Sweet Outer Banks, North Carolina!

My family vacations in the Outer Banks of North Carolina every summer near the middle of July. The past few years Cory and I have scheduled our personal vacations to be right before my family's vacation, so we can piggy back and make it a longer vacation in general. This year is no exception. The most exciting part about this year, though, is that my step-brother's family is also joining us. I'm excited to spend more time with him, his wife, and daughter, too.

Cory and I have been practicing some card games to play with the family. It's something we've been getting into lately--simple things to keep us entertained!

I'm sure while we're here we'll make plans to see Jockey's Ridge and maybe spend a day out on Ocracoke Island, too. Cory and I have already budgeted and made plans to swing by our FAVORITE indie bookstore in town (they have two locations we love). We're also hoping to take long naps on the beach and cook big family dinners. We're really hoping to soak in a lot of quality time, too.

The one thing my family always struggles with though, is where to eat. We'll probably go out to eat once or twice while we're here, but it takes us the longest time to decide where to go. Do you have any suggestions?

Let me know in the comments!

I'll be back with more blogging as I know our wifi will be much more reliable than other parts of our trip ;).

Take care,

Greetings from Asheville, NC!

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I woke up this morning in Asheville and am feeling really excited about exploring this town! This is the last stop on our trip before we hit the beach! I've been wanting to visit Asheville for years and I'm really excited to finally see what it's all about. Whenever I talk to someone who has visited or lived here, they always say it's a bigger version of Frederick (where I live), so that's promising!

Today we are trying out a few diners and places to eat that were recommended to us by some new friends. We're also going to try to find a cool record shop we searched for online.

We'll be here until late Sunday morning if you'd like to drop a few suggestions in the comments!

Thanks!

Oklahoma City bound :)

(isn't it pretty?)

We're heading a little south today before we start heading back east. We're making our way for a quick visit in Oklahoma City! I don't know much about this town, but am very curious about it. If you have any recommendations for places to eat or things to do, please leave them in the comments or email me at donnasdecembers(at)gmail.com! 

We'll be here only for a night!

Thank you!

Hellllloooo Colorado!

We will be driving into Colorado tonight and I am so excited about this leg of our trip! I am excited to see all the gorgeous mountains, hike out to Red Rocks, visit all the Denver and Boulder universities, and maybe even meet up with a high school friend who lives in Telluride.

We'll be in Boulder (and Denver) until Tuesday. It's the second longest leg of our trip.

Do you have any suggestions for things to do or things to see in this part of Colorado? We're up for anything!

Thanks!

Greetings from Missouri!

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Hello, everyone! Cory and I are headed to the Springfield, Missouri area today! Of course I have big plans to check out Red Velvet's brick and mortar store while I'm in town, but we're also planning on paying some family members a visit, too! We're really hoping to catch a break from the heat while in the Ozarks, but it just doesn't look like it's going to happen. A girl can still cross her fingers, right?

I'll be back later with an update (if I have wi-fi)!

I hope you're excited for the weekend!

xo,

Louisville bound!

 

(image credit) 

 

Early this morning Cory and I loaded up our car and headed west to begin our 18 day road trip. We are EXCITED!

The first stop on our trip is Louisville, Kentucky and we should be arriving around 3 p.m. this afternoon (hoping that traffic is on our side). We will be in Louisville until Friday and have A LOT we want to cram into our short visit. We want to take in a lot of the downtown area that was recommended to me by a reader (thanks, Heather!). We're hoping to check out all the cute shops and bookstores along Bardstown Road, as well as take a peek inside a few of the local distilleries and factories (Louisville Slugger!). 

What I'm most looking forward to about this stop is that our good friends Rich and Beth are meeting up with us! They left for their roadtrip during the last week in June, so by the time we meet up with them tomorrow, they will be almost finished their tour of the country. It's pretty exciting that it happened to work out just so. 

Anyway, so my plan for this roadtrip is to soak in as much of the local attractions as I can and then if I have wi-fi, blog about it in the evening. If I don't have wi-fi, I'll update as soon as I can with loads of pictures and what not! 

Throughout this trip Cory and I will be keeping a conversational notebook (ie: composition book from Sunday's post) that we're both going to write in while we're driving or are in different towns. I'm hoping to use a nice combination of washi tape and my Instax Mini to keep photos and findings in it, too. I loved the idea when Cory pitched it to me; I think it will be a really great way to keep track of our vacation!

 

Wish us luck!

 

Road trip: Recommendations needed!

Even though summer vacation technically began on Tuesday for teachers, I have been busy at work every day for hours on end. To be honest, my summer vacation will not really begin until next Friday, but that's fine with me. The extra money I'm making throughout these two weeks is going to a good cause: fun!

Cory and I finally sat down this morning and mapped out our annual July road trip! I wanted to share with you a few dates and places to see if you had any fun recommendations of what to do, what to see, where to eat, where to shop! Please, PLEASE leave your recs in the comments or email me at donnasdecembers(at)gmail(dot)com!

Thank you so much!

xo,

July = vacation mode

For me, July always means vacation. It's when I head to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week with my mom and step-father, and when Cory and I have gone on our roadtrips. I sort of live for July in the summer. It seems like it's just so fun and relaxing and above all... consistantly warm. In June we can still have a few chilly days (and by chilly... I mean 75), and in August, the humidity just kills me. So hello, July!

July also brings Cory and my wedding anniversary! We are celebrating next Saturday/Sunday and I have a few big surprises in store for Mr. Cory. I am very very excited about the plans and sort of feel as if I might blow it... but we'll keep our fingers crossed ;).

Anyway, because I'm in vacation mode, anything vacay related is really attractive to me. You know, suitcases, sungasses, packing, etc.  I recently saw these really pretty vintage vacation ads and I wanted to share them with you.

I love the balance of color, graphic, and type. I wouldn't mind a few to hang the red, red walls we have in the office!

Are you heading on vacation this summer? What about a stay-cation?

A little taste of San Fran

I'm back in Maryland safe and sound! I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of San Francisco!

I'll be seeing you...

See you Sunday!

Streetcars & breadbowls.

(Sunsurfer)

As you have probably noticed by reading my blog or following me on Twitter, life has been sort of hard this school year. I feel like I should clarify. I am lucky and fortunate to even have a job. I do not want to come across as being selfish or unrealistic, as I am completely aware how many people would just like to have a job. With that being said, I do like my job. I love the act of teaching, I love interacting with teenagers, and I really love reading and the English language. I do not, however, like the politics, test pressure, performance pressure, disrespect from students and colleagues, etc. I could go on. So yes, I love my job, I just don't like it right now. You can't always be happy, though, right? Anyway...

I have been trying to crochet as a source a therapy for all the feelings I have been encountering this school year, and for the most part, I think it has worked. It's nice to come home and work on a project that I have complete control over the beginning, middle, and end. This amazing craft has offered me so much stability, I really appreciate it.

With all of this being said, my mother and I have been experience the same ebb and flow of our jobs over the last few months. We had a really lovely conversation when I picked her up from the airport a few weeks ago in regards to our outlook and finding hope and strength. Over the last few weeks, we've been tossing out the idea of getting out of town for a mother-daughter long weekend, and I am so happy to see it coming true!

We're heading to San Francisco!

We'll be there for a long weekend near the end of May and are dying to start planning out cool little things to do.

Note: My mother and I have been to San Francisco before. I presented at a research conference in April 2007, when I was a senior in college and she flew out with me and my professor.

To get myself really pumped up about this trip, I thought I would share my favorite photos of San Fran!

(Mylynne Lovleies)

(Sunsurfer)

(source)

(source)

(OneSydneyRoad) 

(Petite Hermine)

(Julene Harrison)

Happy Wednesday :)

xo,

Liz

P.S. I have used the originial source with many of these photos--but some I could not find. If you are the original source or you know it, please leave the information in the comments so I can give the appropriate credit!

Hi!

Long time, no see, folks!

We're officially back from Jamaica, but are currently in North Carolina (Outer Banks area) for another week of vacay! I plan on stopping in a bit more frequently to update with pictures and so forth, but there are still a few scheduled posts coming your way. This afternoon, I'm taking you on a shopping tour through Anthropologie to check out some summer into fall looks.

As you know, Cory and I have been married for a week (eek!), yay! I have a few pictures posted on facebook from friends, but I am DYING to see pictures from our photographer, Pang. She posted a little taste on her blog that I wanted to share with you. Go on over and visit her blog to share the love, too!

This makes me so excited to see the rest.

Have a lovely Sunday funday!