A couple of weekends ago we traveled to Malibu, California for a wedding. It was my first time in California and I enjoyed every moment of it. Well just about, there were a few drives through the mountains that made me a little nervous.
We had wonderful weather, beautiful backdrops, and time with some of our favorite friends. It was so nice getting to see familiar faces and laugh with friends. Six of us shared a 2 bedroom suite at the hotel which saved us some money and gave us lots of extra hand out time. It was a really nourishing kind of weekend. Anyhow here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend below!
-everyone looks great here so of course my dress is blowing all funny. -we rode to all of the wedding activities on school buses! fun! -some pretty friends.-my favorite Walker and me picture from the weekend. -checking out the shoreline and look-palm trees! -the bride (middle) having a singing moment with friends. -pure joy! -hanging with some of our handsome guy friends (a fighter pilot and a firefighter-oh my!) -Walker with his dude friends. -me with my lady friends. -I don’t remember exactly what is being said here but I love this one of the bride and groom. -having a margarita at the post wedding brunch. -all weekend we ate so well! yum!
-ha! a goofy bunch saying goodbye.
It’s day 31 in the blog every day in May challenge! Can you believe it! I blogged all 31 days! I’m so proud of that and I’m so happy with all I’ve shared. I hope now you have an even better idea of who I am. So the prompt to day is: a vivid memory.
Memories are a funny thing. I remember listening to a radio lab episode about memories and how the more we recall a certain event the more it changes in our minds. So our favorite memories are the ones that have changed the most for us. Fun fact.
I’m going to tell you about the day Katie and I first arrived in Austin at the end of a 3 day drive to move there. I will set the scene a little. On the first day of the journey I got a call that the position that I was applying for, the one I made it to the final 2 of, was given to the other candidate. So I was jobless. We had yet to choose an apartment and had booked 4 days at a hostel/hotel. So we were homeless.
On the afternoon of the 3rd day of driving we made it into Austin. I remember driving through downtown thinking, holy cow, this is where I’ll be living now. We drove through downtown and ended up on the feeder of I-35 heading north. We were looking for our hostel, the Roadway Inn, when I realized we had passed it. I mentioned it to Katie and she took a pretty quick right into a parking lot. While doing so she ran over a median in the parking lot and the car stopped quickly. It didn’t end up being too terrible but the muffler had been damaged and as such made a super loud and obnoxious noise when the car was on. So here we are in the middle of Austin, it’s late August and therefore extremely hot, I’m jobless, we are homeless, the the car needs to be fixed. Wonderful. At this point we could have totally freaked out but we we calmer than I ever could have imagined and made our way to the hostel.
We checked in, unloaded our few belongings from the car, and asked the attendant to direct us to food. We headed down Dean Keeton toward campus and where it meets up with Guadalupe right across the street we saw a restaurant called Madam Mam’s. They served Thai food and that sounded good, plus we were super hot and tired from our walk to get there. (Turns out I would visit Madam Mam’s many a time while living in Austin, it was one of my favorites-plus it was really close to my work)
We split a meal since we were being frugal, remember I was jobless, and when we were done we took our leftover’s back to the hostel. Once we were back we took care of some business. Katie talked to her parents about the car. We watched some summer Olympics on tv and talked about how not hot we thought Michael Phelps was. Later that evening we decided to take a dip in the pool out front. It was somewhat refreshing and kind of funny because the freeway was right over us.
Then we went to bed in a new strange place with a lot of hope and an equal amount of apprehension.
Today is day 29 of the blog every day in May challenge. Today the prompt is: Five songs or pieces of music that speak to you or bring back memories.
First up is the great Elvis Presley. I could have chosen just about any song (as I know the words to almost all of them) but I chose If I Can Dream. I was obsessed with Elvis growing up and for my 16th birthday I drove to Graceland with my dad listening to Elvis non stop there and back. During the Graceland tour they give you headsets and you listen to clips of music and narration about the house. Right at the end of the tour they plan If I Can Dream as you’re heading out to the burial plot and it’s very moving.
Next is In Other Words by Ben Kweller. I was introduced to BK during my first year of community college by my good friend Kelly. She bought me my first BK concert ticket and I’ll be forever thankful. The show was amazing and clinched my love for Ben and his music. I was hooked. When I hear this album I think of that time but when I hear In Other Words I remember the first time I met him and he whispered in my ear, “I was looking at you during Words”. I’m surprised I didn’t pass out. I just love Ben Kweller so much!
When I went away to college (after community college) I discovered a somewhat local band at the time named Happy Hour. I was trying to adjust to a new place, make friends, and not be too sad about my good friends not being around. I went to a little concert in the commons area and was immediately drawn to their music. I talked to the band members after the show and bought their album. Their first album was a little on the sad side but whenever I listen to it I’m reminded of those first weeks away at college when everything was new and weird and I was missing so much. I still listen to them today but they are now called Valentiger if you want to hear more. (Also they opened for Ben Kweller once-I was there-it was awesome)
A few years down the line I moved to Austin with my good friend Katie. A couple of months after moving there I met Walker but we were just friends after I discovered he was taken at the time. I was listing to The Epochs and this song makes me think of my first few months there but also my anguish over not being able to pursue Walker.
Finally I’m sharing a song by May Erlewine. She is a Michigan based artist that sings with so much emotion it’s hard not to love everything she does. I’ve also been listening to her for years but in the last few years my mom and I have been making it a point to see her when we can/when I’m home. It’s fun that it’s become something we can enjoy together.
-my favorite Walker and me picture from the weekend. 
