you live in my dreams

behind my heavy eyelids 

please don't wake me up.

Home

Visits home are never long enough. I always enjoy the quietness and stillness of going home to the country but surprisingly it's hard to sleep when it's so quiet. I've gotten used to the sounds of the city putting me to sleep. But I had a great time back home with family. Distant cousins visited from NYC and Baltimore and we went on a trail visiting the land where our ancestors once lived. We rode on the back of my dad's truck soaking up the sun and scenery. We crossed an old bridge  that I thought for sure would fall in, but we made it across safely. We spent the rest of the weekend catching up on life, over good food of course.

Midwest Weekends

Last weekend I headed back to the Midwest. This time around Alex took me on a day trip to Chicago. Chicago is about an hour train ride from Milwaukee and this was my first time riding an Amtrak train. (The DC metro doesn't count.) This was also my first time visiting the Windy City. As soon as we hopped off the train I wanted to try everything that Chicago was known for. First stop: Portillo's Hot Dogs! I stuffed my face with an all beef hot dog topped with everything (mustard, relish, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and a pickle) and cheese fries. I also tried a bite of Alex's Italian beef sandwich. Yes I was hungry. So so good! Definitely stop here if you're in Chicago. 

Then we set off for some sight-seeing. The Chicago Sky-Deck line was a 2 hour wait, so we decided to take a bike ride to Millennium Park to see the Bean instead. Afterward we walked around the Navy Pier which had awesome views of Lake Michigan. While there I was able to catch up with one of my friends before heading back to the train. I definitely needed more than a day to discover all of Chicago. So I'll definitely be back.

The next day we spent the day at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, and hung out with family and friends. It was another great weekend in the Midwest filled with food and fun. :) 

xoxo,

Victoria

Chicago's Union Station

The Bean at Millennium Park 

Bradford Beach

Bolognese with brisket and meatballs at Onesto

Chicago-style hot dog at Portillo's

Diversity in Social Media

This past Thursday my roomie invited me to a journalism networking event hosted by the Diverse Social Media Editors and Digital Journalists DC Meetup Group. We enjoyed a great conversation with Gene Demby, Lead Blogger for NPR's Code Switch, on race and culture, and diversity in digital journalism and social media. Social media has had such a huge impact on OUR stories. In a pre-twitter world, stories like Mike Brown wouldn't have gotten the mainstream attention that it has received. Everything is happening in real-time and we are able to capture stories via video and have discussions about it instantly.  He gave some great advice for young black journalists, and two things stood out to me. 1.) Find those spaces where you can tell your stories, even if it's not your outlet. 2.) It has to be intentional to include diversity in your coverage and find those voices of color. I think the conversation was great advice for any writer thinking about entering into the social media and digital fields. Although I'm not a journalist, I'm glad I tagged along anyway. I met some great bloggers as well so it was a great opportunity to network and meet new people. You never know who you might run into. :) 

                                                       Sarah Glover and Gene Demby

xoxo,

Victoria

My blog has a new look and a new name! It was time for something fresh and new. I'll always be Gloria Dean's Daughter but I hope you will enjoy my blog's new home. 

xoxo,

Victoria

You taught me that love

didn't have to be so damn hard.

No walk in the park for sure

but it is simply

amazing

and

necessary.

xoxo,

Victoria

Bachelorette Weekend Recap

I just completed another weekend full of wedding activities! This has been a busy wedding season. My friend Brittny is getting married in 4 weeks and we had her bachelorette party this weekend. It was so great to catch up with my friends from high school. I barely got any sleep but I loved every minute of it! We live in different areas and we don't see each other enough. But we always pick up right where we left off. The stay at the Wyndham Resort at the National Harbor was awesome! The suite had 4 bedrooms so it was a huge sleepover full of late night talks, scavenger hunts, cooking, and lots of rum. It was also a weekend of firsts! I tried pole dancing and rode a mechanical bull for the first time. It's not as easy as it looks! LOL The National Harbor has added a lot of new restaurants and shops since I've last visited. So it was nice to get away without having to leave too far from home. It was a great weekend full of laughs and memories.

Excited to be a bridesmaid!

Taking a break from a crazy night out.

The bride and her new "Mrs" Kate Spade earrings.

The bride and her bridesmaids.

Reunited and ready to party! 

We closed out the weekend walking around the National Harbor and went shopping at the Farmers' Market.

xoxo,

Victoria

Check-In

Over half the year has past and I've been steadily staring at my vision board and revisiting my personal goals. My personal goal for 2015 is to "be bold and dare greatly." I've done a few things but there's sooo much more I want to do like more international travel and a career move. Finding balance has been elusive, but still a top goal. Sometimes it can be hard to stay motivated and it seems like there are never enough hours in a day. I came across a great article about How Successful People Work Less and Get More Done, and I realized I don't spend enough time working on my passions and spending the time to reflect, plan, AND execute my weekly goals. And yes there's a little bit of procrastination mixed in there too. There have been some ups and downs, new experiences, and even a new relationship, but I am looking forward to what's in store for the rest of 2015. What are some of your goals? Have you achieved any of them? How do you stay motivated? 

xoxo,

Victoria

Wedding Weekend Recap

Life has been crazy the past couple of weeks! I've gone from dark brown to blonde hair to auburn in a week. (I am so glad I still have my edges and my hair didn't fall out!) I've been craving a new hair color and the first time the color didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it, so now I've ended up with auburn hair for now. I couldn't have crazy looking hair for my bff's wedding! But you know in a few months I'll be ready to try something else with my hair. :)

I made it to the wedding weekend in Richmond, Virginia finally feeling good about my hair. I had a blast celebrating! I reunited with my closest friends and made new friends, and ate great local food.  The wedding was so beautiful! Small and intimate, and filled with lots of love and wisdom. I pray that God will continue to bless my sister and my new brother. True love always wins.

xoxo,

Victoria

Custom coasters as favors for the pre-wedding brunch at

Max's on Broad.

Yummy roasted pork shoulder at

The Roosevelt.

Janna and I with the Sister of the Bride and the Mother of the Bride

Mr. and Mrs. Jones :)

Dancing

Posing for a picture with my girls!

The First Dance

Surrounding our blushing bride!

Me and my beau waiting for the bride and groom.

Beautiful people.

home

i am flawed
but still worth loving.
you crawled into every crevice
and made it home.