#TBT : Grand Canyon!

Nature. 

Mysterious. Defiant. Breathtaking. Unbelievable. Serene. Dangerous. Sublime.
The list goes on.. and on... and on......... and on.... but one thing that never changes is nature's complete ability to deliver when we least expect it, and usually when we think we've seen it all.

This week's #TBT goes back to 2011, when I trekked out west with Kalyn & Sam; that trip culminated with a visit to the grandest of the grand: The Grand Canyon itself:

p - e - r - f - e - c - t - i - o - n.
grand canyon national park | az 

If there's one place I know I won't fully cover by the time I leave this planet, it's the GC. There are so many trails, valleys, ridges and rims to see there, that you literally would have to live there in order to wholly experience what it can offer.

another shot from my 2011 trip - looking into bright angel trail
grand canyon national park | az

And then maybe you do live there.. and work there. I don't, but my bestie's brother and his girlfriend are both locals there now, and shared some shots from today that I couldn't help but share with whatever audience I've got here today:

12.11.2014 : inversion @ the grand canyon
grand canyon national park | az

^^^ THAT?!

I'm no weather guru, so I let those more-qualified do the actual explaining [as seen >> HERE << ], but that shot is one of the few that Nathan [bestie's brother] shared with the world from his personal vantage point this afternoon.

His girlfriend Aly shared this one, captioned as her view on the way to WORK:

beautiful!!!!
grand canyon national park | az

For the record, she's a park ranger there.
I work in a sometimes-less-than-desirable-neighborhood-in-a-half-sketchy-city-slicker-landscape here in Cincinnati. To say I'm jealous of her "daily commute" should be the understatement of ... life, but hey, that just makes a visit to AZ a priority.

Move over, man-made anything.. Nature wins this one today.

Not a bad way to flip the page into Friday, I'd say.
..Til' Next Time! ♥♥

xo | cmd 

Kalyn's Coming BACK!

BIG NEWS.. and since it's already made an appearance on Facebook, clearly it's no longer a secret:

yeah, you read it right.

Ok, so the bulk of that conversation happened yesterday, but it actually sunk in today, that one of my best friends from here, is moving back here, after being in Arizona for the past few years.

I remember the day we stood in a parking lot at IHop [..hush.] crying our eyes out over my moving to Illinois and her moving to Arizona. It was definitely not a good day, and in efforts to console each other, we half-heartedly joked that one day we'd end up in the same state and city again.

Bro, that's going to be the end of this month.
I can hardly stand it.

In honor of this girl's return, I tracked down my top 10 moments that crack me up, and thought for refreshment's sake, that I'd share them here... in something of a favorite order, but not really.

10 | Two-Wheeled Summers |

I'll start with a much older one. This was the summer we both spent riding together [this is actually the day of a wreck I had... fail.. ]. It makes me laugh because we were way less cool than we thought we were. It's okay though. Haha.

rip, bikes...

9 | Fatties! |

HA! So, this was a night that we, along with KP's sister Brittany, all piled into a hammock at a party.... and broke it. It would figure. Nothing says scale back on the food intake like busting a tethered freakin' yard hammock.

1-800-jennycraigyou'reapparentlyneeded..now

8 | Snow Bunnies |

To compensate for the horrible hammock-breaking incident, this is proof that even in the colder months, I promise we were staying active. This doesn't even scratch the surface of what happened that day. I'll leave it at that two of our group were on their first ever ski outing and took their first runs of the day down the black diamond. There were no broken bones, but it was still.. hilarious.

perfect north slopes

7 | Cincinnati Bell RUN LIKE HELL |

This is an annual 5k that takes place each Halloween in Cincinnati. It's a charity event hosted/sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. KP, Brittany, myself and a few of our friends grouped up and ran the 3ish miles dressed as the cast of Pacman. Too funny. 

just a couple of pacman ghosts at the run like hell

6 | 80's Birthday Parties |

Kalyn's 25th birthday party was a themed one, and we went all out. YES, I know that people in the 80's didn't always wear neon everything, but for the sake of a good time, they did on her birthday and we had a blast. We were both ready to make a life-sized print of this picture. 

there aren't words.... happy birthday? haha

5 | Bonfires ♥ |

I couldn't tell you exactly when this was taken, but I do know it was at the Gasiorowski's house, during the fall. There's nothing magical about this picture, but it's one of those simple ones that captures the awesomeness of just being simple. 

bonfires & best friends (:

4 | New Mexico, En Route |

When Kalyn moved to Arizona, she stopped on the way and picked me up. From there, it was a road trip to Phoenix, with multiple sight-seeing stops along the way. This one was one of my favorites from the adventure, taken on the border of Colorado and New Mexico.


road trip with the bestie

3 | National Park Fiesta |

Piggybacking on the last picture, this was also taken on our westward excursion [same day, actually, given our outfits, hah]. We voted to use the atlas for direction versus a GPS; by doing so, we all but stumbled upon the Great Sand Dunes National Park. After countless attempts to get a good shot of this, we did, in front of the great sand dunes and the rocky mountains themselves.


action shot success! take#84903270583103421381......

2 | Scottsdale, Years Later ;) |

I went back just this past year to visit Kalyn, after a lot of changes in both of our lives. It was a muuuuch needed getaway, but we picked up right where we left off, idiotic adventures and all. This was day 1 of my last visit, thanks to Keifer's patience and excellent photography skills. 

.. this is exactly what you think: an 8-foot-tall cowboy boot.

1 | LOVE. YOUR. FRIENDS. |

Okay, so the last four pictures were all in Arizona, but I figured that would be okay, if we're thinking in terms of chronology. Haha. Anyway, this was the last day I saw Kalyn in Scottsdale, actually just hours before I boarded a plane back to St. Louis. We spent that day lounging around at a PGA-rated golf club, drinking Peroni out of mason jars and listening to acoustic music. Not a shabby way to bid farewell to a friend! 

mountains in the back,
fairway in the front,
best friends in the middle!

Ahhhhhhh! It was tough picking just 10, but for the sake of sort-of-brevity, we won't do 20. Haha. Anyway, I said aaaaalll that to say that I'm freakin' elated that she is moving home. I'm pretty excited that Keifer will be making the move, too. It's gonna be a gooooood summer, friends. SAND VOLLEYBALL, WE'RE COMIN' FOR YA!

ohio-bound!

See you SOON, mama!

xo | cmd

Travel Bug?

I'm startin' to get an itch...... [don't be gross..]

Seriously, though. The travel bug has been creeping up on me in the worst way over the past few weeks. I don't know if it was the trip to Scottsdale that's been fuel for it, or if it's just the fact that outside of Arizona, my recent excursions have been just short of non-existent.... but either way, I'm starting to pine for some time away. 

hmmm... where to?

I'll get back to you on some top pick destinations here shortly... ;)
... If I'm lucky, I'll have to go find a whimsical map of the world, not just the U.S. We'll see.....

xo | cmd


Remember, Life is Beautiful

What an incredible day this has been.


best friend. scottsdale arizona. rooftop @ izzy's.

I mean, thoroughly incredible.
I am in Phoenix, awaiting the arrival of a plane that will deliver me back to the midwest, just reflecting on the past four days. I'm in a state of raw gratitude.

Scottsdale has been my little bunker for the past couple of days; I've been on a mini vacation here with my best friend, Kalyn. It seems like I blinked and Thursday night turned into Sunday evening, but it was entirely worth it and I'm already looking forward to my next trip out.

peroni & fire. hi, sunday (:

Today started off with a trip in to Mojo [& a breakfast burrito, deeee-lish], then off to do some Christmas shopping for Kalyn's list before we headed back to Grayhawk to rendezvous with KP's friend and coworker, Jennette. She's probably the prettiest real-life human being I think I've ever seen. Sidenote. Haha.

Keifer works across the street from Grayhawk at Isabella's Kitchen (Izzy's), so we parked ourselves there for some Peroni, some food, and some live music by Ryan & Madison. This girl was only 12 years old, but I can tell she's got a future brewing. She's talented!

Of course, there was a fire pit and a random girl insistent on being a camera woman. Couple that with peroni refills and you've got a couple of best friends as happy as could be on a day that couldn't have been any more relaxing.  

cori. kalyn. jennette | izzy's - scottsdale, az

SO much so that we found ourselves doing back handsprings and triple planks in the middle of the golfcourse. Yeah, it was that good. Hahaha. Jennette joined in, too, at one point. There's not much bad to be said about a Sunday afternoon spent lounging by a firepit with good friends, live music, and spirited brew.

attempt #1 @ triple planking = unsuccessful.

ok. double plank then. we'll compromise.

These are the things that entertain us. In front of mountains, live music, and Christmas lighted wicker reindeer, there was us, doing this. We finally had a breakthrough:


attempt #3 : success!

Ahhhhhhhhhh. What. A. GREAT... trip this was.


I'll be home in a matter of hours.. we'll see if Rob can get that crazy diesel up to the parking garage at the airport in time to pick me up... otherwise it's gonna be a looooong walk home. Haha. So long, for now, Arizona. I'll be back in January some time for another visit, and I'll be sure to bring some extra company with me (:

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

xo | cmd

Simple Saturday

ahhh... good morning (:

We didn't do one stinkin' thing of worth today. We're in recovery mode, still, from last night. It wasn't that we did anything extravagant, more that we're just gettin' old and staying out so far past our bedtimes beats us up. Haha. I was grateful this morning for good coffee, the light breeze, and a sunny backyard surrounding the pool. Not a bad way to wake up, even if we're all a little groggy still.

Oh, and I had a little friend for most of the morning. Meet Cecil! 

'ello, little friend! | little fluffy blanket ninja

^ That's Becca and Justine's little puffball puppy.. I'm typically not sold on little dogs, but he's a sweetheart and dedicated himself to a mode of hospitality for pretty much my entire stay thus far.

Things we did today:
Breakfast.
Jam Session: Mumford & Sons, Avett Brothers, Florence & the Machine, Ray LaMontagne.
Nothing.
Errands : Get Kalyn's car, Urban Outfitters, Zumiez.
Lunch.
Nothing. + Nap.
Thai Food & Redbox.

I'm not at all bothered by our lack of adventuristic plans today. Sure, we soooorta perhaps thwarted a day of my visiting, but the fact is, it's been rainy here all day anyway, and to be honest, the simple change of scenery is enough for me at this point. I'm happy.

Wake us up in the mornin' time (:

xo | cmd

Scottsdale Friday | Happy Birthday Keifer!

I love .... my best friend.
[i also love backdated posts. womp womp womp]

Today was originally intentioned to be a hiking trip up Camelback. That didn't happen.

Instead, Kalyn and I ended up running around all over Scottsdale with Keifer in the early part of the day. We stopped at The Praying Monk, this killer little dive restaurant/bar for some late morning relaxing and some super-early celebrating of Keifer's birthday [HBD!!].



birthday rum apple pie? yes please
keifer & chris | happy birthday, keifer!

Once we were finished there, Kalyn and I dedicated ourselves to an afternoon at the five story mall in Scottsdale for a Christmas shopping/evening wear bonanza. It paid off.



love her. ♥

cori. kalyn. justine. becca | "it's go time"

It was a real roommate outing for Kalyn, Becca and Justine; I was just there to visit and enjoy the entire experience, too. Needless to say, it was a blast.  

Stop 1 : Lodge.

hang loose, & shout out to all the ohio people we met tonight.. in arizona!

Stop 2 : El Hefe.

cori & cody! | cincinnati pride!

Stop 3 [final destination] : Smash Boxx

ok, so yes, we were running on a hang loose theme for most of the night..
... plus i stole some guy's hat... and glasses. antics....

keifer. kalyn. cori. | happy friday!!

Then the fun kicked in.... I'll spare a lot of the details along the way, but the gist of it equated to us not being able to hunt down a valet employee to retrieve Kalyn's keys at the end of the night, so it was by cab that we finally made it home. We'll deal witih Kalyn's car when the sun gets back up.

Til then... whoa. Happy Friday. Happy birthday, Keifer. 
&& Happy ME. I've needed this.
See you in the morning!

xo | cmd

Kick ROCKS, IL - HELLO, PHOENIX!

Welp, as far as work went today, I was like an impending high school graduate with a severe case of senioritis. I'm not sure where the morning went, but I was fine with that. I think I zoned out for the last half hour before I actually left. 

airlift me..... 

Anyway, it's raining in Arizona.

Seems fitting; apparently that's a rarity out here, but for now it goes well with the aura of things that are quite out of character and far from the norm. 

--- I have got to find some way to block myself from accessing a keyboard after 1) a certain time at night or 2) after certain mental capacities have been altered or stopped all together. *sigh. Freakin' VINO….
---- I need new friends that [while in similar states of mind] don't encourage me to start writing at these totally inappropriate times, too, so they can read it WITH me for the first time in the real morning. Ya jerks.. haha.

The first thing I thought of when I touched down at PHX was the overwhelming amount of sssssstuff on my mind that I'd be spilling everywhere when my best friend when she picked me up from the airport. The gal next to me on the plane agreed that it seemed more like a six hour flight than the short 3.5 we'd been airborne, so I was more than ready to be on solid ground. After some minor disconnect on discourse - gate assignment, I found myself in that familiar little green Jeep with the Ohio plates, bound out to Tempe with a girl who might as well be a direct extension of myself. I'm in Phoenix, with Kalyn…. and Becca…… and Justine. Since I believe perfection is relative; this is definitely on point in my book. 

kalyn. cori. justine. becca | postinos

First stop: Postino's. If there's one grand idea for converting an old post office, it would be transforming it into a wine bar with killer food and the most courteous, laid-back wait staff to boot. That pretty sums up this place, and it wasn't but a few minutes into the dinner run that I realized how much I'd missed my best friend and the liberty we have with each other to be the raw and so far sheerly uncensored characters that we are. Add the Jones girls to the mix and dinner really couldn't have been any better. We wined, we dined, and we wined some more before we made it back to their house and staked out our real estate on the couch. 

Apparently, I'm not the only one running in place when it comes to conquering my loose cannon brain on love, the pursuit of "happy", avoidance of pain and the general direction of that whole weird life thing. It didn't help that in seeking some accountability in perhaps the form of, "No Cori…put your phone away," I was met with "Mama. DO IT." [you'd only have to hear her say it once to imagine it clear as day again] … Inhibiitions are usually asleep by 3:30 in the morning (….hello), but I do know that some of my best A-grade quality papers in college were done in the wee hours. Sooo, in addition to ill-advised phone calls, I'm no stranger to late-night-writing with a side of morning-after-literary-regret. It's like [that] shot of truth serum that makes your head spin and dissolves whatever filter you had left between your brain and your mouth. In some cases, it's the heart and mouth disconnect you have to fear, but that… is another day. Right now I'm just thankful for auto spellcheck. [Red. lines. everywhere…lol]. Oh, and I sure as day returned the favor on the phone call advice, KALYN….. we can scold each other in the morning. Haha. 

love you, kp

I haven't laughed so hard in one evening in a long time. I kinda forgot how well we know the other and how KP is just as ruthlessly blunt and inappropriate as I am. Haha. We've swapped just about all of our most recent and vicious stories, in great detail from start to the present [end  isn't really applicable for either of us, unfortunately], and I've only been here for less than 12 hours. In spite of the way my gut has decided to remain twisted and tense for the time being, there is nothing quite like having your best friend there to reiterate to me that I am a thoroughly messed-up individual AND that she probably wouldn't love me if I were any. other. way. Especially when we're both in stitches laughing at each other, doubled over so hard that we're crying and our sides hurt. 

I needed this. 
It's only day one of four.
Whoa.

Tomorrow [well, later today, but I'll clarify since this is backdated…. again] we'll be hiking Camelback, eating more food, and gearing up for the debacle that will inevitably be five of us girls at Greasewood Flats: Bluegrass, food, cowboys & mechanical bulls, and a steady flow of libations are sure to generate some tales for the taping…. stay tuned.

Hello, Phoenix. (: 

xo | cmd

National Park #2 || ARIZONA!



national park #2 : painted desert & petrified forest

Our final leg of the trip into Arizona was interrupted when we whizzed past one of those telltale brown signs indicating proximity to a national park. We had to. So there we were, turning off the highway onto the entrance drive to the Petrified Forest National Park in AZ.

We ended up driving all the way through the painted desert and the petrified forest, stopping along the way to take pictures and convince Kalyn not to smuggle out a piece of shiny rock-wood for a necklace. Ha. We were shocked when we left that the park ranger’s version of inspecting our vehicle [for illegally collected items] was her saying, “Did you do any collecting today?”

“No.”

“Okay, have a great day.”

Really? Well, I guess they can’t legally force you to submit to a full search, but it seemed silly that that’s all they did to control the inventory of a national park. *Sigh.

petrified wood

petrified forest || pretty pieces

saguaro field



Moving on, we jumped back onto the road and picked back up on our planned itinerary, which meant we were headed to our final destination: Sam’s apartment. We pulled into the driveway and took deep breaths of relief that we had safely navigated our way across the country and had arrived whole. We wasted very little time unloading the mini trailor attached to Kalyn’s jeep and transferring her life into Sam’s place. Sam’s uncle Fred came by to help with the heavy lifting. Kalyn and I made dinner and then the four of us played a little pool volleyball before calling it a night.

 

Tomorrow = Grand Canyon!

**exciiiiiiiiiiiiiiited. J

xo | cmd

Bubble Tea Fail

Joe really appreciated not having to wake up and dress in blues today. Instead, we took our sweet time getting moving and eventually meandered across the state lines to drop Eric off at the airport. I have to admit, I do like having houseguests, especially when they’re good friends from home.

Once we were back in the car, we decided to try and hunt down a bubble tea place that was within reasonable distance from the airport. That in itself proved to be an easy task, but we [meaning I, really] were disappointed to find that it first of all didn’t open until 11:00am, and it was open every day except Monday. So there we were, on Monday, and it was barely 10:00am. Double fail.

boba / bubble tea

SO, home it was. I had a few errands to run and then it was back in the car for the 40ish minute drive back through St. Louis to the opposite outskirts for another Express meeting. It certainly went well, and I left again feeling positive about the experience, even if the drive ends up being out of range for what we feel is conducive for right now. We’ll label this a networking call if all else fails.

Good news: On the way home, I talked to Kalyn for the first time in a few days’ time. She and Sam will be stopping through here this next weekend for an overnight and then the D90 and I will be joining them on the road through Colorado, New Mexico, and their final destination of Arizona. I can’t wait. As we decided before when we checked out the wall map, we’re only a hug away, right? Haha. I’m excited!!

measuring ohio to arizona :(



Back at home, we had a few hours to kill before church softball. Since each game is a double-header, there was plenty of time to sit and chat with some of the other bystanders. Towerview won both of their games, so that meant a quick post-celebratory bite with Lorne at Panda Express…. C’mon, who doesn’t love Panda? We’ll work it off this week.

church softball | joe & lorne discussing game tactic :)

Joe finally goes back to work tomorrow, so Sydni and I have free reign over the household chores and errands. Guess we should get some rest.

xo | cmd