Snapshots

Snapshots from February & the last few days of March:

A fruit and cheese spread while we watch episodes of New Girl (Jess & Nick--be still my heart.) Although we try to be classy, we're using Christmas plates. Long after December. On our shattered coffee table. One day we will be real adults. 

Snow came to Nashville! While I realize this is pretty much just a dusting, its still beautiful.

Oh hey books.

And laptop. Why do you own me?

Wine Down Wednesday at Music City Flats with the girls. Wine tasting + flatbread makes for the perfect midweek pick me up.

This was me & my friends' Valentines Day. Not pictured: giant beer and bruised egos.



Gourmet grilled cheese from the Grilled Cheeserie. HOLY DELICIOUSNESS.

We celebrated a 24th birthday with salted caramel cupcakes with chocolate bourbon frosting and candied bacon. Gluttony & extravagance are simply not part of our vocabulary.

Please hurry up, spring. For once in my life, I want warm weather for sundresses, picnics, and brunch on patios.

Treating myself to my all time favorite Nashville place: Jeni's. Toasted Coconut + Roxbury Road was probably the best way for my spring break to end (welp)

Snapshots

Snapshots of fall & winter:

my favorite place ever, Jenis, gave out free ice cream in 12 south as a thank you for winning Best of Nashville awards. The most delicious ice cream (Brown Butter Almond Brittle & Bramble Berry Crisp were sampled & savored) coupled with a burger from Burger Up made for the greatest afternoon ever.

also...as an aside, for those near a Jeni's, or who order from Jeni's, don't miss out on the deliciousness that is their Sweet Potato & Toasted Marshmallow holiday flavor. I feel the need to defend weird ice cream flavors, but this one is so delicious, you will wonder why you ever doubted the presence of sweet potatoes in ice cream

gameday football brought down to the field by a skydiver.

school owned me this semester, and breakfast was often had at a cubicle in the library at 6am. At least I got to see pretty sunrises while I got dressed.

my amazing mom sends the best care packages to get me through studying--my favorite european chocolate treats, the best granola ever, and sweet words of encouragement.

I'm pretty obsessed with how gorgeous campus is. Fall was so beautiful that I had lunch on a bench in the above courtyard almost everyday.

speaking of gorgeous fall...I definitely abandoned the tedium that is memo editing one weekend to go run in centennial park instead. I hate that guilty feeling of leaving work behind to go do something for yourself, but sometimes its just necessary to be outside, in the sun, with fresh air, and no computer in front of you.

My new favorite running path takes me from my apartment to the pedestrian bridge in downtown Nashville. Even though the entire jog back is uphill (cue screaming calves and a mental dialogue where I have convince myself that  running is good for me), I love that bridge enough to put up with it.

Richland Park Farmers Market root vegetables were out of control delicious. Crunchy kale, jewel colored carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes...be still my heart.

My precious kitten, Chloe, helping me with my summer job applications.

Hi There.

Its been a little silent over here for the last 3 weeks. I've moved to a new state, unpacked a whole new apartment, started a new grad school, made new friends, and I am slowly making my home here in Nashville.

School has been a rollercoaster of every emotion under the sun. Its been wonderful meeting all these new amazing people (who are so smart. so smart. and kind.) and the school itself is fantastic. My classes are challenging in a way that makes me feel like my brain is growing everyday but that also makes me nervous and intimidated and that makes me doubt my abilities. Sometimes I start falling down a rabbit hole of overwhelming emotion, but then I have to stop and remind myself that its only been two weeks. It feels like a lifetime, but 10 days of real school is all I have under my belt, so I try to stay patient. I also miss my family and friends more than I can articulate. Its been growing pains to the extreme, ya'll.

Here are a bunch of snapshots of my new life. Other than my school anxieties, its been a pretty fantastic three weeks.

{the mellow mushroom pizza outside of my building makes me feel at home.}

{the view from my bedroom window. Taylor Swift lives up in the corner penthouse and there are rumors of Kings of Leon residing in there as well. I've yet to spot them, but as an avid people watcher, its a fun way to procrastinate.}

{some of my new best friends.}

{the essentials: caffeine, chocolate, eye drops, charged up computer, private study carrel in my secret campus study spot (that law library is stress central), and some quality time with my Torts book.}

{we threw an impromptu rooftop party at our building last weekend. it was sparkly and i laughed all night long.}

{I've obviously been making my rounds throughout Nashville restaurants and the best stop thus far was Jeni's Ice Cream.  Being the glutton that I am I couldn't just pick one flavor so I went with the try three bowl: goat cheese & cherry, sweet corn & blueberry, and dark chocolate. The sweet corn & blueberry was the best ice cream I've ever had. Ever.}

{yes, you're reading correctly: Trailer Resort. Paradise Park is a trailer park themed honky tonk in downtown here and we tend to end up there more often than I am comfortable with. Only in the south...}

{Green Hills Farmers Market made my week. Fresh veggies, local goat cheese, and bluegrass music playing while I browse through each tent. Best Saturday morning activity.}

{market loot.}

{season opener against South Carolina. It wasn't quite like Athens, but I made it work. Who would have thought I'd miss my dogs that much though?}

{my current cell phone background and the reminder that gets me through those tough days at school followed by long hours at the library}

Snapshots

Snapshots from recent weeks:

{Discovering a King of Pops cooler at the coffee shop next to my old apartment was a highlight this summer. Banana Cream Pie pops = everything.}

{Lazy girl lunch: spinach salad with Trader Joe's smoky peach salsa, avocado toast, and an orange.}

{Enlightening myself on all the things I really need to know. It turns there is quite a bit I need to know. Hence the flashcards.}

{Perfect nights involve re-reading Kinfolk magazines and getting inspired. Preferably with a big bowl of cherries and chocolate covered almonds.}

{The New Hampshire coastline and the crisp, cold, and navy North Atlantic are my ocean soul mates. A week with both was the perfect summer beach get-away.}

{My love for picnics and all meals eaten without a table or roof was satisfied with a Panera beach lunch. And yes, my sister did eat soup on the beach. In July. We're odd ones.}

Snapshots

Snapshots of recent weeks:

{early mornings on my parent's sun porch with a big cup of coffee and deep, heavy, complex literature}

{attempting to re-create a Ben's cookie with a recipe from The Londoner--while they were gigantic and delicious, they didn't quite live up to a legendary Ben's. Could anything ever live up to Ben's though? Next time I make it back to England, a visit to Ben's will be necessary within an hour of my arrival.}

I love opening up library books and finding them marked up and dog-eared. It makes me feel like I'm part of a secret book club, especially when I come across an underlined passage that really draws me in too.}

{over-fatigued muscles and aching bodies = being creative at work. moving goals like bosses.}

{A few years ago, my dad planted a bunch of fruit trees in our yard. He's tended to them with so much care and now they're finally bearing fruit. Even though these peaches and pears were juuust shy of being ready for picking, I couldn't help myself.}

{words. From Geneen Roth's "When Food is Love". The psychology major (our should I say, psychology degree holder!) in me is enthralled with her.}

{its everything you expect red velvet ice cream to be and more. heaven.}

Picnics

I'm a big fan of picnics--I think all food tastes more delicious when you can have it outside, with the sun warming your shoulders and a breeze tickling your hair. I think I've made picnic-ing a kind of hobby by this point. Case in point:

{pizza picnics in Athens}

{breakfast picnics in Nashville}

{picnics in Zurich}

{punting boat picnics in Oxford England. Shared with the geese, of course.}

{seeking out the perfect spot in Dublin}

{view from my picnic spot in Dover, England--can you see France across the Channel?}

{mid-hike scenic picnic in the middle of nowhere Cotswolds, England}

{picnic in Versailles, affectionately named Jam Fest 2010. I still crack up at the fact that we smuggled an entire baguette and jar of jam into Versailles. Oh and Kinder chocolates. We got those in there too.}

Clearly, I enjoy my food in rustic settings--Thats why StyleSights recent history of picnics post made me smile.

I love finding those connecting threads with the past. I do realize that these are just photos of people eating outdoors, but knowing that picnics were enjoyed even back in the 1900s makes the fact that I still enjoy them today that much sweeter, you know?

{this is my kind of party. especially when pants like those are involved.}

I adore this photo. Its everything I love about summer in one frame.

all photos from http://blog.stylesight.com/vintage/picnic-time