Last official weekend in Fort Wayne!

Last weekend was my official "last weekend" living in Fort Wayne full time. So what better way to celebrate than to eat some delish pizza at 800 Degrees and top it off with Debrand Chocolate! We also spent one day hiking Pokagon State Park and strolling through the neighborhoods that surround Lake James. There is a donut shop called Tom's Donuts that we ate at! This past weekend we traveled down to Indy to set up my "room" at Joe's parent's house and visit with some family. This is my last week of school before finals and it's been absolutely beautiful out! This weekend we are heading to Chicago with some friends to catch a Cubs game! Also!~ Joe applied for his Master's at Notre Dame and got an interview! So this is very exciting for him! His interview is in two weeks and the decision usually takes 2 to 3 weeks after so we will know by June! We are going to go up to Notre Dame next Friday so Joe can observe a class and I will walk around the  campus and explore the town. My program starts in two weeks. Kind of crazy but it will be an amazing experience. I am going to miss Joe, a lot. I am planning on staying busy though. I am going to join an indoor swimming pool and spend some time in the library . studying. Haven't been able to do much of the to do list because I've been busy with school and such but that's ok. Hopefully once school is done I will have a few days to unwind. Keep ya'll posted.  

Throw back Wednesday

Fort Wayne

My days here are winding down and I have made a bucket list for good ol Fort Wayne.

1. Dinner at Club Soda this weekend. The building is an old brick building located downtown that has smoke gouda and the best Martini's in town. Joe and I went there after his Christmas party and it was awesome. It has a Blue's/Jazz vibe. So Joe and I are going to have dinner there tomorrow.

2. Tour Debrand chocolate factory. Fort Wayne is home to Debrand Chocolate. Its pretty famous. Trump has their truffles in his hotels in New York and Oprah is known as a huge fan. Today I bought some peanut butter cups and it was probably the best chocolate I've ever had in my life. Even better than Chocolate Dreams *is that the right name?* in Monterey. So anyway, the company does tours every Tuesday and Thursday and this Tuesday I am free so I'm excited!

3. Visit and photograph the botanical gardens in Fort Wayne. Its butterfly week, which is suiting since we just came from the butterfly capital of the world, Monterey.

4. Hike Pokagon State Park or hike Indiana Dunes.

5. And of course pass my good ol finals. haha

Going for the Nautical look for my room in Indy.
The room is painted a light yellow so this is what I've gotten so far. Let me know what you think:
Navy Curtains with Gold Rope Tassels
Navy Sheets
White Blankets
Yellow Stripped Throw Blanket
Port Hole Mirror
Cypress Tree Jewelry Holder
Navy Crate by bed for night stand
and the photos have been the hardest to choose. Since the room is painted yellow, I thought a Sepia tone would be best. I wanted to do light photos of the California Coast and Sleeping Bear Dunes. But, I thought Sepia would give a 'calmer" effect. So the pictures are of Joe overlooking Asilomar Beach in Monterey, California and local surfers in Santa Cruz, CA getting ready for their morning run. I went up to Santa Cruz one morning and watched them do their magic. There's nothing better than sipping coffee, photographing one of your favorite sports to watch ;)
Here are the pics.

I need to get a bed and white desk and hang some Xmas lights for Meditation lighting and I think I'm all good to go for my new beginnings. Any other suggestions? 

Sometimes, when the anxiety is flaring up and my mind races back to the past, I have to learn how to breathe.
"I want to move to New York, no I want to move back to California"
"Why did we ever leave California?"
"Why did we ever leave New York?"

Tonight while cooking dinner my mind raced with old memories, walking along the beach with Joe in California, farmers market in California, living in NYC. And I started to think about our reality now. School starts in three weeks. We don't live on the coast. Blah blah blah. I started to freak out and somewhere a voice in my head said
"It's not your destiny here but rather your exploration."
So simple, yet so true. This place isn't my destiny, but rather a place for me to explore. To learn another new thing. It's not final but it plays into creating another aspect of my life.
So when anxiety builds up, that will be my new motto. It's not about your destiny but rather your exploration.

Katharine Hepburn Quotes (my favorite is # 2 and 13) What's yours?

1.

Image by Getty Images

2.

Image by Getty Images

3.

Image by Getty Images

4.

Image by Getty Images

5.

Image by Getty Images

6.

Image by Getty Images

7.

Image by Getty Images

8.

Image by Getty Images

9.

Image by Stringer / Getty Images

10.

Image by Getty Images

11.

Image by Getty Images

12.

Image by Getty Images

13.

Image by Getty Images

14.

Image by Getty Images

15.