone Sunday just to hang out and explore. Went to Price Lake, stopped at all the tourist trap souvenir shops, then went back to Randy's to hang out for a while. Yesterday we hung out, went to Nick's game that ended up not happening, then hanging out at Randy's again. It's amazing how easy it is to just sit and talk to them for hours.

Oh, side note, I have a funny story. I was sitting in the BHM airport trying to charge my phone when this super creepy dude started hitting on me. He told me he was a rapper and told me to add him on facebook. I was like ahhh no! So I told Joe to call me to save me. Well, he did one better. He called the AIRPORT and had them call me over the loud speaker so I HAD to get up. So brilliant. That definitely improved my mood.

Ok so back to today. We got up and got to the airport early and got on the 2:45 flight instead of the 4:05 because I saw it had a ton of seats and I didn't want to sit in the airport again. Easy flight, and now we are just hanging out in the Philly airport. I'm SO excited to see George and everyone, and I can't wait for Tom and Meghan's wedding! It's going to be a good week.

Bleh.

Y'all, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Life didn't slow down much after graduation. Let's see: working 40 hrs/wk for CBH, working for the magazine, flew to Gainesville for Kathy's white coat ceremony, lots of hanging out with friends that are in town, AMAZING photo shoot for work, and five bajillion interviews for work as well. It's been busy. But good. Having roommates for a few months is lovely. I'm sorry, I thought I'd give a long lovely update but I'm exhausted. I got 3 hours of sleep and now I'm sitting in the Bham airport waiting endlessly praying I get on the next flight. Maybe next time.