Hey there! How are y’all doing? I’m going to switch things up and do this post differently from my usual weekend recaps. Instead, I have a few random thoughts and little moments stored in my brain from the week and so I’ll list them here.
1) My favorite Marina coffee shop: For the past few months, I’ve been going to my neighborhood coffee shop 2-3x/week. I always order an iced coffee and chocolate croissant, but sometimes, I come in too late and they don’t have any left. This past week, the adorable family that runs the place started saving the last one in the back for me in case I decided to come in…I was so touched! I insisted they didn’t have to do this but they still did. These small acts of kindness can mean so much to others and I couldn’t be more grateful.
2) (Lack of) Colombia planning: I can’t believe I’m leaving for Colombia THIS WEEK. This is by far the most spontaneous trip I’ve ever done, seeing as I just booked it last week. I’m doing this trip completely differently from all my past ones, in that I only booked my first night in Bogota, and that’s it. I’m gonna wing the rest of it! But don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing lots of brainstorming and research beforehand :).
There are definitely pros and cons to doing it this way – I learned from my solo trips that leaving room for spontaneity can lead to amazing adventures. Flashback to when I canceled the last leg of my Thailand trip to stay in Koh Tao – best decision ever! But I also lost out on money for things I already booked…The upside, however, to planning things out is that it keeps me moving.
Anywho, I’m confident this will be the best for this trip since 1) I’m still deciding where to go and which activities to do, and I’ve found that talking to locals is the best way to decide. 2) I get bored pretty easily so I’m sure I’ll keep moving from city to city 3) things are kind of crazy right now with errands and wrapping things up at work, so this is my excuse to procrastinate, ha. 😛
3) Spontaneous Saturday: I do have to give one shoutout to my weekend which ended up being unexpectedly being filled with so much fun and spontaneity. I woke up on Saturday with absolutely no plans, when Anna texted me to grab lunch with Sarah and Matt. One thing led to another, and we ended up on the rooftop of the Marina guys, grabbing dinner, and going out! We partied for like 15 hours straight! The day just kept getting better. The whole city lit up with beautiful weather in the 70s and activities for fleet week which made the vibe of the whole weekend so carefree and celebratory. I live for these random, spontaneously fun days sprinkled into my week ❤
4) Mixtiles: I discovered an amazing app called Mixtiles where you can pick photos straight from your phone to be framed and shipped to your door. I’ve been meaning to redecorate one wall of my apartment and these pictures were the perfect solution. I ordered 9 pictures of my family (+Michelle, who is basically family) and they came out so bright and beautifully, and now I have this beautiful wall down memory lane!
5) This American Life – Harper High School: If you have some time, I highly recommend THIS episode from This American Life (my all time favorite podcast). This episode is an older one, but so worth listening to. It’s digs into the insides of high school in Chicago filled with gun violence and talks about how these young students live in fear and really have no choice but to be part of their neighborhood gangs. It’s super eye-opening and even won a Peabody Award! This one brought me to tears…I listened to it at work this week and had to run to the bathroom twice! (#professional).
That’s all for now! Next time I blog will be from COlOMBIA!!! If anyone has any recommendations, I would SO appreciate them in the comments (seeing as my itinerary is wide open, ha).
I Run Like A Girl 