Traveling Gypsy

Thursday. Thursday is the day my new adventure begins. I've got a mix of emotions... excited, nervous, scared, anxious... the list goes on. However, the trip starts with a relaxing 3rd annual girls trip. This yearly trip started at my family's lake house 3 years ago.

We've been to Lake Tuscaloosa, Charleston, South Carolina and on Thursday, we will show LAS VEGAS who's boss. I'm absolutely thrilled that we've followed through and have met up for 3 years in a row. I love traditions and I hope this is one we keep forever. AOT.

My Vegas trip ends at 11:45pm on Monday night and I'm flying to Austin, TX to start training for my new job on Tuesday at 6:00am. I might die. I'm going to the grocery tomorrow to get a few sugar free red bulls to make this entire thing possible. Wish me luck.

Training in Austin is over on Thursday and then I'll fly to the Falls of Wichita to see the boyfriend. I googled pictures of Wichita Falls and it wasn't good. I found one that's decent so feast your eyes upon this... these are the famous falls. Enjoy.

Where will I be after I fly home from the FoW? Who knows. I'll find out where my next adventure is when I'm in Austin for training.

Stay tuned, party people. You never know, I might be visiting a college campus near you. If I do, you might have to entertain me for a few weeks, let me stay with you, etc. Hope that's okay.

Another year older... Wiser? Ehh not so much.

Birthday week is over. This year might have been the best. I kicked-off my actual birthday with a dinner at The Palm. This was a treat from Papa G. It was great to talk with him and drink wine... but to be honest, I don't think we're fancy enough for The Palm. We've agreed that next time we're going for pizza and beer. Although, I am pumped that I finally tried this restaurant... and we did it big. No "I'll take a side salad and a glass of wine". We had calamari, soup, salad, and oh yeah, a 6 pound lobster.

The dinner at The Palm was followed by a wonderful weekend with friends. We woke up, played around at the pool and then had dinner at Sambuca. Dinner was followed by a swanky rooftop soiree. All in all, the weekend was amazing and I'm so thankful for everyone who came out. The four Leos had, yet again, another amazing birthday and we all can't wait for next year!

Ey yi yi!

Okay party people. If you live in Nashville and you haven't been to Rosepepper yet, you're seriously missing out. Look at this margarita:

It looks like a water but don't be fooled. This margarita will knock you on your ass. They only use Agave Tequila and it sure beats the hell out of the Montezuma they use at Puerto Vallarta in Bowling Green, KY.

I know I'm a little behind, but I'm just now checking out all that East Nashville has to offer. I like that area a lot. That part of town is not trying to be something that it's not. It's cool with who it is. Hippie, kind of dirty, doesn't give a shit what you think... I'm into it.

Rosepepper, I will be back. Eastland Cafe, you're next.

La Bella Vita

Birthday week is arguably the best week ever. Especially when you share your birthday week with three of your closest friends. You don't have to work out all week, everyone wants to go out for dinner, and it's perfectly acceptable, if not encouraged, to drink every night. Tonight was especially amazing because I took a trip to Little Italy.

Yes, I went to Maggiano's and it was fantastic. I've never been before and it's unfortunate because it was quite the dining experience. Our server was informative but not overbearing. Not like one of those servers who makes jokes and thinks he's friends with you. Why do they do that? No, our server was great. He suggested I get the Crab & Shrimp Cannelloni and boy he was right. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of my meal until I was completely full. It's not the prettiest picture but yumm-o.

Although, maybe this meal was so amazing because it was free? I'm a firm believer that free food tastes better. My sweet mom took me here for my birthday. This place is fancy; she was very concerned that she was underdressed. When she ordered her Eggplant Parmesan from the "Classics" portion of the menu, they said she could order something else from the "Classics" section for free, to go. That's legit.

I'm glad I gave this restaurant a whirl, even if it is a chain restaurant - Maggiano's... I'm a fan.

Next place on my list of places to go in Nashville, Mama Mia's. You can bring your own wine. I'm there.

Next place to go in the next few years... Italy. Buona notte!

The Final Countdown

Vegas is a mere 26 days away. I'm literally too excited to sleep. 8 girls going to Vegas for Labor Day... absolutely anything can happen. We're getting older so I need to prepare for a 4 day trip with my ladies. I went to Vegas about 2 years ago with Tori, Shannon and Christa and we had a blast. Although, it wasn't your typical Vegas trip that you've heard about or seen in movies. Nobody got married or woke up with a tiger in their room. Or had an Asian, with the smallest penis I've ever seen, jump out of the trunk of our car. It was quite literally the opposite of what you'd imagine a trip to Vegas would be like.

We all drank too much during the day to really see Vegas. We did a lot of touristy things and saw about 25 Michael Jackson impersonators on the street. However, when it came to making it out at night, we had a few setbacks. One night Christa got sick... then one night I got sick... one night Shannon got sick... and then one night, Tori got so fed up with us being weak that she literally left and we found her at "Slots A Fun". Tor will adhere to the strict buddy system this trip. That's a promise.

So here's my promise: this year, I will not be weaksauce. I will hydrate during the day and not drink so many mimosas that I can't make it to dinner. I will remember to eat during the day and not skip meals to save money. I will not drink in the bathtub with Shannon.... ehh I can't promise that. If the bathtub is big enough in our room at the BELLAGIO (we're fancy broads) then yeah, we'll definitely drink in the tub.

Cities of Love!

If you're wondering where you and your loved one can escape to or perhaps somewhere to meet a sexy man, look no further than this list. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35060647

My friend Lynlea, who lives in Charleston, sent me this list in hopes of coaxing me into moving to Charleston. I lived in Charleston for a summer after college and I can attest to the overwhelming amount of men. Although, they wear the shortest shorts I've ever seen a man wear. And bowties. I don't get bowties. I don't think they're sexy or manly. I think if you're wearing a bowtie, you might as well have one of those rainbow hats with the propeller on top. So to me, bowtie = douchebag.

In Vegas, it's probably more lust than love. Although, my friend KC met her better half while sipping mimosas in the MGM Grand pool. I'll be in Vegas in less than 30 days so I'll have to report back and let you know which of our girls found l-o-v-e.

Finalleigh, I have a blog!

I've been talking about starting a blog for quite some time now. In all honesty, I couldn't come up with what I would write about that anyone (besides my family) would care to read. After much debate, I've decided to share my many adventures with whoever will have me. I have spent about $2k in the past couple of months on random trips around the country... so, I thought it would be appropriate to share my travels. I might go through some of my favorite trips this year and post highlight pictures and share my favorite things about each place. But maybe not, this whole blog thing is already exhausting.

Leigh