WEEKEND EXPLOITS || PARTY IN THE USA

I hope you don't mind, but I sort of gave us a much needed long weekend. after finals were aced and flights were boarded and sleep was caught up on, the mister and I really just needed a moment to flirt and giggle and be ourselves. regrettably, this didn't leave much time for my little corner of the web. although, we did have plenty of time to indulge ourselves with all sorts of american delicacies ::

001 :: buffalo wild wings. you may not know this about me, but I am an avid nba fan. I may not dress in team colors on game day or cause a raucous when my team scores, but I am every bit as immersed in the game as any other die hard. so it's not hard to imagine why the first thing I did when I got back to the mainland was hunker down at a booth at the local bww, right in front of the miami heat game, and stare down michael jordan for staring down lebron james. and I relished in all of the refillable diet coke my bladder could hold.

002 :: starbucks. but first, let me clarify...I am not a coffee drinker, but I do really miss starbucks' { herbal }passion tea lemonade with a hint of raspberry during those hot and humid days on the island. too bad there is no starbucks to quench that thirst down there, so I guess I'll have to get my fill while I'm here. it's true what they say--you never know what you've got until there's no longer a starbucks on every corner.

003 :: sephora. how could I get through a blog post about returning to america without mentioning sephora? that place just feels and smells like possibilities. I've already done quite a bit of damage to my checking account there and may get to do a little more before I'm through here. yikes.

004 :: parks. even once I was all grown up, I loved running in, around, over, and under parks. sadly, the island has not a single park. I guess all the islanders just go to the beach to let their kids run and play. however, I prefer to run and play in a park. and there are parks in america.

005 :: the j.crew factory store. visiting online just isn't enough. visiting in person is always so much more exciting! being able to try on beautiful clothes and visualize colors and pieces around the store that coordinate. it reminded me why I fell in love with j.crew in the first place. though I will say :: having an online store is a definite life-saver since the outlet is an hour away from my hometown and about a gazillion miles away from the island. 

I hope this doesn't give you the wrong impression. living abroad and learning a new culture is a wonderful experience. but there is just something relaxing about coming to a place where we're surrounded by family and where things are so comfortable and familiar. that's probably why they call it home :)

love, arielle