My First Time | Snow Tubing

Last weekend I took a short trip to the mountains to celebrate a friends birthday! Christina and I have been friends since high school so I think this marks year number nine since we became friends! Time flies. I remember hanging out directly after school to take naps at each others house, playing monkeys in our theater department's rendition of "Tarzan", and various trips to Myrtle Beach. Oh the memories!

She had this grand idea to go snow tubing up at Hawksnest in Seven Devils, NC (about 30 minutes from Boone) and how grand the idea was! I had an absolute blast zipping down the snowy/icy hills which took limited physical activity (yet I was sore afterward?). Aside from the long lines, it was a little adventure. Plus, the best apple cider I have ever had didn't hurt either.

Here are some snapshots from our mini snow excursion :)
All photos were taken + edited from my iPhone.

 

I will actually be back in Boone this weekend to work with YGHP! We have some great plans ahead in the design world and I can't wait to share :)

Have a safe and wonderful weekend.

TUESDAY TUNES | MOUNTAINS

Photograph + Design (c) Melissa

The mountains have a special place in my heart. So far, they have been the place where I experienced the most changes in my life - the good, the bad, the ugly, but mostly the learning. The photo above is one of my favorite views off of 421 on the drive up to Boone. This weekend I am taking a short trip up there for business, and of course for pleasure. It will forever be one of those places that means the world to me. It's my little haven. Remember that letter I wrote to Boone? It's amazing how much one place can change you.

Here are a collection of songs that remind me of Appalachian + Boone.
I can't wait to be reunited this weekend! Even if only for a weekend.

PLAYLIST //
1 | 1904 - The Tallest Man on Earth
2 | The Avalanche - Sufjan Stevens
3 | Mountain Sound - Of Monsters And Men
4 | The Cave - Mumford & Sons
5 | Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
6 | Die Die Die - The Avett Brothers
7 | Learning To Fly - Tom Petty
8 | Sodom, South Georgia - Iron & Wine
9 | Meet Me In The Morning - Bob Dylan
10 | Crossroads - Tracy Chapman
11 | Rooster - Toubab Krewe
12 | Rivers And Roads - The Head And The Heart
13 | Take Me Home, Country Road - John Denver
14 | Tin Man - The Avett Brothers
15 | Falling Away - Benjamin Pacheco
16 | Stubborn Love - The Lumineers
17 | Towers - Bon Iver
18 | When I Go - Brett Dennen
19 | Four Winds - Bright Eyes
20 | Pink Moon - Nick Drake
21 | All The Trees Of The Fields Will Clap Their Hands - Sufjan Stevens
22 | Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
23 | Mixtape - Tift Merritt
24 | Sing - Travis
25 | Suzanna - The Wildbirds
26 | Dance, Dance, Dance - Steven Miller Band
27 | Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
28 | Down In The Valley - The Head And The Heart
29 | Winter - Joshua Radin
30 | Mountain And The Sea - Ingrid Michaelson
31 | Flowers In Your Hair - The Lumineers

Happy Listening!

Listen on 8tracks | Spotify*

*Click on the link and choose Spotify as the application. It will automatically take you to the playlist! Be sure to subscribe to keep the playlist on your queue :)

Boone: Bittersweet goodbye (for now)

Dear Boone,

Not many people can appreciate your hidden beauty, but every day since I first moved here four years ago, I have been falling in love with you more each day. You changed my world. You changed my perspective. You changed me. Who knew that a little town in the High County, whose population doubles when school is in session, could have such a lasting impact on a girl trying to find her way in the world. You may not have had the hip clubs, Target, student discount at the movie theater or the other million things the world likes to use to distract themselves, but you had heart. You had a culture of people that cared, cared about one another and cared about leaving the world better than how they left it. You became my home when I was 18 and as much as it hurts to say goodbye to my home, I think you have prepared me to take on the rest of my life. It is silly how attached I've become to you. After four years of holding hands with such a place, I guess it is really time to let go.

I thought I knew everything when I first moved to Boone. I thought I was just so "mature" for my age and knew everything about life, love and everything in between, but doesn't every 17-18 year old? Boy was I wrong. You taught me to stay grounded, become more patient, breathe every once in a while and appreciate the little things in life. You showed me a different kind of love. A kind of love that does not stay the same but grows. A love that involves much more than simply caring but respect, trust and understanding. You have put me in situations that tested my character. You let me make mistakes in order to learn from them because it is not the act of making mistakes that define your character, but how you react and learn from them that does. You enabled me to listen to the other side of the argument by getting off my stubborn high horse. You inspire me. You gave me opportunities to show what kind of person I am personally and professionally. Most of all, you gave me lasting friendships and gave me the courage, resources and drive to follow my dreams.

Not all days were good. Your winters realllllllly tested my patience. I admit to cursing your name under my breath every time I had to walk outside in your snow globe. Your winters are beautiful when I am inside with a coffee mug sitting by the fire, but man you were a bit brutal with your wind (admit it). But once you shed your winter blues and leaves starting showing their true colors, you made it all worth the wait. I can't even describe how absolutely breathtaking it was to hike your mountains and see the Blue Ridge Parkway or to feel SO close to the constellations, you felt they were in reach. You have been one heck of a back drop to my life. You let me understand the natural beauty of our surroundings. Forget those man-made skyscrapers or malls built to buy your happiness and find peace through retail therapy (although it does work temporarily). Seeing your inner peace and beauty every day has helped me to continue to find mine.
 
I have learned that we never stop growing ...and this is truly the beginning. I am not the same person I was four years ago and it would be silly if I was. It would be even more silly if I was the same person 10 years from now as I am today. Boone, you have helped me grow up and have led me to choose the path of greater resistance. There are no shortcuts in life and it is truly about the journey rather than the destination. I used to focus so much on the goal that I lost sight of the beauty about everything in between. You bring me back to reality but always made sure I knew my dreams were within reach. 

I still have a novel of things to learn, but Boone you have been one heck of a chapter. I will continue to write about you for years because you have been one of my true loves. Thank you for the lessons. Thank for your the change. You were everything I needed and so much more. This college graduate is going to share the beauty and strength you showed me and really make a difference in the world. I may not be able to reach the whole world, but if I can just change one life, that will be perfect enough for me. Thank for your some the best four years of my life.

This is only the beginning dearest Boone.
 Keep changing lives like you changed mine.
Plus, did I mention how kick butt your local restaurants and stores are? My goodness I am going to miss stuffing my face.


Now, excuse me while I go have a little emotional breakdown about moving. There a few happy tears in there, too. I promise. Like Dr. Suess says, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

Photo details: Photo was taken July 26, 2011, in Moses Cone off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once upon a time my friends and I were involved in a local band. We went out for a walk about took some band pictures showcasing the beauty that stood right outside our door, literally. This was one of scenic photos. Isn't Boone a beauty?

Snow day turned LL Bean Catalogue Photo Shoot

 

 

 

Yes, the rumors are true. Boone finally got snow last weekend. It's been a weird winter this season. Normally I am cursing at every snowflake as a trudge to class with foggy glasses and more layers than a bean salsa dip. Did that make sense? Whatever.

Of course I made my roommates go outside and take pictures with me. Yes, we intentionally wore red flannels. Yes we look like we're modeling for the LL Bean Catalog :) Gotta love it.  

Thank you Boone for not being a complete snow globe in the hands of a five year old this year.

Did I speak too soon?

12. December. Diciembre. Dec.

It seem as though November has come to an end,
& an old friend named December has come to visit.
Hello December.
Did you know I started this blog last December?
Let's just say I took some ...huge breaks in between posts back then ;)
Here's the first post.

Well friends, if you've been following me on the monthly goals journey, it looks like it's time for a little update! You can see the all the posts here. Here's the list and what I've marked off so far.

I've already written 21 thank you notes, so here are the remaining nine! Since all I've been putting in my moleskine lately are lists (school lists really), I decided to write my last thank you notes in there.

So, thank you November.
In the midst of a few bad days, awkward moods, cold hands and confusion, there were more days of joy, discovery, warmth, new friends and good food. You were a wonderful month. I feel more and more blessed every single day.

PS: If you're in Boone and looking for something to do, come out to my group's fundraising event this Friday from 5-8 p.m. during Boone's Art Crawl. All proceeds to go towards a local nonprofit, F.A.R.M. Cafe < -- go to their website for more information. Here's the flyer I made for the event. Be sure to check out the official Facebook page!

outfit post// christmas pjs

It's officially Christmas season in the Carroll-Scearce-Vega household. We whipped out the Christmas pajama pants! My roommates and I (pictured above) have finally put up most, if not all the Christmas decorations. Even if we are all peacing out before Christmas, it'll add to the holiday spirit! We're going to make our list of Christmas movies to watch soon. We better make time to watch them in the midst of finals, Felicity and trying to keep sane.

[Side note about the picture: At first I hated this one because it's "true to size." I look so short compared to them :( I am 4'11. Anyway, I made them take another one while I stood on a step school but felt dishonest, so I used this one!]

My lovely friend Mary Beth took these photos :] I hate taking photos on campus. Ugh. She said, "Are you going to use these for your blog?" At first I wasn't going to just to spite her but, even deep down I knew I was hehe.

Oh yeah, and it snowed a little here in Boone. No, it wasn't a blizzard (although I'm anticipating when Boone becomes a snow globe on steroids). I'm pretty bi-polar when it comes to snow here in Boone (as you can tell from the pictures). Cold, cold hands, but cute tights. Foggy, wet glasses but wearing coats! My walk to class gains five extra minutes from the wind blowing me back, but snow is beautiful! My car gets stuck every year and I can't even make it up my hill to my house, but watching snow fall from the window with the fire going is one of the most serene feelings.

Sigh, snow snow snow. How to feel about you. Obviously you're a man if you're making me feel this way.

Is it sad to base where you will move to next based on your closet? I just can't live anywhere too warm or without a cold season. I have just too much fall/winter clothing!

a little restaurant called Our Daily Bread

I love my college town.
Living in Boone seems to get better by the day.
(this disregards the Winter days because I promise, in a few weeks I may not like Boone's weather so much...haha)

We have the cutest local restaurants, shops, record stores, bead shops, thrift stores + mountains to surround it all! Last Friday, I met up with my Her Campus AppState writers (who I absolutely adore) and we had a little writers meeting + excursion to local restaurant, Our Daily Bread. Their menu is FILLED with yummy sandwiches, soups, salads, vegetarian/vegan options and it will take you hours to decide what to order because everything and I mean everything sounds good. They strive to serve local and organic foods, which is always a plus, and the restaurant is absolutely beautiful with the brick walls, local art and exposed vintage ceiling tiles.


This is what I ordered:

Can you say yummy?

In other news, I have quite the full plate filled with classes, joining the Communication Honor Society Lambda Pi Eta, writing for www.mycollegeroadtrip.com, writing for HC AppState, working as a wine representative for Tar Heel Winery, picking shifts at Primo's and keeping up with the blogging world! However, I am blessed for the opportunities that have come my way and I am seizing all of them. That is not even half the things I have to manage but I am determined to be able to do it all! Sleep? No one remembers sleeping anyway ;)

Have a blessed week fellow readers!

PS. Just bought the Beirut album "The Rip Tide" on vinyl with my $5 coupon whoop! It's amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Also, one of my fav. bloggers + fellow button swapper, Dot In The City, is hosting an awesome giveaway! Check it out!

SUPER UPDATE

Because my old habits of procrastinating have been revamped through this blog, I owe it to myself & to my ..."readers" (I say this, because really...who needs this blog?), or I should say, my imaginary audience, for an extreme update of my, trying-to-be-interesting-life.

Anyway -
Last Thursday I was reunited with my TRUE home - Raleigh! Boone is truly where my life is currently - my responsibilities, job, studies and my room, but Raleigh is always so refreshing when I visit. I was able to spend some quality time with my globe trotting best friends. My friend Renee, a fellow blogger, and I visited and spent a few hours (& I am not exaggerating) at one of our favorite restaurants in Raleigh - Lemongrass. Apparently, they have been there for eight years, but we've only discovered them a couple years ago thanks to a coupon. Who doesn't love a locally owned Asian cuisine restaurant? Great conversation. Great food. Great company.

I also treated my mom & younger sister out for a belated Mother's Day dinner at her favorite restaurant - PF Changs. Basically, I worked on Mother's Day in order to pay for our meal haha. If you haven't heard of PF Changs, it is a Chinese bistro chain restaurant that has one of the best lettuce wraps I have ever had, among other things. Here's some snapshots!

Other than that, I got to spend some quality best friend moments with everyone back home, which was very much needed. Many of the people that I love the most in my life I was finally reunited with & it felt great. I miss everyone already. Everything just makes senses when I'm home. But alas, Boone is another home away from Boone that I feel bittersweet to back reunited with.


Some Boone moments from last week include:

- Celebrating one my roommate's 21st birthday! This included dining at Cha Da Thai - local Boone Thai cuisine (Yes, a lot of Asian food last week...haha), a night full of laughter and my other roommate & I even made her breakfast in bed! Yummy blueberry pancakes with fresh strawberries + blueberries.

My beautiful roommates & I with our GREEN backyard!

Along with celebrating her birthday, we had to visit beansTalk because we found out they are closing down their Boone location and moving to Concord, NC. SAD, SAD DAY. BeansTalk to my friends and I is such a landmark for Boone, it's weird to think about Boone without it. It encompasses our past few years in college and it'll be hard to see it go :( It's rumored to having disputes with their landlord and unable to stay at their current location. So, here's a little tribute to beansTalk! Their officially closing day is this Saturday, May 21. So, if you're in Boone, support them and enjoy their last day here.

AND WHAT'S THIS? ZOMBIES IN BOONE?!?!

 

It's true! There are officially zombies in Boone. Keep your brains and organs safe!

Now that I'm back in Boone, I must prepare myself for all these summer plans! 

- My internship officially starts this upcoming Monday. Where did May go?

- I need to start more things for the MusicFest 'N Sugar Grove

- Start my account on MINT to organize my finances (Thanks Renee!)

- Find a hair piece for my Aunt's wedding in June! (Which I am also the asst. wedding coordinator for)

- Some minor grocery shopping

- FIND MY APRON, I work in .... 2 hours.

& continue cleaning out my room.

Oh, and write a lovely hand-written letter to my one of my good friends :)

We've kept up this tradition for a few years now! Yay!

Because I didn't do music video Monday, here's some links to FREE music that I've been enjoying the past week. Thank you Amazon!

1,000 Ships - Rachel Platten

Love You Strongly - Amy Stroup

Enjoy!

Told you it was a super update.

Celebrity Serve 2011

Interested in eating out on the town tomorrow evening, Tuesday April 12 in Boone, NC?
Ah, then read on and if you're curiosity is peaked.

Celebrity Serve is a local fundraising effort by local restaurants of Boone and Blowing Rock dedicated to raising money for local charities or nonprofit organizations. Celebrity Serve is in it's sixth year and this year will be benefiting OASIS (Opposing Abuse with Service, Information, and Shelter), a local nonprofit organization founded in 1978 dedicated to ending domestic and sexual abuse in Watuaga County.

This year's "celebrity servers" are local personalities ranging from the Appalachian State University coaches or athletes to Boone's local meteorologist, Ray Russell.

All tips and a percentage of the sales all go toward funds for OASIS if you eat at the following restaurants:

Bandana's
Boone Drug
Casa Rustica
Galileo's
Makoto's
Mr. Original Gyros
Panera Bread
Pepper's
Primo's - I will be working and helping serve!
Storie Street Grill
The Peddler Steakhouse
The Town Tavern
Troy's Diner
Woodland's BBQ

Definitely come out at the town and enjoy some great local dining and helping a local nonprofit organization. It's a win/win situation. Even a small town like Boone can make the greatest difference.

See you all tomorrow evening! (I hope)
Remember - percentage of sales and ALL tips go toward Oasis!

- Melissa

Japan Crisis Relief: AppState Style

 On March 24, 2011, the students at Appalachian State University came together to support Japan relief efforts due to the recent natural disasters that hit Japan. Students at AppState donated, planted flags, wore red or white and wore badges in support. We raised over $1,500! All donations were given to the American Red Cross and the Japanese Red Cross.

And the event continues!
App State students are planning another fundraising day on April 7, 2011.
So those on campus, visit Sanford Mall, donate any amount and plant a flag to form the flag of Japan.
Together, we can help rebuild Japan.

Here's a few photos from the last fundrasier.

3:30 p.m. - The current flag of Japan on Sanford Mall

One of the flags I planted

Photo of the two flags Hannah and I planted after our donations

It's amazing that AppState can come together and help to support relief efforts in Japan...
how many organizations, local businesses or anyone have come together.

- MV.

Right at this second...

 

These were taken at the beginning of the month through the window toward my back porch.
They sum up the weather for the past couple days...

We even had some snow/ice mixture yesterday...I was not pleased.

I'm ready for sunshine in Boone!

Now.

Lately:

- I need to get my head screwed back on correctly for school. Spring break was last week and teachers are not holding back for the next few weeks -___-

- I don't know if I'm lethargic because I'm getting sick, not getting enough sleep, or just because I was born with XX chromosomes...if you know what I mean.

- The juices have been flowing for some major blog ideas! [Be excited. I am]
- I spent some time on the Adobe programs on campus (milking that cow 'til it's dry!) doing some renovations on the blog. 

•  new banner
• new links on the sidebar

Hopefully I'll have Illustrator + Photoshop to myself one day!

- I've been functioning on NAPS, NAPS, NAPS.

- Chinese food saved me today.

- I voted... on American Idol.

can't you see the "lethargic-ism" in my eyes?

Oh! And how I musn't forget retail therapy.

Hello Urban Outfitters gift card.

Finally, a Holga 120!
& a skeleton key bottle opener. Cute, eclectic, & useful.

Always, #prayersforJapan.

- mv.

A little piece of my mind.

click to enlarge. (c) melissa vega

Taken Feb. 28.11
My view from my back porch.
"Poem" written by moi.