ABILENE, YOU'RE THE DREAM.

When we moved back to Florida in 2010, I thought I was finished with small towns forever.

When I was 3/4 of the way  through senior year and hadn't submitted one application, I assumed going off to college was just a childhood fantasy.

And when I swore that I'd never wear grape purple again well...just look at my hat (and the 4 shirts I bought in the campus store.)

I'M MOVING TO TEXAS IN FIVE DAYS TO ATTEND A SMALL SCHOOL IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

And I couldn't be more excited.

I was sitting in the dining hall back in February, wondering what I was doing 10 million miles from home, considering a school in a town in Texas that was so small I wasn't even sure it had a target. On paper the school looked good, in person it was pretty good too, but I wasn't convinced. I wasn't convinced until God spoke to me as clearly as the plate of french fries I was eating had spoken to me earlier. For whatever reason, this was the place where healing would begin. In the Dining hall at Abilene Christian University, of all the places God could pick!

For whatever reason, thats what He chose for me.

And so, I'm going.

I move in two days! I picked out a pink comforter. I'm still trying to figure out how I can bring my dog. I'm nervous and anxious and stressed but at the end of the day, I'm going where God wants me. And that matters way more than if Abilene has a Target or not.

Which PRAISE THE LORD, they do.

Now I can be broke forever!

Sunset at the Shepard Inn

Have you ever been to West Texas? I'm just going to warn you, in case you ever find yourself there, that there seems to be a shortage of Sprint Cell coverage and hotels with wifi. It's beautiful and wild and there's a lot of barbecue restaurants, but be prepared for some forced unplugged time. (Which isn't bad! Just bring a book.

We stayed at the Shepherds Inn, an air&b out in the boonies...I mean Buffalo Gap, Texas! Unfortunately we didn't realize there was no cell coverage for us there, and unfortunately we didn't think to ask the  homeowner for the wifi password before we got there at midnight. I grew up in Montana, so normally no wifi isn't an issue for me but with orientation the following morning, I had some last minute info I needed to access. 

So what else is there to do but drive back into town and park in the McDonalds parking lot and mooch the free wifi till 2 in the morning. Ah, country living.

After we got back from orientation the next day, it had just stopped raining and I can't even explain it, but the light was warm and red in the most magical way I'd ever seen. Several deer were enjoying the wild grasses in the empty field across the street and the sun was setting behind the mountains. 

And I was ruining all the serenity by running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to capture everything before the sun slipped away. 

(not an uncommon practice for me)

Even though our arrival to the Shepherds Inn was a little tumultuous, the following evening made up for it. The way the golden light spilled across the flowers and courtyards was beautiful....and the deer didn't hurt either ;) Last time I visited West Texas it was the dead of winter, but this time it was in full bloom and such a treat to see it in all it's Texan glory. After all, They say everything is better in Texas, and I'd have to agree.

(except where cell coverage is concerned!)

Palm trees and Pink houses

I've mentioned it before (like, at least ten thousand times) but Pink is my color. Peanut butter has Jelly, coffee has creamer, Jim has pam, and I have pink. The first house we lived in after moving to Florida was pink, and that really set the tone (literally) for rest of my life.

A few years later and a few miles down the beach line, I now live in a town where the town hall is pink. My next door neighbors house is hot pink (and I wrote about it here) and my favorite coffee shop? No surprise that it's a charming shade of cherry blossom pink as well. 

In the next couple months I'll be moving across the country to a state that is a little lacking in the pink house department. But for now, I'm savoring every moment here where there are palm trees and pink houses galore. 

PS: My dress is from Dillards. Honestly, I didn't even know people under 40 even shopped at Dillards. But this dress made me rethink everything, I love it so much.