After seeing this survey on Julie’s, Brittany’s, and Courtney’s blogs, I thought it would be fun to fill out myself. Especially after wistfully glancing over the photos of travel locations and jamming to the music selections! I decided to go alphabetically in each section, but there are shout-outs to a few of my number ones 🙂
Tag Archives: travel
Tallying Up My Travels
This Thursday, I’m sharing the nitty-gritty details of everything I spent on my travels over the past couple of months. Before I set off on my first trip, I decided that I was going to make an effort to write down everything I spent so that I could keep track of where my money was going, and also not let things get too out of control. I knew that the total after tallying up my travels over the course of 25 days on 3 trips in 2 countries, 2 states, and more than a half-dozen cities, with transport via planes, trains, and automobiles, was going to be significant. But as I’ve shared recently, I really value experiences over the accumulation of stuff and this time after the bar exam before my new job and next phase of my life begin was a wonderful opportunity to see new places with old friends and make memories that will last a lifetime. The monetary value of tallying up my travels ended up totaling roughly $3,685.30. The rest of it? Well, that can’t be measured in dollars and cents.
Adventures in Nashville
Happy Monday, everyone! I’m back from a whirlwind weekend of adventures in Nashville, the third round in my post bar travels. I’ve gone from England to California to Tennessee, this time visiting my dear friend Lauren who moved to the area last year. We grew up together in Connecticut, but I hadn’t seen her since she moved, so I was really looking forward to this weekend. We did so much in a short time, squeezing visits to Centennial Park, Vanderbilt University, Music City, and a few great restaurants into our Saturday, and a wonderful brunch and visit to Cheekwood on Sunday before I headed home.
Five Great Tips for Carry-On Packing
As a follow-up to my post on packing tips for a long trip, I’m kicking off this weekend with five great tips for carry-on packing. These techniques can be used to pack for a trip of any length. I tend to stick with just a carry-on and a backpack or purse if my trip will last less than one week. In fact, I only brought a carry-on and a backpack for my recent trip to California, and that was 10 days! Even if you’re the type of packer who likes to prepare for all contingencies, you’ll find these five tips useful for making the most of limited space.
Five Useful Packing Tips for a Long Trip
Happy Friday, everyone! All this travel for me has meant I’ve been planning, packing, unpacking, and repacking for what seems like a month. I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years, actually. I am one of those people who stands at the check-in line simultaneously untying their shoes and pulling their electronics out of their carry-on luggage to go through security. And I always get a sense of satisfaction when I use every item that I’ve packed in my suitcase and didn’t bring anything that ended up coming home untouched. So I figured I could share a few of the tips and tricks I’ve picked up! In this post are five useful packing tips for a long trip. I’ll throw a few for shorter jaunts your way in a little while 🙂
Pond Hopping Part 6: London Bits and Bobs
Today, I’m sharing all the little bits and bobs of my trip across the pond that didn’t make it into any of the blog posts thus far. I made the most of my time in England and wanted to gather my thoughts on the experience as much as I could while still living it, but of course there was so much to see and do and think that inevitably some adventures fell by the wayside – until now, that is! Here you’ll see a visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum, a stroll in the heart of classic London through Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster, snapshots of Notting Hill, Richmond, and Kew Gardens, and more.
Mayfair, London
Timehop Throwback Thursday
I’ve been in a bit of a nostalgic mood recently, what with finishing my final law school classes and harkening back to my Oxford exams, setting up my bar exam study materials, and preparing for law school graduation. I’ve been using my blessed two weeks of free time to get in some good long runs, time with friends, and serious ice cream eating. But I’ve also been thinking about how fast time seems to have passed by, mostly because I, ever the Luddite, finally installed the Timehop app on my phone and am now inundated each morning with snapshots of what I was doing on that day the year before…and two years…and four years…and eight years ago!
Eight years. That’s how far back Timehop can track, because that’s how long I’ve been on Facebook. I opened an account in early 2007, during my sophomore year of high school, which feels like another lifetime. I’m a little scared by the fact that fully one-third of my life has been documented on Facebook and other social media, and I’m well aware of the ramifications of that. But seeing photographic evidence right in front of me of who I was eight years ago, and then looking in the mirror at the girl I am today, is a powerful reminder of how I’ve grown and changed into an almost-law-school-graduate.
Ringing in 2015…with a run and a resolution!
This morning was all about ringing in the new year, and of course for me that meant my first run of 2015, and a New Year’s resolution. My three R’s, if you will…a personalized twist on reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic!
My New Year’s resolutions in the past have run the gamut, from making more of an effort to keep in touch with faraway friends to finally finishing a few of the weightier tomes on my shelf (Middlemarch, anyone?) This year, I decided to keep it simple with a single resolution: to focus on the forest through the trees. It’s an apt phrase for what I want to do this year – it means keeping the big picture in mind even while spending time on different and disparate aspects of life. It’s something I’ve mastered when it comes to school, the ability to consider broad historical themes even while getting down to the details of a particular person or event, or to think about a court case in the context of our legal system as a whole. But I think it will be even more valuable if I can do it in my life.
Running shoes, racerback tank, and hair ribbons for the Disney Half Marathon… all New Year’s “R”s!
Take running, for example. I could make a resolution to run a certain number of days per week, or achieve a certain time in my next race. I could set a specific goal for my upcoming half marathon. But instead, I’m going to take every run as it comes, enjoying the opportunity I have to be outside and moving down the path, the wind in my hair and the sun shining down (even on a brisk 23 degrees Fahrenheit morning like this one!) This morning’s run was just a branch, running is just a tree, in the forest of life.
Friends mean so much to me. Of my dozen closest friends in this world, about half live in New York City with me. The others? Well, they’re scattered across two continents and three countries, time zones ranging from California to Continental European. They’re in London and Leicestershire, Tennessee and Texas, and I miss them terribly (Skype is just not the same!) So I’ll make an effort to stay in touch (or reach out and resume contact with a few who seem to have fallen off the radar recently), and keep in mind that we’re all human and sometimes it will be hard to stay connected. My friends are all very important trees! Without them the forest would be pretty empty.
Both wonderful reads…on to another enchanting find!
I’ll do my best in my last semester of law school and my spring internship at Lincoln Center. I’ll take read a few more of those books on my list, embark on more adventures in cooking, and hopefully travel. One of my dearest friends just moved to Nashville – over spring break, hello to Music City! At the end of the summer I intend to return to England and Oxford to visit past haunts and see my wonderful college friends. The whole time, I’ll keep in mind that life is a journey, and the important thing is to not lose sight of all the knowledge I’ve gained thus far, and stay open to new things. I’ll focus on the forest, and not let a particular tree falling down get in my way.
So without further ado, happy trails in 2015!
Running past the river this morning
Raspberry ragamuffins (recipe coming soon!)
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