Charleston, SC: The Lodging

First up- I am going to share where A and I stayed during our trip to Charleston, SC.

When A and I finally decided on a location for our anniversary/Valentine's day trip, I got right to work finding us a place to stay. As you might expect, I started with hotels. Charleston has some gorgeous hotels with some not-so-gorgeous prices to go along with them (especially over Valentine's/Presidents day weekend) so I took to AirBnB to see if I could find something that would be more worth the money.

Our first attempt at booking a place didn't work out- which was a bummer- but it worked out in the end because we found an even better spot! We stayed in the Mod Suite at City Centre Inn. It could not have been a more perfect location. We were right near the intersection of Meeting/George St.

For those who haven't been to Charleston, Meeting St. and King St. are two of the streets you want to check out. King St. was one block up from our location so we walked nearly everywhere we went. We also walked to East Bay St- another street in Charleston that contains lots of yummy restaurants- the harbor, Rainbow Row, and Battery Park/White Forest Gardens. We uber'd once out of necessity and a few times out of laziness/time of night but we truly were walking distance from anything you could want to do in the historic downtown district of Charleston.

The suite itself was amazing. It's furnished with a number of original Mid-Century modern pieces, but also contains an updated kitchen and bathroom (seriously this bathroom- I want it in my future house). Sadly, I did not take any pictures but here are a few from the AirBnB posting that I feel most accurately represent the suite.

I was a little nervous about using AirBnB as I had never done it before, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience. We had a code to our door sent to us prior to our arrival, so we didn't even need to check in with anybody. We did meet the hosts (who live onsite) towards the end of our stay and they were wonderful. Rick and his wife Glenda were incredibly hospitable, and were nice enough to hold our luggage for us after we checked out of the suite but before we were ready to leave for the airport.

Overall, it was an awesome experience- and I would absolutely stay there again. The cost of the suite was less than many of the hotel options and it was bigger and so much more comfortable than what we might have gotten at a hotel. I would highly recommend checking this place out if you ever go to Charleston!

Next up- I'll tell you all about the food!

A Last 24 Hours In The City By The Bay

Last week I took a spur of the moment trip up to San Francisco to spend a little bit of time with three of my best girlfriends. 

Bethany has been up in the bay for over a year now, Jo was just there for a summer internship, and Jamee is there for a few weeks of training for her new job.

Jo's coworkers were going to Nightlife at the CA Academy of Sciences to celebrate Jo's last week on the job before she takes off to Europe for three weeks and we decided to tag along.

We started the night off at The Mucky Duck which is probably the cutest name for a bar ever, and while Jo and I waited for the rest of our crew to get there we chatted with one of the bar's regulars. 

A few drinks later we made the short walk to the museum where we immediately beeline-ed to the aquarium. Lots of fishies, seahorses, and an albino alligator later we moved on to the living roof. I wish we had gotten to see more of the exhibits, but there was a lot of catching up to do and we spent more of our evening standing around and chatting than really looking around the museum.

 fishies!

Still, it was a fabulous night- that ended with beer battered tempura fries... SO DELICIOUS.

I love San Francisco and the entire bay area and I am sure that if I come back to California after graduate school I will find a way to live and work up there in NorCal.

Vegas: Third Times A Charm

As I mentioned in my LA update last week, I also went to Las Vegas- for the third time this year. It is safe to say that I am completely Vegas'd out and I would have no complaints if I didn't see that city again for another year (at least).

But this trip was special because I was going with my long time best friend- Alex, her fiance, and Karissa- who has truly become another best friend over this past year. Alex had never been to Vegas before, while the rest of us are Vegas veterans so we all wanted to show her a great time.

Karissa and I had a bumpy drive to Vegas (we almost didn't radio the whole way... don't ask. we fixed it early on in the drive) but we eventually got there around 10pm Friday night.

Night 1 included walking the strip, gambling (or losing money if you were me), and late night pizza delivered to the hotel room. Also, Alex and Bryce officially asked me to be the maid of honor at their upcoming wedding- the even got down on one knee and presented me with a ring (pop) =)

Here's a few pics from night one.

Walking through The Venetian, Alex and I gambling, a stop by Toby Keith Bar

Alex and Bryce- I just had to share this pic, they are way too adorable.

Saturday was our big day. We had grand plans to go from wake up to early morning Sunday, and that is exactly what we did. We got started with a little breakfast downstairs and then it was off to Marquee Day Club in The Cosmopolitan. This was seriously the perfect place for us to spend our day. Drinking, dancing, meeting people, hanging in the pool, and gambling; we had so much fun. By far the highlight was dancing on the platforms in the pools, which Bryce of course got a bunch of photos of for us.

Later we hit up our favorite frozen drinks at Fat Tuesdays and got ourselves both Secret Pizza and Earl of Sandwhich. Then we made our way back to the hotel for naps and prepping for the night. We spent the night out at Tryst where I chatted with some very charming Australian boys and danced the night away with my wonderful friends.

Overall it was a fabulous trip, even if Karissa and I were so tired on the way home that we almost stopped in Barstow to nap in a cheap motel (we didn't... but boy did we want to!).

Pictures!

Living out my dreams of being a bartender/dancer at Coyote Ugly =)

 Those girls had no job other than to sit there dressed like that. How do I get that job?

 Karissa and I pretending we won... These were actually Bryce's chips. But look how they match my nails =)

 Alex and I being sneaky and taking a pic in SugarFactory

 Future bride, maid of honor, and groom!

 The whole group before night two

The current background on my phone. Two of my best friends and I being our very silly selves. I love them.

So that was Vegas 2012 trip #3. I have to say I am not sad to be done with that city for awhile, but I always have a good time when I'm there so I'm sure I'll be back.

Little Trip To Lake Tahoe

And just like that, the weekend is over and another week is upon us...
I certainly hope that you all had a wonderful weekend, mine was nothin special BUT I haven't shared anything from my trip to Tahoe yet, so let's do that now.


A little over a week ago I took a little trip to Lake Tahoe with my family.

I had never been to Tahoe before, so it was really fun to get to explore the area a little. 

Lake Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous.

I passed by at least three weddings taking place on the edges of the lake. As much as I wanted to be sneaky and take pictures, I thought that might be a little bit creepy... So I refrained.

Anyway, I didn't take too many pictures but here are a few of the ones I did take.

Dad and me on the boat cruise we all took on father's day

Super cool detailing on cabins from the 1920's

We joked about building a pond like this in our backyard.

A little birdie friend that followed us through the trees while we were hiking.

I figured I wouldn't overwhelm you guys with pictures, so if you want to see more of the trip, you can do so after the break.

Memorial Day Weekend: Vegas

Here's to the latest weekend update ever.

A bit over a week ago I headed down to sunny southern California to meet up with one of my best friends in order to spend the first weekend of summer in Las Vegas.

After about three hours from Fresno to Burbank, and another 5ish from Burbank to Vegas our little group of girls talked our way in to an upgraded room with a view and set about to get ready for our first night out.

We spent most of our night at Surrender, where Afrojack was the celebrity DJ on hand for the night. One mark of a successful night in Vegas- not buying ourselves a single drink =). Night one was definitely a success by that standard.

       
 

Night one also began a long string of pictures in which I preferred to give the camera some of my favorite cheer facials rather than simply smile.

Based on these pictures I clearly have two go-to faces if I'm not smiling.

We woke up bright and early Friday morning to make sure we got ourselves a good breakfast before hitting the pool. We hit up Grand Lux Cafe (basically Cheesecake Factory but Vegas-y) for some bomb.com breakfast food then headed back to Wynn/Encore to hang out at Encore Beach Club.

This place was over run with girls all looking for the cute guys (who were probably still asleep in their beds) but its always fun to hang out by the pool, drink(s) in hand. We found a few interesting characters to chat with and had ourselves a pretty darn good time.

Fast forward through more exploring, dinner at Earl of Sandwhich, getting ready, and some club struggles- we ended up spending the bulk of our night at Tryst. I have to say I am NOT a fan of clubs, but I somehow always manage to have a darn good time at Tryst. And hey any night spent chatting and dancing with cute boys from Texas is a good night in my book!

Having fun OVER doing the "skinny" pose. You know, chest up, butt out, hand on hip, and lean in. Haha

Pre-Pool

Fat Tuesdays Love- No I will not smile like a normal person =D

The only pictures from night number two...

Day 2 did not greet us with the same loving welcome that Day 1 did. After sleeping in, lounging around the room, and eating some lunch we started getting ready for the afternoon's highlight- the UCLA 8-Clap at the Bellagio fountain!

Just like last year I had a fabulous time meeting up with hundreds of other bruins at the fountain to loudly display our UCLA pride in front of one of Vegas' most famous sights. Of course, I did not take pictures with my fav adpi's nor any of the other friends I ran in to... but here's the couple of pics I did get there.

8 Clap Amazingness

 The rest of the afternoon/evening consisted of exploring the Cosmopolitan, napping, and another evening out. Overall it was quite the experience. I had no intention of returning before my move to OH, but I've recently been informed by my best friend and fellow buckeye (omg that still sounds so weird!) that she may be making her first trip to Sin City in July. I could not possibly miss that... so Vegas- it looks like I will be seeing you one more time, very soon.

Props to you if you made it all the way through this post. I love you, you're awesome.

Some Thursday Things

Thing #1

I am once again taking off for the weekend (hello it's Memorial Day!). This time to Las Vegas, NV for a 2nd (annual?) Memorial Day Weekend in Vegas. 

There will be sun & heat, food & drinks, dancing in clubs & hotel rooms...

 AND of course the annual UCLA 8-Clap at the Bellagio fountain! 

Some of the ADPi Seniors 2011 at the fountain

Even though this year I am only going with one other UCLA girlie we will be there to see all the current seniors and our fellow graduates and to scream "U-C-L-A! F*CK SC!" repeatedly until the crowd is ultimately forced by Bellagio security to leave the area.

Thing #2

I recently started watching a new show via Netflix, "Friends With Benefits." 

I had never heard of this show, have no idea what network it aired on when it was on TV (although I'm guessing it didn't do well because it doesn't appear to have a second season), and don't know who most of the actors on the show are... But it's not bad. It's a bit like a HIMYM knock-off in my opinion. In fact there were even specific jokes that were ripped straight from HIMYM, but it was a 30-min sitcom when it aired meaning episodes on Netflix are only a little over 20 minutes so if you're looking for a quick funny series to watch, check it out.

Thing #3

My boy, Phillip Phillips, won American Idol. I predicted him as the winner all the way back here in February.

VIA

I love me some P-squared and I hope we don't have to wait too long for an album to come out. Unfortunately, we know based on past idol's timelines that it will be awhile since they have to first complete the Top 10 Summer Tour.


Thing #4

Sara Bareilles song "Sweet As A Whole" from her new EP Once Upon Another Time CRACKS me up. It's completely inappropriate (if you are bothered by bad language) but totally hilarious. The irony of her sweet voice and harsh words is fabulous.

Thing #5

I apologize in advance for most likely being MIA til sometime next week. Blame Vegas, LA, my friends, and the fact that I just don't feel like scheduling fluff posts in the meantime.

Peace out my loves!

Kickin Off The Summer

For many people Memorial Day weekend is the first weekend of summer (even though summer doesn't officially start until June 20th...) but this year I kicked off my summer early with an amazing trip to Lake Havasu City, AZ. Myself and six others made the 4+ hour trip from LA across the CA state line to spend an amazing weekend at Lake Havasu on the Colorado River. We spent the majority of the weekend out on the boat maximizing our time in the sun. And word of advice to any of you lake/river go-ers out there... If you wanna make friends real quick, bring a floating beer pong table =)

Here's the photo evidence of our fabulous weekend on the water.

Floating bp =) so much fun

 

Day 2

In-N-Out For Lunch =)

I know I already used this pic but it's definitely one of my favorites.

My only cute pic of Day 3. The rest of the pics from this day are all from tubing.

We've got literally 150+ pictures from this weekend. Most of those pictures are far sillier than these posed pictures I'm sharing with you all (see an example below) but let's just say that it was too much fun and I really hope I get the chance to repeat it before I move to Ohio!

Beer pong. Picking the perfect song. Blowing the whistle. Dancing on the beach.

Stagecoach 2012

A little over a week ago I headed down to SoCal for some camping, country music, and a ton of fun with some of my favorite girls at STAGECOACH!

This was my second year attending the weekend long country music festival out in the desert that is Indio, CA and this year we decided to for-go the hotel and camp on site.

The entire experience was a hot, sweaty, dirty, fantastic mess.

From setting up our tent on Friday evening to driving out of the lot at 11pm Sunday night, we had an amazing time together.

It's super difficult for me to pick a favorite performance- they were all so amazing- but I suppose if I HAD to choose... Brad Paisley would be it. He closed out the event as the headliner on Sunday night. Brad is a great entertainer, stunning guitar player, and seems like an overall awesome person.

But I loved Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, and The Band Perry too!

And now here is a bunch of photos of all the debauchery that ensued over the course of the weekend =)

The Ashley/Ryan duo are the hosts of LA's Go Country 105 morning radio show.

Red Solo Cup(s), Pictures with strangers in awesome outfits, and some more ADPi's we met while standing in line

Miranda, Martina, Sheryl, Luke, Jason, and Blake & Miranda together =)

If you ever have the opportunity to go to any type of music festival, I HIGHLY recommend it. I had a blast and hope to continue going for years to come!