To the Shore

Adios, y'all!

I'm off to Gulf Shores for the weekend to celebrate the Blue Angels and my grandpa's time spent in the Navy. 

More coming up next week, including a possible redesign of the blog... hmm, intrigued? I am. 

Have a wonderful weekend,

xoxo

Chels

Wanderlusting :: Outer Banks, NC

Centuries before the area became a vacation hot spot, the Outer Banks, a long string of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, was the setting for a story unlike anywhere else in the US. In 1585, more than twenty years before the 1607 settlement of Jamestown, a group of English settlers forged a colony in the Outer Banks. By 1587, however, the settlers had inexplicably vanished. In the ensuing years the region witnessed similarly mysterious shipwrecks and sporadic pirate encounters along its extensive coastline...

 

I imagine someone wearing this outfit strolling down the boardwalk on a crisp autumn day. Sometimes I think there is nothing more peaceful than the beach when it's cool outside.

The treacherous seas off the Outer Banks and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there have given these seas the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Before bridges were built in the 1930s, the only form of transport between or off the islands was by boat, which allowed for the islands to stay isolated from much of the rest of the mainland. This helped to preserve the maritime culture and the distinctive Outer Banks accent, which sounds more like an English accent than American.

The islands are home to herds of wild horses which are thought to be descendants of Spanish Mustangs washed ashore centuries ago in shipwrecks.

Nearby was the home base of pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. It is also where the famed pirate was killed.

The rules are different out here. Shaped by nature just like the Outer Banks were swept in from the Atlantic Ocean. The first colonists to settle the Americas only to mysteriously disappear.

The Good with the Bad

Welp, what a crazy week it has been..

I'll start off by saying I had a FANTASTIC time at the beach with my friends. More fun than I've had in a long, long time. If you follow my blog at all, you know how much I've been dying to spend some time at the beach with my toes in the sand and a Corona in my hand. Work had been so stressful for the past few months that, even though we were only there for three days, it was plenty enough for me to clear my head and de-stress.

Some of the lovely ladies I lived with in college. From L to R: myself, Alyssa and Connie!

Jacy (R) and me (L) on Connie's sailboat

Spending a perfect day out on the Gulf.

Okay.. Here's the kicker..

I went back to work on Monday... and was laid off from my job.

Yep, I am currently unemployed. It sucks majorly just to type that.

Womp womp womp.

Working in a job you're not happy at is a horrible feeling. Being let go from a job you dislike is just as bad.

At the same time, it's such a weight off my shoulders. I can honestly and genuinely say that I am excited and happy to have the opportunity to look for a new job. What an adventure life can be!!  Instead of beating myself up about it, I'm looking towards the future and what great opportunities are coming my way.

So, I encourage all of you who may be going through rough times to remind yourself that these are the moments that just make you stronger in the end!

I love you all, xoxo

Wanderlusting :: Mauritius

 

Swimming in Sunshine

Spring arrives early here in the South, but not without teasing you for a few weeks first. Today, for example, was a balmy 68 degrees. And it's only the second day of February. You can't help but daydream about lounging by the pool (my new apt has one!) or taking the boat out to the lake or just spending some fabulous time sitting in the sunshine.

This outrageous compound in St. Lucia makes me long for a vacation. Will someone please lend me $10,000,000 - plus some money for a plane ticket?

Photos from WSJ House of the Day. Home listed through Michelle Bourgeois of Town Residential.