Over on Wix

Remember that post from November 30? Well, I've started posting a couple of things over on Wix. While I love Blogger and its simplicity, I also really wanted a clean space that I could control the atmosphere of a little bit more. I don't do well with HTML code, and Wix allows me to easily pick things up and move them as much as I want. And I love it.

So, I'm going to try to stick with my once-a-month posts over there. If you'd like to follow along, the link is here. My gut tells me to post about beauty because it's easy to do. However, I'm going to try to focus on what I had mentioned before: travel blogging and food. Because who doesn't like those things?

I'll more than likely keep this blog so I can refer back to it, but posts will be not much different than now -- nonexistent.

Thanks for tagging along :)

Keep Me Accountable

I had lots of plans for this space in 2015. But none of them happened.

I spoke with my fiancé (more on that later later, but hello! Robby proposed!!), and I told him that once I finished my Master's degree, I wanted to start blogging on a regular basis. My idea would be a foodie-type travel blog. Think Anthony Bourdain, but for regular people. I would start in my home state, and still stick to taking beautiful photographs, but also try to paint you a narrative of the local color that goes along with each place.

Robby took me to The Plum for lunch today. It's a cute hole-in-the-wall place that's been in an alley in Hagerstown for 35 years! I had never even known about this place! As a Hagerstown native, I felt ashamed. He delivered a paper there this morning, and loved the hospitality shown to him by the owner that he suggested going to lunch today. And it was blissful. It was fairly affordable for two people, the atmosphere was simply charming, and the crowd were mostly business men and women out to lunch. I loved it - and we can't wait to go back.

This, and the fact that I've recently fallen in love again with my camera, has forced me to be realistic about my goals. If I want to write blog posts, I have to a) carry my camera with me most places, and b) schedule posts and then actually sit down to post them. I would love to write something every week about what I've gotten into -- things I've seen, done, eaten, etc. But right now, I just don't have that kind of time. I look at my site, and see the last thing I posted was in the beginning of July! All of those plans I had - I wanted to actually do them, and I just didn't.

So, come January, I would like to at least make one post a month. That's my goal. I'm getting married this summer, and we're doing a lot of DIY projects. However, after that, life only gets busier. I graduate from Towson in May, and I'd like to up it to at least two posts per month. For now.

I apologize, if I do still have followers, for not being consistent on here. But it's my goal to make time at least once a month to talk about life, food, travel, and community. I feel like I need to revamp some things for 2016 - make a mission statement, stick to it, and POST. After a stressful day today, I took the time to decorate for Christmas. I'll include a couple of my favorite shots.

Here's to being consistent! Doing things I love! AND POSTING THEM.

xoxo

 

Kutztown Folk Festival

Hey stranger! It's been a while! (Totally, 100% my fault.) As always, life has been happening, and I've been trying to enjoy it. I have a few posts planned for this month: Orioles Baseball, 4th of July, and then today. I'm also going to Louisville at the end of the month, and hope to have some great things to share with you then. How fast has this summer gone by?! I mean, seriously!

Anyway, so yesterday, my mom and I had one of our mother-daughter dates and this time, our adventures took us to Kutztown, PA. It's home to a university (who knew?), and also the Kutztown Folk Festival, which has been in operation since 1949. It celebrates Pennsylvania Dutch culture through the showcasing and selling of fine crafts, farming essentials, trades, quilts, and food. It's fantastic! It was a 2.5 hour drive for us, but it soon proved to be well worth the trip. Admission is $14 for adults, and gets cheaper from there. You can also find $2 off coupons online. The best part: parking is free! You can walk your dogs as you browse, and there are tons of things for children to do. Almost every station has an interactive element to get kids involved. There's also the only mule-powered carousel in the world. I took a picture, but I felt so bad for the mule . . . so I'm not going to post it. However, it's something for the kids, if they'd enjoy it.

Once you get into the Festival, there are just so many things to look at. You have blacksmiths, wood turners, metal workers, quilters, copper sprinklers, jewelry, pottery . . . literally everything you can imagine. Not to mention the food - fresh brick-oven baked breads, cinnamon rolls, pies, pretzels, meats, freshly brewed root and birch beers and sarsaparilla. Oh. My. Goodness. We could have stayed forever. It was so cool! And what honestly made it cool was that everyone that was there represented their craft, whether that was woodworkers, doormat makers (out of tires), bee cultivators, whatever. There was a glassblowing presentation. Each vendor sits and works on their specialty as you browse so you can see that the things you are buying are legit. 

The Quilt Barn was literally like a museum - for real, people were sitting on chairs and admiring the quilts. This is because Quilters pride themselves on doing every stitch by hand, if you're the real deal. My great-grandmother used to make quilts, and they are prized possessions in my family. This is why they're so valuable. You can cheat and do them on sewing machines, but deep down in your heart, you'd know you were a cheater. Anyway, every July 4 weekend, there is a massive quilt auction. Last year, one quilt sold for over $15,000!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the food that we had, but on the list was a GIANT cinnamon roll, eggplant fries with marinara, and an all-beef hot dog with sauerkraut. As well as fresh birch and root beers. Trust me, ALL diets were harmed in the making of this post ;) Enjoy!

 

 

 

Tiny Adventures, Pt. II - A Walk in the Garden

My grandmother has, arguably, the best flowers. I know there are bigger gardens with a wider variety, but she's done some amazing things with the space she has, and spring showcases that. She has tulips, bleeding hearts, irises, peonies, roses, snapdragons, lilacs . . . the list continues.

So, the past couple of weeks, I've been going out when new things start to bloom, and I snap a couple of pictures. These are just a few of the better ones that I've taken from her garden. Hopefully, in the week after Memorial Day, Robby, his sister, Chelsea, and her boyfriend, Josh and myself will be going to Longwood Gardens just outside of Philadelphia to look at even more flowers! I'm planning on not only enhancing my flower photography, but my portrait photography as well.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Tiny Adventures, Pt. 1 - A Walk in the Woods

Since the Outer Banks, I haven't had the opportunity to really get out and go anywhere (tomorrow, Sunday, May 17, I'll be headed down to Tampa, FL with the senior class though!). However, I think I've said this before, adventure can be had anywhere. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to follow Robby down to the pond where he normally fishes so I could use my other lens and see what sorts of things I could come up with. This included enjoying nature a little more and photographing some of my favorite wildflowers along the way. I also experimented with being his "fish photographer." He doesn't keep the fish . . . he just likes to make them late for something. Mitch Hedberg, anyone?

Anyway, did you know there's an app that's similar to Instagram, except for fishermen?? It's a free app called FishBrain. You post the fish that you catch on it, where you caught it, etc. and you create a network of anglers. It's kind of neat, but of course, I call him a nerd for having it. Check it out, though, if it's something you think you'll like!

The following pictures are from our tiny adventure a couple of weeks ago in the rain. Tadpoles and Osprey also made an appearance. Unfortunately, my skills still aren't stealth enough to catch an Osprey. One day, though!

 

 

 

OBX and the Orville Brothers

This year, for "Spring Break," I had originally planned to go to the Dominican Republic again to do some thesis research. However, a lot changed between the summer and the time I packed up my car up to head out for a long weekend at the end of Spring Break.

I decided to check out the Outer Banks because, well, I feel like everyone has seen its splendor except for me. And it wasn't disappointing at all. I stayed in Kitty Hawk, at the Travelodge, but I explored from Corolla (pronounced like koala, except with an R) down to Cape Hatteras. If I hadn't been on a budget, I would've taken a ferry down to Ocracoke Island to see the other lighthouse in the fantastic four. But, look up the fees before you go because multiple locals told me it was worth the trip.

Because we went during the low season, it was cold, which meant that no one was on the beaches or crowding up restaurants. It ended up being a very nice time to go, minus the tan I didn't walk away with.

As always, here's a list of things to do when you decide to see the Outer Banks!

Bodie Lighthouse

1. Visit the Lighthouses. If you're into that sort of thing, lighthouses have such interesting and rich histories, and, most of the time, cool architecture and design. The Outer Banks lighthouses are no exception. Between Currituck, Bodie (pronounced body), Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke, and Cape Lookout, you'll find different histories and designs to meet every personality. My goal is to see Ocracoke and Cape Lookout (both only accessible by ferry) the next time I'm down there.

2. Duck's Donuts. But seriously. I don't know where the first Duck's Donuts was started, but for those familiar with the Fractured Prune, it's like that, except cheaper. It's pretty much a freshly fried donut with your choice of toppings from glazed down to bacon maple. They are to die for fresh from the fryer, but also amazing the next day.

3. Corolla Wild Horses. Although Robby and I didn't see them while we were there, it's a big part of Corolla's overall appeal. There are even paid tours where you can see them, especially if you're the type of person that likes to get close to wild animals, and may not have the self-control to resist reaching out and petting them.

4. Go to the beach. The beaches are wild and uninhabited. Well, probably not during the summer, but they're not like the typical beaches I think of. There are large dunes that separate the main strip from the beach itself, and the dunes themselves are beautiful. If you're there during the summer, of course, the beach has to be one of the main events.


5. The Wright Brothers National Park and Memorial in Kitty Hawk. As a history nerd, this was fantastic. They have recreations of the flying machines that first showed the world the possibilities of aviation in December 1903. They also have monuments and buildings, and a huge obelisk at the top of Kill Devil Hills that commemorates their accomplishments. What you shouldn't miss are the statues of the first flight and that famous picture that's behind the obelisk. Added in 2003, it's a great opportunity to take a closer look at all the people that went into making those first flights possible. Also, seriously pay attention to the signs when they say to watch out for prickly pears. Check the pictures below. The warnings are REAL!

6. Manteo and Roanoke Island. Beside the main strip on the Outer Banks, Manteo offers cute streets for shopping, a rich history in the "Lost Colony" of the 1580s and an aquarium. There's also a Piggly Wiggly . . . if you're into that.

7. If you're into Breweries . . . there are several in the Outer Banks area to swing by. The first one is right in Kitty Hawk -- the Outer Banks Brewing Station. It's the first of its kind in the country to be wind-powered, and has a pretty great selection of your basic types of beers. The second is in Manteo, and it's the Lost Colony Brewery (previously known as Full Moon Brewery). Again, basic selections, with stouts and porters that are pretty delicious. Lastly, the Weeping Radish, which is located on your way in or out. The founder wanted to make traditional German-style beer, and his on tap reflect that.

There are tons of other things to do -- great places to eat, lots of activities for the kids, and many options for shoppings -- but either way, the Outer Banks is a good place to stop. Make it a place on your do-to list, if you haven't already.

Happy adventuring!

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

He's not as mean as he looks :)

Currituck Lighthouse