Something momentous just happened, and I’d be remiss not to share.
We finally bought Michael’s wedding outfit! I mean, we still technically need to buy him a white slim-fit button-down and a nice pair of brown leather dress shoes, but hot damn is his suit fire.
It is SO Michael to wear green to our wedding. He loves earth tones and as the anti-Bridezilla that I try to be, I wanted him to express himself! It’s his day too!
I knew that ASOS was having an up-to-70% off sale, so I clicked on men’s to see if I could snag anything Michael needed. I had no idea they sold suiting! I was all set to buy some charcoal grey suit paints but lo and behold!—there was a dark green vest and—GASP!—it had coordinating suit separates! We added a green skinny tie, a tie clip, and some fresh-ass cufflinks and BAM: (almost) and entire wedding ensemble for under $130.
I’m thinking maybe these shoes to polish the look?
…And maybe this and this to polish off the night? Oh, you bad.
P.S. I literally feel like I stan for ASOS so hard that I’m trying to The Secret a sponsorship. It’s baaaad.
#aislewalkwithme
—DellaBites
**edit 3/23/17
Michael actually ended up getting a real smart navy blue pinstriped Michael Kors suit. It was sensational—he looked better than I did! Photos are here and here!
I’m newly obsessed with podcasts. I know, I know, I know. I’m about 5 years behind the time. Podcasts have existed for eons and I’ve just been wasting my life listening to music. Please leave your shade at the door and indulge me, goddamnit.
I’ve been listening to a few killer podcasts lately, some more than others, and yes, they’re mostly hosted by comedians because I have simple tastes, okay?
Jen Kirkman (one of my favorite comedians ever) hosts a weekly podcast on the All Things Comedy network. It’s phenomenal. I can’t even really explain why hearing about her dietary restrictions because of her acid reflux problem is interesting, but it is. Maybe it’s because she’s a hometown hero (Bostonians ftw). I recently read her first book, I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales from a Happy Life Without Kids, and I can’t recommend her Netflix Special enough.
I’ve written previously about Julie’s perfect Hulu show, Difficult People, but it bears mentioning that she has one of the funniest podcasts in the game. Her voice (I mean that in the literal and the literary sense) is strong, sharp, and can make anything interesting—even her lamentations on the closing of the American Psycho musical. She’s not a super frequent poster (she’s got shit to do, people!) but whenever I refresh the podcast app and see a new ep waiting for me, I practically skip to my car and start actually enjoying trafficky commutes. Subscribe immediately!
Plz Advise is an advice podcast hosted by Molls, who you may know from HelloGiggles, 2 Broke Girls, Drunk History, or just generally being an OG blogger. Some of the reality tv-talk is lost on me, but the general advice given on the pod is actually pretty on point. Her guests are always charming and hilarious. Additional info: Molls has a *fire* Snapchat story @mollsofficial.
Oh Boy is an interview podcast sponsored by Man Repeller. Jay Buim, the host, is a great interviewer because he really lets the guest do the majority of the talking. He just guides with open-ended questions. The first one I listened to featured Tennessee Thomas from The Like and NAF!
Monocycle is another Man Repeller podcast. It’s hosted by the creator of the site, Leandra, and it’s a stream-of-consciousness monologue about the topic of the week, which range from weekend outfits to IVF. It usually runs about 10 minutes, so it’ll take you no time at all to catch up!
What else should I be listening to? I just downloaded 2 Dope Queens because I loooooove those ladies. Send me suggestions!
I hurt myself at work today. Of course, I wasn’t doing anything strenuous. I felt in perfect health. But all of a sudden, as I was reaching up, it felt like my back snapped in half. A doctor’s visit and muscle relaxers later, I’m still down for the count.
I feel betrayed by my body.
Luckily, there are other things going on to distract me from my misery.
Orange is the New Black just came back for its fourth season and gosh, did it deliver. I was skeptical at first with the direction of the narrative, but they came out strong for trans/black/prisoner rights, and I appreciated that s**t. Apart from John Oliver and the occasional Bernie Sanders speech, prison is out of the sight & mind of most Americans, but so many people are unjustly locked up. Prison is not a catch-all solution, and imprisoning someone for a b.s. offense (possession of small quantities of drugs, et al.) effectively ruins his or her life, perpetuating economic inequality and racism.
Will Butler and The Avett Brothers just put out new albums! Will Butler’s Friday Night and the Avett’s True Sadnessboth dropped in the past two weeks, and as we may or may not know from my incessant opinion-sharing, white men are good for one thing and one thing only: dropping bomb-ass records (hyperbole, but, you get it).
This. Darn. Avocado. Bag. Betsey Johnson is killing it! I usually find her bags a bit too literal, but avocados are my forever love, and I don’t care how basic that is. It’s available on Modcloth too. I managed to score it for way cheaper before Amazon wised up to the hype.
Tomorrow, I’m going to my fave professor’s house to help her move. Yes, I’m in blinding pain, but I can always cart things back and forth. Going to people’s houses always inspires me to bring my A-game. Homemade chocolate chip donuts? Obviously. Plus, I get to meet her new baby!
July 4th is upon us! Nothing’s set in stone, but fiancé and I might be headed down to the beach to celebrate. I get the dang day off! I have a hella cute Kate Spade bathing suit on hold at work for the occasion. One-pieces forever.
And last but absolutely most, is Hamilton. As in Alexander. Yes, it’s a Broadway smash. Yes, I’m late to the party. But I never could have anticipated how amazing it is. I wept openly during multiple songs. It is my life’s blood. I haven’t listened to non-Hamilton music in five+ days. Why would I? Hamilton is a perfect musical. I lust for the day it will be broadcast on PBS, and I will never, EVER delete it from my DVR.
So, just tossing it out there, but I have a Snapchat! I really should have named this blog “Highway to Chel” since that’s what I am on all of my social accounts.
Snapchat has honestly become one of my favorite social media platforms. It’s so low-stakes. No need to curate an existence. I would never post no-makeup pics on Insta, but they’re all over Snappy. It’s such an awesome way to connect with your fave internet people on a more intimate level, but still maintain privacy and control.
I feel like I’m the most ME on Snappy, since so few people watch my story. I haven’t been as consistent with this blog as I’ve wanted to be, so Snap is a great way to keep up on those weeks when I don’t post. I dream of the day when I can quit working an actual job (or reduce hours) and devote myself completely to my little corner of the internet, but that may never come. So on-the-fly Snaps it will be for now.
Follow me on ALL the things (and I mean all the things) @highwaytochel!
Difficult People is possibly the best show (not) on television, and you’re going to pay the $11/month no-commercials Hulu+ fees to watch it this summer.
If you haven’t yet watched Season 1, it’s 8 triumphant half-hour episodes. You can easily marathon that on a rainy day. DP combines the mile-a-minute pop-culture reference pace of 30 Rock with the unmistakable Julie Klausner voice you know and love from her book and her podcast, How Was Your Week? (I listened to the newest episode this morning—Julie’s podcast is what got me to even care about podcasts! Only like, 5 years late to the party.) I’ve watched the series 3 times and it completely holds up.
Actual queen, Gabourey.
Billy Eichner plays a subdued version of himself (or at least the Billy we see on his perfect TV show, Billy on the Street), that is no less quick, clever, and hilarious. Gabourey Sidibe is the show’s crown jewel, starring as Denise, Billy’s boss. But Arthur, played by the sensational James Urbaniak, might just be my favorite character (other than Julie, because of the insane levels of identification). Buzzfeed actually published a listicle about all of the quirky nicknames Arthur has for Julie. Every day that I come home and find that my fiancé has not magically turned into Arthur Tack is a day that’s basically not worth living.
If you like making fun of militant atheists, NPR, and understudies, you’ve found your perfect show. Also, that Blue Ivy/R. Kelly joke in the first episode is high art.
So, there it is. My obsession with the work of the incomparable Julie Klausner laid out in plain view. Emmy voters—nominate Difficult People for all the Emmys.
I know it’s (probably) a relatively small subset of the population, but as a millenial gal doin’ it for herself, I just do not identify with my homegirls that don’t know how to cook. Occasionally I come across whispers of this in the blogosphere—”Every time I try to cook I almost burn my house down!”—and I don’t understand the impulse to brag about one’s incompetency. I don’t shout into the void about how much I sucked at Pre-Calculus.
This is not a gender issue, by the way. It’s not about girls or women, and I am not policing how someone should be a woman. Men are often even worse offenders, which is why I’ve never understood how chef-dom is such a boys’ club. Some people are just too damn busy to cook, and that’s fiiiiine. But you have to know how. Just the basics! How does one make it through adult life without such a basic skill set?
I, personally, can be excessive. Cooking, for me, is a hobby and a complete joy. I woke up at 5 of 7 the other morning and made doughnuts. I understand that this impulse is not normal, nor should it be. But I don’t exactly come from a point of culinary privilege. I baked with my grandmother as a tiny kid, but my mother didn’t sit me down and painstakingly instruct me in the art of soup-making or whatever. I learned (and continue to learn) everything I need to know from books and the internet, starting when I was about 18 and became interested in providing for myself.
My fiancé on the other hand—oh boy. I often wonder how he keeps from starving to death when I’m at work. His mother, the wonderful minha sogra, is a badass cook who continues to frequently send food over, so he never had to learn. He once literally fucked up while making tea. He poured the water through the whistle hole in the spout and wondered why it made a dribbling mess.
How and what people feed themselves has long been a fascination of mine. I’ll read or watch any book or documentary about the food industry, cooking, or food culture that I can get my hands on. As I’ve often said, Michael Pollan is my Elvis.
Making the time to cook is the only way to gain complete control over your nutrition. I want to know the source of everything I put into my body. I can’t advocate for cooking enough. But don’t listen to me! Listen to some of these smart people who know things!
Further reading/watching:
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Michael Pollan
This book changed my life. I think I was 22 when I read it, and newly living with Michael. As the chef of the house and primary food-provider in general, I was cured of so many bad habits by Pollan’s prose. Pollan is not a vegetarian, but advocates for a predominantly plant-based diet based on years of research. He’s written a ton on the subject, but this book goes into the FDA, “food science,” and marketing.
He also has a Netflix docu-series called Cooked that is so inspiring!
The motto? *Drake voice* “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer
Not for the faint of heart. If you like your pets, you might come out of this read a vegetarian. The backstory is that JSF was about to become a father and, saddled with the new responsibility of feeding a living, breathing, separate human, went out and investigated the food industry’s impact on us, animals, and the environment. The nice thing about this book is that it’s not preachy, at all. At no point does explicitly advocate ditching animal products from your diet. It’s a just-the-facts-ma’am presentation. I use the chapter on the fishing/trawling industry constantly as a justification for why I don’t eat seafood (other than its vile taste and smell).
Skinny Bitch, Rory Friedman & Kim Barnouin
Skinny Bitch has definitely been put through the ringer, and at this point in my life, I’m not completely down with their message (they recommend imitation meat products, which is so beginner-level and not my style) but this book woke me the eff up when I was a teenager. I am aware that advocating for thinness is behind the times, but the title is misleading. It’s a book about veganism, health, and the heinous conditions of factory farming—the inflammatory title just created a buzz (smart marketing). A note: this book was published before everyone started carrying almond milk, so take their suggestions with a grain of salt.
The language surrounding the Orlando massacre had already pivoted from “hate crime” to “terrorist action” before I even woke up to hear the news yesterday. Before the death toll began to rise. Poor, unfortunate advocates of gun control, silenced before we were even allowed to speak.
Much has been made of the shooter’s ethnic background. His parents were Muslim immigrants from Afghanistan. Therefore, apparently, by some twisted logic, the shooting at an LGBTQ safe space was an act of “Islamic terror” and not a hate crime against a beautiful community whose diversity makes us better as a nation every day.
I won’t try to argue that followers of Islam aren’t prejudiced against the gay community, because they very well may be. But aren’t the leaders that advocate for traditional marriage and undermine the human rights and dignity of that same community not the loudest and proudest Christians? I am an atheist, but I have the pleasure of knowing people of several faiths, mostly Christian ones, who are among the most loving, tolerant, and open people I’ve met. They truly believe that the message of their God or gods is one of acceptance, forgiveness, and equality.
If the shooter were a white, Christian man, he would merely be “deranged.” His actions wouldn’t be held as a reflection of the values of his faith. Christian leaders and politicians would try their damnedest to condemn his actions. And he most certainly would not have been instantly linked to terrorist organizations.
The Orlando shooter, whose name does not deserve to be printed, very well may have been a terrorist. For all I know, he was set to board a plane to join ISIS next week. But that’s not the point. The shooting was an act of terror, but not the “Islamic terror” that the orange blowhard currently running for President loves to speak about. It was an act of terror and hatred against a minority group against whom society and the world is still prejudiced.
This shooting brings up two very important issues on which U.S. needs to progress, neither of which involves Islam, ISIS, or Carrie Mathison’s intervention. The first is universal acceptance of the LGBTQ community. This won’t happen overnight, but as equal marriage is now the law of the land, it behooves those still on the fence or still steeped in hatred to look within themselves to locate the source of their discomfort. The second is this nation’s desperate need for common sense gun control.
Even though I personally would never own a gun, I have no serious objection to law-abiding citizens, regardless of race or creed, owning a firearm for hunting or sport. I don’t agree that any civilian needs a gun, but I would never infringe upon another person’s constitutional right to bear arms. Just as I would never censor a person for speaking his or her mind or practicing his or her religion openly. Neither, I should mention, would the Democratic party or its nominee for President. No one will be coming to your house to confiscate your guns. Gun control is not a ban on guns.
What gun control laws would seek to do is institute universal background checks before the purchase of guns and ammunition. They would prevent people that are currently under suspicion of terrorism from accessing guns. The same people on the no-fly list would be on the no-gun list. The majority of NRA members support these measures, by the way.
What gun control means for you: if you are a law-abiding citizen over the age of 18 who has been properly vetted, go ahead and buy a gun. Nobody is stopping you.
In most cases, the gun that your uncle keeps locked in his safe at home is not the gun responsible for mass shootings. Combat-grade assault weapons are often at fault. Civilians do not need access to the instruments of war, which are designed to maximize slaughter. A ban on assault weapons is completely reasonable.
Fifty members of our society were mercilessly gunned down in a safe space that they created for themselves. As every new outlet has claimed, it was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. This is a U.S. problem. It’s on us to be vocal about calling for change. It’s on us to vote for leaders that support gun control. It’s on us to stand up for the rights of our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community every day.
Isn’t it ironic that so much love is the target of so much hatred? Someday, I want to raise my kids in a world where, when I tell them about Orlando, they respond with the same horror with which I once responded to hearing about the Jim Crow laws, glad that their world is safer and more tolerant than the one that preceded them. To me, growing up, racial segregation was unfathomable. I’m from Massachusetts, where equal marriage has been law since 2004, so, much in the same way, intolerance toward the LGBTQ community was unfathomable. Future generations deserve to feel the same way about assault weapons and hate crimes.
I won’t be praying for Orlando, because I’m not religious and that would be an empty gesture. I will, however, be voting Democrat in November. My hope is that those fifty deaths won’t be entirely in vain, and that we can rally the support needed to change the conversation surrounding guns, terrorism, and intolerance.
Before you ask: no, we didn’t go to Tim Horton’s. Fun fact, I’ve been to Canada 4 times, and the only Tim Horton’s I’ve ever been to was in upstate NY!
So, full disclosure: we only really hung out downtown (from Sherbrooke to the river). There’s so much more of this amazing city still to explore, but we found some absolute gems!
We stayed at the Gouverneur Hotel at the corner of rue St-Hubert and rue Ste-Catherine E. It’s a prime location—walkable to everything downtown, and right near rue St-Denis, which is a super hip area. Across from the hotel, and visible from our room, is a sweet little park with sculptures, fountains, and an outdoor bar.
We managed to fit about .0003% of what I had planned into our three short days in MTL, but what we did get to was pretty awesome. The following is our recommendations for places to go and things to see downtown!
Jardin Nelson is right in the center of Old Montréal and boy oh boy is it nice. My dad treated us to a gorgeous dinner there our second night in town. It was my second time (the first was for lunch 5 years ago), and I got the same thing, but in my defense: savory crêpes with goat cheese! Can you blame me?! This time, we were seated right beside an amazing live jazz band at twilight. It was pretty magical. We ate and drank way too much, and a very merry time was had. A+
I love this place. I don’t care that it’s a chain in Ontario & Québec. I’m sure a real Montréaler would roll their eyes so hard at me right now. I’m a sucker for microbreweries, what can I say? Their blanche ale is my faaaave. We didn’t eat there this time, but last time I was in town I had a poutine there that was a borderline religious experience.
This place is my dream concept for a restaurant. A super limited menu specializing in…shepherd’s pie & poutine? I guess in French the term for shepherd’s pie is “pâté chinois,” which makes zero sense to me and caused some confusion upon entering. “Chinese pâté?” I wondered, ignorant to the beautiful culinary world awaiting me. I got my whole table to agree to order the vegetarian pâté, and we all split a traditional poutine (and a pitcher of sangria).
Breakfast poutine. Poutine matinale. Whatever you call it, it’s poutine for breakfast. Fabergé is the most adorable restaurant in the cutest neighborhood (that I’m pissed we didn’t explore more). We stopped by Fabergé on our way back to the States and I treated us to a fabulous brunch. In Canada, even restaurants have cold brew readily available. Great vegetarian options, lovely mimosas. Can’t wait to go back and eat all the brunch.
Okay, so, Eggspectation is another chain—with locations in Virginia and Maryland for no reason?—but it has a special place in my heart because we ate there on my high school trip to Montréal. I’ve had breakfast there once each time I’ve traveled to MTL, half out of nostalgia, half because they have delicious food.
What you’re ordering: Eggs Florentine and an almond milk cappuccino
If I lived in Montréal, this would be my every day lunch spot. Possibly the best food we had on the trip, and we only stopped into Petit Végo for lunch. I had a tandoori tofu sandwich and Fig got a naan pizza with pesto & goat cheese (which I recreated when we got home—soooo good). Vegetarian/vegan restaurants are my happy place. They also have smoothies and coffee, so it’s really one-stop shopping.
Café 1880 is probably my favorite little spot in Montréal. The aesthetic alone! Almond milk lattés glacés by baristas who actually know what the hell they’re doing (can you tell I worked in coffee-land for way too freaking long?) Oh, and bonus points? They serve carry-out food from a local vegan restaurant. I bought a glass reusable cup so that I can feel like I’m having Café 1880 every day (and zero waste!)
Atom Heart *has* my heart. Much like Aquarius Records in San Francisco, it’s a curated niche store that feels no obligation to carry 27 copies of the new TSwift (no shade, Tay). “Alternative” is kind of a garbage phrase that means nothing, but there’s really no other way to describe the eclectic mix of stuff they carry. The new Marissa Nadler record (which is so good, you guys) was on display, and To Pimp a Butterfly was in the staff recommendations. Fig got quite a few discs there, including a Turkish Experimental Compilation, because Turkish rock musicians from the 1970s rule our lives.
Used record lovers look no further! Fig & I can be snobby when it comes to buying music new vs. used, but Beatnick had a great selection. We actually lost out on the last copy of a Serge Gainsbourg box set while we were there and we’re still not emotionally over it. They play incredible music in-store, and overall the shop tends to favor the ’60s, which is 10000% fine with me!
Admission: we never made it to the Musée des Beaux-Arts. We physically arrived there, but the line to enter was several city blocks long, and neither of us was particularly keen to stand out in the hot sun. I mean, it was free museum day, what did we expect? Luckily, we had the foresight to get to the contemporary art museum much earlier and have our minds blown by exhibits by Edmund Alleyn, Jean-Pierre Gauthier, and Ryoji Ikeda.
Métropolis is a Lupo’s/House of Blues-esque music venue on rue Ste-Catherine E. We were lucky enough to be there when…drumroll please…COURTNEY BARNETT was there! We of course got tickets, because we’re not completely insane! My fave Aussie babe melted our freaking faces off with non-stop rock. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
April 28-May 26 (cut short because of my vacation!)
So, this whole no-spending-money-on-anything thing is a lot easier and a lot harder than I expected! Finding creative ways to save has been really fun!
I started bringing coupons to the grocery store and I saved $9 the first week and $16 the second. I also actually brought the cans to the redemption center. It was only La Croixs, but I made $5. Better than nothing!
Au revoir, fancy takeout crêpes. (@ The Skinny Pancake in Montpelier, VT)
It’s so hard not to spend on clothes and accessories (my weaknesses). I think the best feeling so far has been my newfound ability to add to cart without checking out. I still get the online shopping rush, without actually spending money.
About halfway through the month, I found myself begin to online window-shop again, so I decided to send a payment to my student loans every time I “added to cart.” It worked brilliantly! One day I sent a random $228 to my loans, instead of spending unneccessary money on Rebecca Minkoff bags or on Asos. When I completed my student loan exit counseling, I sent another $120 towards my loans just for fun.
Of course, throughout the first month, I screwed up. I’m a human being with needs! All of these amounts are rounded up:
The Shame List
drinks at the theatre, $17
drinks at the M.Ward concert, $22
NAF merch button, $3
dinner out, $27
drinks at the La Sera concert, $13
craft supplies, $24
Home Depot (plants & woodworking supplies), $57
treated Dad to dinner, $50
dry-brush, $13
doughnuts & treats with bae, $19
*weak moment* Asos, $26
treated Dad to drinks, $23
clothes, $32
total: $326
Ugh, this list makes me look like a total alcoholic! The first month taught me that (though I don’t drink at home) I’m weak when it comes to indulging when I go out. Hopefully, that will only improve from here! It’s a bummer to think that $326 went to something other than my debt, but it’s such an immense improvement from last month that I’m not letting it discourage me! Basically, it amounts to one wasted paycheck. I think the easiest plan for me is to slowly taper off (3/4, 1/2, 1/4 a paycheck…)
Without starting the Spending Fast, that extra money that I sent to my student loans would have been wasted! Hopefully I can knock a couple thousand dollars off the top before I start owing payments in 6 months. This month, my savings/emergency fund reached $1,500, which is a major milestone for me. I can pay cash to finish my degree, which is something I never thought I’d achieve. I might start auto-depositing $100/week instead of $50/week into my savings, so that come student loan time, I’ll barely even feel my monthly payments.
I went to Montréal this past weekend, so I had 4 days of a “Spending Vacation.” Luckily, the tenets of Spending-Fasting influenced my financial decision-making while abroad. We kept expenses really low, and availed ourselves of free activities. We were lucky enough to be there during Free Museum Day! Also, dat Canadian $$ exchange rate…
On a scale of 1-10, I’d consider May to be about a 4. I saved money and learned about my own spending habits, but I also spent way more than I had originally intended to.
As much as I hate the word wanderlust, I have to admit I’ve been feeling it lately. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m leaving for Montréal tomorrow, or that I have a honeymoon to plan, but I’ve been pining to get the hell out of Massachusetts. I thought I’d share a few of the destinations I’ve been wanderlusting over…
Apparently Nashville is blowing up right now! I had always thought of Nashville as the Grand Ole Opry place where country music (which I used to hate) was born, so I never had much interest in visiting. I even had a boyfriend in high school who was from Nashville, and still, it didn’t resonate. However, the power of suggestion is, well, powerful, and every musician/blogger/fashion designer/etc that I admire seems to be relocating to this city!
This one should be fairly obvious. Austin seems like the place to be. A hipster oasis amid the vast swaths of Texan land. I never had much interest in Texas growing up (are you sensing a theme?) but it seems like it’s really getting cool. One of our favorite bands, Hot Club of Cowtown, calls Austin home, but warns not to go during SXSW…
Austin & Nashville are currently duking it out for Team Fig Honeymoon Destination.
I can’t believe I’ve never been to Portland. Two of my cousins live there! I’ve been to California countless times but never north of the Bay Area. I guess that’s not totally unreasonable, seeing as SF to Portland is a stupid long drive (10 hours!)
Portlandia notwithstanding, it just seems like an amazing place to visit. I mean, Voodoo Doughnuts, hello! Everyone I know who has been there can’t wait to go back. Beyond that, I can’t help but picture Oregon as a massive, gorgeous forest, so I bet there are tons of hiking opportunities and general nature-viewing.
I also just learned, via their tourism site, that Portland has tax-free shopping?
Technically, with Olympia and Seattle, this is 9 cities, but I’d see them both on the same trip so…8 vacations?
Anyone who’s known me for a long time knows that my grunge phase extended FAR beyond the nineties. I was reading Kurt Cobain murder-conspiracy books in, like, 2005. Nirvana’s Nevermind came out right after I was born, so I was basically raised on the stuff, good (Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden) and bad (Bush, an objectively terrible band). As I got older, enter Hole and Sleater-Kinney. I’ve basically been primed to visit the Pacific Northwest since birth. I also worked at Starbucks for quite a while, in case I wasn’t enough of a walking cliché.
Okay, so hear me out, because this is kind of a weird one. A regular customer at my old coffee shop used to live in Boise, and she couldn’t have been more effusive in her praise of it! Apparently it’s a hidden gem of the Northwest! I mean, look at that vista—mountains, fall colors?? Also, Built to Spill is from Boise, so it must be cool.
Charleston was the original honeymoon choice of my sister-and-brother-in-law (they ended up going to Disney). Right after they shared their idea to visit, my fave bloggers Elsie & Emma took a trip there and shared a travel guide on their site! Seems like such an amazing place to spend a weekend!
Savannah, GA
Take it easy with the pretty, Savannah. image credit
My best friend just took a trip to Savannah (she lives in Tallahassee) and she RAVED about it. So much so that we’re planning a trip here next spring! I’m sure I’ll have tons to share about it then. I can’t wait to go spend a weekend inside a Southern Gothic novel!
Yet another iconic city I’ve never been to! Honestly, the show Shameless has made me feel a little on edge about it, but not experiencing Chicago culture because of a Showtime series would be the definition of judging a book by its cover. I’ve heard that Chicago is a great city for art, and I may or may not be obsessed with art museums…
John Hancock building, Boston
The moral of the story is, despite the fact that I live minutes away from one of the greatest and most historic cities in the Western hemisphere, Boston, I’ve become too complacent in my New England existence. I’ve really lost perspective. For instance, I live in the suburbs of Boston—conservatism baffles me! When people talk about evangelical Christianity, they may as well be talking about another galaxy! I mean, Donald Trump has a shot at ruling the free world, guys. As much as these things might vex (or terrify) me, there are 49 other states full of hundred of millions of people living completely different lives than mine.
Not everyone is privileged enough to live in affluent communities surrounding a city famous for its colleges and universities. The U.S. is so big (perhaps TOO big)—how can we really feel nationalism when you can drive 6 hours in any direction and feel like you’re in a different country? Before I die, I want to extensively visit every region, if not every state (sorry, North Dakota), in the U.S.
Where should I visit next? Send coffee shop recommendations!
Della Bites 