Is there any better color combination than coral and blue? Maybe there is, but I sure like this one. I wanted more loose, flowy tops and I automatically paired it with this coral and blue scarf. Then I realized I wore this color combo with the same scarf here. This top looks great with other colors, too. I’ve also worn it with a floral scarf and cognac flats but I don’t have photos of that one yet. The weather has been so nice lately that I’ve worn this outfit to school, and out to lunch, and to the grocery store. I’ll probably even wear it again soon!

Can we talk about these flats for a minute? I wear them with everything because they look great, and I get really sad when it rains because I don’t want to get them wet. But they’re pretty much perfect. PERFECT!

And here’s the fun Blooper: Nick always takes pictures of me fixing my pants/shoes/something on my outfit!

Top: Tresic via ModCloth | Jeans: Old Navy | Scarf: Target | Shoes: Old Navy | Earrings: Old Navy 

I love coffee. It wasn’t always this way; I used to think it smelled great but tasted gross. Why couldn’t it just taste the way it smelled? In undergrad, I had a few 8 AM classes so I bought a small coffee maker, thinking it would help me wake up and get to class on time. I probably only used it three or four times my entire undergrad career. That all changed when I was about 26 years old and started working as a communications assistant at a non-profit in a few towns over, requiring at least an hour commute, one-way. I had to get up really early to try to beat the rush-hour traffic on the interstate so I pulled out that little coffee maker and my love affair began.

Over the years, I’ve developed my palate and learned that I like really strong coffee with a touch of cream and sugar. Maybe the t-shirt is a little misleading because I rarely drink it black, but if it’s *good* coffee (my personal favorite is Counter Culture here in Durham) I’ll drink it straight up!

As far as the outfit, I wanted to jump on the graphic tee train so I purchased this one because I do love coffee so much and because I have a lot of plans for it as inspired by Pinterest. Now that it’s getting warmer, I can’t wait to recreate some of those Pinterest looks. I wore this outfit to the dealership to get the oil changed in my car, and the guy still thought I was only about 21-22 years old. I don’t look THAT young, do I?

T-shirt and Blazer: Banana Republic | Jeans: Kensie via Stitch Fix | Shoes: Old Navy | Earrings: Old Navy

Warning: there’s lots of text in this post because we had a fantastic time!

We’re back from our mini Savannah vacation! We had a great time and I can’t wait to go back; there were so many things to do that we didn’t get to fit it all in to our few days there. So, this post has made me realize that I’m not the best blogger because I get so caught up in the moment that I’m not able to multitask by taking photos and being present at the same time. In fact, I lugged my nice camera with me but didn’t take a single photo with it and all I have is a few of the best phone photos to share with you. But the important thing is that Nick and I had a good time and got to spend some quality time together 🙂

I snapped a few pics during our travel. I tried to convince Nick to stop at South of the Border in South Carolina but he didn’t think it would be very fun. Maybe next time.

Historic Savannah is beautiful. I love all of the architecture and plant life; the Spanish moss-filled trees are magical! One reason we chose Savannah for our trip is because I visited over the summer for my best friend’s bachelorette weekend (because she used to live there) and I thought it was so pretty and romantic and I couldn’t wait to come back with Nick. Another reason is because I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt and was very intrigued. I also made Nick watch the movie so that he would be “in the know” with some of the things I wanted to do and see.

One of our first stops was breakfast at Clary’s café. They have THE. BEST. chicken fried steak I’ve ever eaten. We ended up going to Clary’s two out of the three mornings we were there. When we find something we like, we tend to stick to it. And did you know that they filmed some of the movie in the café?

After breakfast, we did a lot of walking around the area. I think the squares in Savannah are amazing. They’re so pretty, like little mini parks in the middle of the street. I wish we had them here in Durham.

This is the only photo I got of my outfits and everything but the pants was in my packing post. I ended up switching out the pink sweater for this pink tee (because it was supposed to be really warm) and I added an extra pair of jeans because a friend of mine made a good point that I might spill something green on my white pants so I should take a backup pair. Apparently, St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in Savannah, but we left before most of the activities began. 

This is Nick in Franklin Square. He wanted his photo with this particular statue because he is proud of his Haitian heritage.

This is us doing some shopping. #truelove

We were at the Paris Market and I made Nick try a Rose Granita, which is  semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and, in this case, rose flavoring. He did not like it. He said he felt like he just chewed on a rose petal. I said that’s exactly why I liked it! We got him an Elderflower granita, and he liked it much better.

Afterward, we took a stroll down Riverfront Plaza. I loved the worn look of the buildings. I kept imagining what life was like back when shipping and boats were the main form of travel. That kind of thing really interests me.

I love walking through beautiful cemeteries and all of those in Georgia are absolutely beautiful. For reference, see our last Daycation to Atlanta where we ventured through the Historic Oakland Cemetery. We were very close to the Colonial Park Cemetery so we took a quick stroll through it.

I feel like I wouldn’t be a good public health student/professional if I didn’t acknowledge the Yellow Fever Epidemic!

Normally when we travel, we try to find restaurants that have been featured on Food Network or the Travel Channel or one of those other foodie TV shows. This time, however, we kind of stayed off the beaten path and it was great. We had dinner at Wall’s BBQ, which was literally in an alley/lane and we would have walked right past it if we hadn’t been using our GPS. The food was great, probably because it felt like we were in grandma’s kitchen.

photo source

If you should know anything about me, it’s that I LOVE ghost stories so I also look for ghost walks and tours when I travel. This trip was no different, except I was able to find an awesome tour that not only incorporated the haunted history of Savannah, but also took us by the Mercer Williams House and Museum, from the book (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). This is a photo of Mercer House where the infamous murder took place. I wanted to go to the museum, BUT I found out that only a few rooms on the first floor were open for visitors and they wouldn’t answer any questions about the murder/book/movie, so I didn’t think it would be very fun. They also filmed the movie here. There were a lot of other spooky stops on our tour, but this was the best photo I got from it all. I really enjoyed hearing the history of all these places as much as hearing about the ghosts. I also didn’t realize how big voodoo was in this area back in the day. Fascinating!

I mentioned that we missed most of the St. Patrick’s Day activities but we did get to see them turn the fountain green in Forsyth Park. It was drizzling and we got there a little late so we didn’t get a very good spot but it was a nice experience nonetheless.

We stayed inside most of our last day there because of all the rain and we got up early the next day to head back but we still managed to make the most of it.

I can’t wait to take another trip!

If you’re interested in any of the things I’ve mentioned, here are some links:

Clary’s Cafe
Paris Market
Riverfront Plaza
Colonial Park Cemetery
Wall’s BBQ
Ghost City Tours Savannah
Mercer Williams House Museum
Forsyth Park

*All photos by me except for the one of Wall’s BBQ storefront, which has a link to the original photo source.

It’s time for this week’s Friday Four, a fun survey I’m doing so that my readers can get to know me a little better. This week it’s Four Places I Have Lived. This may get a little boring because I’ve only ever lived in North Carolina, but here goes.

1) Wilkesboro, NC. I was lucky enough to grow up in western North Carolina, surrounded by mountains and beautiful lakes and friendly folks. It’s a small town and I couldn’t wait to get out when I was a teenager, but now I cherish every holiday and weekend trip back to visit family. Even though I will never live there again, it will always be my home.

2) Greenville, NC. Home of the East Carolina Pirates, arrghh! G’Vegas (as the college students lovingly refer to it) is THE quintessential college town. During football season, everything turns purple and gold from restaurants to grocery stores to local businesses. That is one of the things I truly loved and will miss about Greenville. Other than that, I was also happy to leave after undergrad.

3 & 4) The Triangle. I’m lumping 3 & 4 together because they’re basically the same thing, just different cities. I’ve lived all over the Triangle, from Morrisville to Raleigh to my current location in Durham. The Triangle, which gets its name from the Research Triangle Park and its anchor universities (NC State, Duke, and UNC-Chapel Hill, which form a triangle when you connect them on a map), is where my heart is and where I will probably live for the rest of my life. There is so much to do here that it’s the perfect place to live, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!

Of course, home is where my family is so it doesn’t matter where I live as long as I’m with them!

*All photos by me except for the bottom right, which was taken by 2+3 Photography.

Let’s hear it for Spring Break!

This week is my last spring break ever, which is awesome because that means school is almost over forever. It also means that Nick and I are heading to Savannah, GA tomorrow for a nice little four-day vacation. I’m really excited to get away for a romantic week with my lovey dovey. It’s been a really long and difficult two years of graduate school for us because I’ve had to spend most of it away from home, commuting to school (which is almost 2 hours away). This trip will give us a few days to ourselves, without having to worry about school or work or who is going to load/unload the dishwasher after an exhaustingly long day. The only thing I’m NOT looking forward to is packing because I’m a notorious overpacker. For as long as I can remember, I’ve overpacked for every single trip I’ve taken. I’m not even joking. One time we went to the beach for a week and I had at least three different bags full of clothes. As I’ve gotten older, however, I’ve gotten a little better at planning out a full itinerary so I will know what we will be doing and can pack/dress accordingly.

This trip is no different. We’re planning to eat at yummy restaurants, go on a nighttime ghost walk, see the sights, do some shopping, and possibly take a moonlight riverboat cruise. That all sounds easy enough to pack for, but the one thing throwing me off is that it’s supposed to rain all week. Boo, rain! Anyway, I’ve challenged myself to pack light for this trip. Everything has to fit into this weekender bag I purchased from Target:

I’ve chosen four shirts, two pairs of pants, and two pairs of shoes. I’ve only decided on one accessory (for now) which is a scarf. I’ll throw some jewelry in there last-minute, like usual

I also plan to pack my rain gear (e.g. trench and/or rain coat and rain boots) and a skirt or dress in case we make it to a fancy dinner or that riverboat cruise, but I haven’t decided on which dress yet because I still have to get my spring clothes out of storage.  Here are some of the outfits I’ve put together with my chosen items so that I have some options and can work with the rain.

I know these photos aren’t exactly Pinterest-worthy, but I took them  as I was putting outfits together and figuring it all out. I think they serve their purpose. Maybe next time I’ll be a little more organized and get better photos. I will say I’m actually really glad that I decided to post about this because it has helped confirm some of my choices!

Yes, that is my dog, Mia’s little butt/leg in the corner of this photo!

I can’t make any promises that I won’t add a bunch of stuff at the last minute (my brain is already screaming at me, “oh my gosh, you forgot to include a cardigan in case it’s a little chilly!) but I will do my best. I’ll try to get lots of outfit photos while I’m there so you can see how it all came together. I hope everyone has a great week and you all are enjoying the great thaw 🙂

Shirts: Pink sweater: Banana Republic | Gray tee: Target | Striped tee: Old Navy | Beige sweater: Banana Republic
Jeans: Both from Old Navy
Shoes: Canvas sneaks: Target | Cognac flats: Old Navy
Scarf: boutique from Wilmington, NC
Necklace: Stitch Fix