There is only ONE tree hill, even if it's really Wilmington...

For any One Tree Hill fan I think I do not even need to explain, you'd just understand. If you are not a OTH lover like myself, you just would not understand. One Tree Hill is my "dork thing", which everyone has. Its that thing that can make you literally smile from ear to ear, act like a kid, feel literally giddy again. It can be anything from favorite movies, favorite meals, games, etc. but this is mine. 

When I found out I'd be spending Thanksgiving break in Wilmington, North Carolina with my family I immediately thought, ONE TREE HILL. 

The first and most obvious spot to go was the One Tree Hill bridge, the bridge shown in almost every single episode intro. Of course I queued Gavin DeGraw's "I don't wanna be" song while we were walking up to it, I mean could you think of a better way to take in that moment then belting out the lyrics?! 

 

I was obviously a little too excited

 

And how could we not use this time as a perfect photoshoot... 

 

 

 

The bridge was a great way to start our OTH tour! 

Next on my to do list was Karen's Cafe/Clothes Over Bros. It was a little heartbreaking to look in the windows and see absolutely nothing but it was still worth it to see the exterior. 

  

Finding this written on one of the windows made the moment even sweeter! 

Then it was on to the River Walk. Where we also caught some awesome glances at the Battleship.

Due to the fact that it is Thanksgiving, every shop was closed so we need to make time to come back and shop Market Street, but we did peek into a store window and find these bad boys! 

 I had a moment walking down the street with my boyfriend Philip spotted this out of the blue.. Comet - Any OTH fall will understand the significance of this word! 

Then it was onto the church, the infamous church where Lindsay realized what the comet was and where she left Luke at the alter. Also, where Nanny Carrie kidnaps Jamie! 

On our way back to the apartment we found this nifty little box. I was so surprised by this small simple gesture but it truly made my day! 

 

The basic concept is that these books are for anyone to take, just in the hopes that they return and also a drop off point for books. It really gave me that small town feeling I was hoping I'd find in NC. 

After we had gone everywhere within walking distance, we hopped in the car and took off to find some more OTH locations. 

'

Dan Scott's House! 

Sitting on the steps of Lucas and Karen's home. 

Peytons House! and who would know... right next door was..

Haley's House

and finally Brooke Davis' House! & it still had a red door! :)

We drove by Tric to sadly realize a lot has changed since the show went off air and it is now an AC company. That's okay Wilmington, I understand you can't necessarily just keep empty buildings around for my sanity. 

We finally made it to the river court by night fall. Although they have ripped up the court, you can still see where it was due to the change in the grass, which to me was extremely cool! We are going to have to go back in the day time for pictures. 

All in all, it was an amazing OTH filled day.  

A Leap of Faith

I wanted to take a moment and talk about one of the most amazing things I have ever done!

One thing to know about me, I do things on impulse. If you give me the time to sit there, think about it, mull it over and think about every single scenario and outcome I will, and will normally talk myself out of whatever it may be. On the other hand, if you throw something at me from left field with little to no time to think about it I will more than likely try it!

This was one of those impulse decisions...

For my mom's 40th birthday she had decided she wanted to do something a little crazy. Her best friend and her came up with the idea to go skydiving. They planned this about a month or so before her birthday and were going to do the actual jump on her birthday. The night before we had a huge dinner with friends and family and it was brought up that I was not going with them. It hadn't even occurred to me. My mom looked at me though and asked "would you really do it?" I didn't even think about it before answering and said "sure, why not?"

Next thing I knew we were on our way to SkyDive City in Zephyrhills, Florida to literally jump out of an airplane at 13,000 feet above the ground. I don't think it hit me what we were about to do until I was boarding this miniature plane that fit about 6 people with my instructor strapped to my back... That is when the fear set it, but by then, it was to late. 

 

Posing for a picture before we got suited up. Somehow we were still full of smiles and ready to go! 

 

Suited and ready to go...

I think this is the moment the nerves kicked in for me. Boarding this super tiny plane with a complete stranger strapped to my back and knowing that once I am in this plane, the only way I am getting out is my jumping out of it. 

 

Trying to hide my nerves in this picture, not really working! Because the plane is so small you can hear every little bit of movement and turbulence so the ride up is extremely loud!

I advised my instructor that I wanted to be the first to jump because I didn't want time to think about it.. he thought to be funny he would let me think that but seat us so that we had no choice but to go last. I watched my mom's best friend jump, my mom jump, and then the pilot told us to shut the door! Shut the door? What, I was actually going to do this? We had apparently flown outside of the "jump zone" and needed to circle back around before I could go. Not only did my mom, who was on the ground way before me wondering where the heck I was start to worry, but I also started thinking, UM I CAN'T DO THIS! 

At this point your instructor will normally show you a couple hand signs meaning arms to chest, legs together, something like that so all you can do is focus on what they are telling you. I literally cannot tell you how fast your fear will evaporate after leaping out of the plane. Standing in the open doorway looking down and seeing clouds is one of the scariest sights, but the second you jump your fear vanishes. 

 

First off, you do not get that stomach dropping feeling like you imagine after riding a roller coaster. You literally feel like you are hovering or floating and the only thing that makes you realize that you are going down is by your sight. Passing through clouds is COLD! but feels amazing. 

 

 If you ever have the chance to go skydiving, don't think about it. Just do it! It is such an amazing experience that is impossible to truly explain to someone that has never experienced it. It is a once in a lifetime type of experience.

The Key To My Happiness

Someone once told me that if you are feeling down, going through a phase that you cannot seem to break out of, or you just do not feel like yourself, it is important to make a list of all of the things you have to be thankful for. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it almost seemed like the stars had aligned and the timing was just too right not to do this. Whether this list inspires you to start thinking about what you have to be grateful for, or this is just a simple reminder for me, I think I need to start counting my blessings. What better way to count them than if they are right in front of my face. Mind you this post will most likely be long, but again, this post is for me.

Thankful Thanksgiving Week - My Blessings:

1. Family: While family seems to be an obvious choice to be thankful for, I truly have to take a step back and think about who God has given me as a family. While my family may be remotely small, their love they supply is enormous. 

My mom is easily one of my best friends, and is one of the strongest female influences in my life. Tell my mother she cannot do something and she will show you just how she can do it and even better than you imagined. She has an enormous sense of determination that is inspiring. I believe that by having her as a mother in my life, I have been taught how I deserve to be treated by all, and to never settle for anything less. She has always tried to make my life full of experiences and joy. It is because of her that I can say I have traveled to numerous places throughout the U.S., out of the country, jumped out of an airplane! She has given my life so much joy in being not only my mother but my best friend.

The picture above is my mom and I this year at a friends wedding reception. 

 My sister, Isabella, is 12 years old and in the 7th grade. She is incredibly inspiring because she is one of the few children on this day and age to really not care about what others think. She has this enormous amount of confidence that allows her to try new things, think independent thoughts, be her own person. Which I think is amazing for someone her age. She will be the first person to be honest with you. I wish I had her bravery at such a young age to tackle some of the things I never did. She even started up her own YouTube page doing beauty tutorials and DIY's (something I have always thought of doing but never actually having the confidence to start - much like this blog)! She does not conform to what she sees in school and is not easily influenced by her peers, thank god! I cannot wait to see what she will accomplish with her drive. 

This was my Mom, Sister, and I on her most recent 12th birthday out to eat some Sushi!

My Dad and I have a very different relationship than we used to and I am so grateful for that to start off with. My dad is a man of few words and doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, we are very different! I can become an emotional train wreck within 2.5 seconds over watching something on the Animal Planet and he would think I have lost my mind. I am so thankful though that even though my dad has this type of personality, it has not stopped him from showing me that he loves me in his own way. He caught me SO off guard the other day when I called him asking what in the world he wanted for Christmas. I start my Christmas shopping in mid-October, and my father is always the one person I do not have finished because I just never know what to get him. He's not your typical, golf, sports, chocolate, or beer kinda guy. To my amazement he said that all he wanted for Christmas was to make sure we spent more time together next year than we did this year. Which not only got my creative juices flowing but overwhelmed me with gratitude that he said that. Stay tuned for his present! 

 

This picture above is of my Father, Sister, and I at one of his company's Christmas parties in 2005! Time flies!

My Grandma! I genuinely feel like this woman is an Angel on Earth. She is truly my guardian angel. She is such a strong women, and spent most of her life as an EMT! She was the first women to be an EMT in her county! She is such an inspiration and has so much motivation to accomplish so much in her life but at the same time is so open and sweet to others. She will give you the shirt off her back if you need it. I could call her at 3 o'clock in the morning and know she will talk to me about whatever is on my mind. She gives her all to every person she meets and makes friends everywhere she goes. I could call her and talk to her for hours, which I probably have done and secretly drive her crazy! ;) She is a blessing not only in my life but to every person that has the chance of meeting her and getting to know her. 

 

This was my grandma and I standing on a cliff in Ireland! I wish so much that we could relive this day all over again! 

2. Love: I could write a novel in this section but I will do my best to cut it as short as possible! I met, the absolute love of my life, soul-mate when I was 14 years old. Over 7 years later he still has my heart, and our love for each other grows with each days passing. Philip and I have had our fair share of relationship ups and downs, but in the end I always knew he was the one at the end of the day that made me smile. I think that some people go through life accepting a love that they think they deserve but they do not see their own potential. I cannot tell you how many chick flicks I have watched or how many people I have heard say things like, "You only see that in the movies" but I truly believe that day in and day out I am living in my own fairytale. Now we may fight, like all couples do, there is never even a sliver of a doubt in my mind of this boys love for me. I am so thankful everyday to have found a man so loving, so generous, so caring, he is just everything I could ever ask for and more. I could not think of a better person to spend my life with.

 

This was us this past summer in St. Augustine at the Castillo De San Marco.

Another wonderful thing to fall under the category of love are my two children, or should I say my fur-babies. I have two of the most loving pups in the entire world. For starters, there is Balto, he is my big boy. He looks just like you would think when you hear Balto, a big black Husky boy weighing in at about 80 pounds. He is such a gentle giant. Then there is my little Ollie, who is a mixture between a beagle and a whippet and who knows what but he is the biggest lover there is! I am so thankful to come home to these two every single day. They comfort me when I am sad, they always make me laugh after a rough day. They are literally sweet angels.