I'm Dreaming Of Ohio....

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope that regardless of what you celebrate, you had moments filled with joy, comfort and love. One thing I am extremely thankful for this year is that my holiday season has been filled with all of those things.

The last thing I expected this year was to meet the love of my life (call me crazy but I have dated lots of different people in my short yet crazy life so I like to think that I'm a little experienced in this field) and have everything naturally and magically come together and fall into place. From the very first moment that I met Alec, I could feel a pull towards an exciting and positive change in my life.

Anyways, this year I spent my Christmas in Ohio. A year ago, I never in a million years would have thought about visiting Ohio (now I actually want to move there!). However, as I sit on my plane ride home, I wish that I could magically take off of work and go back. Alec's family have been incredible with making me feel included, wanted and loved. I couldn't ask for anything better.

The first part of our holiday celebration was decorating Alec's apartment. I also bought a Gingerbread house to build and decorate. 

Another thing Alec and I did was spend a Sunday at Busch Garden's Christmas Town! It was definitely a beautiful event! My favorite parts were the roller coasters and Little Italy! 

I have absolutely no idea what I was trying to do in this photo besides having an obvious lapse in good judgement, haha. 

One thing I later found out was that Alec's mother has a collection of beautiful nutcrackers. When we went antique shopping (see below) I found the cutest little Uncle Sam Nutcracker. 

There were lots of absolutely beautiful light fixtures. One thing that I have always thought was romantic are twinkle lights and gardens. Therefore, the lights made this event so much more romantic and beautiful.

The week before Christmas, Alec and I exchanged one, small Christmas gift. I made him a memory box that I hope can be a time capsule for posterity since it will house our past, present and future memories. 

Alec gifted me a sterling silver, diamond heart necklace with the most heartwarming card. I actually carry it around with me because I love reading it from time to time. 

This past weekend (unfortunately ending the Christmas fun) Alec and I journeyed to OHIO! Since our first visit together, I've fallen in love and I'm really hoping we can eventually move there. Virginia is great and I know that I've wanted to move and live there since I was 13 but now, I've pretty much seen and experienced everything Virginia has to offer. I have my eyes set on Ohio as an eventual, final destination. 

We drove up on Saturday and arrived mid afternoon. We went to dinner with his family and just spent the remainder of the night enjoying everyone's company. 

On Sunday, Alec's delightful mother and I went antique shopping! I absolutely loved having her as my companion because she enjoys taking her time while shopping and just having fun! After shopping (I really wish I had more time off so Alec's Mom, Aunt and whoever else could of spent time doing girl things) the Butners and I attended Mass (I haven't been to church for awhile so it was nice to go back) and ate dinner with Alec's grandmother (she's an absolute hoot! She also called me sweet which I find hilarious because frankly I feel like I've been a sourpatch kid. Sour, sweet, gone). 

On Christmas, everyone woke up and exchanged presents. Afterwards, we played some games together and just relaxed. I'm so thankful for my presents (one being the laptop that I'm using to write this) but what was truly important to me this year was having wonderful people to spend it with and feeling included. I'm so thankful that I finally got my Christmas wish this year. 

Alec's family had the cutest little dog named Ivory. She was the sweetest thing! It also made things special because *Spoiler Alert* Alec and I have plans to move in together by Summertime and to adopt a little puppy! It was so special to see his interaction with Ivory and to receive lots of special doggy snuggles. 

Right before my flight left, Alec and I spent our last few hours together in Columbus! It was definitely fun but hopefully next time we could spend a little bit more time exploring the city and state. 

Anyways, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I know I did. Even if you didn't get exactly what you wanted, I promise it will arrive eventually (HELP ME! I'm losing my cynicism) and in the universe's timing. 

Happy, Happy Turkey Day and Other Adventures

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving everyone! Before I get into everything that I've been up to, I want to publicly announce how excited I am for the holidays this year.

Usually, this time of year is fairly difficult for me. In the past few years, although things ended up with me not being alone, I still had difficulty not feeling anxious or slightly depressed. Anxious about where to go or even what to do and depressed because I didn't feel really included or I also felt like something was missing. I'm thankful for those who invited and hosted me in the past but I want to especially express my thankfulness for my amazing boyfriend, Alec and his family, the Butners and Lancasters. From the earliest moments of my relationship with Alec, he has been my logical voice of reason but also my patient and loving source of comfort. From the first moment that I met Alec's family, I have always felt welcomed and included. Although, we're all still navigating the crazy world of understanding and getting to know one another, I'm thankful that everything comes from a positive and caring source as opposed to other places.

1. Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving Day, Alec and I went to his Aunt's house. It was a fun, low-key day where I met and spent time with horses, ate delicious food, met great individuals and played a massive game of Monopoly. 

It was also really sweet that after I said my good-bye's to Alec for the week, he used the above photo as his profile picture. It's the little things, y'all. 

For Black Friday, I treated myself to a vintage Charlie McCarthy Ventriloquist Dummy (it is kinda creepy) that I found for a great price.  I normally don't like ventriloquist puppets but I thought he would be the perfect new addition to my clown collection. I know, I know, he is not technically a clown or within the clown family but he is creepy, vintage and collectable. So are my clowns. Therefore, I thought the would go well together. 

On Saturday, Alec, his family and I met up again to watch the Ohio State vs. Michigan State game. I  can't remember if I said that Alec is from Ohio (or more like he identifies with Ohio) but he graduated from Ohio State so the Buckeye pride runs real deep. 

2. Travel or Bust

One of the various things Alec and I have in common is a love and appreciation for adventure, discovery and travel! So far, we have travelled to DC, Ohio and Norfolk. 

Alec and I (it was obviously my idea) visited the Athens Lunatic Asylum on the way back to Virginia. It is now an art museum (with the top two floors still in original condition) with free admission and very limited urban exploration potential. Although I couldn't expose it's secrets (I sometimes like to pretend that I'm the next Geraldo Rivera, on the hunt for my big expose), it was still a fun pit stop and I'm thankful that my honey bunches of oats didn't keep me on a time crunch. 

Not much is known about the lives and treatment of patients of the former single major mental institution in Ohio. However, it was a perfect creepy spot to wish Autumn (the season) farewell. 

This was from a little menagerie in the heart of Colombus' German Village. 

Alec treated me to an Ohio State football game! Before the game, I met his old boss at the campus police department. That was a blast! The game was also really fun. I'm thankful for the opportunity to attend an actual football game because now I actually understand the sport and it's much more fun live! 

Our first night there, Alec showed off his former stomping grounds. We walked around the Ohio State campus and then we ate dinner at Melt (a grilled cheese restaurant). 

About a month before Ohio, Alec and I spent the weekend in Norfolk to see The Book Of Mormon Musical. It was a little funny but not for the LDS jokes. Although I'm not an active LDS member anymore, I didn't not find it funny to slightly hint at homosexuality within Mormon missionaries. Missions are a dedication and sacrifice that young LDS men and women use to focus on their faith while providing free services to individuals in the community and helping others discover their newfound or previous faith. Anyways, I did enjoy some of the outlandish songs and dialogue, therefore, it balanced out. 

Right before the end of Summer, Alec and I visited DC for the day. We ate at Cosi (my favorite sandwich shop), enjoyed renaissance art (brought back some nostalgia for AP  Euro) at the National Gallery of Art, and we soaked in some of the national monuments at night. 

It was absolutely romantic to be the only couple walking hand in hand, down a path surrounded by a canopy of trees on the way to the Lincoln Memorial. 

3. Autumn Adventures

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One Saturday we went on a little hike to collect some RVA rocks. It was a fun little adventure that reminded me of the nature center in Long Beach. Hopefully in a couple months, I can show that off to Alec! 

Alec and I went pumpkin picking which was really fun! After we picked out a couple pumpkins, we carved them and attempted to make our own salted pumpkin seeds. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Alec! I love how it shows off how handsome he is yet it shows his sensitive side. I'm actually terrified of feeding animals but I enjoyed the view of him showing me how ;) 

Anyways, that's all for now! I hope everyone enjoyed their start to the holiday season!  

Introducing.....

Hey there everyone! In my last blog post, I mentioned a special someone in my life. Therefore, the purpose behind this post is to highlight that special someone. 

His name is Alec (Alexander) and he is a meteorologist for the National Weather Association. We met on Tinder (of all the places, haha) and quickly decided to go on many dates afterwards (in subtle terms, the rest was history). 

So far, it's been wonderful to explore someone who is really similar to me yet different. Definitely a logical match! 

This was our (I guess you can call it) second date. We went apple picking at Carter's Mountain Orchard and spent the remainder of the weekend just taking the time to get to know each other. 

This was after we made things official (I'm talking about seriously official because you can find it on Facebook, haha). We spent a lazy Saturday eating Panera and walking around my neighborhood. 

This weekend (September 24th) marked my 20th birthday! *Side Note* I'm mostly excited that now people can't belittle me by calling me a "teenager" and for awhile I was stumped on what to do. I thought about ghost hunting at Rolling Hills Insane Asylum. Scheduled clashed and it was hard to pin down an adventure partner (until I met Alec) so instead I put my faith into my new and incredibly handsome guy.  

For the first part of the weekend, we walked around Maymont. I loved exploring the Italian Gardens (which I never had the opportunity to see before) and making positive memories! 

This was a cute little card that Alec gave me. My entire dating life, I've waited for a cheesy little card filled with how the other individual thinks and feels. Definitely appreciated this sweet yet romantic gesture. 

Alec also surprised me with some roses (I know, I know. Definitely a cliche but I love them anyways) and it's really admirable how observant he is\ I know he's actually listening because he remembers the little things. 

Finally, we ended out long weekend with a romantic and quiet day in Yorktown (my first visit and it was practically deserted!) It was romantic to just hold hands and walk along the beach. It was also romantic to sit on the beach and talk while seeing where they say took us. Once again (just as my most recent adventure and experience with my friend Autumn) yesterday will always be a beautiful memory not because I was spoiled with gifts but because it was a much needed, spontaneous breath of fresh air with someone who I love and care for. There is truly beauty all around. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my sappy blog post! Happy Hump Day everyone!!!