where i've been this year.

As 2013 is coming to a close, I can't help but reflect back on all the wonderful, exciting trips Justin & I have been able to take this year. I've been so lucky to have traveled to many, many new places, & I thought I would share exactly where I've been this year with you below. Any posts associated with our travels will be linked as well. Enjoy! 

Oh, & please note: not all states are placed in their geographically correct positions.

In January, we traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana for Laura & Jonathan's engagement. Then, we drove a moving truck with a lot of furniture in it back to Wilmington. There was a very quick stop over in Dallas, & I think that counts. 

In February, we visited Charleston, South Carolina, & we took TONS of photos. This post has links to all of the posts from that particular trip.

In March, we visited & fell in love with Pinehurst, North Carolina. Justin attended a Gastroenterology conference. I walked around & took photos. We also trekked across North Carolina, visiting Winston-Salem, Hickory, Asheboro, & Charlotte, during a birthday road trip for Justin.

While I was visiting Shreveport for a month in May, I got to see my mom get inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, attend Lindsey's Bachelorette Party at Jazz Fest, attend Kelsey's graduation, celebrate Mother's Day, & stand in Lindsey's Wedding.

For the 4th of July holiday, we visited Savannah, Georgia.

At the very end of August/very beginning of September, Justin went to play in a golf tournament with his friend Tim, & I met them in Raleigh that weekend to see Louisiana Tech play. I also visited ECU in Greenville with Rebekah.

In October, we went back to Charleston to celebrate our first anniversary.

In November, I got to visit NYC for the first time, in honor of Laura's Bachelorette Party.

At the beginning of December, we finally got to cross Nashville off our to-travel-to list. And we stopped to eat in Asheville on the way there. And then, on the twenty-first, we flew in for a very Shreveport Christmas, arriving in Monroe for a Christmas celebration with Justin's side of the family. And on the day this post goes up, we will be headed to Dallas for a New Year's celebration, & later this week, we will be participating in Laura's wedding festivities!

We took a few road trips over to Myrtle Beach throughout the year also, mainly just to shop at their outlet malls.

I'm thankful to have visited all of these places, but most of all, I am thankful for a husband who is willing & able to send me to all of these places. I can't wait to see what kind of travel 2014 has in store!

here we are eating at one of our favorite travel finds: Loveless Cafe in Nashville

For all travel posts, click here.

For all posts about the following cities, click them: Charleston, Charlotte, Jackson, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Raleigh, Savannah, & Shreveport.

Tell me: where have you been this year?

Also, want to find more state silhouettes? They're all here.

the sunday currently, volume 67.

Merry Post-Christmas & Happy-Almost-New-Year! I'm sorry for the late post today, folks. Since we have arrived in Shreveport, I've been sick, & we have been trying to get together with people & do everything we want to do while we're here. Luckily, I'm feeling much more myself today. I hope you all are having a lovely holiday, surrounded by family & friends.

R E A D I N G Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, as well as Harry Potter & History, which my sister got me for Christmas.

W R I T I N G nothing at all in my Composition books since I arrived here in Shreveport. We've been busy!

L I S T E N I N G to Justin chatting with me as I type this post out.

T H I N K I N G that I'm really glad that my illness is almost gone. I've been sick since we arrived in Shreveport.

S M E L L I N G nothing at the moment.

W I S H I N G it was still Christmas, & that 17 days in Shreveport was more like two months.

H O P I N G  I'm completely better by tomorrow.

W E A R I N G a sad face that Christmas is over. Luckily, my parents leave their Christmas tree up until the first of the year.

L O V I  N G that we are in Shreveport!

W A N T I N G coffee.

N E E D I N G a shower.

F E E L I N G so, so much better.

C L I C K I N G the Sunday Secrets.

What are you doing? Link up & share below.

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this week's posts:
the sunday currently, volume 66.
we're in shreveport!
shreveport snapshot: christmas at the ontario house.
just a little snippet.
shreveport snapshot: the girlies.

shreveport snapshot: the girlies.

not pictured: hun bun bear

just a little snippet.

we haven't stopped moving 

since we landed in monroe.

parties, lunches, get-togethers.

and now, i'm sick.

but i can't tell you how happy i've been

between the slices of pumpkin pie

and christmas talks around the tree

and endless cups of coffee.

shreveport snapshot: christmas at the ontario house.

we're in shreveport!

Thank you, friends, for putting up with my wimpy Sunday Currently post yesterday. We were set to arrive in Shreveport around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, & we didn't actually arrive until around 6:30 p.m. yesterday. When we realized our flight out of Wilmington was delayed, we went ahead & switched our destination to Monroe, since that was where we had planned to spend yesterday, as Justin's side of the family was having a Christmas get-together. We flew from Wilmington to Atlanta on Saturday night, were put up in a hotel, then flew out from Atlanta to Monroe Sunday morning. Then, after the Christmas party, we rode back to Shreveport with family. 

We are so happy to be here! I ate my weight in gumbo, cookie dough dip, & lemon pie yesterday, I've been clicking away on the DSLR around the Ontario House, & as I type this, Justin, Kara, & I are brainstorming where we'll head for lunch. I hope everyone's week is off to a great start! 

the sunday currently, volume 66.

CURRENTLY: in a hotel room in Atlanta, about to make our way back to the airport. Our flights were delayed yesterday, & we missed our flight to Shreveport last night. Today we are praying for safe, smooth, & quick travels!  I wish I would have scheduled today's posts, but I thought I was going to have plenty of time. If you'd like to see how a classically-styled TSC post is put together, visit the Sunday Currently tab at the top of this blog. Cheers!

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this week's posts:
the sunday currently, volume 65.
drugstore living: huge CVS sale.
only tuesday.
nashville snapshot.
songs from wilmington: christmas edition.
friday's fancies #76: warm & cozy indeed.
hometown bound: a very shreveport christmas.

hometown bound: a very shreveport christmas.

As you may have guessed from the title of this blog post, Justin & I are en route today, bound for the warm embrace of Shreveport! We couldn't be more thrilled to visit out hometown & see all of our family & friends.

I'm unsure of how much blogging I'll be doing while on vacation with our families, but I know I'll be around on Twitter & Instagram. Feel free to follow me on either of those platforms, or simply stalk #siddastravellog. 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! 

Tell me: how are you celebrating the most wonderful time of the year?

friday's fancies #76: warm & cozy indeed.

Happy Friday! Today is a day that will be spent doing last-minute errands & putting an extra shine on our apartment, because tomorrow, we leave for Shreveport! Can you tell I'm excited? Because I am. Hopefully by the time you are reading this, I will have knocked out quite a few items on my before we leave to-do list, but if I haven't, that means I'll be running around like a crazy person all day. The latter is probable, & such is life, I suppose.

sweater | scarf | house shoes | mug | leggings

So, let's talk about this outfit for a minute. As it stands, two of the items in this set are sold out. Which, I guess, means that myself & a lot of people have a penchant for the cozy & comfy at the moment. The sweater & the house shoes are those two items, & I can't really blame people for scooping them up. They would be two perfect additions to the scene I'm envisioning with this outfit, which involves me sitting in front of a fire, sipping on a peppermint mocha [preferably out of this mug that I'm obsessed with], wrapped up in pretty much the coziest infinity scarf I've ever seen [maybe I can teach myself to knit a comparable one?]. And lately, I don't care if leggings are pants are not - I want to live in them & pretend that they are.

fireside reading:
- This post from Elizabeth isn't exactly recent, but it spoke to me this week.
- With a return to Shreveport on the quickly-approaching horizon, Laura's post about returning launched me into reflections about my hometown, & how excited I am to visit there.

link-up: Friday's Fancies on {long distance loving}

songs from wilmington: christmas edition.

Nothing compares to a newly-minted playlist. I repeat, nothing. I haven't been the best at posting my playlists around here lately, but that's set to change, starting right now. Because there's no time like the present. And there's no present greater than music [see what I did there?]. But, in all honesty, music - and more specifically, the intentional arranging of specific songs meant for a specific mood and/or memory - is like a warm cozy blanket I like to wrap myself up in, every time a new season comes around. So today, I am sharing with you my Christmas playlist. Rather than list out all 214 tracks [that's 12 hours worth of music, folks], I decided I'd simply share my favorites out of all the albums that appear on the list.

FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO | bon iver

WOODLAND | the paper kites

YOUNG NORTH | the paper kites

FIGURE 8 | elliott smith

A VERY SHE & HIM CHRISTMAS | she & him

CHRISTMAS | michael buble

SNOWED IN | hanson

MOUNTAINTOPS | mates of state

CHRISTMAS IN THE AIRE | mannheim steamroller

CHRISTMAS WITH WEEZER | weezer

RED | taylor swift

What are you listening to for the season?

Listen to my Christmas 2013 playlist here.

photo taken in Nashville, Tennessee in December 2013 at the Omni Hotel

nashville snapshot.

holiday sparkle

o christmas tree

a cozy hotel lobby nook

tourists need maps

brunch with locals

Want to see more about our early December trip to Nashville? It's all here.

only tuesday.

It can't only be Tuesday, right?

I feel like I've done enough so far this week, to justify it being at least Wednesday. But who knows, maybe that is just my excitement talking, because at the end of this week, we'll be headed toward Shreveport... headed toward our families... headed toward our friends.

As it stands, right now, almost all of our laundry is done, all of the dishes are clean & put away, & I can currently be found sitting in Starbucks, getting ready to launch into an essay-writing session. Oh, & I finally got a run in earlier today... 3 miles... which I am extremely happy about. I feel so much better, having done that.

Maybe it is good that it's only Tuesday. There are still floors to be vacuumed. There are blog posts to write. Jobs to apply for, for when we arrive back in Wilmington after the first of the year. Application materials to mail off. Books to read. Knitting projects to knit.

Yes. Maybe it is a good thing it's only Tuesday, indeed.

drugstore living: huge CVS sale.

It's been quite a long time since my last beauty post, but I'm excited to jump back into doing these! 

When I walked into CVS today, I was on a hunt for some Airborne, but naturally, I walked out with makeup instead. The reason? Well, the appearance of a whole bunch of little green stickers that say 75% off on them. Yes, you heard that right... seventy-five whopping percent off! Now, as you can see from the photo below, I only picked up two things, because, well, it's Christmas time, which means a time for buying for others instead of myself. But let me tell you: I could have walked away with an entire haul. There were some Physician's Formula things that caught my eye, as well as some different shades of nail polish from various brands. It took some restraint on my end, that's for sure.

revlon photoready bronzer in bronzed & chic* | revlon just bitten kissable balm stain in darling

I've been wanting this bronzer for a really long time, due to a recommendation from Emily Eddington. When I saw that it was part of this sale, I jumped on it, & I'm so glad that I did, because there was only one of them left. The bronzer is made up of four matte shades that you can use separately or swirled together. They look like they would also work really well as eyeshadow colors. I quickly swatched the colors swirled together - as soon as I got in the car - but I can't wait to take this product on its true maiden voyage tomorrow.

I'm a big fan of the kissable balm stains & love the two colors I currently own - Honey & Smitten. The shade Darling was the only one in the display with the 75% off sticker, which leads me to believe that this color will soon be discontinued. It's a blue-toned, Barbie-ish pink, & I'm still deciding exactly how I feel about it. I put it on in the car, & I was a bit shocked at its brightness. The jury's still out on this one, folks, but the formula is good & trusty as ever.

Ok, so let's talk numbers. The bronzer was regularly priced at $13.29, & the balm stain was regularly $9.49. My total came to $6.09, which, as you can see, is less than half the price of the original bronzer, as well as less than the original price of the balm stain. 

That, my friends, is a sale that shouldn't be passed up. Let me know if you pick anything up, & be on the lookout for more beauty posts coming your way soon.

*It's worth noting that I couldn't find the bronzer or balm stain on CVS's website. This could mean that CVS will no longer be carrying this product, or that Revlon is discontinuing the product. As it stands, I don't know which it is.

the sunday currently, volume 65.

good morning from starbucks!

Hello, hello, friends & readers! I don't know why I'm using exclamation points this morning, other than the fact that I'm in a bit of an exclamation-point-using mood. First of all, I am in one of my favorite places of productivity this morning... Starbucks. Second of all, I've recently put the grueling Fall Semester behind me. Third of all, I'm sipping on a Tall Skinny Peppermint Mocha, as well as a Venti Ice Water. Fourth of all, by this time next week, Justin & I will be in Shreveport! So yeah, it's just kind of an exclamation point sort of morning, you know?

R E A D I N G Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. I have legitimately lost count of how many times I've read the series [maybe this is the fourth time?], but I have to tell you: I am so excited to be reading it again.

W R I T I N G quite a few blog posts recently. It feels wonderful to feel inspired again! I have felt the call to write for the past two weeks or so, & I hope it's here to stay... for as long as possible. The dry spells really make you appreciate the times when creativity is flowing. Now, just to get some inspiration to tackle this blog design.

L I S T E N I N G to the ambient noise of Starbucks. The barista is having a conversation with a girl sitting at the bar, & she is talking about how she had to leave work early last night because she was sick. She is having a coffee & typing away on her phone. There is a bluesy song playing right now, with what sounds like an upright bass. There are two girls to my right, talking about high-school-girl-types-of-things [actual excerpt from the conversation, " - And I was like, 'gah, Mom!'"]. 

T H I N K I N G that I need to go ahead & get this post wrapped up so I can get started on my applications to-do list. I slept past my alarm again this morning, & I didn't get up to Starbucks until after ten. My goal this week is to get up early every morning. That's my goal the whole time I'm in Shreveport, too. I don't want a minute wasted!

S M E L L I N G the delicious coffee-smelling air of Starbucks. One of my favorite smells. 

W I S H I N G I would have gotten up earlier, because then I might be done with everything I have to do up here, & then I could be headed toward a run at my favorite park. Right now, they are selling Christmas trees there, so when I pass a certain portion of the trail, I get a big whiff of evergreens. I mean, really, what could be better than that?

H O P I N G  my Ethics professor will go ahead & post my grade on my transcript. As it stands, I believe I will have an A in there... which means I made a 4.0 this semester! I can't adequately express my joy. This has been such a tough, trying semester for me, so all As feels like a huge accomplishment. I'm proud of myself. And it feels nice. Hard work pays off, y'all.

W E A R I N G a Christmas hoodie. And other clothes... just nothing extraordinary. I've also been wearing Vanilla Bean Noel from Bath & Body Works lately. It smells heavenly!

L O V I  N G the fact that we got a lot of couch Christmas shopping done yesterday. We are nearly done with all of our shopping!

W A N T I N G another Peppermint Mocha... what do you think? Go for it?

N E E D I N G a nice, long run today, complete with toning afterwards.

F E E L I N G energized & ready to take on this week. With some observation early tomorrow morning, to needing to finish my applications, to some Christmas cocktails with the magazine I've been freelancing for, to packing... it's going to be a fast-paced, busy week!

C L I C K I N G the Sunday Secrets, of course. Also, this, because when we return from our trip home, I plan to embark on a new diet of sorts.

What are you doing? Link up & share below.

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this week's posts:
the sunday currently, volume 64.
a close call indeed.
grub: the most important part of any road trip.
all it takes is a cup of coffee.
around here lately: nashville.
friday's fancies #75: just a little bit of sparkle.
on the other side.
saturday things.