Grand Canyon

After leaving Austin, we had a "layover" in Albuquerque, NM. We got there pretty late, and I mentioned before that I didn't feel well at all when we were driving in. I don't know if it was the change of atmosphere or all in my head, but I do know that I don't care to go back! Haha. One cool thing we saw was Crossroads Motel, where they filmed a couple episodes for the show Breaking Bad. We were going to stay the night there, but it seemed a little sketchy and the front desk lady was pretty weird as well! If you watch the show, she even resembled Wendy the prostitute!

My gourmet lunch on the way to the Grand Canyon, and a still swollen thigh.

Hula girl eventually just decided to cruise in her birthday suit.

The Grand Canyon was beautiful and breathtaking (of course) and I'm so glad we went out of our way to visit. They charge a $25 fee for entering the park, but since Corey is military we actually got an annual pass to visit any national park free of charge!

I hope you all had a great Easter! I wish we could have seen our family and friends but sadly, we were stuck in Las Vegas. ;)

Austin, Texas

As promised, here's a more detailed post about our time in Austin!

On our first full day, we wandered mostly around East Austin. There was lots of cool art and things to see. We stopped at this Italian ice place where I got horchata flavored ice... SO good!

We came back to the car to find that hula girl had lost her skirt! (And ignore the bug-gutted windshield, I think we've given up on keeping it clean at this point.) Our second day, we wandered around South Congress area and visited the touristy food trucks which were SWARMING with bees. I kinda had a moment when I pulled out my camera to take a picture of my food and within seconds, there were 20 bees surrounding it/me. Then we went to East Loop for shopping per recommendation of Andrea. I was in vintage heaven!

Room Service was my favorite place that we visited, by far. It was huge and organized so well. I got a few vintage pins and brooches and tried to refrain from emptying my bank account...

I love the show Bar Rescue, where this guy goes to failing bars in the US and fixes them up to increase their business, so we had to see two places he's done in Austin. We actually didn't go in either, because they were both dead and we also heard some bad things about them from locals. Still a cool thing to see!

While going to see The Brixton, we stumbled upon a really cute house and a film crew, filming a scene for a pilot episode on ABC (I think?) called Killer Women!

Our final day in Austin was spent doing some laundry and recovering/limping around since the tattoo I got from Steve Byrne at Rock of Ages had my leg so swollen (see in my previous post). We ended up at The Ginger Man, reading some zines I picked up and trying a bunch of local beers.

Yes, I like jumping pictures and there's surely more coming! :) I'm glad that we had four days there because it really allowed us to wander around and not be rushed or short for time. As if you couldn't tell, Austin is such a cool and colorful city and I can't wait to go back!

Recap of Austin

We just got to our hotel in Albuquerque, NM after leaving Austin this morning. About an hour away from Albuquerque, my butt was totally killing me and we were both feeling pretty dazed from being on the road all day. It's been a long day and I'm honestly feeling a little sick and short of breath- not sure if it's mental or not, but I'm laying down at the hotel while Corey has gone to get dinner for us.

Austin was such a great city, and I knew it was going to be because I've basically stalked the place online for the past couple of years! I have lots of pictures on my camera, but I will have to do a more detailed post later- when I'm feeling a little better. Instagram pictures will have to do for now!

The first four photos are from my phone, and the last four are from Corey's. Feel free to follow me on Instagram and see more of the fun we have on our trip! @kelseyfreak

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

<3

Honeymoon Destinations

We leave for our road trip early on Monday, and I am so so so excited! gkldhgkldhsgkls Y'all, this is my DREAM COME TRUE. It hasn't even sunk in yet. Or maybe I just don't get all giddy like I used to! I mentioned in my previous post that I like to plan out every little detail when taking trips. Once I led us to an arboretum in dead middle of Winter. It wasn't pretty...

Yesterday, Corey was like, "I thought we were just winging it on this trip and not trying to plan out every meal we're gonna eat!" Ha ha ha. I'm not dead set on doing any certain thing, but I do have some places in mind.

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The Brixton in Austin, Texas! Corey and I love the show Bar Rescue, and an episode featuring this husband and wife pair recently aired. Gotta check it out... and see if Tim thinks we're douchebags. We also have a few other places on our list thanks to Andrea from Strawberry Mohawk! ;)

Of course, there are about 100 things I need to see in Vegas. Hash House a Go-Go is one of them. Emily from Dashboard Diary posted pictures of the food they got there and I about melted! Sage fried chicken benedict... I wanna eat you. Now.

San Francisco's Thirsty Bear is known for their organic beer selection. Whaaat?! I'm in.

Voodoo Doughnut... You'll be the pleasant death of me. I've been stalking their doughnut menu online for two weeks now, so calories mean nothing at this point! I. Can't. Wait.

I'll keep the list short and post one thing I'm really excited about... Fremont Market in Seattle. We happen to have a full Sunday there, the only day of the week the flea market is open. And it's rated one of the top ten in the country!

I'll be updating here throughout our trip so be sure to come back and read about all the awesome times! And if you would like to meet up somewhere, just send me an e-mail and we will definitely arrange something! My e-mail is listed on my new About Me page.

Life Lately.

I had all these blog post ideas for this past week before we leave for our honeymoon, but after coming home from Asheville, I got so so sick. I had a high fever for a day, the next day my sinuses started acting up and I had a terrible headache all day, and now I'm left with a nasty cough. We had so much to take care of this week- Changing my name on everything, auto insurance changes, road trip planning, and a lot of things military related. It was quite a hassle to get all these things done while being so sick, but I'm glad that we're done now!

We printed out our itineraries for us and for family members.

Yesterday I opened a bottle of wine we received as a wedding gift from a friend and sat down to write thank you notes to everyone. We have received so much help from our friends and family to support the funds needed for our trip! My mom got me these cards and I love them. :)

We got Corey onto the Verizon plan because Sprint is such a hassle, and when he comes home it'll be much easier for me to get his phone cut back on. I left the store with my very first iPhone!

Now all that's left to do is pack, download new tunes, and finish looking up some neat places to visit. Whenever I go to a new place, I like to search forums for touristy and local things to see and eat. I always go with a list of places we just haaave to go to, and my list is ever so slowly growing!

 

First Day of My Life

Today I'm getting married.....

HOLY CRAP.

Okay, let's start over. Today I'm marrying the love of my life. The person who stood by me through one of the hardest things I have ever gotten through, who still thought I was pretty after drinking too much and crying until I fell asleep, who was worried sick about me when I didn't care about my direction in life. The person who has taught me to be patient, who has motivated me to be a better version of myself, who shares the same dreams.

When we started dating (the first time) we took a trip down to New Orleans. It basically looked entirely like the picture above. On our way back home, we stopped in Montgomery, Alabama to see the Civil Rights Memorial and Memorial Center, where I first proclaimed my love by writing "Kelsey loves Corey" on the digital Wall of Tolerance. Moving, I know!

 

I was totally heartbroken after we had broken up, probably because he was the first person to ever say he was going to marry me, whether he was serious or not. Little did he know! The second time we started dating, it was very different and much more real. You could say we progressed fast, but Corey has always been the realest person I know. I remember driving to Charleston one night to hang out with him while he was at drill for the Army. Over beer (for him) and wine (for me), we talked about everything from religion to politics to family and death. I get butterflies typing this, remembering how I felt about us, our friendship and the way we just fit together.

 

  The last time we visited Asheville, NC, we rented this tiny little cabin in the mountains. We ate a super southern breakfast buffet, walked around the city, drank beers and ate good food, and drove along Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a perfect little weekend getaway. So here we are a year later, going back to Asheville the night of our wedding!

It is honestly a little overwhelming to think about my life over the past couple of years. I'm not one to spend too much time reflecting on the past, but I can without a doubt say that I have never, ever been happier with myself. I've never been more content with life. I know that we have huge plans together and our future is what I look forward to each day. A future that doesn't involve double fisting whiskey drinks on Bourbon Street. ;)

Happy wedding day to the man that I love and adore!

This one's for you: