I'm back!

After a long, unintentional hiatus from writing - I'm back!

The past month has been busier than ever; including a trip home to St.Louis/Illinois, Thanksgiving, some fun holiday activities, checking out Maryland's first capital, AND ...accepting a full time job. Slowly gonna get back into recapping stuff I'm doing out here.

For starters we had a great trip home in November. I drove from Maryland all the the way to Illinois and the whole 10.5 hours were actually not that bad. My co-pilot Zella and I drove through Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. If you ever want to drive out for a visit, it is beautiful going through the mountains - especially in West Virginia!

            

Due to fortunate timing, I was able to spend some time in St. Louis. IT WAS THE BEST. I've missed the interstate system, the food, and of course, the friends. First, I went to lunch with my friend Emma at Blues City Deli, back just a few blocks from our old apartment. Some may say it's just a sandwich shop, but it's SO GOOD. Besides the "Mike's Spicy Beef 'n' Cheddar," my favorite on the menu is the Delta Bayou.

             

After lunch, of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity to drive down Cherokee Street since it was only a couple blocks away. If you're not familiar with St. Louis neighborhoods and popular areas, Cherokee Street is worth the time to check out. There are a bunch of antique stores and little shops...and quite a bit of street art.

While in town I also did some other errands, but the most fun was showing up my friend Hannah's door with all my bags for a girls' night! Don't have too many of those anymore haha so it was nice to get dressed up and...  Go to Humphrey's (an old college bar favorite!), and then out to dinner at Bailey's Range - a restaurant known for it's burgers and shakes. Highly recommend!!

After a great night out with friends, I spent the next morning finished up some errands and then I went to pick up Andrew who had been at a work conference for 2 days, and drove back over to the Illinois/Indiana border for family dinner in his hometown. I think I can say one thing we both miss about home is family, but especially the littlest family members - who's personalities change more & more each time we visit. And our moms' cooking. We spent the next 24 hours bowling, playing pool, spending time with family, and going to Andrew's hometown high school quarter finals football game.

Last, we made the 4 hour drive North to visit my family. I got to meet my nephew Beckett James (and have a sleepover, including homemade cooking by my brother Mike) and meet my new niece Sadie Jean! It was great to see all my family for their baptisms. 

        

Driving home we hit quite a bit of snow,
but we made it back safely!

After we returning home, we celebrated our first thanksgiving away from home. And weren't too bad at imitating our favorite dishes.  Before thanksgiving, I had gotten a full time job offer and I'm happy to say I accepted. I am now a "teacher" at a daycare/preschool. Which hopefully is a great stepping stone for (near) future plans. 

So before I sign off - notice my new header?? I don't have Photoshop, so bear with me while I mess around with my layout on Paint, which I know is so 90s.

But I'm excited to say that we are back in Illinois, again, for Christmas. Just wanted to get this post out (finally) so I can back on track with posting what we've been up to. Hope everyone has a great Christmas!!!