Beaching.

Today Tabby and I went to the beach. Tabs is not as big of a beach fan as I am, but said that she really wanted to go at least once this summer before we head back up to Utah. I jumped at the chance since none of my friends are here in Texas anymore so when I come back home I get REALLY bored. and worst of all... I have no one to go to the beach with, so I don't end up going as much as I want to. Today was perfect. We brought a blanket, some drinks, and some sandwiches and had a good time talking, eating, and getting a little scared in the water. Haha. I love the beach, but the water freaks me out a little especially when other people are outwardly scared I get more scared. Since Tabs and I were both a little nervous about going to far, we ended up spending a lot of time being pushed around in the shallow as the waves rolled in. We liked it.
I also loved how I was able to continue some of my old beach traditions. Back in the good ole days my friends and I would come have picnics at the beach. During the day we would go to swim and sunbathe. I don't really know how this got started, but it was always my thing to bring a big bottle of chocolate milk to the beach with me. I know what your thinking... why would you want to drink chocolate milk on a blazing hot day at the beach? I honestly do not even know why. It just was my thing and I kinda liked it. Also, Texas has the best chocolate milk. I have tried chocolate milk other places and it doesn't even compare. BYU Creamery milk comes pretty close but no dice. Anyways... I just had to have my chocolate milk on the beach today. It brought back so many memories. I even got Tabby into it. Now I just need to come back to the beach at night with some friends, a blanket to sit on, a guitar, and a pizza. There is not a lot to do in Corpus other than the beach. So we would often spend hours and hours trying to think of something cool to do, but somehow we would always end up at the beach really late at night. We called it nighttiming (you know... like the Coconut Records song?!). We always talked about our future and our big dreams. It is so crazy to think that we are living that time we always talked about, but even more crazy how different reality is from our expectations. We aren't where we thought we would be, but somehow it has worked out for the better. Since I have been home I just haven't been able to get over thinking about growing up here. I miss all the friends, the good times we had, the memories. It's hard to be here without it. All we wanted was to get away and follow our dreams, but sometimes I just want to be back in the good ole days. That line that Andy said in the last episode of The Office is so true and so fitting.

"I wish there was a way to know that you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."

Carli

P.S. A little too much nostalgia going on over here.

Texas Love: Bonfires

 One thing I love about Texas, or should I say Corpus Christi, is the close proximity to the beach. I love having the opportunity to drive on over to the beach after work or going early in the morning and seeing the sunrise, which I have yet to do this summer and I need to.

 My favorite beach activity has to be bonfires. I love sitting around a fire with friends under the stars. We have been having quite a few bonfires lately and I don't mind at all. I love passing around the guitar and jamming with friends. I had no idea how many talented friends I had until we all sat down and sang together. 

 I know that it is possible to do a bonfire just about anywhere, but I firmly believe that the beach is the best place. There is nothing like the sand between your toes, the salty breeze in your hair, the sound of crashing waves, along with the cackling of the fire. It's amazing. 

After this bonfire we went for a drive in the dunes. Me being the pansy I am freaked out. A lot. I was almost hyperventilating. There is just something about cars doing things they shouldn't that scares me... but it was really fun once you get passed the fact your sitting in a metal death cab that is sliding down cliffs of sand while spinning rapidly.

Carli

Texas Love: The Gazebo

Lately I have been on a mission to visit all the places that my besties and I would hang out back when we were all together.

So today I was laying on my bed listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's new cd (which Andy gave me :) Thanks!), which by the way is amazing and you should buy it and listen to it, and my neighbor decides to mow his lawn right outside my window... When I get a new record I like to lay there and just listen, but with all that racket I couldn't. So I decided to get out of the house and go somewhere. So grabbed my sunnies, ipod, a journal, my camera and a strawberry lemonade from Sonic and headed to the Gazebo which is a place I found a couple years ago by accident. It's on the Texas A&M Corpus Christi campus right off a jogging trail and it over looks the laguna. It's so lovely.

 It was so perfect. It was so peaceful. I sat there listening to my music and writing down goals, ideas, and plans for the future of this blog, life, and business. There was even a sweet little kitty family that came up to me for a pet. I really need to do this more often.

Carli

Texas Love: Beach

One thing I love about Texas is that it has a little bit of everything. It's like a melting pot of terrain. Seriously. We have everything! A little beach, a little hill country, a few mountains, a lot of desert, a little forest...

I grew up next to the beach and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I have missed the salty air and the sound of crashing waves. I have spent a lot of time on the beach in my life. There is nothing like swimming in the surf, laying on my beach towel and reading a good book, eating pizza and drinking chocolate milk in the sand, or sitting around a fire with friends. Actually I have had a lot of epiphanies on the beach. Before all of my closest friends and I all moved away to chase our dreams we spent a lot of time on the beach at night talking about who we wanted to be and what we want to do. We made a lot of goals and plans and it is really wonderful to see all of us in different places in the world making that happen. It all started on the beach and hopefully we will come back someday and sit on that same beach and reminisce about the "good ole days".

 I have never been so pale in my life. I definitely need to spend this summer soaking up the sun.

 My friend caught this little fish in his net and it got stuck. We couldn't get him out. The poor little guy died. It was terrible.

 It really was the perfect day. Not too hot. Not too windy. Great friends. The only downside was that the surf was dead, but because there were no waves the water was so clear and we got to see a sea turtle and a lot more wildlife. When the sun went down we had a bonfire and ate yummy s'mores. I hope to have a lot more beach days this summer.

Carli

Road Trip: Wildflowers

This is the last installment of the Road Trip series (for now). Next time I embark on a road trip I will probably blog about it too, unless you don't want me to. These past couple of weeks I have been trying to get all my road trip posts out there and frankly, I was getting a little tired of posting them. I think that the reason I got tired of posting them was because I am starting a new blog series that requires the ending of my road trip posts. So today is the end of the Road Trip and the start of Texas Love!

Isn't it funny how you don't appreciate anything until it's gone? Most Texans are very prideful of their state. Maybe you know this already because you have been told off by an overzealous Texan, but I have gotten into some friendly and almost not so friendly arguments about how much better Texas is than Utah, and other states. I knew that I would miss my family and friends and of course my favorite restaurants but I didn't ever expect how much I would miss the state of Texas. So I decided that this summer I am going to take advantage of Texas and try my best to appreciate and love the little time I will be spending here. So for the summer expect pictures, adventure stories, and much more straight from Texas.

These are the things I love about Texas.

Living in Corpus Christi, it takes a day to get out of Texas in any direction but South (Mexico is a couple hours away) and I guess East (by boat which I don't have). The drive is almost always daunting. I feel like we spend more time driving out of Texas then we do driving anywhere else on a trip. On our way back from Utah we finally hit the Texas border and I let out a "Hooray!". I then realized that I still had 10 hours to go. Living in the second largest state in the U.S. is a curse and a blessing... The point is that I was very tired and very discouraged... Then I saw the wild flowers. In Texas there are almost always wildflowers growing on the side of the highway in the spring and summer. Anything from Blue Bonnets (state flower) to Indian Paintbrushes. My dad and I had to stop. Looking out the window and seeing these little flowers paint the side of the highway made the drive a little less brutal.

Carli

Crying.

So you know that really awesome camera I got for Christmas? The one that is technicolor and shoots film? You know how I said that most of the pictures I took in Texas were on that camera?

Well the other day I got them developed….

I have got sad news…. Like an idiot I took that camera through airport security. Yep. The xray ruined my film. Five pictures turned out.

This is the only one that turned out from Texas. It is of the sun shining through the trees at our ranch. I feel like the left part of the picture is part of another picture that I took. Maybe of this old truck that is stuck in the ground… but it’s kind of hard to tell.

The rest are stupid pictures that I took right before I took my film in to get developed…

My shoes turned out pretty good I guess.

I thought this might be clever. But it really wasn’t.

I won’t show you the rest because, well frankly, they are just plain sad…

I am really mad… but I was halfway expecting it…

Better luck next time.

Carli

Christmas In Texas.

Besides being deathly ill and going to the emergency room… I had a glorious time in Texas. The weather was perfect, it was good to be back at home with my family, and of course Christmas was wonderful. I do apologize… I didn’t take very many pictures. I was a little preoccupied I suppose. I’m truly annoyed with myself for that. I haven’t been doing hardly any photography or guitar playing lately. Where are my priorities?

The following are some of the shots I did get.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake at Hester. Lunch with mommy.

Unsuccessful shot of the Christmas tree. I thought it looked pretty cool though.

Bokeh shot. I made my brother make me a bokeh for my camera. 

Unsuccessful bokeh shot. Christmas dinner centerpiece.

Christmas present from Dad. Is it not completely fantastic?! P.S. most of the pictures I took in Tejas were taken with my Holga. I am still trying to finish the roll of film. Pictures to come soon. I promise.

Old truck that has become a permanent fixation in the ground at our Ranch. This truck got me into photography. It is so beautiful.

Texas horizon.

Bonfire at the ranch.

A bonfire is not a bonfire without fireworks… It is so true.

Christmas was great. No snow. No cold. Just warmth & sunshine & family & good food.

Thats the way it’s supposed to be.

Carli

P.S. Don’t know what  bokeh is? Or want one of your own?! Find a tutorial HERE.