Friday Five: Five Dream Vacations

i am an incurable, undeniable wanderlust soul. my dream job has always been to be a travel writer and traipse around the globe exploring and writing about all of the fantastic places this great big world has to offer. i spend a good deal of my time dreaming about traveling and looking up places online, as i’m sure a lot of you do as well.

therefore, i really love the DC ladies’ theme for this week’s Friday Five Linkup (thanks, Mar, Cynthia & Courtney!):

however, i’m totally going to dig back into RTA archives for this post, for as soon as i read this week’s theme, i knew i’d written a post about my dream vacas before. turns out it was part of a “10 Days of You” challenge i did in May 2014, and after just reading the post now, i can totally confirm that those 6 places are still riding high at the top of my list. man, i need to get traveling!

so, i’m essentially just pasting 5 of those places from that post. hey, if it ain’t broke, right?

1. Greek islands. i’ve been saying for years that this is my #1; the pinnacle of my wanderlusting list. i’ve heard such amazing things about Santorini (and Mykonos) that it’s become a sort of other-worldly place in my mind, and if a plane touched down in front of me rightthissecond and the pilot said “choose one place immediately,” off to Santorini i would be.

2. Croatia. i’ve heard this country has some crazy gorgeous beaches and some seriously amazingly clear bluegreen water. my brother went two summers ago on his two-month jaunt around Europe and came back telling me i’d love it here (second to Greece).

3. Bora Bora. not sure i’ve ever seen more beautiful water than in pix of this place. definitely tops the chart for my idea of a relaxing vacation. i’d just have to go with someone i realllllly like…and bring a lot of books and bikinis. this is pretty much my idea of Heaven, unplugged.

4. Costa Rica. i feel like half the people i know have been here and everyone raves about it, and since i’m a majorly wannabe surfer and have heard this is a sweet surf haven of a ziplining, jungly beachy rainforesty place known for lovely waterfalls, i’m pretty sure i should see it. asap.

5. The Amalfi Coast, Italy. noticing a pattern? i’m entirely obsessed with amazing water and coastal towns and a beach life. sure, i’d love to go everywhere, but these otherworldly, romantic oceany charming picturesque places just captivate me so.

well shoot, that was five and i didn’t even get to mention Maldives or New Zealand or wine tasting in the south of France…this whole choosing favorites thing is tough.

& now please excuse me while i spend my weekend ocean-dreaming and vacation-planning.

What’s at the top of your list?
Been to any of my wish-list places? Tell me about them please!!

I was published on Thought Catalog!!!

this has been an incredible Friday in my life. i got a great new haircut today, and i went to an amazing outdoor dance show in Central Park tonight (that i’ll recap later), and i just had an all-over great day.

but the most wonderful part of it all was the news that my submission to Thought Catalog was accepted and published today!

eeeeeeeeeeee!!!

i’m such a fan of that site and love reading the pieces there, and i submitted a piece a few weeks ago totally on a whim. i haven’t shared any of my personal or creative writing on here, as that isn’t the vibe of this blog, but i’d love it if you’d read my piece on Thought Catalog and share my excitement with me.

What it’s Like to have a Wanderlust Soul

thanks for reading, friends! xo

WILW {7.16.14}

what i’m lovin’ this Wednesday:

*headbands. the higher the humidity, the worse my wavythick hair looks, and the more i love my ever-growing headband collection. i’m really not into doing my hair at all, so fun headbands are some of my fave summer accessories.

Urban Outfitters has some great ones out right now, if you’re on the hunt. the Bella Super-Wide Headwrap  is my newest fave and comes in a variety of fun colors.

considering how often i wear my green one, i think i’m going back for this one next:

a girl can never have too many headwraps. or is that boyfriends? well, whatever you love, it’s nice to collect them. 🙂

*Begin Again. i rarely go to the movies. i always enjoy it when i do, but i just never make the time to go. but every now and then, a movie comes out that i feel absolutely compelled to see immediately — and that’s what happened with Begin Again, which i saw last night. i knew from one trailer that this was my type of movie: indie, music-themed, NYC-set. boom.

it.was.phenomenal. Mark Ruffalo was outstanding, and i thought Keira Knightley was perfect in her role as well. everything about it was right up my alley: it had an indie life/bohemian vibe and was set all over NYC, and revolved completely around their shared passion for how music shaped the core of their lives. loved the story, loved the cast (minus Adam Levine, who i normally can’t get enough of — he was def the weak link here, to be expected), loved the dialogue, loved the music. loved loved loved.

photo: geektyrant.com

 *new (work) digs. we’re upgrading our offices to the World Financial Center/Brookfield Place right on the Hudson River in lower Manhattan, and i’m stoked for this change of scenery. views of the water and a brand new office space in a muuuuuuch nicer building, which has stores and food courts and restaurants and bars and all that jazz? oh, and palm trees?? yes please.

photo: wikipedia.com

 *travel. this sweet article names 20 Roads You Should Drive in your Lifetime and definitely serves as my Wednesday dose of wanderlust. such cool shots of sick roads all over the world.

how crazy is the Trollstigen road in Norway?! insane.

awiemuc/Flickr

love the view from the Great Ocean Road in Australia, too. i probably  need to go here.

Dmitriy Komarov/Shutterstock

i think some of the coolest roads i’ve traveled have been the Going to the Sun Road at Glacier National Park in Montana, which is super steep and windy and makes it appear as though you’re driving straight up into the sky at parts,

photo: birdgei.com

and boasts a reallllly cool section of natural waterfalls called the Weeping Wall.

i went to Glacier National Park with my family when i was 14 and absolutely loved it — such spectacular, raw beauty — and i’d loooove to return now as an adult and have a renewed appreciation for this majestic place.

*inspiration: for running;

for finding ourselves;

for finding those simple, beautiful moments of unbridled joy in our everyday lives.

What are YOU loving this week?
Anyone seen any fab movies?
Driven on any sick roads worth mentioning?