Cheers to 5 Years

Taco Bell.  That is the magical place where Joel and I met 5 1/2 years ago.  Nothing says true love like soft-shell tacos and burritos.  We met through mutual friends and while I don't admit this often or willingly, I might have developed a slight crush on Joel.  What made me realize we truly were meant to be BF and GF, our mutual love for Martha's Vineyard (Yup, his family vacations their too) and McDonald's snack wraps.  L-O-V-E if you ask me.  Is it possible to have a better foundation?

We've grown up together during the past 5 years and I'm so truly happy to call this amazingly sweet, kind, and generous person my boyfriend and best friend.  Happy 5 years, Joel.  They've been nothing short of wonderful!

The Year We Met

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5:

P.S
4 out 6 photos were taken on Martha's Vineyard.  I wasn't joking about how important our love for that fabulous island is:)

Flashback Friday

I took my first photography class when I was a sophomore in college(3 years ago, wow that sounds so long ago).  In a world of digital technology that little guy below seemed like an ancient artifact.  I would spend hours in the dark room developing photos that shamefully bad.  Slowly(which at the time seemed very slowly) I got used to my little promaster camera and got a taste of the photography bug.  

I took the class on a whim, mostly because it fulfilled a major requirement, but it turned into so much more than a completed 3 credits on my transcript.  Not only did the class teach me fundamentals of photography, which I still value, I found something I'm good at and really love-bonus points for the latter.  Now using my digital SLR camera, I think my appreciation for digital photography is far greater than if I hadn't endured those long nights in the dark room.  Thank you promaster camera, and thank you photo 100, you've allowed me to see things I would have otherwise not had the chance to. 

Here's a little preview of some of my favorite photos from class.

2 Years Ago...

2 years ago, on this very day, I left the United States for 4 months in order to live Florence, Italy.  I completed a semester abroad their, where it was not unusual to eat a pound of pasta for dinner, walk by the Duomo on my way to school, hang out with "The" David, eat gelato on the reg., walk up about a million stairs in order to get to Italian class and burn off that pound of pasta from the night before, eat another pound of pasta and sometimes pizza too.  Alright, you get it.  I ate.  A lot.

Happy anniversary to the wonderful friends I made, the magical places I saw, and the experiences I will never forget.

2 years ago I was hanging out with these lovely ladies...

In places like these...

Cinque Terre, Italy

Paris, France

Interlaken, Switzerland

Rome, Italy

Dublin, Ireland

Pisa, Itlay

Doing things like this...

All, while calling this home...

Love and miss all of this!