sandy toes and smitten eyes

This summer has been good to me, thus far. What have I done? I would say that I have done nothing but that is partly a lie. I have done nothing, but in other places, with people that I thoroughly enjoy.

I just wrapped up a week at the beach with my roommate and her family. It was full of laughing fits, crappy carnivals, melted ice cream, and great food. Lots and lots of great food. I spent my week staring at the inside of a beach umbrella. catching the occasional ray of blinding sunlight through the tears in the cheap fabric. The colors had begun to fade, due to multiple summers in the sun, I suppose. It is the first extended amount of time that I have spent with Carley. That girl is awesome. Her demeanor is so relaxed that I sometimes have to ask her if she is okay because she is so peaceful. But there are also times when I swear I have never laughed so hard in my life. And she isn't phased by my strange ways, which is a good thing. I am so excited to take on sophomore year with her. There are many hysterical stories to come, I am sure of it.

Reece is great. More than great, actually. He is incredible. I am in a world of my own when he's around. And I don't think that feeling will ever go away. Below are some pictures from my summer, so far. I'm sure they won't make you swoon like they do for me, but they might make you smile. And that's good enough for me!


XOXO,
lil

Introducing Reece.

I am about to do what I promised myself I would never do: blog about a guy. However, this is not a post about my brother or just any guy. This is Reece. And once I am done here, you will understand why simply thinking these things just isn't enough.

Since Reece came along, my roommate and I have had a running joke: "From what rock has he been hiding under and does he have a friend?" (for Carley, of course). It is something that I ask myself on a daily basis. He came out of nowhere. There was no gradual introduction, or a grand gesture that you would see in a movie. He walked into my life as if he knew there was already a place for him there. I didn't know there was, but there was. At the time, I was bitter and jaded towards the idea that I would ever find a guy that would treat me how I deserved to be treated (pity party over).

And then came Reece. 

Tall. Extremely handsome. Brown Eyes. Contagious smile. All the things they describe in the story books. And then I grew familiar with his heart. Pure gold, I tell you. I know that I am biased, but when you meet him (notice I said "when", not "if") you will understand why I speak so highly of him. He pursued me in an intentional way that I did not know existed outside of the most romantic movies. No secrets. No games. No wasting each others time. Straight to the point. I think that's what caught my attention the most. It was apparent that this was not something that would be taken lightly. But if you didn't know this about me before, I am not very good at taking things lightly. I invest all my time and thoughts into the things that are important to me and there is no in-between. This was no different. 

It is so much more than the smiling in random places that I spoke of last summer. I find myself laughing at the thought that I thought I was happy then. But Reece made a good point (he's so smart). I was truly happy then. It was my normal. But this is my new normal. And in comparison to times that I thought I was happy before now, there simply isn't a way that this feeling could come close. 

I am a lucky girl. And that, my friends, is the understatement of the century. 

I won't reveal too many details just yet, seeing that I have a very long time to write this story. He will be around for a very long time. I have never been so sure of a single thing. Because when you know, you know. Right Reece? 

Fleeting images

Sweet, sweet summertime. I have always claimed that I would much rather live in an eternal winter than an eternal summer. However, that statement is on it's way to being reversed, I feel.

Summer is a symbol of peace. No more exams. No more showers in a hall bath. No more "I'm dropping out and never coming back" thoughts. Just me, the sun, and a plethora of good music. (I take much pride in my iTunes library, if you couldn't already tell.)

I can already tell that this will be a summer full of restoration. While I may have felt drained by the closing of a somewhat stressful and extremely challenging year, I feel that day by day, my cup is being filled by time spent with the people I treasure most. My nineteen-year-old brain is finally starting to realize that this life is short. My freshman year of college passed by as if it were an exit on a highway. Now it is nothing more than a fleeting image in my mind that I am sure I will reminisce on when I attempt to remember how it was to have little to no responsibilities. My point in saying all of this is that although I may have 90 years left to live (yes, I plan on living until I am 109), those 90 years will never be enough time with the people I love. Maybe I am starting to sound like your grandma, I know I sound like mine. However, the cliches that I repeatedly shook my head at are now proving themselves to be true. And quite honestly, it is beginning to scare me, this whole time passing quickly thing. Imagine how nostalgic I will be once I have a husband and kids to share my life with. Is time going to slow down then? Probably not.

So for the time being, I will revel at the bliss of a summer in the Lowcountry and a time in my life in which I have an unimaginable amount of things to look forward to.

Happy Summer!