2. Eat instant oatmeal on a daily basis because it is dirt cheap.

3. Become obsessed with taking pictures of random bikes …

and vans…

and then editing the vans…

4. Drink Lava on a Tuesday.

5. Realize that eating lunch on the side of the street weirdly makes food taste 10 times better.

Including this Turkey Sammich from the Gaslight Lounge in the Meatpacking District.

It’s da troof.

6. Run a 5K in Central Park, walk to Trader Joe’s in the Upper West Side for $50 worth of groceries and then walk all the way back home in the UES with my loot.

3 hours in total with random exploring here and there.

7. Lie like a hobo in a giant field for hours and hours most weekends.

Also known as, Central Park.

8. Obsessively take pictures of street intersections that I want to come back to and explore again and again and again.

(Friends apartment complex)

(Restaurants galore in Greenwich Village.)

PS I still have NO idea how to say Greenwich and get made fun of every time.

Oh wellz.

Oops. Scratch that.

Let’s think outside of our humble abode.. the good old earth.

In elementary school, when our teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, I always responded in an overly happy-go-lucky tone, “An astronaut!”

For some reason, the movie Apollo-13 really struck a chord with my wide-eyed and anxious fourth grade self. For their full-time job, these astronauts volunteered their lives to see the world from an outrageously unique perspective. What other career includes a job description with the opportunity to get away from it all?

When I think astronauts, I think happy, creative people with a insane knack for adventure. Other than the fact that they’re away from home for days-weeks-months at time, I’m sure they 100% love what they do.

Kinda puts a twist on the whole, “looking at the world through rose colored glasses” thing.

The closest I’ve ever gotten to space travel is of course, drum roll please,  flying in an airplane.

You can really get lost in a whirlwind of thoughts looking out from a tiny airplane window. Gazing down at well-kept farms, dusty baseball fields, perky looking swimming pools, and old winding rivers really makes you appreciate the little things in life. Beauty from a birds-eye view.

The first time I ever flew in an airplane was the summer following senior year of high school when my friend and I randomly booked an inexpensive flight to New Jersey.

Feeling adventurous, we planned the entire trip on our own. Blissfully, the two of us ate salt water taffy like there was no tomorrow at the Ocean City boardwalk, looked for cute boys in Mack and Manco’s, took the Greyhound bus into NYC with some interesting characters, and wandered through the eclectic “Big Apple” like it was one giant maze.

It was such a great feeling to just go for it. Book a flight to somewhere you’ve never been. Explore the sights and sounds of a new city. The feeling is indescribable.

—

Sadly, over the years I’ve lost complete interest in being an astronaut. Although I still admire their adventurous ways, it’s just not in the stars for me. (See what I did there?)

Putting things into perspective: Sitting at home can be very tempting.  Your TV, microwave, wireless internet, smartphone, bathroom, cozy bedsheets are all within a few yards of each other for goodness sake. Les Stroud would shake his head.

My goal for this week was: Less Tweeting, More Living. It’s pretty sad that life has come down to that. Jim Carrey, Miley Cyrus and our own Jenny have all learned that, why haven’t we?

Don’t waste your life sitting in front of a TV.

There’s a whole world out there waiting for you.

See the world from a different perspective.

Enjoy the little things in life.

The possibilities for adventure are endless.

See the globe as a tiny dewdrop.

When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.

- John Muir, Travels in Alaska

Can you believe this special day is almost here? This past week, my family and I have spent every possible moment watching holiday movies including A Year Without a Santa Claus and The Grinch. If only the Christmas season would last a little longer… I feel like it always goes by so quickly!

Yesterday, my family and I took a road trip to Orlando to enjoy the Disney holiday decorations. Our first pit stop was at Downtown Disney.

We strolled through the shops and discovered adorable Pluto, Mickey, and Winnie the Pooh dolls.

This magical Glass Slipper Ornament also caught our eye.

For lunch we ate at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney.

Everything on the menu looked so good, but I ended up choosing the Chicken & Cobb Salad Wrap. It was seriously one of the best wraps I’ve ever had!

After lunch, we strolled into Goofy’s Candy Co. to admire the all of the delicious and sugary treats.

On display for a whopping $49.95 was this Rice Krispies Mickey Mouse cake!

Even the Candy Apples were decked out in Disney Christmas style.

After we explored all of the shops, we then drove to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge to admire their cozy, Christmas decorations. This 65-foot tree stood in the center of the lodge was decorated head to toe in moose, tents, canoes, and other outdoorsy ornaments.

Next, we boarded a boat and traveled to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground.

Every year, the campground holds a very special Christmas light decorating contest for the campers who stay at the park. Whoever decks out their campside in the most creative Disney holiday decorations, wins first prize.

Here are a few of the amazing decorations on display:

Disney sure does know how to turn up the holiday magic!

Time to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparents house. Have a very happy and safe holiday everyone!

This past Sunday, my friends and I celebrated an early Turkey Day feast at our house.

The meal included all of the hearty fixings and much more.

We had a buffet style set up for the food.

My “Food Coma“: Green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, creamed corn, ham, and turkey with gravy.

Pumpkin Pie- Yum!

For dessert, I made a Heath Bar Cake.

The recipe can be found here.

–

Tomorrow, my mom is driving up to Gainesville with my golden retriever, Sammie.   We’re then going to head over to a campground near the Suwannee River for the rest of the week. I’m so excited because the towns surrounding the river are basically my second home.

My grandpa used to own a house right on the Suwannee, but he sold it about a year ago because the payments were getting too high. When he told my family and I that he was selling the old house, it was one of the saddest things I’ve ever had to deal with. We’d been visiting the “river house” ever since I was born. Thinking about all of the memories and adventures our family had shared there, made the reality of his decision extremely difficult to accept.

Needless to say, I’m very excited to swing on our rope swing and revisit our old stomping grounds.

Have a wonderful week with your families! Be sure to check out my latest College Lifestyles post: “It’s Thanksgiving.. But What Shall I Wear?“

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