And Here's the Thing About D.C.

We've been to DC a good many times! We've seen the sights, visited the monuments and all that jazz. But after this trip, I'm happy to report that D.C is fresh every time. I was worried I would be bored as we toured Mount Vernon again or yawn at the sight of the Capitol that I've (sadly!) taken for granted. But DC Is beautiful no matter how many times you go, it's eternally wonderful!

Also, this trip was lovely! Because I made friends, and I get to see them again! Teen Pact is fun, but you never see those people again. But this time, I'll see my #bbgirlgang again and again and that make it all the more wonderful.

More posts, yes!

HEY, JUNE! I LIKE YOU!

Alrighty! This Kryn is finally home after 3 weeks of travel. And in my absence summer came, volleyball began, and it's my favorite month of the year! Obviously, this calls for serious celebration.

Because I was gone the first week in June, I'm dubbing this week the first week for obvious reasons. So then, goals were in order!

1. BLOG CONTENT - Lately the blog has been a lot of "Here's what I've been up to!" posts. Which is fine, it fits my life right now, and I have been up to a lot. But it's getting a little yawn-ish over here, so I'd like to switch things up. How? I'm not sure! But you shall hopefully see the fruits of my (intense) labor this coming month. Okay? Okay.

2. 20 MIN ON THE DAILY - At TeenPact we had Bonjour every morning, which was just 20 minutes of Bible reading. Twenty minutes may not sound like much, but when you get to the 10 minute mark, it seems like an eternity or two. I'd love to pick that habit back up again--it's so crucial to start the day in the word.

3. BE FREE, BE ME! - um, how cliche can I get? But really, last year at volleyball I was SO SO SO SO SO scared. And even though my skills have decreased I'm sure (not touching a volleyball in 5 months can do that to you!), I'm hoping to ENJOY it more, as in the people and the exercise and not worry if I have a stain on my pants. Which is one of my greatest fears, so we shall see.

On a side note, we've calculated that between January and May of this year, I have been away from home for 2 months. Needless to say, hours of pinterest and netflix (and a jar of nutella!) have never seemed more appealing!

PS: Thanks to the ever wonderful Sarah for these pics!

#TPNC14 (Aka, best week ever)

I have hope! That maybe next time TeenPact rolls around I won't be so scared/anxious/calling my mom every 5 seconds. Because God is always faithful, and I always have an amazing time.

Honestly though, I am proud of myself for once! I really hate saying that I'm proud of myself right out, even though I express it 100 different ways. But honestly, I am! Because going into a camp with 600 kids, not knowing a single girl, and walking away having said goodbye to amazing friends is something else. Something I couldn't have done a year ago. Which brings me to my main point, the more you put yourself out there, the more you see God at work. The more evident His faithfulness is, His goodness and how much He loves us! I could go on and on about it, but the fact that I had someone to sit with at every meal proves how faithful He was to me.

Anyway!

▲▲ By chance (And by chance I mean, GOD.) I ended up with THE BEST roommates ever. One girl happened to be at my state class (in this post there's a photo of Sarah and I right next to one another! So random!) and the other happened to be from where I live, and as the week progressed we found out we had lots of mutual friends.

aaaand my other roommate was from Alaska! Florida, Georgia and Alaska. We all had a lot in common. :)

The thing about TeenPact is that everyone is so nice. EVERYONE. People I'd met less than 24 hours before were already treating me better than so many friends I have. RANDOM STRANGERS. I was blown away. It was refreshing and convicting, all in one.

▲▲ And every time I get to hang out with an angel! I swear, These Georgians are unreal. Last time it was Nellie (who we called and sang happy birthday to this time!), and at NC Amanda was my angel. She's sweet, spunky and, oh, so cute. Those people you meet and feel like you've known them forever? That's Amanda!

▲▲ THIS IS PROOF THAT ONLINE FRIENDSHIPS EXIST. Grace and I had been following one another on insta, and during a stalking session I found out she was in TeenPact too. Instant Friendship! It was SO good to meet her. She's the sweetest (and prettiest!) girl around. And HER VOICE. Gah, it's like raspy and dreamy and slightly buttery.

▲▲ #scandalselfie because apparently my hemline was yet again making my brothers in Christ stumble. Not gonna lie, we had a lot of fun with that one. 

People said it would be the best week of my life, and I rolled my eyes. And while I still have a lot of weeks to live (Lord willing!) I think it's safe to say that NC has been one of the greatest so far.

TeenPact, Over and Out!

3 THINGS: Italy

Alrighty, here are some things I noticed whilst in Italia! Also, for those of you curious (hey mom!) these photos were taken in Verona! (Yes, that's where Letters to Juliet was filmed. No, I didn't find myself a Lorenzo. What a waste of a trip!)


- ITALIAN IS DIFFERENT THAN ENGLISH!

Let that deep thought sink in.

Okay, so when you go to Paris, The French Spell Paris, Paris! A logical thing to do. But when you go ANYWHERE in Italy, it's all spelled different. For example, we were trying to drive to Florence, but no Florence was to be found! Only Firenze and clearly, Firenze is not Florence! Well apparently Firenze is Florence just as Naples is actually Napoli and Venice is really Venezia. Just a little random Italian fact for you, You're welcome.

- A STEREOTYPE THAT'S ACTUALLY TRUE.
Yes, you guys, Italians actually eat pizza. ALL THE TIME. Seriously, there are only pizzerias and occasionally a sandwich shop. But mostly pizza. Italians really know nothing of good bread or fine cheese, but they do know a thing or two about good bread AND fine cheese, if you catch my drift. (Meaning, the French have better bread, but the pizza in Italy trumps all. Amen.)

- BEHOLD, ITALIAN FOOTWEAR.
Okay, Italians wear sneakers. And I don't mean Nike or New Balance or, Lord help us, Sketchers Shapeups. They wear legit, fancy, sleek and, oh, so European sneakers. And I'm serious when I say, you can tell what country someone is from by their shoes. A note to my fellow Americans, we need to get our shoe act together because the Italians in their stylish sneakers are miles ahead of us.

TUSCANY TUSCANY

Pinterest loves Tuscany, and I love pinterest. Therefore, I love Tuscany!

I'm so glad all these things make sense.

But anyway, my main request on the trip was to drive through Tuscany. And while our time wasn't quite as romantic as pinterest and I had dreamed up, Tuscany is still incredibly beautiful! First we pulled into someones driveway where little pappi was playing (he even bombed a few pics, silly Italian children!) and the next stop was some random castle-ish-thing. (who wishes we had more random castles here? Actually, who wishes we had A castle here in America? Me, that's who.)

Okay, off to Rome. And no, don't go all Audrey Hepburn on me.

THE Venetian Experience.

It feels like it was many eons ago that we were wandering about Venice! Here's the thing about Venice, you can't drive anywhere, and, of course, we opted for the true Venetian experience which meant our hotel was in the heart of Venice! Which was fun and all, but walking  around for an hour carrying all our luggage was a little exhausting/not the Venice experience we had pictured.

The next morning we headed out (only after I'd climbed out the window of our room because, it's Venice!) and began wandering around the city FOR REAL. And when you don't have an overpacked suitcase to pull around, Venice is stunning. By far my favorite Italian city! We ate lunch along the Grand Canal and the view was positively magical.

Also I unintentionally dressed just like a gondolier, so yay!

Hashtag Babe on The Beach

We interrupt this scheduled Italy programming to bring you urgent news! Or actually, just some photos! Sarah and I are really getting the hang of this model/photographer thing. It's so fun having a friend to talk photos/instagram/art with. (and also, one to watch Sponge Bob with! Let's be real.)

On a random note, I just dyed my moms hair for the first time. In a few minutes we shall see how I did (and also If I have a home or not....)

Ps: Everyone! Check out Sarah's blog, Cruising Through Life. (and I won't tell you what my terrible auto correct spelling changed it to, but it did involve @$#!&# that kind of thing...!)