Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. Home sweet home! Actually, I’ve been home sweet home for about 3.5 days now, but I’ve been running around like a crazy person trying to catch up after taking all those days off, so I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and take it all in. Or unpack my bags. Or clean my house (hi, dust bunnies!!). Or make any new recipes. But the food is coming, friendly faces. The food.is.coming.
2. But first, we need to talk about Cleveland! I’m not so great at doing the whole detailed travel recap thing, so we’re going the random thought route instead; starting with this one –> Cleveland (and Ohio in general, I suppose) is a lot prettier than I expected. That’s not to say that I expected it to be an ugly industrial wasteland, but I don’t head east too often, so I really had no idea what was waiting for me. The answer? A lot of green…
3. And a lot of beautiful old architecture… Most of the buildings were made entirely from brick or stone, which is a stark contrast to the jungle of stucco and siding that we have here. I committed a #bloggerfail and didn’t actually snap any pictures of those, but you can check out this post from Britney for some great examples of what I saw.
4. Oh, and for anyone who asked what I was doing in Cleveland, it was 100% just to visit this lovely lady right here…
If you would have told me even a few years back that I’d be flying across the continent to stay with friends that I made through blogging, I would have laughed myself sick. I always thought that meeting people through the internet was a little shady, but after a few years of blogging, I’m totally eating my words. I’m thinking NYC is next on my list.
5. And speaking of blogging friends, we may or may not have also run into a certain Australian guy while we were out and about…
And by “run into,” I mean we totally planned to be in the same place at the same time.
6. As for what all we did while I was down there… a whole lot of relaxing and hanging out, mostly…
Meg was an awesome tour guide and showed me plenty of the city, but it was so nice to just take a break from real life and chill with a good friend without having to worry about doing/seeing ALL the things. Especially when “seeing” involved lots of squinty and watery eyes thanks to all the wind.
7. And then it was time to go back home 😥 I seriously can’t believe how quickly those few days went by — I feel like I barely got there and it was already time to head back. And I’m pretty sure I somehow managed to pick up a nice bout of jet lag as well. There were a few days there where I was waking up at 3:30am and passing out by 8pm.
8. Alright, friendly faces… that’s it for me today! Hope you’re having an awesome Thursday, and I’ll see your faces soon with a new recipe 😀
No questions… just tell me whatever comes to your mind! 😀
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Man I never join in fast enough hahah I’m #72!! Who reads all the way down to 72?? 😉 maybe someday I will be towards the top heheh
Sooooo if you visit NYC, let me know in advance because I’ve always wanted to go there…. :-p
Sweeeeeet! It’ll probably be sometime either next summer or late spring. I’ll let you know for sure when I start figuring out more of the details.
I had no idea Cleveland was so beautiful either! I love all of the pretty fall foilage. Even if you did have a hard time seeing it through watery eyes…damn wind! 😉
And I used to feel the same way about meeting people through the internet but now I’m convinced that you can actually make real life friends that way through blogging. There are some great ladies in our community (including yourself!) and I feel so lucky to be a part of it. 🙂
It really is hard to imagine life without the blogging community. Meeting you is still on my bucket list 🙂
those nature shots are absolutly beautiful.. nature is my therapy:)
For some reason these photos make me want to pack up my car, drive to the mountains (preferably in Colorado), and go on a hiking adventure – with friends of course! The river and the mountains…and that fire place just takes my breath away and reminds me of the time when I went skiing in Montana mountains with my family! Such amazing memories!
I am glad that you had an amazing weekend and I always look forward to all of your posts! 🙂 Looking forward to your upcoming recipes – do you have a recipe book? If not you should definitely consider it!
xO,
Kat
Aww thank you, Katerina! I don’t have one -yet,- but it’s definitely something that I’d consider doing!
Also I was wondering if we could talk a little on blogging? Could I email you? I own a blog on blogger however I really am thinking about taking the jump into self-hosted wordpress route as I want to grow my blog and have so much more fun with it! However I am a college student that can’t really afford much and I am really worried about the pricing, picking a theme and the cost of that, and the possibility of not being able to move my content from blogger to wordpress! I wish I would have started with self-hosting but I was really scared!
For sure, Katerina! E-mail me any time and we can chat!
Perfect! I just emailed you at your hotmail! Thanx!
XO,
Kat
wow-Ohio IS beautiful! I’ve not been up that way. Here in western NC we have lots of agriculture, some cool old stone buildings, and magnificent trails so I feel super lucky to have it every day! BUT, running a marathon in every state is on my personal bucket list so I think it’s time I make some cool friends in the blog world too! Travel is expensive so what if there was some kind of blogger home host swap for racing in other states??
That’s a pretty awesome thing to have on your bucket list, Jess! I say definitely see if you can try setting up a home host swap!
Man, those pictures of your hike are some of the most amazing pictures of falls that I’ve seen! It looks sooo pretty and peaceful.
The pictures are GORGEOUS!! That looks like so much fun. I would give just about anything to be snuggled in front of a fireplace right now. With a dog … that would make it even better. 🙂
Those trails are SO gorgeous!
Sounds like your trip was exactly what you needed, Amanda! Blogging buddies are some sort of wonderful eh?! Glad to see Meg’s and Arman’s faces here and yes NYC must happen!!! When??? If you go next summer, I would LURRRVE to meet up with one of my favs! I’ll even bring the flavored Blue Diamond Almonds 😉
I love that you remember the almonds!! <3 And most likely will be sometime next summer or late spring. I'll for SURE let you know when I start ironing out the details a little more.
blogging friends are so the best! They get you in a way non-internet people can’t 😉
Sometimes a relaxing time away is all you need! I would love a trip like this – although Im pretty much in my favorite place in the universe right now with my family, so I dont plan on leaving any time soon. Though I might drive up to the river 🙂
Can’t wait to see the recipes you have in store! I’ve got some cookies in the works too!
I love that you were finally able to settle in your happy place! It must be such a nice change after the craziness of LA.
Sometimes a break from “real life” is the best thing you can do for yourself! So glad you had a great trip 🙂
I’m glad you had so much fun!! I think it’s so fun that blogging leads to friends in different cities, states, and even countries!
I didn’t realize Ohio was so pretty either. It actually looks a lot like East Tennessee! I haven’t made friends through blogging yet, but it is a great way to connect with like-minded people!
i’m chiming in with everyone who is telling you to definitely choose NYC as your next visit!! gahhhh i love my city so much. 🙂 Cleveland looks really pretty — so fun to visit blogger friends!
I’d seriously love to see NYC again! I was a tiny little thing the first time I went, so I didn’t really have a chance to appreciate all the city has to offer.
That sounds like a lot of fun. I hate how fast those kinds of trips go and you’re back to reality. I spent 7 days in California in May and whirled on by :-/
That looks so fun! I’ve never been to Ohio before. I could totally use a vacation right now, though!
I never thought I’d have ‘internet” friends either… but look at me now… I’ve learned to never say never 🙂
Looks like a great time!
I would have never pictured Cleveland to look like that! So fall-ish!
Looks like an amazing trip. I got to catch up with Gigi and my girl Erin yesterday, and the Chicago Marathon was amazing for meeting up with virtual friends from all over! I just love this community!
Right?! I just wish I had a few more people in my area so I didn’t have to fly all over the continent to see them 😛
Those hiking photos look wonderful! Looks like you had a wonderful trip, and super fun that you got together with fellow bloggers!
I would have had the exact same thought about Cleveland being more industrial. I’m surprised to hear it is not. That’s so awesome you got to see Meg. I am always amazed by the friendships I have made through blogging. It’s incredible really.
Girl. Your pictures. <3 Those cookies look AMAZING, and I always feel like I'm in your adventures with you.:)
Sounds like a great trip! You should definitely go to NYC!
Those cookies look delicious! And those pictures…holy cow, so gorgeous!!! Wow!
I’m always the worst with trips too. I never know what people want to see (or what they don’t). So I always shorten them up. It looks like a lot of fun though! Gorgeous views out that way.
When I first started blogging, I never thought I’d make “friends” on the internet, let alone travel and spend time with them. It’s one of the best perks of blogging!
Haha what Meredith said 🙂 hope you get caught up today, I seem to always have that feeling without actually going on a trip!
Oh I totally feel ya on that one. It just gets multiplied when I’m away.
Looks like a fun trip! My husband is originally from Cleveland but we usually go there in December and it doesn’t look as pretty as it does in your pics:) It’s never easy to come back from a vacation- I always feel behind for like a week!
Looks like a great trip! I’ve made a lot of great friends via the internet. It’s so nice when you get to meet them in RL!
Okay so now that coming to New York has been typed in a post, it must happen! We are so going to have the best time and I will find every nut free restaurant and bakery for your safe enjoyment. I already started the list!
You are TOO sweet! Now I just have to figure out the best time to go…
But the food is coming, friendly faces. <- In my world: And anything else can wait (i.e.: who cares about dust bunnies when there's food ;)? I may or may not have disclosed some embarrassing things about myself here. But: priorities, right?!
Moving on! What you said about blogger friendships in #4: my thoughts exactly. Only I haven't gotten to meet too many others yet due to living that much further away :(. Where's that job offer overseas waiting for me??
Aww I know what you mean, lady. I don’t have many people close to me either, but I can imagine it’s that much worse for you. Maybe you need a vacation? 😛