Moonshine & Wanderlust

... a cosmopolitan view from a southern perspective

The Graceful Exit

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amazingly, thankfully, and gracefully this will be my last post of 2014. I am leaving town to welcome in the New Year in another place. I think that’s exciting – to leave the past where it belongs, where perhaps most of it took place and to start a brand new year in place that is not reminiscent of your past. I will no longer be tied to 2014.

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I’m going to say the thing you’re really not supposed to say if you’re being “cheerful” about new beginnings- I am so GLAD this year is about to be over. This year had beautiful moments full of love and happiness, but a good portion of this year at many times throughout it were hard, hurtful, and heavy.

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Will 2015 be easy? I doubt it. Will it have hard and heavy moments? Assuredly. So, what will make a new year different than the last? The fact that some of these hardships were brought on by myself. There were lessons I learned in 2013 that I didn’t learn well enough, so I have had to go through them again. There were signs I should have seen in 2013 that I should have paid attention to, but I didn’t, so I followed the wrong road again.

See, we always have a choice – to follow the way we know is right (which isn’t easy at first, but leads to much greater things) – or, to follow the way we are determined to follow because it’s what we “want” and is easier, but inevitably leads to pain and heartache.

Ask my mother a few words that describe me and I guarantee one of them will be stubborn. I’ve always been stubborn and I probably always will be. While 2014 brought a lot of stubbornness to do what I wanted, I am determined for 2015 to be a year of stubbornness for what is right. For what I deserve. For what others around me deserve. Stubbornness to be more spiritual, to be healthier – stubbornness to not allow anything or anyone to deceive me.

I am sure I will be sharing thoughts in this new year that deal with old demons. Leaving 2014 behind unfortunately does not mean that all of the wounds are healed. But, I am looking forward to leaving the tools of hurt in 2014.

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For all of the pain that 2014 brought, I am so thankful for all of the beauty it brought. I started Moonshine & Wanderlust, I kept my promise to myself to travel more, I made amends and repaired broken relationships, I did many new things and stepped out of my comfort zone, I made new friendships… I lived. 

So, for 2015… and the big 3-0, I wish for deeper living. Exciting risks. Amazing love. I hope each day is a deep, full breath of life.

For all of us.

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“But there was a fire waiting. And there was a little meal laid out on a blanket. And there was a whole world beyond that shoreline, beyond the forest, beyond the knuckle mountains, beyond, beyond, beyond, not beneath the surface at all, but beyond and waiting.” Emily Danforth

The Breaking of Us

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we all have lost a best friend. sometimes it is purposefully and sometimes it is beyond our control. whether it is for the best or not, best friend breakups can be the worst kind of heart pain we go through in our lives.

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To You, the Best Friend of My 20s — There are so many things I miss about you. As the wounds from your betrayals have scarred over, the good memories try to push themselves to the forefront of my mind.

An unlikely pair we were – one of the unlikeliest, really. Two people who could not be more different, yet were so similar. Our bond was formed fast… one that we often said of that one could tell when the other was hurting or something was going on. An unspoken feeling that could be felt when we were not together. A connection rivaling a sisterly bond.

We bonded through tears and heartbreak, through hazes of long summer nights, through grown up jobs, through losses and gains, through accidents. A friendship that below simmered a hot difference in opinions and beliefs at times, but that somehow we made work. Because we thought it was important. Because we had each other. It was us against the world.

As I leave my 20s behind, I leave our friendship in a decade that was my growing up. It will stay there, perfectly preserved and wildly worth remembering. It will be those memories I will look back on and love when I am older and I miss my youth.

The night when you took care of me on the side of the road, the night you crashed your car, the interstate drive with you hanging out the window, the summer days at our local watering hole, the summer nights spent with Barefoot and boys, the nights where tears were all that were shared, the weeks you lived with me when you had nowhere else to go, our ride and die attitude. So many days spent with you that it felt like a lifetime.

You broke my heart, Best Friend of My 20s. You abandoned us. You left us. You broke us.

As the last few weeks of this year wind down… such a big year for both us, I forgive you. I have long accepted that there are many things in life I will never comprehend. Things that break my spirit every day and that I cannot even begin to fathom. We are one of them.

And, even then… we were a season. A beautiful, free, crazy, amazing season. A season I would not trade or choose to redo.

My life would not have been the same without you.

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bridges

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There is an excruciating realness in seeing your whole life in front of you… everything you have ever wanted, all of the things that could be… you see the version of your life that means not settling. It’s so close you have touched it. You’ve seen it with your own eyes and touched it with your own hands. You’ve lived it – for only a few brief moments, but you’ve soaked into your skin a glow that is your life’s perfect match.

But, the glow fades. It’s a rollercoaster. It’s unpredictable. It’s not certain. It’s an exhaustive trek… to where? Maybe nowhere. Maybe to the best place you have ever imagined. You see, that’s part of the gamble when you find that perfect fit… there is a chance you will only be privy to what could be. But, there’s the chance that someday the timing of your life and the life you know you are destined for come together to change everything.

So, until then… you wait. You work. You think. You persevere. You pray to God that you have another fiber to endure. You breathe. And, hope. For even if it is lost forever… oh, how lucky you were to have it for even just a moment.

Winter Bucket List

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As far as I’m concerned, “winter” and the Christmas season doesn’t start until the day after Thanksgiving. However, I have decided to be enough in the holiday spirit to create a winter bucket list! There are so many great ideas on Pinterest and they gave me some good ideas, but I really tried to stick with things I have never done, minus volunteering. Helping others never goes out of style. Below are my goals for this winter season and maybe they will help jumpstart your own list!

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Winter Bucket List

❄ Go ice skating

❄ Host a winter party

❄ Go to a Predators game in Nashville

❄ Go skiing

❄ Volunteer for a Christmas event

❄ Send a Christmas package to a soldier

❄ Attend a Christmas Eve service

❄ Have a Christmas movie marathon with popcorn & hot chocolate

Mercier Orchard

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Fall is coming to an end (I’m still in heavy denial) and I am happy to say I have checked a few things off of my Autumn Bucket List – I’m planning on checking off a few more in the next couple weeks as November closes. One of my favorite things I did (and the one I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do!) was visit a picking apple orchard.

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Mercier Apple Orchard is located in Blue Ridge, GA. It’s a beautiful drive full of rolling hills and crisp fall colors lining the way. The weather was absolutely perfect the day I went and made for a very enjoyable afternoon. In my mind, I pictured a simple orchard with towering trees, but I was shocked at how large the operation is. Started in 1943, the family owned orchard not only has plentiful U-Pick opportunities, classes, fishing,and cooking demos but an enormous (and, delicious smelling) store complete with a deli that makes some of the most delectable sounding sandwiches.photo 2-3

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The views are magical – I can’t wait to go back this spring to U-Pick fruit… and maybe even do some fishing!
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I picked 1/2 peck to start me off and it turned out to be plenty of apples! We got a ride out to the orchards and given some instructions of what types of apples were ready for picking and we were off! The trees weren’t the towering variety I had imagined, but more stout which was fine by me because I didn’t have to worry about falling out of any trees. Not that I would have tried climbing, but you know… a girl can dream.

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The best part? Eat as you go! A sample of this, a sample of that…

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I got a few apples of each variety – they were all so good! It was really everything I had hoped it would be. That sounds corny, but it was a fun experience for this gal. There were a lot of families there – it’s a great outing for friends, families, couples… you can’t go wrong. For $10 you can spend a fun afternoon walking through rows of beautifully grown creations and make some lasting memories.

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You know I have to throw in if Mercier Orchard is pet friendly or not… While pets are not allowed in the orchard, they are allowed around the lake and near the store. I saw several individuals with small pups hanging outside of the store while they enjoyed their fall day walking around the property and waiting on others in their party.

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Be sure to check our Mercier Orchards Events on the Farm page for upcoming events and a schedule of U-Pick varieties!

until next time… xoxo, patty lauren