3 year blogiversary!

some 2011 blog memories... and me with my first legal drink when i turned 21. yep.

today is a special day. 3 years ago, this little blog was born.

i've been blogging on and off for over a decade. but 3 years ago, i decided to "get serious". to me, blogger was "serious", as opposed to tumblr, xanga, and livejournal. blogger felt real. like i was writing something people may actually read!

but wow, how life has flown by.

3 years ago, on june 26, 2011, i...

• photographed these cheese & chive scones i made, and felt really proud of them. they were delicious, y'all. i mean really, go to my first ever post on this blog and make them.
• was 20 years old, and living in tuscaloosa the summer after the april 27th tornado. it was a ghost town. the apartment i sublet was next to a deserted mess of what used to be another apartment complex. it was unsettling. the city felt dead. it was a weird summer.
• didn't really know who i was or what i was doing -- so characteristic of a 20 year old woman, right? little did i know that the rest of 2011 would bring a breakup, a revelation about my career, the weirdness of post-tornado life, shifting of priorities and so much more.

3 years is a huge chunk of time when you're in your 20's. i don't even feel like i'm the same person. and it's crazy to think that this blog has grown with me, into something bigger and better, an outlet, and an inspiration to connect with others.

some posts to check out from 2011 are: tornado recovery progress, my red velvet cupcake recipe, receiving my dream handbag, making my own birthday cake, and plenty of life recaps.

i think i'm a little more personal on the blog these days.

here's to 3 more years. happy birthday blog!

when's your blogiversary?!

20 something & single

everybody's on a different path in life.

i find myself saying this a lot. to myself, to my friends, to my family. is it reassuring? i suppose. we all should be reminded that life isn't a cookie cutter, and that just because someone else is doing it, doesn't mean it's right or wrong for you.

growing up in the southern united states, things are what you'd call a little "old fashioned". yes ma'am, no sir, extra grits please & thank you. it's a highly traditional culture. small town gossip yields endless chatter of who so & so is dating, what their daddy said about it, and when he's gonna "pop the question" - because goodness knows, there's nothing southern women love more than planning a wedding.

i could get into societal expectations of women regarding marriage, but i'm going to focus on some other thoughts. i think we can all agree that in many parts of the world, emphasis on finding a partner and settling down at a predetermined age is prevalent and unnecessary. but specifically, for young women under 30, the idea of being single seems to haunt them.

i was 20 and living in a dormitory at alabama. i had a roommate - a traditional girl, very sweet and kind-hearted. yet, at 20 years old, she spent nights watching the notebook and crying about how she was "never going to get married". somehow, her worth and value at the age of 20 was directly tied to whether or not a man wanted to spend his life with her. she had so much ahead, i thought. she still hadn't graduated, she couldn't even legally buy alcohol. yet marriage was what plagued her.

since graduating in may 2013, i've made a lot of changes in my life. i'll say it: i was a serial monogamist. i didn't seek it entirely consciously... or, at least, my brain tells me to say that. maybe i did. either way, i was in a few multi-year relationships back to back. and while i learned a lot about my flaws, as well as what i want in a future life partner, what suffered was time devoted to myself. i learned this the hard way.

i've done more in the 9 months i've been single than i have in years having a man by my side. i've excelled at my day job, started a regular yoga practice, built my blog following, made countless new friends, been to tons of concerts, attended a mardi gras ball, joined a kickball team, planned summer trips to denver and atlanta, founded a local blogging network, started a summer internship, collaborated with local businesses and so much more. would i have done all that if i had been devoting my weekends to a boyfriend? maybe. but it has been so satisfying to commit myself fully to anything and everything i desire - except another person.

everybody's on a different path in life. if yours leads you to marriage, that's wonderful. but don't force your path to be like someone else's. don't cling to what isn't right or healthy for the sake of normalcy. address the fears, tackle them, be wholly you - and if a partner appears in the midst of it all, then great. but if not? keep on keepin' on. you won't find yourself looking into the eyes of someone else.

geocaching 101

when i say i like to go geocaching, most people look at me strangely, and say, "what's that?".

geocaching is a global scavenger hunt! participants obtain coordinates for caches - usually small, waterproof containers - and then go hunting for them. many caches are like puzzles, including hints & tricks needed to successfully locate the cache. all caches contain a log book for you to sign, but many contain small trinkets you can swap with other geocachers.

the most surprising thing about geocaches is that they're everywhere, and unless you know about it, you'd have no idea. caches are expertly concealed so they aren't disturbed by pedestrians - or "muggles" as they're called in the caching community. from where you're sitting, i guarantee there's a few caches within 5> miles of you, probably more.

i was introduced to geocaching by my dad. waaaay before the days of smartphones, my dad would visit the geocaching website, print out the coordinates + hints for the caches we wanted to visit, then we'd use our good old gps and go searching.

and now, a decade later, i've rediscovered geocaching as a hobby for myself. of course, there are smartphone apps these days that make it super easy. you can make an account & immediately get to caching.

why, you ask? geocaching is a great way to get outside! any excuse to be outdoors, i'll take, even in the ridiculous alabama heat. geocaching is a way to explore your city and visit areas you might not otherwise. many caches are tied to the history of the area, or hold a significance that teaches you about the place they're hidden.

here are some things to remember if you start caching:

• some caches are super tricky, and some you just won't find. i went caching at railroad park and found one of the three caches there. i'll return again eventually to give it another shot!
• people will look at you strangely wondering what the hell you're doing. if anyone asks questions, fill them in! the tenants of caching are to not disturb nature, trespass on private property or cause any issues in public. if you're approached by law enforcement or a "muggle", don't be surprised, just explain what you're up to.
• it's addictive! once you find your first cache, be prepared to be hooked! last week i was sitting in my office & discovered there's a cache a block away. my first thought was, "hmm, better head to that one on my lunch break."

try it! i think you'll be surprised how much fun it is. last weekend, i discovered king's spring in avondale park, a beautiful natural spring that's flowed for over 100 years. would i have gone here if a geocache wasn't there? maybe not!

for more info, visit www.geocaching.com! the app is a couple dollars, but i promise it's worth it.

have you ever been geocaching?

good happenings in birmingham - early june

for the next two weekends, there's a lot going on in birmingham! if you're looking for food, live music and beer, stick around for some awesome events we've got heading our way. here's some details:

• this weekend is slice fest, a music/food festival in lakeview n its third year. the festival ins june 7th and is just like a giant block party! i'll be attending & i can't wait. there's going to be pizza (of course), awesome music & good times. visit the slice fest website for more information, or follow slice on twitter - @slicebirmingham!
• one more event coming to birmingham this weekend is, of course, magic city brewfest! this is a great event promoting all of our lovely birmingham breweries, as well as breweries from around the state. in fact, the lovely beers of fairhope brewing company (my hometown ♥) will be there as well. magic city brewfest kicks off tonight at 7pm, and june 7th at 4pm.
• next weekend, june 14th, is rewind fest! this is an awesome event taking place at oak mountain amphitheater, a beautiful venue down in pelham. the entire festival is made up of tribute bands. OH MY GOSH. the red not chilli peppers, slave against the machine, almost kiss? sign me up y'all. it doesn't get better than that. i can't wait! for more information, check out the rewind fest website, or follow them on twitter - @rewindfest!

will any birmingham bloggers be covering or attending these events? let me know & i'll see you there!

5 things i know about friendship

my best friends, charla & sofia, and i at cadillac ranch in march 2013 on our spring roadtrip

01. friends don't have to all be the same "type". 

you can have work friends. you can have hometown friends. you can have blogger friends (love y'all). you can have college friends, volunteer friends, bar friends. and this is ok. because all these people don't have to be assigned the same level of trust or the same communication frequency. you'd think this would be obvious, but it took me forever to figure out. long ago, i wanted everyone to be my most fantastic, best friend - the tell them everything kind. you can't keep this up with everyone in your life.

02. real friendship doesn't slip away.

if someone is a genuine person deserving of being in your life, the fact that you haven't seen them in a few months, a year, etc. won't really change whether or not they like you or would go to lunch with you. it's great to pick  back up where you left off - and distance doesn't matter.


03. you can meet friends anywhere -- and that's awesome!

i have friends from school i've known since i was 8 years old. i've also got my two best friends from college who were randomly assigned to me as roommates. i've got friends i met through other friends. people are all over, and no, it's not weird if you meet on twitter or something.

04. people can serve a purpose in your life. sometimes that purpose ends.

losing a friend is never easy. this isn't a way to justify mistakes you made in the friendship, but realize that if this person will indefinitely not be in your life, the purpose has been served. you've learned from them, and now you can grow. accept the phases of life and friendship.

05. the absolute true friends in your life will likely be fewer than 5. if you have more, be grateful. if you have just one, be even more grateful.

just as i said not all people are the same type of friends, you'll probably find that the true, ride or die, always there, never questioning, genuine humans who want the absolute best for you, are happy for you and supportive but honest and concerned, know what you're saying without words, etc. - those are rare. rarer than you think. cherish them. always.

twitter chats for bloggers & creatives

have you ever participated in a twitter chat? the concept is super fun (hey, it is to me, but i'm an uber nerd) & involves using a hashtag to answer questions & connect with others in the chat. twitter chats range with a variety of topics, but are especially useful to bloggers, creatives & those looking to connect.

twitter chats happen weekly, monthly, etc. & start at a predetermined time so everyone wanting to join can be sure to stalk twitter. the leader of the chat will ask a question or pick a topic, and users reply using the specified hashtag. from there out, it's all about replying, favoriting & participating!

to keep things simple, there's a way to focus solely on the chat & keep the rest of your feed out of it. www.tweetchat.com allows you to follow just the chat hashtag feed, post replies quickly and interact. you log in, put in your hashtag at the start time, and then start posting!

here are my favorite twitter chats i've compiled:

• the creative's club's #creativeschat - mondays at 7pm CST - @thecreativesclub
• blog trend's #blogtrends chat - mondays at 8pm CST - wonderful chat for bloggers of all types! this chat focuses on a wide variety of blogging topics. @blogtrends
• bright & gutsy #brightandgutsy chat - tuesdays at 8pm CST - if you're a motivated, self starting entrepreneur, blogger or creative, this is the chat for you.
• exPRession PR's #exPRessionsChat - once monthly, date announced on twitter. this month's chat is this thursday, june 5th, at 7pm CST.

if you're new to twitter chats, i've got the perfect one for you to get started with, and it's debuting this week! as some of you may know, i've recently partnered up with whitney of heart & arrow design to help out with marketing & social media. heart & arrow has started up a twitter chat of its own!

#heartarrowchat targets bloggers with topics ranging from branding your blog, blog statistics, connecting with other bloggers & more. join us on wednesday, june 4th, at 8pm est! this will be our very first chat, you don't want to miss it! for more details check out heart & arrow's twitter.

do you participate in twitter chats? what are your favorites?