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A Quick V-day Road Trip: Lancaster, PA

In lieu of Valentine’s Day gifts this year, my boyfriend and I decided to put money towards a little getaway. We are actively purging things in our home, and there is literally nothing else that either of us needs. I’m not super into v-day, so I didn’t want flowers or chocolates or any gifts. It all seems wasteful to me, and since we are trying to eliminate clutter, gifts just didn’t make sense to us.

So we took a road trip instead. And what place screams amore like Lancaster, PA–the Amish capital of love?

Let me tell you, we went with no expectations, and we had such a relaxing and lovely time. We went to the outlets (which forced us to get rid of a few extra items from our closet to justify the purchases), we went to a little shopping village for sourvenirs, we did a wine tasting, we grabbed coffee, we found an artisan bizarre, we stumbled upon a fire and ice festival, we went to food vendors, we saw horse and buggies, and we sampled ice cream at the Turkey Hill museum. We visited some neighboring towns near Lancaster, and overall, we just played everything by ear.

We had not done any traveling or even so much as a road trip in over a year, so this was a nice getaway that wasn’t too far, and that had little traffic to get to. We loved just going with the flow and holding hands and just enjoying each other.

One thing I did not realize is that the tourist area of Amish country is actually called Intercourse, PA…(I chuckled about this entirely too much)…so I guess that’s in line with Valentine’s Day after all!

My favorite place was the canning shop where they had every type of canned butter, marmalade, jam, relish, and pickled items that you could imagine. I can’t wait to dig into my apple butter and pineapple marmalade!

Do you give/receive gifts for Valentine’s Day? Would you forego gifts to do something together as a couple? How did you celebrate this year?

Here are a few more pics from the trip, and there’s a video on my IG at @justa_mdgirl.

justamarylandgirl4 Comments

I Created Habits Instead of Resolutions

Photo by Miesha Renae Maiden on Pexels.com

I did not make any resolutions this year. Honestly, it just feels so phony for me to do it. I know myself very well and I know that creating this new version of myself on the 1st of the year, with lofty goals and dreams of perfection, is just not realistic or honest.

I will not miraculously start doing things that I’ve never done in the past, and that I have not taken the time to create a pathway of success for.

I didn’t create a vision board, because honestly, for me, it’s just cool pictures and no action plan.

But I did say to myself that I’d like to do better with my finances this year, I’d like to not wake up super hung over after happy hours, and I’d love to stop relying so much on coffee. I decided to try out some new habits, I didn’t set any timelines or expectations, and I just decided to see if I liked these things and if they were things I wanted to continue doing.

So long as I like doing them, I will continue to do them. If I decide that they no longer serve me or that they are of no interest to me, I will stop. I am not going to pressure myself about any of it.

Here are six things I have tried in January, that have now become regular habits.

  • Balance my checkbook daily: How old school can I get, right? I’ve tried various ways to track my finances over the years. I’ve used various excel spreadsheets and I’ve used a planners and paper, but I still felt like I was sort of caught off guard by some payments that came out of my account. I wanted to get back to entering purchases and bills into my bank register, and reconciling the difference with the amount in my account. For me, there is power in looking at my account in this way every single day. Every day, it got easier to go through the reconciliation process. And then it became something that I couldn’t wait to do each night. So now it’s just part of my nighttime routine, just like brushing my teeth and taking my medications.
  • Not drinking alcohol: I went into this one knowing that it would not be a forever habit. Lately I have noticed that my body was not springing back after happy hour the way it had always done. I noticed I was not sleeping well on nights when I drank, and I was starting to make some bad decisions when I was drinking. Nothing super major, just maybe saying things I wouldn’t otherwise say, or being a little more rambunctious than I would prefer. So I decided to stop drinking for a while, and then make a decision about the relationship I want to have with alcohol going forward. So for now, drinking is on a pause for me. I have been leaning on mocktails, apple juice and ginger beer when I do go out, though I did have some wine this week.
  • Drinking tea instead of coffee: I had already managed to scale back to decaf coffee with zero sugar creamer a few months ago. This was already a huge step for me. But for January, I gave up coffee all together. This was actually not an intentional habit, but I got sick the first week of January and drank tea during that time. Once I got better, I did not go back to coffee, and surprisingly, I’m actually ok with it. So I believe this is a habit I will stick with. My daily hot beverage will be tea, and I will have coffee occasionally when I’m in the mood for it.
  • Listening to podcasts: I finally took the plunge and found some podcasts that interest me. I’ve now found intentional space in my day for podcasts. I have found a few podcasts that I absolutely love ranging from budgeting to mindfulness to true crime stories. I feel motivated to take action or inspired to think differently about something every time I listen. They really give me food for thought, or at the very least, I get some entertainment out of it.
  • Taking walks: At some point in January, I realized that neighborhood walks were the perfect time to listen to podcasts. So I started really looking forward to daily walks just so I could zone out and listen to podcasts. The walks aren’t anything major–usually about 20 minutes or so, and about a mile and some change. I don’t walk super fast, and I didn’t start off with any sort of fitness expectations. I just wanted to get out of the house, get some sun on my face, and get some fresh air into my lungs. But in January, I really leaned into the activity, and I decided to challenge myself to walk 30 miles in February.
  • Attending church (virtually): A local church was recommended to me, so I decided to attend virtually in January. I truly enjoy it and I take so many notes during each sermon. And I even refer back to them throughout the week. I love having practical action items and I love feeling like I am taking steps to being a better person.

Did you make any resolutions this year? How are they going for you?

justamarylandgirl2 Comments

Favorite Emojis: Bloganuary Entry #10

Ok forreal, is any text communication complete these days without an emoji somewhere in there? Even my 80 year old grandmother includes emojis in her texts, and it amuses me so much.

Emojis can sometimes say what we don’t want to type, or they can emphasize a reaction to a message. It took me a while to start using them but now, they are a pretty important flare to my communication.

I definitely have my regulars that I go to in order to fully express the feelings behind whatever message I just texted.

So here are my top six go-to emojis:

💕 – Double hearts: I love it. Whatever you just said. I’m feeling it and I love it.

✨ – Sparkly stars: I support you. I want your feelings to be validated. So I’m sending you star sprinkles. A lot of times, it’s combined with the heart above.

🙄- Expressionless: I have no expression after what you just said or what I sent right before this emoji. And really, no expression is an expression. Amiright?

😂 – Crying with tears: I fell out laughing. Whatever you just said, or whatever I sent before this is absolutely hilarious. The more of these emoji, the funnier I found it.

🥰 – Kissy face: I have seen a picture and I want to kiss the face of whoever was in it. I absolutely adore it. Whatever it is.

🤷🏽‍♀️ – Shoulder shrug: You got me, fam. I have no idea how to respond or what you want me to say to what you just texted me. Or…my way of having no opinion which, if you know me, I probably do have an opinion but I’m not sharing it, and though you probably know what it is, I’m not saying it.

What’s your favorite emoji? Do we have any in common? Or are emojis wack? I love them lol.

Let me know!

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Non-Artists Can Still Appreciate Art Museums

“Feed your soul with art.”

People say I’m creative. Idk. I guess maybe. But I do not feel like I’m an “art” person. Not in its traditional sense. At least I don’t feel like I am. There’s some art that I can appreciate, I like color combinations, I can appreciate some objects, I like textures and photography, and I like things that tell a story. But for me to get it, it needs to be pretty straight forward.

So for that reason, I feel as though I am not an art person.

I try to get something out of each art piece that I look at, but sometimes I just don’t get it. And if something is abstract AND called “Untitled” AND there’s no explanation for the piece…that’s really tough for me. When it comes to art, I either like it or don’t like it, and though I occasionally do feel something emotional about a piece for whatever reason, there really are a lot of things that I just don’t understand.

But that didn’t stop me from looking up local things to do and visiting the contemporary art museum just a few miles away.

I’ve always enjoyed being a tourist in my own town. Having wanderlust is great and all, but no matter where you are, there are usually plenty of things to see and do without going far. And now that I’m staying put in Maryland for a bit, it’s even more important to figure out ways to entertain myself locally. So the art museum it was!

On the way to the museum, we drove through some absolutely amazing neighborhoods. We passed multi-million dollar homes, and pulled into the museum parking lot. From there, we were directed to the Arrival Hall, where we were given a map of the property and a brief rundown of the art path, the pavilions, and the overall gist of the space.

Glenstone is a place that seamlessly integrates art, architecture, and nature into a serene and contemplative environment.

The art installations were both indoors and outdoors, which was really cool. There was a walking path that was maybe about a mile around with some outdoor sculptures and exhibits along the way.

Then there were five indoor pavilions that also housed artwork. We visited on a day that was personally very intense, and being in such a serene and peaceful environment on an unseasonably warm winter day was exactly what I needed. The walking, the fresh air, the views, the calm…for me, that was the highlight of the experience. And though I’m not an art person, there were a couple of pieces that sparked discussions between my boyfriend and me. But overall, I enjoyed the calm, the nature, the serenity, and just holding my boyfriend’s hand as we took in the ambiance.

The website for the museum really didn’t tell me a lot. I had no idea what to really expect, and I guess that’s by design. When we arrived, we were told that there was also minimal descriptive information about each piece because they want you to interpret the art in your own way. Some pieces I could interpret pretty easily, or I could find something interesting about it, or the shock factor that I believed the artist was striving for was well achieved.

As a “non-art” person, I may not have had the takeaway that the artists wanted me to have, but I still enjoyed the art museum experience and here’s why:

  • Everyone’s experience with art is not supposed to be the same, and I loved my experience
  • I was having a really stressful week and the nature, minimalism, and serenity brought me peace and calmed me down
  • The museum created a platform for me to use my imagination
  • Some exhibits were thought provoking and stirring
  • Some exhibits were confusing and puzzling, and that’s ok
  • Some exhibits made me more curious about the installation logistics than the art, which made me realize I use a different side of my brain, and I found that actually quite humorous
  • The hours spent there were a wonderful escape from the day-to-day
  • It has been a couple of weeks, and I still think back to some of the exhibits and contemplate their meanings

So maybe I didn’t have the types of thoughts that the artist intended, but I enjoyed my visit and I plan to return.

Are you an art person? When was the last time you visited an art museum?

art museum, things to do in Maryland, Glenstone Art Museum

justamarylandgirl2 Comments

Easy DIY Winter Hat Holiday Garland

diy holiday garland

Anyone that knows me knows that I love a good DIY project. Something simple that I can make with dollar tree items or, even better, items that I already have in my home, is an absolute winner for me. When I stumbled across this DIY on pinterest, I HAD to make it.

I am still digital nomadding, so my boyfriend and I decided that spending a bunch on holiday decor just wasn’t on our list of priorities. We wanted to be festive, but didn’t want to throw money down the drain on disposable items that we wouldn’t keep, and definitely did not want more items to haul around. So this project really felt like something that fit the bill.

I already had everything in my home, and I thought this was a great way to do something easy while I’m zoned out in front of the telly. So let’s get into it.

Materials:

  • String/yarn
  • Cotton balls
  • Paper towel roll
  • Scissors
  • A board or book that you can wrap the string around

Steps:

  • Snip off small sections of the paper towel roll
  • Wrap your string around the board or book about 25 times
  • Cut the end, then cut the bottom section of your string, so that you have 25 independent sections of string
  • Loop and tie the string around one of your paper towel roll sections
  • Continue until the entire roll is covered
  • Push the yarn through the paper towel roll so that it dangles out the other side
  • Grab the string with one hand, and put two cotton balls into the space to form the hat
  • Wrap string around the part of the string that you grabbed and tie in a knot
  • Cut off excess string and form into a pom on the top of the hat

I used eight hats for my space. I hung a piece of string across my fireplace and then tied the hats to the string. I loved how it came out. It’s just entirely too cute!

Another cute project that I tried was this snowball garland. So cute, so simple, and I was able to use items right in my home. Just be sure to keep each string completely separated from each other until you have them hung. They can get quite tangled.

That project can be found here: (I didn’t use glue and found that the project held up fine.)

And ICYMI, of course I posted on IG about my holiday salt dough ornaments which were fun and easy to make!

The video for making this can be found on my IG page.

Have you done any easy diy projects this holiday? Let me know what else I need to try!

Let me know!

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