A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

– Lao Tzu

Happy New Year!

If you’re reading this we’ve made it to another year of trying to write more, lose the same ten pounds and drink water that’s not entirely from melted ice in our margaritas. Good luck and God speed!

If you make New Year’s resolutions then I hope you’re better at sticking to them then I am. But ever the optimist I made some this year for the hope that they keep me grounded and motivated. I did try to stay away from superficial resolutions and stick to things I thought would make me a better person or just make me happier all around. My goal for 2020 is just happiness.

And so I decided to take a trip the first weekend of the new year to visit my best friend Rebecca in Virginia. I enjoy solo trips because, unlike my husband, I like long drives. It takes about 5 hours door to door to get to Rebecca’s apartment in Sterling. That’s 5 hours of not having to talk to anyone, listening to whatever music you want, and just letting your mind wander. I really enjoy that part of the trip. The only thing that sucks is my small bladder and the need to stop at least twice just to pee. But some things can’t be helped.

I left for Virginia at around 11:30 am on Saturday Jan 4th. Matt and I spent the entire night before binge watching Power so I was running on very little sleep. Which probably wasn’t the best idea but I was too excited for it to really effect me. The one thing that did kind of dampen my spirits was the fog .

Regardless though the drive wasn’t bad at all and I only stopped twice. I got to Beccy’s apartment at around 5. The last time I visited she had just moved in and was still buying furniture so it was pretty bare. But this time her apartment was like a Pintrest dream!

First things first, we hugged and poured ourselves a drink and decided to get ready slowly and go to dinner. This is always my favorite part of seeing someone after a long time. You’re just so excited to see each other and there are a million things you want to tell each other and you’re jumping in and out of stories. Once the Christmas gifts were swapped, make up on and outfits changed we headed out.

For dinner we put our name down for True Food Kitchen, an organic, whole food restaurant. This place is a chain but the one by me is not opening until sometime this year so when I visit we like to go here. The hostess gave us an hour estimate for the table so we gave our names and I suggested we find a bar somewhere to grab a drink (True Food’s bar was full). We headed down the block and found two seats at the bar at BarTaco. Honestly, both places have pretty solid vegan options but we were both looking forward to True Food so we settled in at BarTaco and got a drink while we caught up on all things 2019 did to us. I forgot to take a picture of the drinks we got but they were super yummy. Beccy got a Mojito and I got a drink called the reviver but I asked them to swap the gin with tequila and just WOW!

Once we finished our drinks we headed back to True Food and our table was ready when we walked in the door. I love great timing!

So after dinner it was off to find a good time. The last time I came to visit we had said we were definitely going out dancing somewhere but we ended up spending so much time on Yelp looking for places that I fell asleep on the floor of her living room. Tonight was redemption night! I didn’t care if we went to some place specifically for dancing but I told Beccy we should just find a bar with some type of music. She explained that there was a bar she goes to sometimes after going to concerts at the University nearby. Perfect! Lets get crazy!

What we didn’t know is that it was karaoke night and we had walked in right when it was getting started. So this place was like a legit college bar. Everyone in there was either questionably 21 or wayyyy too old to be here. Somehow Beccy and I fit right between those two groups. We found a table by the stage and grabbed some drinks. I stuck with red bull and vodkas. 1 because I was starting to crash and 2 because this wasn’t the type of bar that made more than rum and cokes. The karaoke was hilarious and ended up being the perfect thing for us to just let our hair down to. We also kept getting hit on by these college students who would admit to us that they are underage. (Like does this strategy work for them?) Also one delinquent (another 20 year old) introduces himself to me as Matt to which Beccy screams “That’s her husbands name!” and we both died laughing. Apart from the boy and all the young girls who kept coming up to us and telling us we were pretty (thank you drunk goddesses) we did end up dancing to off key karaoke and having a good time. Our plan was to have one more drink at a bar down the block from Beccy’s place but there was construction or something on the highway on the way home so we didn’t make it before they closed. We ended up heading back to the apartment and having a hard seltzer while eating leftovers and dancing to youtube videos. All in all a successful night.

I passed out on the couch somewhere around 3 am and Beccy (who was driving and a bit sick, so was not as drunk as I was) she took a shower and went to bed. Like the Queen she is! Beccy and I have been friends since we were 10 so in the past 18 year (2020 is our 19th year of friendship #goals) I’ve learned a lot about her. Specifically I know for a fact that Rebecca can sleep until 3 pm if you let her. It’s a talent she has that I have always been envious of. My internal clock will not let me sleep past 6 on most days regardless of how tired I am. Sunday was no exception. I woke up around 6:30 am and Surprise! Suprise! I wasn’t feeling amazing, Luckily no headache though just a bit of nausea. So I got up used the restroom, filled up my 24 oz travel cup with ice water and laid back down on the couch. I spent a couple of hours just drinking water and reading until I felt a bit better. Matt called me at around 8 am and I was still a bit of a sleepy hungover mess. Once I did feel a bit better I hopped in the shower, got dressed and poured myself some more water.

At this point it was about 9 am and Beccy hadn’t so much as rolled over. So I had time. I was getting hungry but I didn’t want to overload my stomach so I had some hummus and pretzel crackers that I bought at a rest stop on the drive over and didn’t get a chance to eat. But honestly once I had that in my system I felt so much better. I was clean, feed and hydrated. So I cuddled up on the couch, grabbed my book and enjoyed the silence. At home I never set my alarm clock because the dogs will bark at me any time between 5-6 to wake up. So I enjoyed the quiet time to just read by myself. Matt face timed me again around 11 and Beccy crawled out of bed shortly after.

Once Beccy was up and dressed we made our plan for the day. First stop food! We found a ramen spot which was perfect because they had a vegan ramen and Beccy was feeling sicker today. I got a tofu appetizer and a vegan ramen with fried mushrooms (amazing!), corn, seaweed, and bamboo. It was perfect and I didn’t finish it so I got to take some home for later.

Our next stop was to a home goods warehouse store called At Home which is apparently in Jersey as well but I’ve never been there. Needless to say, Beccy and I have no business going to home goods stores because we just obsess over everything and cry into our empty wallets. I did end up getting quite a bit of stuff but all things that I already needed. We were very conscious of not buying random things because they’re cute. Which was very very very hard.

In the spirit of just having a nice relaxing day date together we stopped by a local coffee shop and got a couple of chai’s to take back to the apartment while we relax a bit before dinner and a movie later. Beccy was drawing pictures in her foam because she wanted it to look cute but she wasn’t satisfied with her first design so she redid it. All to put a top on it anyway. Friends are weird but I would still recommend them.

Once we got back to the apartment, Beccy went to work setting up all the things she bought from At Home and I laid back down on the couch to keep reading. This is weird to write but I loved having no housework to do and not having to worry about any of that while she finished up. The rest of the afternoon was spent laid out and just moving slowly through the apartment and tons and tons of girl talk. It was the perfect day.

We had tickets to a 6:45 movie so at around 5 we got our coats and shoes on and headed out to dinner. We had dinner at Cafesano a quick casual Mediterranean restaurant that we both adore. You walk up to the counter and place your order and they give you a number to put on the table so they can find you and bring your food over. They also serve beer and wine. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture (sorrynotsorry). But I got a prosecco and a platter with grilled veggies, falafel, brown rice, and pita bread. Beccy got a chicken and broccoli Alfredo and a glass of white wine. Cheers! To an amazing new year.

After dinner we went to the local AMC and watched Jumaji. I had already seen it but Beccy didn’t so I wasn’t mad at myself when I fell asleep part way through but don’t worry Beccy woke me up once Nick Jonas showed up on screen. All in all a great night. We got back to the apartment and I introduced Beccy to The Circle on Netflix. I fell asleep after the first episode but apparently she watched three of them before calling it a night.

The next morning I was up early as usual and got myself out of bed (aka the pull out couch), showered and dressed so I could start the 5 hour drive home. I Ubereat’s some Starbucks so Beccy would have something warm to drink when she woke up and she ended up waking up just as I was closing the front door. Good thing too because she woke up worse than ever and had called out of work sick. I gave her a big bear hug and instructed her to stay in bed for the rest of the day and I was on my way back home.

The weather was a lot better than it was coming so I had a great relaxing 5 hour drive back home. I was excited to get home and get my new purchases in the house but also just to be with my puppies and my husband.

I’m so glad I started the year with a solo trip. I think it was necessary for me to get my thoughts together and to prepare myself for what is sure to be a busy year ahead. I’m finishing my bachelor’s degree this year and I can’t wait to finally have something to show for all these long hours and hard work.

Until next time…

-Besos! XO.