Greenville South Carolina 2019

Welcome to the South's best kept secret, Greenville, South Carolina. This past weekend we took a quick getaway to this up and coming city and it was the best. I can see what all the fuss is about.

Greenville South Carolina is all about outdoors, small business, and Clemson. I'm not fully confident about the Clemson thing but we were there the weekend before their national championship football game, so there was a lot of purple/orange love being shown off! I was digging it.

I think the best feature of Greenville is the Reedy River. There is a waterfall running right through downtown. Seventeen miles of paved trails along the river for walking/running/biking. And walking bridges all along the way. We love the outdoors and Greenville was just what we needed!

I was all about the small coffee shops around town. The first place we visited was The Village Grind where I ordered a Rose Cardamon Latte. This is not my usual order but I wanted the local's favorite. It was interesting, floral flavors, but still very satisfying!

We enjoyed walking the main street through downtown and browsing the small shops. My favorite was J. Hudson Booksellers shop. I love all things reading! 

The bookshop was filled with lots of good books, bookish gifts, and decor. 

All of my favorite things! 

At night, the town was all lit up and festive.

We had the best time. I can't say enough good things about Greenville. It was just what we needed to refresh and enjoy time together before Miss Ky goes back to school this weekend!

Favorite SemperFi Family Moments of 2018

Are you a fan of the Best Nine collage? One of my favorite year end activities on social media is seeing everybody's favorite pictures of the year. The best nine are the pictures you received the most likes on Instagram and there is a website like, THIS, that will calculate those rankings for you.

Looking back on 2018, I see A LOT of Kyli :) She is a favorite all the years :) 2018 was a big year for her with prom, graduation, leaving the role of military kid, and you can see it all in this collage. It was also the year of the Marine's retirement ceremony. 20 years in the military. I think I started this blog at year 13 in military family life. So surreal. Technically, we are starting 2019 as an active duty family but in a few short weeks we will be moving on to the blue IDs. 

We are still here in North Carolina. We will be finalizing moving plans in the next 2-3 months. Even though I would love to be in our forever home, I do appreciate this down time during retirement transition. Nobody likes to talk about the transition but it's a big one. I like that we are taking it slow and going through the whole process. I didn't realize how important that was but I can see it now. 

Anyways, back to the Best Nine, the favorite pictures were all about retirement and launching Kyli out into the real world. Which she is doing fantastic in the real world :) She is a little cold in Iowa this winter. Lucky child, she has only ever known warm weather living in California and North Carolina and Japan. Weather aside, she is rocking independent life! 

I love all the pictures but I think my favorite picture of the year was our family pic. Our very last military picture with the Osprey on the base. And of course, those kids all grown up. 

Did you get your Best Nine? Did you have a favorite that didn't make the collage? 

Hello 2019!

2019 is here. Are you ready? I'm ready!

This year I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone, to be bold, and risk hypothermia. We joined the locals for a very brisk and shocking dip in the Atlantic Ocean on the first day of the new year. I admit it took me two tries to get it done. I walked out after letting the water crash against my knees but luckily had friends (and a husband) who wouldn't let me miss the opportunity.

Yes, it took my breath away and pricked my legs like a hundred stabbing needles. Ultimately, it felt good to push myself out of my comfort zone.  I feel like I set the tone for my new year's goal of being more courageous, stepping outside the comfort zone, and accepting others for doing the same.

This year is the beginning of a "new" life outside of the military. It's exciting to have all the possibilities laid before us. I'm ready to start that new chapter with positivity and an open mind.

Cheers to you all, may you find what brings you joy in the new year!