I'm a bona fide city girl

A few weeks ago we received notice that our lease is up at the end of May. It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year since we sold our house in Florida, packed up a U-Haul and moved up to Alexandria, VA. T works in the city and recently we started talking about the idea of moving into the city as opposed to renewing our lease in Northern Virginia.  We just figured that we left the suburbs back in Orlando (ok we were 10 minutes outside of downtown but the area was mostly families) to the DC suburbs, why not live in a big city like I've always wanted? We don't have kids so why not give the urban lifestyle a try?


I of course went into my research mode and started getting information on neighborhoods that are dog friendly. I was a little nervous about having green space for Kavalier but the place we picked is in a quiet neighborhood with several parks in it. Apartment hunting in DC is nothing like Florida. Back in Orlando there are so many apartments that you don't have the pressure of picking a place right as you tour it. We were warned by co-workers that if you find an apartment you like at a good price, you fill out an application right away to start the process. So when we toured the beautiful 1920's building with a bigger 1 bedroom than our current place with the hardwood floors we desperately miss we were sold. The fact that I can walk a few blocks to the Metro and a grocery store is new for someone used to having to drive everywhere.

                            #tbt May 2004- My first trip to DC. My mom commented on how I seemed to    enjoy the energy of a big city. I had no idea that ten years later I would be living there.

It's Ok

                                     You can't have a blog post without a photo, right?


It's ok that T and I ate 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this weekend. Thin Mints don't last too long around our house. I didn't get the nickname Cookie Monster as a child for nothing.



It's ok that I'm over winter. I know I willingly left Florida and its nice weather, but I had enough snow until next winter. Come on spring!


It's ok that I have been putting off Pure Barre classes due to my lack of motivation this winter season. The thought of trekking out in the cold to go work out isn't making it easy for me. If you work out regularly during these cold months you are my hero. I need to learn your ways.


It's ok to realize that my current position is not very challenging or what was advertised. The wheels are already in motion on that front.


It's ok that I have been in a blogging/writing funk lately. I have these ideas for blog posts swimming in my head but they just don't make it to blogger. I love the creative outlet of blogging and don't want to lose that.


It's ok that when talking to my mom yesterday my first reaction to the current temperature back home of 85 was damn that's hot. I forget that spring does not exist in Orlando.

The places I've called home

Orlando, FL: 

I am one of the rare birds who gets to call herself a native Floridian. Growing up I didn’t fit it that odd but as I got older and realized the transient nature of my home state, it became something like a badge of honor. I grew up in a city that is most famous for Mickey Mouse but my house was a good 45 minutes away from the side the tourists see. I went to the theme parks on a yearly basis and have only paid once in my life. A perk of growing up in Orlando is making friends with people who work at the parks to give you free tickets. Unfortunately this also leads to being jaded and over anything Disney by age 12.

                    Downtown Orlando. This is nowhere close to the theme parks.

I always found my home city to be void of character, cookie cutter, and only catering to tourists. I wanted out early. Don’t get me wrong the city has made strides and continues to transition to find its identity. In the last few years the food scene has started to improve and even being named on USA Today’s best foodie towns for 2014. I find that I have a complicated relationship with the city. I can complain about it while living there and yet I am starting to look forward to going home for breaks. I’ve come to terms with my love/hate relationship with Orlando.

Tallahassee, FL: 

I lived here when I attended Florida State University. Tallahassee is half college town and half state capital, in other words kind of boring. Tally has a special place in my heart since it was my first time away from home. I purposely picked a school 4 hours away from home and I’m glad I did. I was a little over protected growing up and nothing makes you grow up faster than being on your own.  I also learned how the northern part of Florida is worlds away from the rest of the state. They don’t call it lower Alabama for nothing.

                                              My freshman dorm- Florida State

Worcester/Boston, MA

How does a Florida girl end up in New England? Well it was 2007 and I had a nasty, unexpected break up and itching to try something new. I applied for and got accepted into a graduate school program in Worcester where I had a few family members from my dad’s side. I lived in Worcester which is 45 min west of Boston and frankly not the most interesting place. I did live down the street from the oldest park in America, but I spent a lot of my free time taking the commuter train into Boston. I used to spend Saturdays just strolling through Boston and Cambridge. This is where I first saw snow (at age 26), experienced living 1000 miles from my family, and had to shovel my car out of snow all by myself. Massachusetts is where I grew into an adult and for that it will always hold a special place in my heart. 


It has been a few months shy of a year since we moved up to Northern Virginia and I have had varying emotions about the area. I absolutely love being in DC and the energy of a big city, which Alexandria lacks as it is more of a suburb. 



What are the places you've called home?