This blog post title is the only place you'll ever see Auburn before Alabama! I had the to opportunity to spend time with family down in Auburn this past weekend. As most of you know, I never turn down an opportunity to venture out of town! Even if it's only about an hour away from home!

Pittsburgh. Home to the three sister bridges and the city where three rivers meet. The city that produced more steel than all the allied axis powers combined during World War Two. The newest city I have fallen in love with! I took a little trip up north a few weeks ago to visit family and explore this beautiful city. I had an absolute blast!

Hello loves!! I'm back home from a 36 hour trip to the great state of LOUISIANA!!! If any of you all (the readers) are from Louisiana, I'd like to say just how lucky you are! Southeastern Louisiana is just magical!

My best friend and I decided to take some time out of our busy work schedules to head down south and visit our dream graduate schools - mine LSU and hers Southern A&M University. The 5.5 hour trip was actually our first trip together in our 10 years of friendship! How crazy is that?? Since we live in different towns, our road trip was the perfect opportunity to catch up on life. From our man crushes, to make up, to work outs--you name it, we talked about it!

The five hour drive from southeast Alabama to southeast Louisiana didn't come without some issues though. First, the numerous bridges! When I'm driving around town or to work, I only cross one bridge. And even then, I'm only on the bridge for about 15 seconds. That is NOT the case with the bridges in the southmost areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The bridge in Mobile for example is high and long. But the bridge leaving New Orleans is higher and longer! When I tell you I was going well above the speed limit to get across those bridges....And the worst part was having to drive back over them to get back to Alabama.

And if miles of bridges of huge bodies of water wasn't enough, we literally drove through about a solid 2 hours of rain once we hit the Mississippi/Louisiana line. I knew it was going to rain, but I didn't know we'd be facing a torrential down pour the entire night once we arrived in Baton Rouge. But I have to say, even through all the rain, I still thoroughly enjoyed my night visiting the E.J. Ourso School of Business on the campus of LSU. Stef came along as moral support to the MBA informational the school held on campus Thursday evening. It was only about an hour long, but something clicked in my head and my whole view of the application process and program has changed. 
Let's just say, I'll be dedicating a solid 2 hours to GMAT prep each day from now until it's time for me to test.

After the info session, Stef and I trekked through the rain to head next door to our hotel and grab a bite to eat. Once we finished, we headed back to our hotel and proceeded to sleep for the next 12 hours. (Yes, both of us 22 year olds were in bed before 10!)

Taking the exit!

<-- to LSU

Full-Time MBA Info 

for the walking tour at Southern
riding boots// black skinny jeans // wool seater // long sleeve tee // denim jacket//

Bright and early Friday morning, we made our way to northern Baton Rouge to check out Southern's Law School. Stefanie lit up like a Christmas tree during the entire tour of their law center! She had a blast speaking with current students (L1s, L2s, and L3s), the Student Bar Association President, and other staff. If I tell it, Southern probably just wanted to keep her right then and there! We spent about 2 hours touring with the law school and talked to just about any and everyone available. I think that was probably the best part for both of us-- everyone was so nice and helpful!

Leaving Baton Rouge

Helloooo Crescent City!

Once we hit downtown New Orleans, our first stop before exploring the French Quarter was Landry's Seafood. Naturally, we got bowls of gumbo! Seriously, how can you not come to New Orleans and not get a fresh bowl of gumbo? After devouring three loaves of bread and bowls of shrimp, chicken, and sausage gumbo, we decided to walk around and see the magic of New Orleans.

Jackson Square

Loved seeing all these signs.

Mardi Gras decor galore in the French Quarter!

"Blue Dog" by George Rodrigue

And we couldn't leave without stopping by the world famous Cafe Du Monde for beignets! Quick story: I walk up to the window to order and find out they only take cash. I was so sad because I don't carry cash. I walked out with my head hanging low and was literally about to cry when Stef convinced me to use an ATM ( and not my bank's ATM) to get cash and go back to get the beignets. It was about 30 degrees out, windy beyond belief, and I had just about lost all feeling in my fingers when I sucked it up, paid the $3 transaction fee and bought $14 worth of the famous French doughnuts and hot chocolate. By the time we made it back to our car (5 blocks from Cafe Du Monde), I was a frozen, yet very happy lady. 

So, thank you Louisiana for treating me so well. I'll be back as soon as I can. Until then, I will continue to relish in the memories I made with you!


xo,

I  took some time out of my hectic work schedule and headed over to Atlanta for a quick day trip to enjoy an Atlanta Hawks game to celebrate my brother's birthday. This was my first NBA game and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Plus, Atlanta is only a few hours out, so it makes for a great day trip for me and my family. Take a peek at a few pictures form our trip, below!. (Read about my last trip to Atlanta, here.)

Hawk Walk is the main concourse in Philips Arena. Seriously the coolest concourse I have ever seen!

So Cool!

Because ya'll know I have to have my popcorn! (had to share with mom!)

Al Horford takes a shot!

Game Over! Hawks win 93-82!

Until next time Hotlanta!

xo,