A new and improved Me

A few days ago I made the decision to become a more spontaneous version of myself.  I realized that it is already July, over half the year is gone, and life is speeding by at a crazy fast pace.  I tried to think of some fun and exciting things I have done so far this year, and sadly, there weren't very many.  I seem to focus all too much on work and responsibilities, and often make "fun" a low priority.  Time to change that.

Included in my new plan to be more fun and adventurous, I also want to take at least one trip each month for the rest of the year.  Not even a far trip, or for very long, but just enough to get out of town and see something new.  I figured this weekend was the perfect time to start with a spontaneous trip to the coast.

We hadn't been to the beach since our honeymoon last year, and that is unfortunate since we live so close.  The coast is just over two hour drive and well worth it even for a day trip.  An added bonus, one of my favorite people in the whole world happens to live near the beach, so we were able to spend the afternoon with her as well.

We only had Erik's iPhone for taking photos so please enjoy these few instagrams I snapped while we were there...

Yes, we really needed all that stuff..

 Next on the agenda, a mountain trip in two weeks.  Erik has a three-day bike race in Asheville, and how could I pass up the opportunity to visit my favorite city?  "Old me" would have probably not gone since I was scheduled to work and didn't want to have to find a pet sitter for Lucy...  "New me" asked my manager for the time off and had Erik book a pet-friendly cottage so we could bring the little lady with us.

I like this new me.  And I have so much more planned.  Hello world, here I come...