June | 2013 | From Peaches to Beaches

I am obsessed with San Francisco. I have been ever since the first time I stepped foot off the plane in 10th grade on our way to a family vacation in Hawaii. (I think we had a stop there in the 6th grade when I went to Hawaii with a friend’s family, but I don’t remember it, so therefore it’s not a part of this nostalgic walk-through.) I have since been back three times for week-long vacations, and I soak up every little bit of the Northern Cali feel that’s so specific to San Fran and the wine country. Honestly, there’s no place like it on earth, and I have been dreaming about living there for at least some small portion of my life. I know it’s hella expensive, so spare me the “It’s so costly/you can’t afford rent/OMG you have to be rich to live there” talk because hey, I make such little money, everything is really expensive to me. Plus, I’m super thrifty (nice way to say cheap as hell) so I make fun happen all the time, any way I can.

Timmy and I took our first real proper vacation together in December 2012 to San Francisco so I could show him my 3rd love in this world and so that he could truly understand my obsession with that city. We’ve been to NY (such a freaking fast trip, it could hardly be called a vacation). He had never been to NY so I showed him around one of my first big city loves and college town. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but now it was time to slow down a bit and really take in the sights of a ginormous city like San Fran. It was Timmy’s 2nd intro ever to Cali. We had gone to California a few months before for, shocker!, a wedding! It was Jenny and Joe’s wedding, which seriously, was one of the most gorgeous events ever.

my dearest Jenny. How I love her.

Shut. Up.

love on the dancefloor. or “DJ’s got us falling in love”

Shut. Your. Mouthhole.

groom and great friend Joe. What we would do without him?

End of the night, but one of my fav pix ever

They are two of my really good friends from NYU and you’ll never meet more incredibly genuine, kind, and thoughtful people anywhere. Before that wedding, Timmy had never been to Cali, so we did our best in those three days to drink as much wine at wineries as we could, drive along the Pacific Coast Hwy from LA to Solvang, and eat at In-N-Out.

We stayed with the two Js for this trip, who have the MOST AMAZING PLACE EVER at such a freaking steal, and it was perfect. From start to finish, it was a perfect trip. And bonus, we didn’t have a wedding to go to!! It was just traveling, sight seeing, eating amazing food, and hanging with incredible people. It reset our minds, energy, and motivation for the future. Perfection, I tell you, perfection.

I’m writing about this trip now for a few reasons: Continue reading →

So this last week and half has been absolutely crazy. I’ve been flying so much, stuffing my brain full of information, and traveling, I don’t know what to do with myself. We’ve also been super busy preparing for our 30th birthday party/fundraiser in September (the page is up if you want information about it, but it does require a password). And this weekend we’re traveling again to the Charleston area. Holy cow. We are ridic.

Why was I traveling so much? Short version: weddings, beach, and conference. Long version: Our friends Britney and Fitz got married in Italy at the beginning of May. We couldn’t go (although that would’ve been amazeballs for my 30th), but they had a States-side reception the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. So we took off to Atlanta Thursday-Saturday, and generally had a freaking blast. Lots of drinks were had, especially at the Optimist beforehand. We had this drink called “Out of the Blue” punch…omg, that drink could get me in serious trouble. And it was pretty funny to hear the waiter come over and say, “Out of the Blue Punch” and we all freaked out, “YOU’RE OUT OF THE BLUE PUNCH?!?! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?” and then him reminding us that it was the name of the punch. Idiots we can be. But do go to that restaurant if you’re in Atlanta, Yuuuuuuuuuuuummm.

Reception done. We flew from Atlanta back to Tampa, picked up our son from boarding in Lakeland and headed off right away. To the beach! Palm Coast, FL to be exact. Our friends, the incredible Lyons, have a place there which they so generously allowed us to use for the weekend. I got über tan, Timmy scratched the eff out of his foot on rocks, and Floyd was beyond overstimulated in the sand and met a horse for the first time. Poor little guy, he might have developed an arrhythmia because of us.

Beach done and we came back on Monday. The next day, I flew out of Tampa to Baltimore, Baltimore to Boston for the American College Health Association National Conference. That conference was cuh-razy but so needed. I spent the entire week in Boston, getting totally recharged and even more convinced that I’m in the right place at the right time in my life. I’m more confident in my skills as a public health practitioner than I ever have been before. Thank you to ACHA for that. But also, my brain was stuffed and re-stuffed with more information than I could possibly divulge, so I’ll just leave it at that. I got to sightsee one afternoon, had an amazing dinner at Stephanie’s with my good friend Brenda and we had a three hour dinner that felt like a date. Girl, you’re awesome and kinda cute, let’s date again!

Conference over. Flew from Boston to Detroit, Detroit to Tampa. Back at work now, and feeling better than ever. I’m telling you, each day that goes by after 30 is just rocking my face off. Love my 30s!! You can see that I’ve also updated the blog a bit with instagram, twitter, and my sexual health education blog information. Feel free to follow or don’t, either way, click through the pretty pictures below.