Mal and Kev's Excellent Adventure

The alternate title to this blog could be "Ode to Roadtrippers" because let me tell you, that site is absolutely amazing!

Kevin and I were feeling bored and were aching for an adventure, but had no clue where to start! And really, where do you go to start an adventure? Well, I had subscribed to this awesome site called www.roadtrippers.com but hadn't actually used it yet. They send you fun locations around the world that are unique and a little off beat. It was perfect for me and Kev. So, when we had an open Saturday with no real plans, (when has that ever happened?!) we decided to take advantage of it and explore Northern Virginia.

I decided to search for a destination a few hours away, and then build a road trip down there. We found a fabulous location about 3 hours away, and then added 8 stops in-between. We got up, packed our healthy snacks and salads.

The first leg of our journey was about an hour a half. We had a beautiful journey through the Virginia country side. We saw more farmer's markets and veggie stands than I had seen in a long time! It was so cool. Our first stop was a giant roller skate and we continued on down to a winery, saw a large chicken, a nutcracker, ciderey, and brewery. We had to skip a few stops so that we could make it to Foamhenge in time.

If you are interested in doing our trip for yourself check it out below!

4/12/14 | My new trip on Roadtrippers.com!

This was just on the side of the road! We had to do some creative jimmy-rigging to get this picture!

We are super sophisticated wine tasters, obviously. 

Here is the Rooster at the diner called Lumpkins. We were totally gonna stop and eat here, but it was closed. boo!

I am not sure what Virginia's obsession with giant things is, but I love it!

This Hard Ciderey had free tastings and a great refreshing beverage!

We did a beer sampler! So good!

Kevin loves his beers!

After we left, we realized we had to rush to get to our destination!

Pretty sure this is the best place ever*

*Side note: The whole time I was secretly hoping that Kevin and I would get sucked into the past like in Outlander. (Sorry annoyed friends who read this I couldn't help myself)

Want to see more pictures from my adventure? Follow me on Instagram! http://instagram.com/miss_mallory

January 3rd 2013

I can honestly not believe that it is 2013. I have been in VA for 6 months (seriously?!) I feel like I just moved about a week ago!

People always ask me how I like it here I used to give out joyful exclamations of love for this swampy, wet place. But I quickly have changed my attitude to give more realistic ones. --don't get me wrong I do love being here, but there is a huge part of me that is not quite yet ready to commit to this place.

I absolutely love being with Kevin here. That is definitely the best part about DC. I love being in the same State as him, and able to see him when ever I want. That is something that I treasure so much, and I was able to see what life was like with out him for a long time. (Ok long might be a bit of a hyperbole it was only about a year, and I was lucky enough to see him about every 6 weeks but still it felt LONG) I think I was lucky to have this experience though because now when we are together all the time, 3 years later, we are still able to explore and find things to do, and go on adventures together because we haven't always been able to do that.

Secondly, I LOVE the type of people that I am meeting. There are so many young (23-35) professionals in the area, everyone has some really sweet jobs and most people are really open to talking to you, and listening to what you do and thinking how we can help each other. Its a really great time. Also there are a lot of entrepreneurial folks out here that give lots of encouragement to people like me and Kevin who are just starting businesses.

Thirdly I am so in love with the East Coast. There is something magical about knowing so many life changing things happened in the place you're standing. One thing that I love about moving is that you get to be a tourist! The hard thing is, people who are local don't really take advantage of all that their city offers because the magic is gone, in that they grew up there it can be a "big Whoop" moment. It has been so fun being here with Kevin and really exploring the city! We have found so many hidden gems all over this city, its incredible, and really makes me think what secrets Snohomish, Monroe and Seattle are hiding!

Also my cats. This is how they sleep. Can you see the desperation in Hayden's eyes? 

However, all this to be said, I am not sold here forever. Thankfully, Kevin isn't either. Its too cold! I don't like snow, and just want to wear dresses all day. Also, its too hot in the summer! Maybe not too hot, just too much humidity. Its gross. But I suppose I cannot compare every place I live to the perfection of So Cal. (but really I can). I miss my friends spread all over the coast, and I miss my family as equally spread. I miss all the babies my cousins have, and I miss being part of their lives.

So whats next and when is this next taking place? I wish I knew! All I know, is that I am excited to be on this adventure with my best friend.

The Brightside

It's easy for me to forget how lucky I am sometimes. I have a truly blessed life, and sometimes it is so much easier to look at the negative or the wants then to look at all the amazing things I am surrounded by. Every now and then it is good for me to take a step back and just remind myself of the great things that I have and that I am doing.

As many people know, I am in the middle of the interview process, waiting to hear back after they check my references. Waiting is killing me! You have no idea, I am impatient, love surprises, but hate waiting for them! This whole process has taken about 3 weeks and there have been times where I am discouraged or anxious about the whole process, but I need to remember that not only am I in the running for a full time position, in my field, but that I also am working while I am waiting and things are working out OK. I have been so blessed and lucky in this and there are so many less fortunate than I. I have also been able to start my own side business, not to mention Capital Couples, which I have been helping Kevin on.

Secondly, I have a truly amazing boyfriend. There are times when he exasperates me beyond belief, times when I would like one moment alone in our too small apt, but at the end of the day, I am still glad that he is beside me. Never have I felt as loved, cared for and cherished as I do when I am with him. I am lucky to have him in my life and can't believe it has already been 3 years. I am excited for this new chapter in the adventure that is our relationship. He is so good about finding new and exciting things for us to do.

Finally, the support I have from my friends and family is completely overwhelming. I can only begin to imagine my life with out them. It is nice to know that you have someone to turn to if anything were to fall out of place. I also have been making a few new friends in DC and that has been really cool as well.

So basically, this was a quick short blog to thank everyone for being so loving and wonderful, and a time to sit and reflect on all the great things, instead of the anxiety that life can bring to distract you from all that is right.

I'm Back!

This has been an eventful week. (Well I know. Its been since last Friday, but lets just call it a week.) I got to see Kevin. He came up for Easter, and then spent the week with him. It was awesome. But it was hard, he went back today. So don't mind the depression or the alcohol, but I am here to blog, and will be for the foreseeable future.

This has been a really chill mellow week for me, but a crazy eventful one at the same time. You don't think that that is possible, I know, but I will tell you all about it!

First thing, Friday of last week I had a great time out with friends, I got to hang out with a friend that was MIA since he was in a relationship, it was really great to catch up with him, he is a really nice guy. But the girlfriend reeled him back in, so I doubt we will be seeing him anytime soon. I deleted them from Facebook, just to minimize some potential drama, because I don't need that in my life. But it is a big deal because I NEVER delete people from Facebook. Like seriously never. I feel bad when I do it, but I know that it is the best thing to do, so I made the decision.

I don't know why I can't delete people. I don't feel anything from having them as my friends, there are some people on my list that I rarely have any interaction with. Even when I do, it is just stalking someone, seeing what they are up to. But I just can't bring myself to delete people. And I pretty much accept ANYONE. Its almost a sickness.

Secondly, I had a great staff meeting for work. It was really good to see what everyone else was planning for our Candyland event. It will be a huge event in September/October. We do a carnival type event and this year we are doing Candyland! It will be so cute! Pinterest has been my lifesaver. I have found some really great things on there. I am in charge of decor and signage, so I have found some really great ideas off of Pinterest and from what my coworkers have sent me from things that they have found. I am really excited about this event.

For my personal Carnival Day in June, I worked on it last week, and have booked a location, have my petting zoo, my magic show, my balloon animals, and my games almost all sorted out. I have to do my site walk and order some cupcakes coming up. I am planning on making a cupcake carousel too with animal crackers. I am super stoked. But before that can happen. I have my cake decorating class, which is going to be full, and then a couples trip to Magic Mountain! Going to be super fun times.

Finally, Kevin and I had such a great time together. I really love my life with him. It is just so natural. I mean the first dayish is weird and not like real life, but we quickly fall back into the routine of our life. It is nice to have these days with him, but it is almost bittersweet. We get to hang out and spend all day together, (minus the time spent at work) and then we have to go back to only texting/phone calls again. I feel like we get used to each other, and we have such a good time, and then we have to say good bye. We have spent more of our time apart or long distance than we have in the same city. Which has been really hard, but I think that it really has made us stronger and we are sure of what we want now. Its a big challenge sometimes, but the time we have together makes it all worth it.

See you all tomorrow ;)