Turning 22.

Last week I finally turned 22. My birthday is somewhat bittersweet. While I'm happy to have one day out of 365 that is actually focused on me (at least somewhat!), it also means the summer is coming a close. Of course, in college I actually get another month of summer. But, the mood changes. People start preparing to get back into school and the regular routine of things. I will miss summer and the feeling of freedom (even when working 5 days a week). I'll miss planning small trips with friends and family and not having to worry about tests, or assignments to get done beforehand.

In any case, I took a small trip to Austin with three of my best friends. It was short, and simple. But sometimes those are the best! We got dinner at Abel's on the lake where I got a free shirt (& shot) for my birthday.

After that we relaxed at the hotel, and watched a bit of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. On Saturday, we drove to Barton Springs and swam all day, breaking only for lunch nearby.

It was a beautiful (and hot) day, so we ended up really enjoying ourselves. :) If you're ever in Austin- barton springs is a must. It's clean, the water is chilly and clear, the people are nice, and it's beautiful! After our swim, we ate dinner at Guerros and then headed out to 6th street for quite the adventure!

All in all, a quite good birthday weekend.

That 4th of July weekend.

Since the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday, we had to have our family get together a couple days later... but, I guess it worked out in the end! We shot fireworks, got in the water, and, in my case, blew my nose a lot. I had a two week cold that wouldn't leave me alone. If you have seen tangled, then you will understand the excitement we all felt when we got my oldest niece (4 years old) a wish lantern! It was actually really gigantic and scary because we were afraid it would fly into a tree, and the gigantic fire we had to lit to get it to fly would burn down the house. I think we may have ruined the moment by all chanting "no, no, no, no, not in the tree, not in the tree!" but it must have worked because it missed the tree (barely) and sailed into the sky. 

Turning Point.

I have one more semester until I am done with my undergraduate career. I am at a point (right now) where I have to figure out what my next step is. For a lot of people, the answer is obvious- graduate school or get a job. The question is where do my wants and needs fit into that curriculum? What I am trying to figure out now is what kind of job I want to get because unfortunately I picked a very broad major. NO REGRETS! ;) But, with every relative and acquaintance's first question- "What are you going to do after you finish school?"- I find myself unable to answer. I know where I want to be. I don't know how to get there, or what I will do when I am there. I don't know if I am being unrealistic. I don't know how long it will take to get there. But, lately I am feeling a whole lot of optimism. I am always an optimist (with a side of paranoia). Anyways, I guess you will all see where I end up in the next six months. Probably with a job to get me by until bigger plans present themselves. The one thing that I do know is that I am really, very excited. And scared.

One last thing: I do self portraits when I am bored.

friends.

Some of my friends did me a favor & let me photograph them last month. I've been playing around with editing finally to see what I like and what I don't. Still figuring it out! But, the majority of these I like. Especially the models! I am slowly but surely catching my blog up to date with my life! I'm excited for the rest of the summer (even though it feels as if it's already over!), and I have a lot of fun things planned!

Can't leave you without a picture of the photographer! ;)

NYC 2

It's kind of amazing how much I used instagram on this trip. It's almost too easy. I am kind of obsessed with it. So bad! I only used my dslr a couple of times because it was too heavy. I felt a lot sneakier just popping out my iPhone. I definitely fell in love with nyc while I was there. I can see myself living there in the future- maybe not forever, but for a little while. I am a city girl through and through. Can't wait to go back!

NYC

A couple of weeks ago my mom & I took a small trip to NYC. Finally a real vacation with full days, shopping, and good times. I've waited long & patiently for this! We went to the Frick collection, MoMA, and the Met. I had to pretend like I was in Gossip Girl and sat on the steps of the Met. All I need is Blair's wardrobe & a yogurt parfait. We saw Matthew Broderick in Nice Work if You Can Get it! Really good show. And of course, we saw Wicked (for my third time...). The shopping, however, was the best part for me. Although I didn't get anything from H&M! Oh well. There's always next time! This is only a small chunk of the pictures I took (mainly instagrams), so maybe I will do a part 2.. and part 3.. and part 4... ;)

5 Years.

The boy and I are about to have our five year anniversary (here is 4 years!). I can't believe how fast time flies! Was it really five years ago that we took the relationship plunge? Ah! So many good times since then, and hopefully many many more. We still haven't figured out exactly what we're going to do yet. We will probably end up doing something simple (aka dinner & game of thrones ;), but I got this great dress that I need to wear out! Might have to think about this. :)

Summer.

We are having a blast.