Last Saturday in ATL

I love a good brunch. Brunch is an excuse to have a ridiculously lazy afternoon and blame it completely on alcohol and the "itis". Today, is my last brunch in ATL for a while. Four months and some to be exact. I feel like this week is going to be full of nostalgia mixed with "yes! Let's get the hell out of here!" For today, I'll go with nostalgia. (Inserting obligatory New York reference-->) after graduating from college, my friends and I embarked on a manhattan brunch assault: intermezzo, sappa, calle ocho, and many other delicious, bottomless sangria/mimosa parties from noon until... Well, just until. In New Orleans, it morphed a bit into, whose house and everyone just bring a bottle. Now in Atlanta, it's urban pl8 and Chef James who never ceases to make us happy with baked kale chips, paleo diet goodness, and MIMOSAS!!! 

Here I am, at Sun in My Belly, really hoping that though this is the last brunch in Atlanta for a while, I will find some new brunch spot and new friend in England to keep me company, too keep the Saturday and Sunday laissez faire attitude rolling. Here's hoping. But until I know and can blog about it, here's a toast to traditions and great friends!!! And to Mimosas!!!!

Girl Next Door Prepares to Go Abroad

It's been a while, but guess what?!!!! The Girl Next Door is about to take this show abroad, and the goal is to blog three times a week regarding my adventures. It's a new year and a great time to start exploring. I'll get away from the drab existence that is Athens, Georgia. Of course, Athens isn't really all that bad; it's just not New York. And law school turned out not to be so bad either. Just kidding. It's the essence of the first statement in a Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." That is law school in a nutshell. Preparing for this journey has been a bit... interesting. I keep questioning what to wear? what sort of coat is necessary. Must I wear God awful tights or leggings under my clothes? Dressing in layers on the bottom is not my thing! And then there's the issue of snow, which I actually love, and what sorts of shoes will be necessary. And of course, how will I pack with room for what I will bring back? What can I wait to buy there versus packing it here? Since I have never been to Europe, let alone the United Kingdom, I am quite clueless and am certain my packing will turn out to be haphazard and leave lots to be desired. Even as I think of all this, I feel a bit spastic in how I'm trying to describe all the things going on in my mind. As your typical girl next door, I hope you understand the battles of feelings and excitement that have my mind quite wrapped around itself. I find myself wondering what this will be like. I will be so far away for months. Jumping on a plane to come home if I feel so inclined will be impossible. Skype, face time, and email will be what connects me to my family and my home. I had a moment in the fall when I thought I might change my mind. I thought I might stay and spend my final semester of law school studying in familiar study rooms and attending class in familiar rooms. I'm glad, however, that I did not take that route. To pass on such an experience would be ridiculous. I would look back years from now thinking what a fool I had been to turn down this opportunity. And so this girl is taking advantage of a great opportunity to study law at University of Oxford. No more small southern town living, wishing for days in New York that have long since gone, along with my early twenties energy. I'll be hopping across the pond in just a few days - taking a step into possibilities without care. Gladly, I'm not in my early twenties because the magnificence of such opportunities would have been wasted on that young girl I used to be. Though, I relish this feeling of embarking on a change similar to the 18 year old going to New York for the first time, never having set foot in that city before, but knowing it was my destiny. This too is my destiny, and I'm entering it just as blindly and excitedly. It's truly the only way to live. Faith that God will carry you through it is sufficient to make everyday an adventure worth living.