A Stay in La Rochelle; Part 1

Here you see Le Vieux Port and it was one of the first places my host family pointed out. Those two towers are from the 14th century and would block out people from town. Surrounding the port were a lot of restaurants that looked out to the port and was a popular spot for Friday and Saturday nights. Many street performers would come out and it was fun to grab some ice cream from Ernest's and walk around. 

Here you can see Kelly taking photos of the beautiful view. This was on our walk to school everyday and on the right you can see one of the towers. A lot of them time we would come out here and eat our sandwiches we bought for lunch and just enjoy the view. 

It was VERY windy in the city and Reghan was good at getting candids.

More boats in harbor surrounding the towers.

-Lily 

Au Revoir

If you follow me on social media you know that I just spent a month studying abroad in France. I am home now and slowly getting ready to head back to school in a few weeks. 

I was reflecting on my trip on Sunday when I was unpacking and uploading photos I thought to myself that I wish I could go back right now. At the end of the trip I was feeling a little homesick and I think I had been ready to just go home, see my mom, eat an American burger and sleep in my own bed. Sounds pathetic I know but with those last two days I along with everyone else was just ready to go home for multiple reasons. 

We had all left our host families and that was tough because within three weeks they became our families and we lost the sense of comfort we had in their homes. Kelly and I were crying on each other's shoulders when the train pulled away from the town of La Rochelle. It took a lot for us to pull up to town you don't know and then leave after fell in love with the history and the people. 

So here I am back in America, currently trying to map out when would be best for me to go back. I keep telling myself I'll travel somewhere new but France holds a place in heart and finger crossed I can go back next summer. 

A lot of posts coming up soon about my trip! Stay tuned. 

-Lily 

Links

Love this outfit post from Bess 

For this summer in France

A fun dress for the summer 

New music from Devon Baldwin

A new summer recipe

Vintage Lilly from Tuckernuck

Hopefully my next Lilly dress. (Probably going to wait for the sale)

Have a good week! 

-Lily 

10 Things I Learned Freshman Year

I am happy that now I have the time to settle down and reflect on my freshman year. I know I haven't been keeping with the blog at all but hear me out. I was struggling a lot this past semester with classes, keeping up with my grades, personal life and many more things. My life got a little tough and I wasn't sure if I would continue this or not. These past two weeks however I realized I missed blogging and I'm back now. 

In the past nine months I have learned more about myself than four years of high school ever did. You think you have it all figured out and then college happens. 

1. It's okay to call home; I don't know why we have in our heads that when we leave for school our parents don't want to hear from us. They want to know about your day, it could have been a day full of tests and doing homework and your mom still wants to hear about it. I called my mom almost everyday and sometimes it would turn a bad day into a good one. Call home when you want to because your parents miss you. 
2. Get to know people; I had picked a school that not many people from my high school were going to so it forced me to become friends with different people. You never know who can become your best friend. 
3. Get involved; Honestly you hear this over and over again and you don't realize how true it is until it happens. My first semester I wasn't involved and I had trouble adjusting to the school and I was thinking that maybe Longwood University wasn't for me. I was starting to look at transferring and then I told myself that I did need to become more involved, and if I still wasn't happy after, Longwood wasn't for me. I joined a sorority and that opened the door to so much more for me. I am now in love with my school, and it is true what they say about college, you get out what you put in. 
4. The freshman 15 is no joke; I have no idea how I avoided the full 15 pounds. It is so easy to get ice cream every night in the dinning hall and eat Cookout at 2AM, but you have to stay healthy. Indulge here and there, but whatever you do, do not stop going to the gym and staying fit. It's easy to gain weight in school but it's also easy to stay healthy. 
5. High school friends are different from college friends; Enough said. You'll understand this once it happens. 
6. High school friendships will end, that's okay; This was so hard for me to accept. I moved away from my high school after I graduated, and going to school with only seven other kids from my high school made it easy for me and my friends to drift away. I was upset when it all ended and really only two good friends stayed with me, but in the end I realized it happens. High school is over and sadly so are some friendships but it's okay. You meet so many different people in college that you would never find anywhere else. Go out and meet new people. It's one of the best parts about college. 
7. It's okay to go out, and it's okay to stay in; Some nights you'll want to go out with your friends and you should. Some nights you'll want to stay in and watch a movie, that's alright. 
8. Watch your money; This too is something I have trouble with, but in college I don't have job so I can't buy everything at the J.Crew extra 30% anymore. Sad, but make sure you aren't spending your money life crazy or else you will be a broke college student. 
9. Classes are hard; I feel like this should go without saying, but college classes are hard. In high school it was so easy to skip the reading and half-ass your homework. In college you need to stay ahead in your class, because even when you're ahead, you're behind. Do the reading, do your homework, study study study, and go talk to your professor. They are there to help you and want to help you. Work harder in college because it does pay off. 
10. You're going to change; I am not the person I was when I graduated last year and I am fine with that. I have started to realize the person I want to become and the only way to get there is to change. Embrace the new environment you are about to live in. 

Before you know it the year is over and you're packing up your freshman dorm room and already making plans to see people over the summer.

A summer in France

Ever since the 8th grade I have been taking French classes and it just hit me that I think I'm almost done with French. So, what better way to take my last French class in France? This summer I will be studying abroad in La Rochelle for three and a half weeks, and then in Paris for the rest of the time and I couldn't be more excited. This will be my third time going, (definitely not my last) and I can't thank my professor, my university and most importantly my parents enough for allowing me to do this. 

The first time I went to France I was 12 and I was so young that sadly I didn't really know what was going on. The next time I was 17 and I traveled with my high school through and exchange program. To this day that experience is still the best experience of my life. Seeing all the history and being part of the French culture for a change, I refused to leave and was always asking "when can I go back?" The opportunity came sooner than I thought because my French professor told me about the application. I talked it over with my parents and they told me to go for it. 

So June 27th I will be getting on plane to go to France and I cannot wait.
So say hello to "foreign girls who don't speak English," a lot of baguettes, more time exploring France and most importantly, the trip of a life-time.

-Lily

For the Weekend

Hope everyone had a great new year! 

Tobi has a great sale going on right now! Go check out their amazing dresses. 

And LOFT has an extra 60% off their sale. 

Love Bess's sweater in this post

G-Eazy released three new songs, listen to them here

A recipe I'm taking back to my roommates to try 

Enjoy your weekend! 

-Lily 

A New Year

A new year is starting and I feel like it was just yesterday that I was getting ready for 2014. 2014 had a lot of highlights and it was year for the books. Aside from graduating high school, starting college, there were many other parts of the year that made it perfect. I celebrated 16 years of adoption, many river trips with my best friends, meeting new people, starting the blog and seeing how it has grown, and most importantly I am finally seeing myself grow too. If you asked me last year who I was I would have given a different answer than what I would say now. Last year I made simple resolutions, like be healthier, figure out what I want from my friends, and go to college, and I'm happy to say all of those worked out. This year after four months in a new environment, I've learned that I need to change some more things. 

I'm walking in to 2015 with a different mind, and I also cannot wait to see what 2015 holds for me. Cliche to say, I know, but I can't wait to see where the blog goes, I already have big plans for the summer and I also have the support of my family and friends which is all I need. 

I stumbled across this article on Thought Catalog and it will be the resolutions I stick to this year. Read it here

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and cheers to the new year! 

- Lily