Mayday! Mayday!

Well, the month of May has completely come and gone, and this poor blog has been neglected.  My travel (and sanity) were limited to Phoenix, AZ for my association's largest conference of the year.  Unfortunately, I don't have much commentary on the city, as my sightseeing included only meeting rooms, trade show exhibits and hospitality suites.  And after it finishes, rather than explore the locale, I tend to go into homernation...

The Arizona Biltmore, host to my association - saw more of
Camelback Ballroom rather than Camelback Mountain (pictured?)

But now, June is here and in full effect!  I am looking forward to a summer filled with trips to the pool and the farmers' market.  Not a lot of big journeys until later on in the season, which makes it all the more exciting to look forward to!

Lovely London

Cheerio!  In honor of the beautiful royal nuptials of Kate and Wills, I'm dedicating this week's blog to my time spent in London back in 2004.

After graduating college, the besties and I took our backpacking trip in Europe (as mentioned in The Gift of Travel Past).  Our first stop was England's most popular city and it's easy to see why.  While there, we viewed all of the tourist spots, so it was pretty amazing on Friday watching the ceremony in Westminster Abbey and the kiss at Buckingham Palace, and knowing that I've been privileged enough to be there!  In fact, of all of the churches we saw on our travels, the Abbey was hands-down top on my list.

However, the next time I visit, I hope I can be more like the locals and see other parts of the country.  Pretty much all of my favorite movies involve it in some way and it does host my most absolute favorite airport of all time, Heathrow.  So, I feel I owe it to myself and fellow travelers to be more experienced on the British subjects.  And I must get my hands on one of those splendid hats...  Oh, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, next time you'd like to entertain some out-of-towners, just let me know and I'm there!

California Girl

You can't control the wind, but you can always adjust the sails...

This week is a blog-hug for the only person I know who travels more than Jason and I, my bestie, Kate.  This girls is always on the go with her career, but on Tuesday it's a pretty-permanent (for now :)) relocation from East to West.  She's heading back to San Diego and although we're going to miss her like crazy, we couldn't be more proud.  I can't wait for my next reason to visit.  I've loved every trip to The Golden State and when she's there, I love it even more!

Dress Quest 2011

I've been on a bit of a traveling hiatus since the move to our new home, but two weekends ago I finally got back at it!  Over the past few years, I've tried to make an annual trip to NYC for one reason or another.  Mostly it's to see my bestie, Katie, who achieved our childhood dream and now resides in the Village.  And when Jason and I made the trip to Rockefeller in 2009 to see the tree, I thought I had reached the height of my affection for the Big Apple.  But this last trip definitely was the icing on the, should we say wedding, cake.

On a Saturday that predicted gloomy rain but turned out to be clear and sunny, mom (who traveled the tracks in from SC - go girl!), the other two besties and I took the train up to the city.  The goal was to find a dress and the means were two very opposite locales...

Kleinfeld Bridal, otherwise known as the place where they film TLC's Say Yes to the Dress (everyone's but mine favorite wedding show), was the ultimate New York experience.  Very fast, very bold, very much - very not me.  But we went for the fun of it and I'm glad we did - it set me up for an amazing time at J.Crew.

After jumping back in our Escalade with our driver for the day, courtesy of the best fiance ever, we headed over to the boutique but arrived an hour early.  Just enough time for some prosecco across the street at Bar Italia - Euro-perfect in every way.  Nice and bubbly-feeling from our late afternoon snack, we entered the mothership, J.Crew Bridal.  It was everything I'd hoped - warm, cozy and our favorite fashions at their finest.  Surrounded by the absolute lady loves of my life, I had the moment every girl imagines - hold your breath, this is the one, the dress he'll see me in as I walk down the aisle.  To say it was magical is an understatement.

We closed out the too-quick trip at a fabulous spot in Katie's neighborhood, Low Country, which had delicious southern food, hard core bourbon drinks and the most fitting atmosphere for the occasion.  I couldn't ask for a better way to kick off my travels in 2011.

Tire Tracks vol. 3

This week we're taking that 21.2 mile trip to Reston... While it's not the longest roadtrip in the world, the move definitely requires a soundtrack!  Here's a sample of what will be playing as we drive the Focus and the Ac loaded with boxes, following the moving truck, over the highways to our new home...

The Old Apartment, Barenaked Ladies
Pink Houses, John Mellencamp
Feels Like Home, Chantal Kreviazuk
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song), Billy Joel
Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
No Such Thing, John Mayer
Two Of Us, Aimee Mann & Michael Penn
Dog Days Are Over, Florence And The Machine

After a brief hiatus, I'll be back in April to finally recap my last trip to Florida and (hopefully) gush about a special excursion in NYC!