Just like Britney in Crossroads

It's official! Turned in my notice at work, one-way plane ticket to Honolulu is purchased, and pre-moving steps have been put into place. I'm 23, single, and moving to an island!

All that's left is:

• Narrowing down what clothing items are going to make the cut since shipping is so dang expensive (gonnna be a no UGGS winter!
• Canceling my tanning membership.. crossing my fingers to come back at Christmas looking like a native)
• Get in a few last "Hoorah's" before leaving! Definitely going to miss my Nashville nightlife
• Sell my car!!! I have my eyes set on a cute little pink moped..  

One task that has been checked off already is planning our cross-country roadtrip! After swinging by and picking me up in Nashville, Heather and I will take our 5 day journey to Los Angeles where we are flying from to Honolulu. Always wanted to have a cross-country experience, and it's finally gonna happen! Just like Britney in Crossroads.. minus the whole pregnant girl thing. 

Stole this from Heather Feather but here's the breakdown of our little adventure... 

Friday, November 4

8:00 a.m. Depart Nashville, TN

drive 10 hours

6:00 p.m. Arrive in Oklahoma City, OK 

   stay @ Hampton Inn Bricktown (free bfast, yay!)

Saturday, November 5

8:00 a.m. Depart Oklahoma City, OK

drive 8 hours

4:00 p.m. Arrive Santa Fe, NM

stay at Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder

explore Santa Fe!

Sunday, November 6

8:00 a.m. Depart Santa Fe, NM

drive 7 hours

3:00 Arrive Grand Canyon

Monday, November 7

Jackass rides down the Grand Canyon!

3:00 p.m. Depart Grand Canyon

drive 7 hours

10:00 p.m. Arrive in Los Angeles, CA

Tuesday, November 8

Explore LA

Wednesday, November 9

A.M. drop off SuperCamry at port

5:05 p.m. Depart LAX

8:40 p.m. Arrive in HNL (Honolulu!) 

Celebrate!

Wedding Season

It's wedding season! It's that time of the year again.. the time when I'm faced with "to buy off the wedding registry or not". I hate HATE buying things I do not personally like off a couple's registry. Maybe it's selfish but I like to be really excited about gifts I'm giving.... and that's not going to happen buying a couple curtains or a turkey baster.

What are some good/classic wedding gifts??

Steeplechase

This month marked the 70th annual Iroquois Steeplechase on May 14, 2011! The day was filled with big derby hats, sundresses, Vineyard Vines, and more alcohol floating around than food. In preparation for the big day, we ladies shopped around for the perfect ensemble for weeks and saved our moola to splurge on the $100 ticket for the Nashville society party of the year.

Derick & I even got our picture taken by Vineyard Vines and landed in their Steeplechase album!

Steeplechase 2011:





Women on the Road

http://www.women-on-the-road.com/

Found this great website with information on Women who love to travel and see the world... mostly for women traveling solo... but Great information and very inspiring!

• How to do it on a budget
• Round the world Flights and Cheap international flights
• Why to travel
• Safe Travel
• Jobs abroad
• Cheap places to stay (who would have thought to stay at a monastary??)

Monastarystays.com has a great search engine for monastaries in Italy that accept reservations.



Forbes' Best Places to Live

SUCCESS! Without even knowing it, I will soon be moving to Forbes' #1 Safest Places to Live.. Honolulu, HI. And here I was worried about volcano eruptions & hurricanes.. no sir! Click here for the article!

  

Other Cities that made the list of Safest Places to Live :

1. Honolulu, Hawaii (definitely the best out of this group!)
2. Bosie, Idaho
3. Sante Fe, New Mexico
4. Yakima, Washington
5. Spokane, Washington

Best Places to Live (in general):

1. Vancouver, Canada
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Vienna, Austria
4. Toronto, Canada
5. Calgary, Canada

Best Places for Singles:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Colorado Springs, Colorado
3. San Diego, California
4. Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
5. Seattle, Washington

Best Places for Families:

1. Denver, Colorado
2. Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, Virginia
3. Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota
4. Miami, Florida
5. Orlando, Florida

Best Places to Reinvent Yourself:

1. Loveland/Fort Collins, Colorado
2. Bellingham, Washington
3. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina
4. Sarasota, Florida
5. Fayetteville, Arkansas

Fairytale Wedding

It's every girl's dream to marry a Prince. Well, today, marks the day that Kate Middleton is living every girl's dream... her marriage to Prince William. Nothing short of a Fairytale.

Kate looked so beautiful in her classic but absolutely fabulous wedding gown... but PIPPA was the one to talk about. Her dress was amazing, and gotta say.. she looked hot! Watch out Kate! Pippa's getting a lot of talk on your wedding day.

Pippa Middleton in her dress, designed by Sarah Burton:

The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost

On a day where nothing is opened.. I ventured into Books-a-Million yesterday (Easter) and browsed through their travel books. Came across this one that fits me to a "T"! I already can't do anything productive, because all I want to do is continue reading this author's narrative story about her fantasic life-changing adventures. So far, I've read about her first time experience in a hostel, coming across a strange Italian guy in her "girls only" dorm room... reminds me of my same experience in a hostel in Barcelona. Love these crazy memories.

HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone wishing to drop everything and travel.. to step outside of their comfort zone.. and to have the adventure of a lifetime.

The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure.

 You can buy it HERE through Amazon for only $2.70 (used)

Short description of the book from Amazon:

Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with newfound friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure. 

As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment.

READ IT.

going GAGA for GAGA!

In preparation for the infamous Lady Gaga concert tonight, the challenge is on for who will have the most outrageous GAGA costume! I, however, procrastinated as usual and raided the closet of my 18-year old sister (who's a raver)! Pictures to come on what classy/outrageous costume I managed to come up with.

Maybs I should have browsed THIS photo gallery of my employer (The Tennessean) for ideas. GAGA IDEAS!!!

UPDATE:

Lady Gaga was FANTASIC! More like a Las Vegas show than a concert. Disco bra compliments of my high school sister.

Ally & I at the concert:

Inspiring Travel Blog

Ever since I applied for the STA World Traveler Internship (which I didn't get but o well, life goes on), I've followed the travel blog of this couple who made it as finalists. Definitely check it out! It's amazing and so inspiring!

DriftingDuo.com

From couchsurfing to shooting the shiz-it with the locals, these two have had an amazing journey over the past year as they travel around the world on little to no money.

Not sure I could "rough" it as much as they did-  may  have to splurge for an actual hotel room once every few weeks; BUT, regardless, how awesome would it be to travel for several months and just see the world?!

I'M IN. LETS GO.

Travel. Play. See. Experience.

I said "yes" to Hawaii!

I had a revelation last weekend.  I am 22, already in a corporate job, but I'm still not happy with where I am in life. The fact is I AM only 22 I need to get out and see the world while I'm young and make experiences that I can only do while I'm single and in the fabulous years of my 20's. What other time in your life can you drop everything and go live on an island or backpack across Europe without people judging you for your irresponsibility? None.

Over the next few years, I'm vowing to live life to the fullest and say "Yes" to every opportunity (well maybe not every opp.) But I promise they'll be exciting choices!

The other day one of my best friends Heather called me and asked me to move to Hawaii with her in October. This is something I've always wanted to do, and threatened doing when my job or life wasn't going as planned... well, why not?! why not now? So.. I said "Yes".

And now the planning begins!

• Each Week, Heather & I are taking turns declaring a "Rule" in our prepartion for Hawaii. This week was changing the background on our work desktop computer. This is mine...

xoxo
Devyn