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Blogs. I follow a few and some of my best friends update their own regularly- but (with the exception of some superbly teen angsty Livejournal posts circa '00s) I've never had any desire to have one of my own. I love pen and paper, creating little tomes detailing both the trivial events in my life as well as the life changing events and everything in between. But always just for me. I've kept journals off and on my entire life (recently discovered: a very messily scrawled entry detailing my plans to run away, due to being scolded at a birthday party that afternoon. My 8 year old self was maybe a little dramatic...). I love to reread them sometimes and revisit, laugh at myself and -hopefully- realize how I've grown and changed over the years. It's always been super personal- and I've liked it that way.

Here's the thing: I'm about to go on a big adventure, and I plan to blog about it as I go- with the hope that at the end of this adventure, I'll have created something I can not only revisit  but also share with others considering similar adventures.

So if by chance you're not a friend or family member-or you are and I've just neglected to tell you..woops...- I should probably provide a little bit of backstory!
I spent most of the summer waiting for inspiration to strike and enlighten me on my next "career" move- and in the meantime had a whole lot of fun. After more than 5 years traveling a career path I always knew wasn't the right path for me- I was finally free of a typical "9-5" schedule and corporate nonsense. I was free to take on freelance styling jobs, collaborate with other local creatives, and get into the film world as a wardrobe/costume assistant. All things I love and all enriching in their own ways- but not always the most steady of gigs! 
One day while playing shopgirl at Hazel & Flo, after seeing a Facebook post from a friend who had recently returned from her own adventures, I began exploring potential opportunities for travel. What began as idly wondering what the possibilities were of me ACTUALLY leaving (as well as if I actually had the guts to go through with it) has turned into me now preparing to move to Senlis, France to Au Pair. And soon.

Senlis is a pretty little town 25 miles North of Paris, and looks a little something like this:

It's incredibly exciting and scary and anxiety inducing and a million other things all at once. After accepting the position, things moved pretty quickly and it's felt as if each day I've faced a new thing that made the whole thing a little more "real". From booking a Visa appointment at the Consulate, to subleasing my beloved NOLA apartment, to little things like realizing each time I'm out somewhere it's possibly the last time I'll be there for a long time..it's all prettt-y real at this point. Another new level of real: meeting the family last weekend. Not only did that make it very real, but maybe a little less scary (only in the "Hooray! Maybe the whole thing's not a ruse luring me into human trafficking!" sense. If I had a dollar for every time I've asked my boyfriend "but what if they AREN'T real people??".....) They seem wonderful, and the girls were super sweet. Famous last words? We'll see.

The next few weeks will be a whirlwind.

I can't wait.

xo