The GVL Girl

I haven't posted here since August 🙈, but I'm back in gvl now and have much more free time for adventures in the area!  I'll try to be posting more this summer!!

On July 1 (I know, that was soo long ago 😅), two of my coworkers and I headed out after work to Caesar's Head, DuPont Forest, and Bald Rock.  Here are the photos (not shown is our 10:45 p.m.* trip to a grocery store for popcorn because why not 🤷‍♀️):

*I know the specific time bc they left me a nice selfie from the grocery store (that I won't share here 😂)

I still have a couple of SC hikes to share (what’s the blogging equivalent of #latergram? 😂).  But for now, I’m going to share a couple of my favorites from my family’s vacation to northern Michigan.
The view from the top of the dune was 10/10 worth the climb.  Plus, up there, we met some Germans visiting Sleeping Bear, which was a cool coincidence.
 We ate dinner at the Cherry Hut, which has been around since 1922.  Pro tip:  Their Cherry Ade is so fresh after a day of hiking.
 On our last day up north, we went to L’Chayim in Frankfort.  (I've been wanting to try this little Jewish deli forever!)  The wait was worth it--their chicken gyro was to die for!
Thanks to Northern Michigan for the best summer memories. 💙

I probably won't post about many books here, but this book was exceptional.  By exceptional, I don't mean that it's the book that will come to NYT-bestseller popularity and find itself on every American's nightstand.  Four Seasons in Rome is kind of a niche book.  It's not fast-paced; it's more of a travel journal (perfect for those of us with persistent wanderlust and limited travel ability at the moment).

Anthony Doerr (a writer by profession) and his wife and their young twins move to Rome for a year because he has been awarded a writing studio there by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  The book contains no fast-paced drama, only the simple stories of everyday life for Americans who have moved to a brand new world called Italy.  It really is captivating, hearing how they discover their new city with childlike enchantment.  From culture to food to language to reflection, Doerr describes their life in Rome--and I fell in love with Rome right along with them.  Doerr's skill in writing and his incredibly unique ways of reflecting on the life around him make this book truly remarkable.  "Without habit, the beauty of the world would overwhelm us.  We'd pass out every time we saw--actually saw--a flower.  Imagine if we only got to see a cumulonimbus cloud or Cassiopeia or a snowfall once a century:  there'd be a pandemonium in the streets.  People would lie by the thousands in the fields on their backs."

I hope you get a chance to read Four Seasons in Rome (or, better yet, listen to the audiobook--Doerr himself reads it).

My favorite line from the book?  "Because every timidity eventually turns to regret."

Read This
We don't have to be prodigies or child stars to make an impact on the world.  It's not all about being successful while you're super young.  Rich Karlgaard explains his experience and the science behind success in adulthood in "It's Never Too Late to Start a Brilliant Career."

Watch This
A gorgeous, romantic ballet film set in Paris?  Yes please!



Director / Cinematographer / Editor - Christopher Alexander
Production - Zen Film Works
Ballerina - Brittany Cavaco
Ballerino - Sebastien Thill
Elderly Ballerina - Louise Schirmer
Hair and Makeup artist - Onorina Jomir
Wardrobe - Wins design
Letters artwork - Studio French Blue
Grips / assistants - Ruslan Randzhabar and Jose Rodriguez

Nature.  Oh my word, it just does something to the soul!

Last Saturday, some friends from work and I went hiking at Jones Gap.  It was absolutely stunning and a great time--even though it began thunderstorming as soon as we made it to the waterfall!  We were soaked, but the rain was actually refreshingly beautiful.