Sterling Suite: Raleigh and Santa Barbara

I have yet to update on my travels to two of my most favorite places ever: Raleigh, North Carolina, and Santa Barbara, California.

Raleigh was a whirlwind of a trip to celebrate Jayna and Stephen's wedding and as always, it didn't disappoint! It started crazy busy with the wedding preparation - of which I vacillated between being somewhat helpful (setting up the canopy and decorating the tables) to being not at all helpful (falling asleep for hours due to jetlag). The wedding was everything you dream about when you look at pictures online - a backyard summer Southern wedding with strings of lights strung up around the wooden fences in and out of the oak trees with delicious BBQ catering!! This was the wedding, and the dinner the night before was equally charming - a second floor open air Greek restaurant in downtown Raleigh drinking Moscow mules with the scent of blooming magnolias in the air. I can't even handle the goodness!! Oh and after the night-before dinner we went out downtown (I could barely hang - I'm too old) and had a grand ol time on Snapchat celebrating Jayna's last day of being single!

Governmentally single queen

Bachelorette Queen

This was our Sad You're Not Here picture we sent to AJ

Student Services Reunited!

Me and my Goddaughter

The Dream Team!!

Jayna and Stephen took off for their honeymoon the day following, so I had a great day to myself in downtown Raleigh - studying in a cafe, taking part in the Food Truck Rodeo and street fair, visiting the chocolate factory museum and history museum!

I FINALLY GET IT WHEN SOMEONE SAYS "WHAT IN TARNATION IS THIS THING" !!! DID YOU KNOW THIS??

I officially will have a bridal fan at my wedding #southernbelle

ERMERGERD. CHERCKEN ERND WERFFLES

AJ's Forefather lololol

Me and ring bearer, my old bud, Pippu, the Pipster, Pippin!

Lounging in Jayna's backyard watch cardinals fly, listening to songbirds and watching squirrels run amock!

I went to Santa Barbara for a work conference at UCSB. The conference was really amazing, and being at UCSB is always SO NOSTALGIC for me. Like seriously, it hurts, I can barely handle it. But I always love being back!! GAUCHOSSSSSSSS!!

Buttons were free for the taking. I took Iceland, since it was my most recent adventure, France, cause I studied abroad there, and Denmark, because I need to get dual citizenship there. I ended up going overboard and having like 10 different pins on my lanyard

We were there over the fires, it may the sky creepy and crazy

Sending photos to AJ

Macy karaoking some Fleetwood Mac

Crazyass bird that was always the cover of our General Catalogue

My dorm view

My longlost dorm! Oh the memories!!

Married duckies

This koi fish looks that way not because it's swimming, but it has some sort of fractured spine. This fish has been there since I was a student! I used to feed it bread crusts inbetween classes!

Can you see the turtle perched on the landing next to the reeds?

Chilling poolside after the conference

Can you see the covered sign Pet House? That's where my beloved Mr Rat Rat was purchased from - may he rest in peace! I miss my little guy!

So when I came back from Santa Barbara, AJ came over and I was able to give him gifts from all my travels... including our new gang shirts - Raleigh baby! For those of you that don't know - Raleigh is the City of Oaks - lots of pride in acorns and squirrels lololol

Then, despite the heat, AJ said he wanted pho for dinner. This was a miracle, because he never wants pho and I could eat it pretty much whenever. This was a picture to memorialize his first time wanting pho on his own and not having me drag him to it hahaha

It was (and continues to be) TOO FRICKIN HOT!!! We couldn't hack it at my place so we went to his to go swimming. It was super fun, and Anana is so cute - she hates swimming and won't get in the water (she will stand on the top step only) but she gets so stressed out and worried about people who are in the pool- so she constantly runs around and tries to make sure you're okay - so sweet!