Girl’s Weekend in Annapolis

Happy Monday lovelies. I’ve been gone all weekend enjoying some girl time with my friends and making memories. We went up to Annapolis Saturday morning for the Army-Navy Lacrosse game. It was the perfect day for spending time outside in the sun. Weekends like this remind me of why it’s important for my mental health to go outside and be active. Winter is officially over and I’m bringing in the spring weather with some fun events!

Like I said, I went up to Annapolis for a lacrosse game with my friends Dawn and Kaisea. We got to the stadium and found a parking spot amongst the numerous tailgaters. After finding our seats we found ourselves sitting near midshipmen (and women), which was a good thing because we were cheering on our Navy boys. All of us girls were Navy brats at one point. After the game (Navy won 10-6), we went into downtown Annapolis to walk around and take pretty pictures. Unfortunately there were too many cars and not enough parking spaces. I drove around for an hour finding parking.

For dinner, we went with Dawn’s aunt and uncle to Japanese Hibachi. Is there anything better than watching a chef cook? It’s mesmerizing. Her uncle was generous enough to treat three broke college girls to dinner and then give us the details on where all the cool kids go to hangout on a Saturday night. He sent us to a place in Baltimore called Pazo. We got all dolled up and went to this posh place and sat at the bar where the girls ordered white wine and I got a latte; best latte I’ve ever had for the record. As we were sitting there, Dawn started chatting to an older man sitting next to her about the Baltimore Orioles win that night. Listening to their conversation I began to recognize his voice. I leaned over and said that his voice sounded familiar. As I said that it dawned on me, he, Gary Thorne, was the radio and television announcer for the Orioles. He smiled at me and said I nailed it. I laughed and told him that I had grown up listening to his voice on the radio to which he said, “God bless you child.” He was also kind enough to pay our tab before he left. I don’t think we had ever been so excited.

After our celebrity run in, the girls and I headed to the young adult hang out of Baltimore called Federal Hill. Essentially, it’s a college bar-crawl where the people watching is quite entertaining. We ended up going to an oyster bar turned dance floor to enjoy our evening. The people you meet in these places never cease to surprise me. My friends ran into a friend of theirs who had moved to Texas a few years back and was just in the city for the night. I ran into the entire Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team. The bouncers ran into a kid who just couldn’t quite figure out that you needed an ID to get in. They picked him up and tossed him out quite a few times.

We got back pretty late and went right to bed. Exhaustion is stilling running through my body. I figure I’m only young once though so I can handle this every once in a while. It was a fun weekend. Girl’s nights out are necessary. Tell me about your weekend in a comment below!

Turning 21: Diamonds and 4 Things I did for My Birthday!

There are several milestones an individual has to reach before they are considered a full fledged adult. Turning 16 means getting a license, 18 you can vote, and 21 means you can legally drink alcohol. Each milestone comes with a new responsibility. My 21st birthday was a few weeks ago and I truly feel like an actual adult now. I have all the rights of being one and the responsibility.

The best part of turning 21 for me? Diamonds. My dear, sweet boyfriend gave me a beautiful diamond ring! Besides being totally shocked and feeling very spoiled, I felt like a lady and a little girl at the same time. Not many gents can do that but he pulls it off!

4 Things I Did for My Birthday

Besides receiving the ring, here’s 4 others things I did for my 21st.

1. Went to Florida

My boyfriend lives in the Sunshine state so every few months I hop a plane and go down for a visit. Since the mid-atlantic region is still chilly by the beginning of spring I decided to spend my birthday with him, who also happens to have the same birthday as mine. 

2. Took Myself Shopping

I am a shopoholic. The movie Confessions of a Shopoholic was made with me in mind. Given that Florida is a touristy area they have more outlets than any other place I’ve been. Part of the birthday money I received from my parents funded my day of shopping, which by the way, was very successful. I spent about 8 hours trying on shoes, dresses, and things that I simply couldn’t afford. But it was my day, so I figured I’d try it on anyway. 

3. Tried My First Drink

A good friend of mine took me out to try my first mojito… which I ended up not exactly loving. I think alcohol is similar to coffee, you have to acquire a taste for it. Yikes that stuff was strong! When I was in my late teens, I figured my 21st would be like Jen’s on The Hills. All my friends and I would go out and lightly sip cocktails at a nice city lounge and chat. However, when most of your friends live all over the country and not in one place its hard to get everyone together. Additionally, I simply do not have a taste for alcohol. Something tells me that the ladies of The Hills had already acquired a love for drinks prior to their 21st birthdays. Our night out was still quite enjoyable though. 

4. Went to Busch Gardens

Not sure what to do for our day, my man and I decided that we (and a few friends) should go to a theme park. We spent our time flipping upside down on roller coasters, feeling sick, and making memories. I finally understand what it means to get older, crazy rides are no longer your friend but a thing that makes your brain want to fall out. 

Each birthday I have I realize that I’m drifting farther and farther from adolescence and that’s truly scary. Childhood, for some, is the simplest time of their lives and saying good bye to it is a soft reminder that nothing lasts forever. But the older I get, the wiser I become. Age, in my opinion, is viewed entirely wrong. With increasing days comes increasing knowledge. Google doesn’t always have all the answers, but time does. 

Comment, like, and share!

-Liz

Girl’s Night Out- Wine and Design!

My birthday was last week and as a special treat one of my best friends, Lindsey, took me to an awesome place called Wine and Design! We painted on canvas with an instructor showing us different types of brush strokes and techniques. Such a fun night out and a really nice memory!

The Event

We sipped delicious wine and nibbled cheese and fruit throughout the class. I never realized that those two simple things (wine and cheese) could make you feel so at ease! It was such a low stress, fun evening! Everyone was laughing and making a lovely mess with paint. We wore aprons luckily as I was a bit too dressed up for the event (better to be over dressed than under though). 

We were given orange, red, yellow, and black to work with originally but I asked for a bit of white to mix with my red to make a nice pink. It turned out really well for the sunset I was painting. The little catbird was adorable to do because I added a whispy tail for him. 

I was talking to the instructor and apparently Wine and Design is a nationwide franchise! I had no idea things like this existed but apparently they do! I live in a real southern style community (and by southern I mean redneck) and cultural activities that involve the arts are not so easy to come by around here. 

This type of activity is just so fun for everyone! They do bachelorette parties, kids birthdays, date night themed sessions, fundraisers, and so much more. I just went to a regular session but while we were there another private event was going on in the studio next to ours and it sounded like they were getting a little tipsy! 

Anyway, it was a great time and a nice memory! Here are our finished paintings!

-Liz