Charlottesville, Va where the babes grow like wild flowers.

I recently took a 10 day road trip on my own playing music and staying with friends. My first stop was Charlottesville, Va! I spent 3 nights and 2.5 days there soaking up time with two of my absolute favorite girls and one super chill dude. I had to drop everything and come up a day early because of a huge snow storm that was about to pass through and I knew if I didn't get myself together I would be stuck. I was in desperate need of a life break at that point .. I debated going at all because of various opposing factors.. but my self-indulgence and general life frustration pushed me into prepping for the trip earlier than planned and I was on the road at like 11pm to beat the storm the next morning. It had been a week that left me deliriously exhausted and completely out of sorts. I pulled up into Renee's driveway to a warm house with lit candles and a big bed made just for me. I got there and stayed in that bed all night and most of the next day attempting to decompress. I woke up to this lovely sight.

Needless to say, driving through the night was my only solution. I spent the entire day in bed, snoozing & eating snacks. I watched the final bits of Parks and Rec.. apart from the last episode to avoid any possible sadnesses. I spent the afternoon and lunch hours talking with my good buds Renee and Logan about what had been going on in my life. Im finding that at this point in my life, it's very difficult for me to want to share my weaknesses. Though, I'm super happy I spoke up about things that are going on with me. It felt really important to get fresh perspective and suggestions on how to walk through the issues I am currently amassing. I should introduce you. Renee is a food blogger, photographer, yogi, elfin fairy and blonde bombshell. She blogs over at Will Frolic For Food and her and Logan are starting a chocolate business together.


Renee spent most of the day working on a blog post about these matcha coconut energy balls while we waited for Angel to get off work. We played in the snow a bit and ate amazing things!



I've been going pretty natural with my eye makeup lately because I am tired of having makeup all over my face all the time. Sometimes it can really add to the fairy look I'm subconsciously trying to tap into :P ANYWAY, I also got to spend a good amount of time with one of my favorite girls, Angel Graves. This lady moved away from Norfolk last Autumn to try her hand at mountain living. It's been sad to not have her around but it makes it that much more special when we do get to hang out. I love this woman to her core. She laughs and the world smiles.

I had a wonderful time just relaxing and rebooting my system around friends who I dont see often. I learned a little about myself on this trip.. I really dont like small talk. Since I only got to spend small amounts of time with each person I visited, I worked hard to get real things into conversations quickly. I felt I needed to connect fast and it formed indrecibly strong bonds. I enjoyed every minute with my girls in the mountains and Im so grateful for friends that are fine with me coming to them just to relax and spend entire days in bed. It's what I needed in ever single way. I also played a wonderful house show with the band Annabeth McNamara and Lili and the Dirty Moccasins.

browns and oranges

I didnt take THAT many photos this weekend, it was more about the bonding time (and lets be real, snacking time).. BUT i did manage to take a few. I'm separating them into 3 posts and they will be color themed. This one is filled with warm hues against the cold air.







NOTES- that was the best cupcake I have ever had. Im not really that into the cupcake trend.. I mean I am into all kinds of sweets.. i will eat cupcakes and me REALLY happy about it, but Magnolia Bakery literally wiped out any hope of loving another cupcake. The flavor and texture surpassed anything I have ever associated with the little cakey treats. Please do yourself a favor and eat one one day.

Hello New York

This past weekend, my little lady family and I traveled to nyc to take a weekend for ourselves. It was a blast. We saw a show, saw a different kind of show, went on a chocolate tour, saw my bestie and ate so so so much food. real photos to follow!

Video from A Grand Adventure

watch in HD :)

kansas air

We stopped somewhere around Hayes, KS on our trip to visit my mother and a few of her friends from when she was younger and lived there. They lived in a house surrounded by wheat fields and gardens. We happen to visit on the first day of the harvest. Ryan drove a wheat combine and we walked around some of the land. Kansas is kind and wonderfully simple. Big sky, deep earth. I am really happy I got to see my mother in the same element she was in when she was my age, working with wheat.

Nashville Lovin'

We spent a day or so in Nashville, visiting our friends Brett and Alex. We love visiting this city and we seem to make new buds each time we visit. This time in particular.. we met up with a new friend named Laura Partain of Laura Partain Photography. We got some beautiful ambrotypes made by this lovely lady (more about that in another post). We also stopped by Barista Parlor. WOW was it cool in there! I felt like a complete nerd in there with my camera snapping photos.. Lastly, I got to see miss Lilah Rose again. If you've been following my blog for longer than the past two years you may remember her, her goodness filled this space often. She is just as lovely as ever.