Morning Jogs & Mile Markers

 

Since school started a month ago, staying in shape has taken a backseat to the piles of homework that I have accumulated. I'm trying to carve out some time for physical activity, though, because without it I have been feeling kind of sluggish. Anyway, when I woke up this morning, I decided that I just had to go jogging after breakfast, and I'm so glad I stuck to my resolve.

 

There is a trail behind the neighborhood I live in that goes through the woods on one side and comes out on the water. As I alternated between the gravel and paved roads, I realized for the umpteenth time how gorgeous this area is. Check out some of the pictures I took:

 

 

 

 

Once I was out of the woods, I arrived right at the waterfront. These are shots of some private piers.

 

... and this is the sidestreet that took me back home.

 

 

Even though I took these pictures just this morning, it blows my mind to think that they were all captured within a mile of each other. The landscapes are so beautiful and varied here, and I absolutely love it. My dad told me this morning that one of the reasons we moved to NC was so that I could take the beauty around me and do something with it. I'm not sure what means for me yet, but I know God has it all figured out. And that's enough for now.

 

 

xoxo,

Ireland

 

 

A Quick Update...

Hey, everyone! It's crazy to think that this is the longest I have ever gone without posting on the blog. I have a good excuse, though!

As of last Saturday (August 30th, 2014) my family and I have officially moved to Wilmington, North Carolina! I took these pictures yesterday at Wrightsville Beach, which is literally biking distance from our house. Is that not awesome or what?

 

I also started my junior year of high school that week (in public school, no less), so I've been swamped with homework and long to-do lists. Fortunately, some of the madness is starting to subside, and I am getting into the swing of things... More on that some other day. :)

 

The short of it is that I am back here with you and am crazy excited about it! More posts are coming your way soon, but in the meantime, I want to know...

 

How is the back-to-school season treating you so far?

 

xoxo,

 

Ireland

P.S. Shout-out to my newest follower, Sofia Nikula! I hope you enjoy what you find here!

 

 

Lifelong Love Letter // Outfit Post

Good afternoon, my lovelies! I hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start. Today I went on a mini-road trip with my mom to Leland, NC to get some new contacts, and it was so fun... not least of all because the optometrist's name was-- get this-- Dr. Hu.

Anyway, with the first day of school only three days away, I've been spending some time putting new outfits together. This bright, sweet look is one of my favorites so far... I even got little butterflies in my stomach when I finished accessorizing it.

Is that normal? Probably not.

But that's beside the point. I love this look because it is colorful and happy and  fun to wear... and since I'm feeling a bit more optimistic than usual today, it also suits my mood quite nicely.

The start of school prompts me to get a little more creative with my outfits, so I hope to share several more with you over the next few weeks. Here's hoping!

Love you guys.

xoxo,

Ireland

Outfit Credits:

Pink 3/4 length: Hollister via Marshalls

White cropped pants: American Eagle, thrifted

Belt: ?, thrifted

Colorblock wedges: ana via JC Penney

Gold hoops: borrowed

Gold ring: borrowed

 

Title Credit: "I Choose You"by Sara Bareilles

  

It's That Time of the Year Again...

BTS Time!

 
Well, guys. I am officially enrolled as a student at Emsley A. Laney High School, alma mater of Michael Jordan. If all goes well, it will be where I graduate in two more years... eep!
 
Summer break is coming to a close in a few short weeks, so I compiled a short list of back-to-school reads, including So Not Happening (#1 of the Charmed Life Series) by Jenny B. Jones and Limos, Lattes, and My Life on the Fringe by Nancy Rue. Two chick lit books that I have read over and over again!

What's on your end-of-summer to-read list?
 
xoxo,
 
Ireland

Lunch at the Southport Tea House: Part 2 of 2

 

Yesterday I posted pictures from lunch at the Southport Tea House. I have a couple more to show you, if you don't mind :), starting with this one of my mom. As you can see, they bring the little pots of tea to the table, and then you wait three to five minutes for it to steep. I dunked several cubes of sugar and a fair amount of cream into mine, and my mom added honey to hers.

 

 

I had a chocolate chai for the first time in my life... and it was spicier than I expected! I'm not a huge tea drinker, but something about the beverage in general just seems so lovely. As C.S. Lewis so eloquently put it, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

 

Soon, they brought out our food, served on pretty flowered plates.

My mom had a ham and gouda quiche and a mixed green salad, and I had this two-tier platter of assorted foods. On the bottom are two chicken salad and two cucumber sandwich squares, and on the top is a scone, praline muffin, and two cookies, along with a little dish of clotted cream and jam. If you ask me, clotted cream tastes a lot like butter. But "clotted cream" sounds so much better. Makes me feel like I'm having breakfast in a traditional English cottage. Ya gotta love that.

If you ever come to Southport looking for a cool lunch spot, the Tea House may be it, especially if you like the whole feminine, vintage-y vibe.

 

Hope you enjoyed another peek into Southport living! And if you missed Part 1 of this post, just click here.

 

Hope you are having a beautiful Sunday! God is good!

 

xoxo,

 

Ireland

 

P.S. Who else is planning to watch the Giants play tonight??

 



Lunch at the Southport Tea House: Part 1 of 2

 Today, my mother and I had lunch at the Southport Tea House for the very first time. Since we only have a few weeks left in town, she created a little bucket list of things to do, and at the top of that list was a mother-daughter date at the Tea House.

 

Isn't the place so cute? It's an experience just to go in and admire the décor. The tables are set up just so with pretty floral tablecloths, girly centerpieces, and charmingly mix-matched tea cups and saucers. I felt a little bit like Felicity Merriman (you, know from American Girl) as I was sitting at our table. But I realized again today that I would not blend well with the social circles of times past. My mom had to remind me to keep my elbows off the table. Oops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am with my chocolate chai. Cheers!

 

xoxo,

 

Ireland

Next Stop... Wilmington

Happy August, everyone! As we roll into the last few weeks of summer break, I find myself surrounded by empty bookshelves, stacks and stacks of cardboard boxes, and overexposed beige walls. That's right, we're moving-- again! This time, though, our end destination (umm, that being Wilmington, NC) is only about an hour away. Much simpler than the 500-mile trek from Knoxville to Southport.

As my family transitions into the next phase of our life, this picture serves as a tribute to Flashback Friday. From left: my mom Karen, late grandfather Ed, uncle Carey, me, and my cousin Reise.

I love beautiful memories... but at the same time, I'm looking forward to making new ones.

What do you think is the hardest part about leaving home? What's the best?

xoxo,

Ireland

blackberry picking.

So, the family's in this week, and we decided to head to the woods behind our house and search for blackberries on Wednesday. It went something like this:

 

 

Hey, Jeffrey. Ready to go?

 

 

 Trekking through the woods.

Pause to take selfie.

 

Getting closer... WHERE ARE THE BERRIES?

 

 

We have come to a fork in the road.

 

Oh, there they are. FINALLY!

 

Yum!

Ready to make cobbler?! I'll let you know how it turns out... Meanwhile, head on over and check out the #9Things Challenge. It's easy and fun-- so DON'T MISS IT! :)

 

 

love forever,

 

Ireland

 

 

4th of July 2014

Happy Independence Day from my home to yours!

 

 

 After all the craziness from Arthur yesterday, today it was completely sunny and calm. How does that happen? Anyway, the weather cleared up and the Southport 4th of July Parade went on as planned. Here are some cool shots: 

Marching band. BOOM BOOM BOOM.

South Brunswick High School U.S. Army JROTC.

 



Motorcycles...

 

Just clowning around. :)

 

Jeffrey is so cool he doesn't even have to try.

Family picture time!

Ending on a good note.

 

After the parade, we had a little block party at our neighbors' house, and my mom took her mom and aunt around downtown Southport for what may be the last time (not to get melodramatic or anything (; ). As I'm typing this to you, my dad and brother are off to see the big fireworks extravaganza on the river (the one on Tuesday was on the beach), which is cool. Honestly, I was too tired to even want to go! :)

 

Hope you enjoyed these pictures! It was a fun (although exhausting!) holiday for my family and me. How did you celebrate the 4th this year?

 

love y'all!

~Ireland~

 

Baby, You're a Firework

Happy July, everybody! In honor of Independence Day, which is (eep!) this Friday, there was a fireworks display at Caswell Beach on Tuesday night. Check out some of these pictures:

 

Before the show started. Look at the sunset... the glowing white blob in the sky is the moon.

Red.

I love how this pictures show the smoke in the background. Watching a fireworks display can be such an attention-grabbing experience.

 

This  one is beautiful against the velvety blue sky.

 

Here's a 1-minute glimpse of the 45-minute show. I hope you enjoy it. (Just so you know, the really loud boy who keeps hollering in the background is my brother. :) )

 

 

What are your plans for Independence Day???

xoxo,

 

Ireland

 

 

Title credit: "Firework" by Katy Perry

 



Inside Bullfrog Corner

"There is a charming little shop in Southport on the corner of Howe and East Moore called Bullfrog Corner. It's one of those quirky shops, crammed floor-to-ceiling with all kinds of toys, books, beach souvenirs, and candy. In fact, there's a little platform inside that leads to a room filled with everything from maple candies to gummies to chocolate-covered raisins. It's arguably the most intriguing part of the store, and that's saying something, considering there is some kind of merchandise covering every square inch of the place."

When I wrote that a couple weeks ago, were you intrigued? Just in case, I thought you might like to see some pictures... you know what they say about them being worth a thousand words.

 

(Sidebar: if you missed my #9Things Challenge yesterday,

DON'T MISS IT! I want all my friends with social media

profiles to participate. You can check it out here.)

 

 

Here is my grandmother Mary, kissing a frog next to the front door. Oh, Mimi, what has gotten into you?!

 

My brother Jeffrey is hamming it up here in the boys' toys section... imagine being five and having to pick out just one thing. It does not work well under time-sensitive circumstances.

The candy-shop-within-a-shop has a festive, old-timey feel, don't you think?

 

 

When I found a rack of Sesame Street hand puppets, I knew I had to take a selfie with one of them! (If you look closely in the picture below, you can see what I'm talking about.) They had Abby, Oscar, Ernie, Big Bird, Zoey.... and let me tell you, it was a tough call between Cookie Monster and Elmo. But in the end I had to go with the furry red guy. Elmo is just so sweet! (I'm into italics today, apparently...)



My Aunt Linda, walking over the puzzles, because there is no other place to walk!

Hope you enjoyed your virtual trip to Bullfrog Corner! Am I a good tour guide? I assure you, you would probably have a richer experience in person. Nevertheless, I wanted to find a use for these shots and thought a peek of Southport might be fun. Let me know if you want to see more posts like this!


xoxo,

Ireland




Sweeter Than Fiction // Outfit Post

So, in recent news, my grandmother and great-aunt Linda are visiting this week from Knoxville! Yesterday we all piled into my mom's car and took them to see some of the quintessential Southport spots-- including the waterfront park, where I'm sitting in the picture below.

 

I rarely ever do this, but I changed three times over the course of the day yesterday. I wore a dress and a denim jacket to church, changed into a t-shirt and shorts when we got home, and then changed again before going out in the evening. Anyway... eventually I ended up in this sleeveless sweater by Scott Taylor, my dark denim shorts, and faux leather flip-flops, along with the beaded necklace my uncle got my mom in Afghanistan and my prescription sunglasses. So everything worked out.

 

My dad called me a blonde Jackie the other day and I am still basking in the glow... :) My inspiration for this outfit came from some pictures of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O on island vacations... they even made casual wear look chic! You can check out my Pinterest boards of Jackie here and Audrey here.

 

Silly faces to brighten the mood :)

 

 

I hope your week is starting off well! As usual, your thoughts are more than welcome in the comments....

 

xoxo,

 

Ireland

 

 

Outfit Credits:

Sweater- Scott Taylor, borrowed

Shorts- ZCO via Belk

Shoes- Sonoma, borrowed

Necklace- ?, borrowed

Sunglasses- Dr. Bizer's?*

*(IDK for sure... they are labeled Aztec Suns but I don't know if that's the style or the brand)

 

 

Title Credit:
"Sweeter Than Fiction" by Taylor Swift