July 30th, 2011 (Day 211)

I had more visitors in Grosse Pointe which made me so happy! Rachel came down when she got off work. We hung out and got some dinner. Then Christina came over a little bit later on when she got off work. We just hung out and had a few drinks. I'm glad they came to visit me. I feel like I don't get to see them enough!


Rachel hanging out with Benny (the foster kitten they have here right now).

July 29th, 2011 (Day 210)

Today started a weekend of pet sitting in Grosse Pointe. I figured I would be alone and bored all weekend since GP is kind of isolated. I was wrong! Annie decided to come out and hang out with me since we hadn't seen each other in a while. Then we found out Laura made a spur of the moment trip to Detroit from East Lansing to spend the night with Cody and Joe. So, we decided to go meet them downtown and I'm so glad we did!




We ate at a delicious organic sandwich place called Mudgie's Deli.



Then we walked across the street to a little park and acted like 7 year olds.

After that we went out to a few bars downtown and drank a little bit.

I had such a good day!

July 28th, 2011 (Day 209)

Today was a pretty low key day. I will call it "sister day" spent with my lovely sister. ;)


Seeeester


And the Dot ;)

July 27th, 2011 (Day 208)

I was supposed to work a 10 hour shift today (1-11) but got called off at the last minute. One of the residents got discharged today, so they didn't need me to come in. I love my job but it can be really unpredictable at times which is annoying. Oh well!

I ended up with a completely free day which was unexpected. I visited Jess who just got her tonsils removed.


Upon her request, I brought her some avocados. I thought it was a random request but I honored it because avocados are one of my favorite foods. She was able to mash them (and add some sour cream and spices) and eat it with a spoon. I was kind of jealous, but she was nice enough to give me a bite. ;)

July 26th, 2011 (Day 207)

I had a relaxing day. I slept in, hung out with my mom, went grocery shopping, and just kind of chilled at home. Bryan's going away party was tonight so it was cool to go to that and see some people I haven't seen in a long time. Bryan is moving to California. I will miss mi hermano!


Bryguy.


I will miss you for sure, Bryan!

July 25th, 2011 (Day 206)

I had a long day today. I had to get up at 5:45 for work. I worked 7-2 and then had my first counseling appointment right after. Work was fine, I'm glad I picked up that extra shift last minute. Counseling went really well too. I am going to continue to go once a week for a little bit, until I am feeling a little bit better.


Anyway, after that long day I went over to Cody's to hang out with him and Rachel. We spent a couple hours in the pool which was amazing! Then we went out to La Saj for some delicious Lebanese food and then back to my house for a movie. It was a pretty perfect evening!

July 24th, 2011 (Day 205)

Today was the last day to spend with Jake and Katie before they went back to TX. Mupa had a family party at his house out in Algonac with the Esselinks. We got there a little late because Lauren had to work until 4, but it was really good to see everyone!


He has the cutest little face!


It sucks that they live so far away. :( I will miss them!

July 23rd, 2011 (Day 204)

I had another great day spent mostly out in Oxford with the family!


I got to spend time with my favorite boy!


We got to hang out at the lake and dipped Jake's toes in.


Family <3! It was a really good day. :)

And later on I got to spend time with Annmarie! We don't get to see each other too often, so it was really nice!

July 22nd, 2011 (Day 203)

Today was a fun day. Lauren, Ross, and I went to go see Friends with Benefits. It was pretty funny and we all laughed a lot during the movie. :)

Later on, we went to Mina and Bob's new house to see Katie and Jake. Mina and Bob just moved in together in a house in a lake community in Oxford. Their new house is on the lake and it's really cute!


So we got to see their new house and the lake!


And have dinner with this cute little chubster.

After we left Oxford, I decided to go out with Britty. We went to a bar in Ferndale and then another bar in Royal Oak. I had a lot of fun with her, it was quite an adventurous night for me. :P Unfortunately I didn't get any pics for the blog!

July 21st, 2011 (Day 202)

Honestly, I've had better days than today. I'm just really lucky and grateful to have such good friends. When I am feeling a little down about life, they provide me with good company, a pool to lounge in, and drinks called Jamaican Me Happy.


I really do have the best friends in the whole world! :)

July 20th, 2011 (Day 201)

Happy 21st birthday to my Britty Boo! My best friend since the 4th grade turned 21 today. It was fun to go out with her and friends and celebrate her birthday. She is one of the people few people I know will be a best friend for life. I can't see us ever not being friends, we've been through so much together.


Birthday girl having a drink at the bar (legally)!


All the girls. :)

July 19th, 2011 (Day 200)

Today I ran errands during the afternoon, babysat Jenna and Jordyn next door during the evening/night, and then went to Annie's to hang out with her and Cody at night. Annie and Cody are two of my favorite people. I always love talking with you guys!


Jordyn and Jenna. They're 4 and 8 years old now. It is crazy to me! I remember when Jenna was a little baby and they first moved in next door.

July 18th, 2011 (Day 199)

Today was a good day! I went out to lunch with Jess and we got delicious Lebanese food and caught up on each others lives. We walked around Patridge Creek afterwards and got to visit Corinne at her store.


Jess and the smorgasbord of delicious food at La Saj!

Later on we had a nice hang out session with good friends. It was so good to see everyone and catch up with them after not seeing anyone for a while during my road trip!

July 17th, 2011 (Day 198)

Today we had my aunt Kristi and her fiancee Kori's wedding/commitment ceremony. It was at Tin Fish in Fair Haven and on Lake St. Clair. It was so beautiful! It was really hot, but super pretty. I am so happy for them and wish them nothing but the best!


The happy couple, my gorgeous aunts!


Family photo with us and dad.


Me and Lauren and our aunts!

July 16th, 2011 (Day 197)

Today we woke up bright and early and had a delicious breakfast at the B&B. We headed straight to Mammoth Cave for a 9am tour. It was so cool to be in the cave...truly amazing actually. I'm so glad we did it. It was definitely a unique experience.


Chilling in a cave!


Interesting.


There were some tight spaces to squeeze through! It was quite an adventure!

The tour ended at 11am and then we headed back for home. So sad the road trip is over but it was a really good week!

July 15th, 2011 (Day 196)

The majority of today was spent in the car. Well, approximately 10 hours of it. We left NOLA at about 7:45am and arrived in Glasgow, Kentucky just before 6pm. We checked into our gorgeous B&B, which is a really old historic home that dates back to the Civil War. There is a cute tiny little downtown area near our B&B and the innkeeper recommended a delicious local restaurant to us. We've just been relaxing this evening and are all excited for the last day of the road trip tomorrow. We have a 9am cave tour at Mammoth Cave and then head straight home after that!


If it wasn't for the arms sticking out I'd think the backseat swallowed Lauren!


Our adorable room at the B&B...(ignore our crap already infested the room the first 30 seconds).


Love it!

July 14th, 2011 (Day 195)

Our last full day in New Orleans was today! We decided to explore other New Orleans neighborhoods, not just the French Quarter. So, we had a really nice day spent in the Garden District, which is just a couple miles west of the Quarter.


The Real World New Orleans house on Dufossat Street. I was really wanting to see it and Annie and Lauren came along for the ride just so I'd be happy. It was gorgeous!


The houses were beautiful in this area. Really big and nicely spread out (in comparison to the French Quarter where everything is on top of each other). Most of the houses were colorful but here is a plain one I liked. I love the gorgeous detailing of these houses!


We walked up and down Magazine Street which has lots of antique shops, boutiques, restaurants, etc. It was really cool.

I'm so glad we got to see this part of New Orleans. It was a much slower pace from the rest of the days we spent there.

July 13th, 2011 (Day 194)

Today we had a very fun day filled with many events!


First we found an awesome used book store. I got a rare edition of a Susanna Kaysen book I had been wanting to read for only $5. I am super excited about this find.


Lauren and Annie leading our little bike pact around the Quarter.


We also went to antique stores. Super fun! I think this is my newest favorite hobby.


We had our cooking class at 2pm. We did this again so that Annie could experience it. We had corn and crab bisque, shrimp creole, and pralines made in front of us and then we got to eat it all. Yum!


Later on in the evening Annie and I did a ghost tour. Notice anything creepy about this picture? Like a person in the bottom right corner...creeeepy!

July 12th, 2011 (Day 193)

Our first full day in NOLA was pretty fabulous. It is HOT but we brought our bikes and I'm so glad we did. We rode all around the French Quarter and it was nice to not have to walk everywhere in this heat!


Shopping at the French Market.


St. Louis Cathedral!


Our favorite restaurant...making it a tradition to eat there every time we're in NOLA! The Marigny Brasserie!


Perfect way to end a day in New Orleans, cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde + people watching.

July 11th, 2011 (Day 192)

We drove from Chattanooga to New Orleans today. It took us just over 8 hours. We checked into our hotel and got all settled around 6pm. We ate dinner at a cute little dive bar called the Jimani Lounge and walked around the French Quarter a bit so Annie could get her first taste of the Big Easy ;)


Po boys how I've missed you!


Night time view of a French Quarter building.

July 10th, 2011 (Day 191)

We had such an awesome day today in Chattanooga! We got up and had a homemade breakfast of biscuits and gravy. Yum! Then we left for Fall Creek Falls.

We got there and saw the gorgeous waterfall from a distance. We decided to be adventurous and climb down to the bottom of it. What a hike! It took a pretty long time to get down there and it was hard because it was basically pseudo "steps" ... just the natural rocks going down! You definitely had to watch your step the entire time. After we finally got down to the falls we were blown away with the gorgeous nature surrounding us. We all took turns wading into the water underneath the falls and just sat and enjoyed being there. We were sad to climb back up but after we did we got to see more mountains and pretty sights that aunt Judy and Uncle Dave took us to see.

We got yummy Mexican for dinner and then went back home and took another dip in the lake. We had a relaxing evening tonight because we were super tired after our long day of hiking!


Fall Creek Falls from the top


A random cave-ish spot we found on our hike down!


Mountains!

July 9th, 2011 (Day 190)

Today was a long day! I never went to bed and we left for the road trip at 2am. We didn't get to Chattanooga until 2:30pm. It took an extra 2.5 hours because of traffic and part of 75 being closed off due to a chemical spill. We got to my aunt and uncle's house and ate lunch, took a nap, went swimming in in my aunt and uncle's lake, ate a delicious dinner of homemade lasagna, and then drove around downtown Chattanooga! We went to the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo station and got to see that and then had drinks at a restaurant down there. We were so exhausted we had an early night!


2am...getting ready to depart!


Lake at Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave's house.


Chattanooga Choo Choo!