What I did on my summer vacation

I realize that other than telling people about songs I like sporadically over the summer, I haven't really blogged much in the past few months. It's not that I've been sitting around quietly twiddling my thumbs. I've been busy. BUSY. I think the summer of 2011 will go down as one of my busier times. I don't know why, but the stars aligned and things got quite busy and full and important. And so I thought I'd sum up my summer, elementary school report-style:

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!
2011 is the year of people falling in love and getting married. Or rather, being in love, but deciding that 2011 was the year they felt financially comfortable enough to have a wedding. By the end of 2011, I will have attended seven weddings this year. Yes. SEVEN. I've been forcing myself to not think about the finances of it, or else I'll get too stressed. In July, we had a wedding every weekend for three weeks in a row. I'm very happy for all my friends, but I'll also be happy when I have many months off in a row to rest up for being in two weddings in 2012.

Reunions
This year marked my 5 year reunion from college. Ricky and I trekked to Worcester for a weekend back on the hill. It was nice, but also had bits of melancholy. I feel like sometimes reunions try to re-capture a moment in time from your life, but that it ultimately fails. We're not all college kids anymore on the same level. We all have jobs or in grad school, and our personal lives are also at different levels. It was a fun weekend, but parts of it rang sad and hallow.

Vermont!
Ricky and I took one of the few free weekends to escape to Vermont. (I did actually post photos from that! I blogged something this summer!) It was the best few days I've had in awhile, and a rewarding and relaxing vacation for sure. Driving the 4 hours with Ricky was nice to have some time just the two of us to talk and hang out, and then when we got there, we did a wide array of our favorite activities. My cousin lives up there, so it was nice to see her. We've since fantasized about a world where we could move full time to Vermont, but I don't think that'd happen for a few years. I highly recommend an escape to northern Vermont for everyone.

The Beach
Ricky and I have the luxury of growing up by the ocean. So in the summertime, since it's easier for us to get to a beach, we try to go as much as we can on weekends or days off. This year, I felt we were able to get several trips in, despite all the other business. We're definitely not beach bums, just people who enjoy the water and sitting outdoors.

Two key friends moved far away
This summer two of my friends up and moved. Both were for the best, but it was still bittersweet to see them go. The first was my friend Dave, who got a job in Vermont. He had been trying to find something he liked in his field that was full time for a long time, so I was very happy for him. And, as I mentioned, I (not so) secretly want to someday live in Vermont and eat only from farmer's markets all day long. Secondly was my friend Crystal. She and her husband moved back to England, where he is from. I know that this is something she's wanted for a long time, so I am beyond excited for them. AND they're expecting a baby, so it's great that she'll be closer to family. Crystal gave me her living room set (well, more like sold it to me for dirt cheap) so I always have a little bit of Crystal in my life. I wish them both.

One important concert
This summer, my mom, brothers, Ashley, Ricky and I went to see Big Audio Dynamite. This was huge in my book, since I grew up listening to them and loving them. And we got very close spots at the House of Blues. It was amazing being that close to Mick Jones. He's aged decently well, and he still had the energy to put on a great show. They played all the songs of my childhood, which was equally key.


So yeah! That's how I pretty much spent my summer. There were other things in there that kept me busy, but those were the big events or trends.