#thought I’d try and paint aka no lines! and a background! wild!

[teeth-draws]

Hhhhighschool au bus ride with trouble from @shepherds-of-haven ;;;; haha

[missmaxime]

Mouth; room; close; keen

You really know what you’re asking, haha. I cherry-picked for the first three, because as it turns out I use those a lot. And fyi under ‘Close’ is a small excerpt of the Joan/Rio fic ;) 💕 MOUTH From ‘Shine a Light Now (This Time it’s got to be Good)’

“Apparently I am ‘overqualified’,” Beth complains dramatically, putting extra emphasis on it by adding sloppy air quotation marks. Phoebe starts opening her mouth to ask because she cuts her off with: “Find my Family a Pet, Season 5.” Phoebe sputters, grabbing a can of coke to rinse her mouth and spitting it on the pavement. “It’s animals, elderly ánd kids, the three circles of hell. Rookie stuff, damn sure you’re overqualified.”

From ‘Wild at Heart’ Chapter 5

Paul put the bag down, leaning onto the reception desk. “You don’t want to join me and Marissa for breakfast?” he asked. “I hear it’s delicious here.” Rio encircled his arm around Beth’s waist, squeezing it. He clacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Beth grabbed ahold of his hand, dragging it onto her belly. “Maybe we’ll join you tomorrow, Rio and I have an important appointment.” Rio stroked her through her coat, and Paul picked up on the hint.

From ‘If worst comes to worst, I left a note’

“Y’know what ya getting into?” he asks. She smirks. “Do you?” His eyes get darker and her attacks her mouth again, slipping his tongue between her lips. She circles her hand onto the back of his head, pulling him into her more. And, as much as she hates to admit it, it’s nothing like she ever experienced. Not with Dean, not with the two boys she kissed before, this is something more, and it’s frightening. Frightening, but thrilling. 

From ‘The Kaleidoscope of Love’

And she surges back into him, claiming his mouth. Their lips sliding over each other, erupting sparks in her chest she can’t remember feeling. Their position frustrates Beth, sitting next to each other, so she takes it upon herself to pull back from him – the groan he releases almost embarrassing. She doesn’t let him wait long, climbing onto him so she can straddle him. The trail his warm hands leave on her skin as he lets them travel up from her knees to her thighs, before sliding them under her dress is mesmerizing. She kissing him briefly on the lips. “More,” she breathes, quite sure her pitch is quite uneven. 

From (WT) ‘Come on baby, won’t you show some class’ [aka Mick locks Beth and Rio in a storage room because he’s tired of their shit]

Rio lets his fingers travel along her panties, feeling how wet she already is for him. He chuckles at that, increasing the pressure. “Yeah, you want me, don’t you darling?” He says, now slipping two fingers between her folds, feeling the heaviness of her wetness flooding his hand. He leans his head in, putting his mouth against her ear. “Don’t you?’ he asks, but sucks her earlobe in before she can answer, retracting a very repressed moan from her. That just riles her, and she tries to retract her bend leg from the table. But he grasps her ankle, keeping that leg in place. He reaches out with his other hand, buttoning open his pants, pulling down those and his boxers far enough to extract his lid. “Don’t, do, that,” he says, licking her face on one side in one long stroke. And she revels in it, against her better judgement. 

From (WT) ‘Get Well Soon’ [or the S3 deviation I started writing before S3 aired - FYI Orla is the realtor the girls use to find a store]

The day went by in a blur at best. Beth and Ruby had been cleaning the worst of the storage rooms for almost the entire day. Next they had painted the front-side of the store all white, immediately changing the look of it from depressed to welcoming. And when Orla entered the store around two she even took of her mouth mask. “Look who got this place close to presentable,” she stated, looking around somewhat impressed. Ruby threw her paintbrush into the turpentine. “I’m sure it still smells like fish,” she sighed. “Well, yeah,” Orla admitted. “But at least now it’s thinly masked by chemicals. And as you can tell by my face that’s something I’m way more comfortable with,” she joked. Ruby laughed, kind of surprised by Orla’s sense of humor. “I did hear it’s a bad idea to shoot anchovies up your forehead anyway.” Orla shrugged. “I’ll try anything with a success rate of over 85%, so bring it,” she smiled as she put a bunch of papers on the counter. 

ROOM From ‘Wild at Heart’ Chapter 5 (apparently I use this word a LOT in this chapter, Imma cut down on that one haha)

“No, we’re good,” Salazar answered. She exited the same way the game. “Got enough estrogen in the room as it is, right?” he said, grabbing his teacup and raising it to Rio. Who answered by raisin his own cup. Beth looked at him with disdain, she failed to hide it. She tried to separate this business Rio from the Rio she knew from the wedding, and even though she could fracture herself easily, breaking him up into different people was way harder. “Are you kidding me?” she shot at Rio. He gave her nothing. “We were in business before I was in your bed, you should give me some credits,” she said angrily. “My ass is on the line here too. And I sure as hell have more on that line than you do!”

From ‘If worst comes to worst, I left a note’

“Why didn’t you like me last time?” she asks. “Think you wouldn’t be interested.” Beth is taken aback by that, and it shows. “Why? You liked someone better?” she throws back. He laughs genuinely and shakes his head. “Nah. Just thought I’d was a bit out of your wheelhouse.” “Why?” she asks. But the buzzer goes off, and he wastes no time getting to the other side of the room to get to his next date.

From ‘The Kaleidoscope of Love’

Turner’s been on holiday with his boyfriend for a week in Bora Bora, and since he’s the only one who talks to the matches she doesn’t really have anything to do. She has already cleaned the front office and the break room and the cabinet with office supplies after two days, so now her most potentially productive activity is putting colorful post-its on her own face. Fortunately, just before she feels like her last braincells are dying off, the phone rings. And she scrambles to sit up in her chair, grabbing the horn. “Love Inc, Amber speaking, how may—” “Amber!” It’s Turner. He sounds agitated. “Well, hello sunshine,” she smiles, feel her own teeth crack at the faux sweet tone of it. “Cut the crap,” he orders. And she can’t really make out a lot of background noise, but the loud voices in the background, and actually – altogether chaos, don’t sound too promising. For him though, this sounds like all the opportunity for her. 

From ‘A Tail to Remember’ [AU where Beth suddenly sprouts a tail that acts on her deepest desires]

“What?” she croaks, her voice still paralyzed by sleep. She rubs her eyes with the back of her hand, and when she can see well through the dusk of the room, she sees Dean laying face down onto the ground next to the bed. “You pushed me!” he’s upset, face crowded with angry splotches of red. And, did she? She looks at where she’s at; still very much on her own side, not even close to the middle. “How?” she asks confused. He’s being all angry-toddler about it, gathering his covers and dumping them on the airbed. “I’m sure you just had a bad dream,” she offers. 

From ‘Get Well Soon’

Beth let the curtain drop back again and focused on the envelope, as she walked back to her room. She turned it around in her hands, there was no address, no stamp. She dropped onto the bed as she opened the crimson envelope in her hands, extracting the midnight blue card from it. In swirly silver printed handwriting it said ‘Get Well Soon!’ surrounded by differently shaped stars. Beth almost sighed in relief, recognizing the print from Lucy’s Etsy. When she opened it though, it felt like she was being doused in icy cold water. ‘Thinking of you lots!’ was staring at her, mocking her with a scarily recognizable handwriting even without the weird e’s he usually wrote. Without another thought Beth threw the card into a corner, dimmed the lights, and crawled into the bed, hoping it would swallow her while she would fight her nightmares that night. 

CLOSE From the ‘Untitled Joan Holloway/Rio’ fic

“I did tell him I’d give him a dollar if Mick would be there in promised time. He lived up to expectations,” she explained. Rio turned his head. “Give him two,” he ordered Mick, before returning his attention back to Joan. She felt great with Rio ignoring the line of people waiting outside to get in, the bouncer opening the door without even giving them a questioning look. Inside was a whole different experience than the rundown outside gave. It was still kind of dark but the lighting and music gave it an intimate and welcoming feel. He escorted her to a booth close to the bar, looking out onto the dance floor. It was very obvious she was one of the very few white people here. “What’s your poison?” he asked, signaling a waiter. “Maybe some bourbon?” she asked. He ordered a bottle of the good stuff. She liked that. She turned her back to him. “Would you mind, taking the pins out?” she asked, her chin pushed against her shoulder as she looked at him expectantly.

From ‘Wild at Heart’ Chapter 5

Beth drops her bag, and moves in on him. “You know, I shot that window pretty good last time,” she says haughtily. “Yeah, when you were on your feet,” he says. Beth takes the gun from him. And she’s taken back to that one night Rio shot Dean in the chest. And by now she’s pretty sure he wasn’t totally honest about not knowing if that shot would leave him alive. Especially after what she now knows she can do with a gun, much less Rio, who has years and years’ experience on her. “So, did Sal get back to you?” she asks, while she takes a stand close to him, taking a hold on his gun. 

From ‘The Kaleidoscope of Love’

It’s all he needs to fully attack her mouth. Entangling his hand in her hair, pulling her in as close as they can get. Their lips slandering, navigating to tend to each other’s needs, sucking and biting, both teasing and tending with conviction. She smiles a little when she thinks about the lipstick marks she’s probably leaving on his face, takes pride in marking him, letting everybody know what they’ve been up to. The thought makes her bolder, rocking her hips against his, a movement he immediately answers, groaning into her.

KEEN NOTHING (*le gasp*). Well, there is once, but it’s in the chapter of Shine A Light Now (This Time it’s got to be Good) where I’m working on now, and that’s just too rough of a draft.  

[xiaojusaur]

BTS Reaction First Time Meeting You

This was a request, I’m not sure if this was what you meant but I decided to give it a twist. Sorry for taking so long! I hope you like it! @ensutopia

Jin

He saw you alone at a restaurant. He watched you order and then kept watching you while you waited for the food.

You felt someone’s eyes on you and looked that way to meet his eyes. He smiled and you smiled back.

Were you alone? Were you waiting for someone? He didn’t know, that’s why he didn’t dare to talk to you at first. He kept his attention on you to see if someone arrived.

When your food arrived and he saw that indeed you were alone he waited for the waitress. He took a napkin, wrote something on it, gave it to the waitress and she gave it to you. When you opened it it said:

Do I know you? Because you look a lot like my next girlfriend.

You spat your water and started laughing. What? You couldn’t believe he just pulled that off. You looked at him and shook your head no, you couldn’t believe he told you that but at the same time it was funny.

After exchanging enough glances he finally walked to you and presented himself. “Hello, I’m Jin, aka your next boyfriend and hopefully the last.”

You laughed at his introduction. After this he sat with you. You guys talked and talked. He offered to pay for your food but you didn’t let him so instead he said “Well, can I at least have your number then?” You laughed and did gave him your number.

Yoongi (Suga)

He saw you at a music shop. You caught his eye while watching a disk. He kept walking near you. You haven’t seen him yet but he kept doing things to catch your attention. He started getting closer, looking for a way to start talking to you.

Finally you grabbed a CD that he liked and he saw his chance. “That’s a great one.” You jumped from the sudden voice. “Sorry that I scared you.”

“It’s okay! Thanks for the recommendation, I might buy it.” He started explaining every song in the CD and when he saw your interest he knew you were a good catch.

When you decided to buy it he took out a piece of paper with a number written on it. “Here, have my number. Text me if you like it.” You took it with trembling hands and blushing hard.

Hoseok (JHope)

You were at the club with some friends dancing your heart out. You guys have decided thag tonight you would even dance to the commercials and you were complying. You danced with anyone who came close or anyone who take you out to dance, it was wild.

There was a point where you were dancing alone with one of your friends when a guy approached you. He tapped your shoulder and when you spun there was Hoseok, the most gorgeous man you’ve ever seen. You couldn’t conceal the shock you felt and blushed.

“Can I have this dance? I’ve been watching you and you dance really well.” He extended his hand to you and you took it, it was soft and so delicate. Your friend looked at you with an excited face and then smirked.

He started dancing behind you, rocking his hips skillfully. You followed his pace, grinding on him. He held you by the hips, almost claiming you his. He was magical, so skilled. He spun you so you were face to face now, still you both kept dancing. He was really sexy and he made you feel the same way.

You guys danced all night long, your friends long forgotten, but they were happy for you.

He accompanied you to the bar and bought you a drink, you both sat to chat a little.

“So what’s your name gorgeous?” He asked taking a sip from his drink.

“I’m Y/N, what about you?”

“My name is Hoseok, pleasure to meet you.” He took your hand and kissed your knuckles. You blushed and giggled. What was he doing? Was he drunk?

“So, before I lose you again, can I have your number? I would like to take you out to dance more often.” He winked and you felt your soul leaving. He gave you his phone and you saved your number.

Namjoon (RM)

You were walking by the beach, distracted by your thoughts, just looking at the water. Things weren’t going great in your life lately and you decided to just take a break from everyone and clear your mind.

Out of nowhere you bumped into someone and fell on your ass on the sand. You were about to insult the person when you noticed it was just a guy who was just as distracted as you.

“I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!” He said panicking while offering you his hand to help you back on your feet.

“It’s okay, I guess we were both too distracted.” You said like if it was nothing.

The guy was really good looking, the sun shined on his caramel skin and his hair moved flawlessly with the wind.

You took his big hand and he pulled you so you could stand up. You thanked him and he smiled leaving you breathless. He had a perfect smile and two dimples adorned his cheeks.

“Im Namjoon by the way,” he introduced himself.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you.”

“Well, Y/N, how about we walk together so we don’t have to bump into each other, we can walk side by side,” he said smiling.

“That would be a great idea.”

You both started walking together.

Jimin

You were walking on the streets of Busan when you saw some performances. There were some people dancing. There was a particular boy that caught your eye, he looked so into it, you could see he was passionate about dancing.

You got closer and before you knew it you were right in the front, watching with shiny eyes. He noticed you and he half smiled to you but he kept dancing.

When everything finished and everyone scattered you were about to keep walking but then someone called you. “Hey wait up!” You spun suddenly to find the precious boy from the performance.

“H-Hey!” You said nervously.

“I’m sorry to scare you, I just needed to talk to you. I saw you so interested I just had to talk to you. I’m sorry if I seem to... weird.”

“It’s nothing, your dance was beautiful, I really liked it.” You smiled. His eyes shined, he was so cute. His eyes shrunk every time he smiled beautifully.

“You’re really pretty. I’m sorry, my name is Jimin,” he offered you his chubby hand. You took it and said “I’m Y/N, nice to meet you.”

“So are you from around? I’ve never seen you before.” Something in his eyes changed, he was studying you.

“No, I’m just here traveling for a few days.”

“That’s a bummer. I wanted to take you out someday.” Nothing smooth about that line, you started blushing hard.

You giggled and said “You can take me out one of these days, I get pretty bored around.”

He smiled and blushed, “Alright then.”

“Here, have my number.” You took a sticky notes pad and a pen out of your purse, wrote your number and gave it to him.

His tiny hand trembled while he took the paper. “Thank you, I’ll call you tonight.”

Taehyung (V)

You were at an art museum because you had to write a paper for college. You were walking around looking at everything to ser if you find something that interested you but so far you haven’t had luck.

You turned on a corner to find the Starry Night by Van Gogh. There was a man looking at it without moving a finger. He looked at the art piece like if he wanted to be consumed by it. You noticed you were as frozen as he was, looking at him. 

You walked slowly and stood by his side to see if you could understand what was so interesting of that painting. Intead of being hypnotized by the painting you were hypnotized by him. He could easily be another art piece of that museum. He was gorgeous, perfect. His caramel skin glowed by the dim lights of the museum, his eyes concentrated on the painting were really deep but captivating. You were trying hard to stop looking at him but you couldn’t. 

He noticed your eyes on him but he didn’t mind. Suddenly his deep voice made you jump. “Isn’t it an interesting painting? So deep, so colorful, so hypnotizing.”

“Y-Yeah,” you just said. 

He started talking to you but without taking his eyes off the painting. “It’s so interesting yet so sad, he suffered from depression, he was hospitalized in an asylum yet, for me, his paintings make so much sense.  He once wrote to his brother that painters understand nature and love it, and that they teach us to see. He couldn’t be more right.” 

You found yourself interested on the painting because all of the facts he had told you. “I- I’m just here because I have to write a paper for college, thanks for all the facts.”

“I’m glad I helped you.” You didn’t even noticed when he turned to look at you. “If you need any other help, text me.” He handed you a card with his number. Kim Taehyung was his name. You took the card shyly. 

“I would say I’d love to invite you a coffee but I’m not so fond of coffee,” he smiled and you almost fainted.

“You can invite me to a hot chocolate, I’d love to chat with you.” you giggled.

“Great then, should we go now?” He offered you his arm and you took it like if he wasn’t a stranger. 

Jungkook

You were at a bar with some friends listening to the live music. It was a nice place with a nice environment. There was some jazz playing on the background and you guys were chilling with some drinks.

An elegant got on stage and everyone stared at him expectantly. He looked nervous. He started singing, his melodious voice invading all the place. Everyone around was attentive to him. His eyes shined and his skin glowed under the stage lights. 

“He sings so good, don’t you think?” you asked your friends.They all agreed.

You were immersed in his voice, in his lyrics when your friend interrupted you saying “Y/N, I think he’s looking at you.” She elbowed you. 

“You think? I dont think so.” You said insecure but when you fixed your eyes on him again, he indeed was looking at you but he looked really shy about it. You decided to show off and started playing with you hair, never taking your eyes off him.

After some minutes he finished and got off stage. You asked your friends if you should go and talk to him but they told you to let him come to you. 

A few minutes later another guy came to you and said “Hey, my friend thinks youre beautiful and he wanted to give you his number.”

You were confused, who was this guy? “Umm... Who is your friend?”

“The guy that was singing.” 

You look at your friends, you didn’t trust this guy.

“Why don’t he comes to me himself then?”

“He’s really shy.”

“Okay then I’ll go to him.” You got up from the chair and the guy guided you to the other guy. When he saw you he didn’t know where to look, you were certain that if there was a hole on the floor he would’ve hidden there. 

“Hey,” you said. “You were looking for me?” 

“Y-Yes” he was stuttering. 

“Why?” You were torturing him and it was fun.

“Because you’re pretty.” He sounded calmed this time.

“We should go out on a date then. You’re adorable.” You said laughing. All of his friends started laughing and the guy from before gave you the paper with his number. 

“What’s your name pretty boy?” you asked looking at the guy.

“Jungkook and yours?” You could see he was gaining trust now.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you.” He finally offered you his hand and you took it.

[suzannaandjameshardy]

A Party Hardy Wedding

Inching closer to the one year mark so I thought I'd grace my Tumblr's presence with snapshots of our big day. 

11/19/16. Who knew that would now be my favorite day of the year. Most days you wake up knowing exactly how each second will more or less pan out. I'm that odd mixture of an organized person with unsystematic attributes. Everything is on my calendar, but sometimes it gets lost in translation.This day, 11/19/16, was most definitely planned. To the T. Not a single detail or minute was overlooked. But somehow... it was like the agenda was thrown out the window. We were so engulfed in this overwhelming amount of love that it felt like we were going to explode into a million pieces across the dance floor. What itinerary? We just floated from one room to the next. It sounds cheesy because it was. It was us. I had this reoccurring scene in my head... that I'd fall down the aisle or my dad would show up late. The ceremony turned out to be our favorite moment of the wedding. We just could not. stop. smiling. Our officiant calls my name. I don't think I looked at him once. "Repeat after me, with this ring I thee wed. Take it and wear it as a pledge of my love and as a symbol of all we shall share." At this point I'm staring into James's soul and the outside world is merely a blurred image and the only sounds are a collective blurb of white noise. My face is in this permanent ridiculous smile and somehow words began to form,"With this ring I thee wed... wait what was it?" Everyone laughs. I manage to finish my vows and we kiss a cold November kiss. (snaps of me butchering the vows below)

It was a chilly Saturday. Believe it or not, November in Texas can be unusually hot. 11/19/16 however, was not one of those normal humid Saturdays. So much so that we rented tall heat lamps for guests. It was nice and cozy and our hors d'oeuvres kept us warm. I wanted our menu to reflect my background. Specifically the large majority of guests ~aka~ mi familia who happen to be Mexican American with an obsession for good food. We started the night with poblano and mushroom empanaditas with avocado aioli, chicken bites wrapped in bacon and stuffed with a jalapeno, oyster nacho on a yucca chip with guacamole chipotle aioli and micro pico de gallo. That’s a mouthful, huh? Signature cocktail, pomegranate margarita. 

Family and friends start making there way to the the chapel inside the Southwest School of Arts. I danced a slow rendition of Sweet Child of Mine with my father. He was a mess. Just looked like he was about to cry any second. He's a proud Mexican father. He's known around town as the guy to not screw around with. So watching him a bit vulnerable was well... pretty awesome. He can be so hard to handle sometimes. We are alike in many ways. One of which our taste in music, hence our oh-so-classy father-daughter dance.

James and I danced Emmylou by First Aid Kit. We knew the first time we heard the song as it randomly popped up that that was the song. We created our own playlist for the wedding and well... it was bomb AF. Hehe. No really, we are proud of our playlist. An interesting mix of Los Growlers, Father John Misty to Band of Horses, to Tupac and 90's rap, then back to Rilo Kiley and then some Elton John. And of course a good portion of Tejano and Selena to get the party going. It was so random, but probably the best playlist I've ever heard in my life because it reminded us of all our adventures. (a pretty giddy first dance below)

We had a seated dinner that consisted of wild field greens with roasted red and yellow bell peppers, corn, black beans, queso fresco, purple onion, salted pepitos, crispy red tortilla strips and cilantro lime vinaigrette. Instead of bread, we opted for a traditional warm masa cake with a chili lime butter rosette. The main entree was a ridiculously yummy beef tenderloin filet with cherry guava sauce, a trio of jumbo shrimp sauteed and topped with tequila (duh) lime cream sauce, in a shell with a lime, white cheddar, cilantro and green chile mashed potatoes, and seasonal grilled vegetables. Dessert.. dessert... Oh how I miss our dessert table. Traditional Mexican lady fingers and pan de polvo baked by a family friend in my hometown. We are pretty picky about our pan de polvo and hers are the best. Our wedding cake was made by Bird Bakery, owned by Armie Hammers wife, Elizabeth Chambers. She is native to San Antonio and opened this adorable bakery in Alamo Heights. Our cake was a smooth vanilla buttercream, no crazy decor or flavors. It was so rich and moist. Bird also baked Mexican brownies for guests with hints of cinnamon and spices. Last but not least...apple pies in mason jars (also by Bird). James was adamant that he did not want a grooms cake. He's been obsessed with apple pies since the day we met. The mix between traditional Mexican goodies and apple pies in mason jars was unintentionally symbolic of our merging of cultures & it gave us all the feels. 

We ended the night with all of our friends lined parallel with each other holding hand painted maracas from Mexico (also a wedding gift). We ran through the crowd and jumped into our getaway car and took one big deep breath. We just laughed. Still in awe of what just happened. After a few drinks with some of our close friends, we called it a night. The next morning we hopped on a plane to Olympic National Park where we stayed in a cozy little cabin next to lake surrounded by mountains. BUT that's for another post. ;) 

What people don't realize is that we have a lot of days like this. We are annoying, I’ll admit it. I used to hate those ridiculous couples that were so in love. I used to think, "what are they trying to prove" & "no one cares, please don’t send me a Christmas card." But here we are, obsessed. A good obsessed. When we first started dating, I'd argue it was more of a jealous obsessed, but man does time help evolve you. I'd like to think one of the best gifts in this world is allowing, watching, and seeing each other grow & I’m blessed that we do that for one another. We are not perfect, but we are one hell of a team. 

Okay, less typing, more pictures.

@brides @theknot @liancarlodesign

[cassidy-malta]

May 20: Croatia & Bosnia & Herzegovina, Oh My!

Raise your hand if you know where Croatia is!

(I didn’t a month ago)

Raise your hand if you know the difference between Bosnia and Herzegovina!

(I didn’t until a week ago)

Raise your hand if you can name 1+ city in either of those countries!

(I still cant- Slovenian is a tough language)

And I’m back! It was our second to last trip and to be completely honest, I had low expectations. What kind of fun would a country I’ve never even heard of be? Thank GOD Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina proved my incredibly ethnocentric self so so so wrong and blew me away.

Before I went, all I had heard about the entire region was:

“Oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful!”

To which I immediately thought:

“Oh my gosh, literally everywhere I’ve been is breathtaking- that’s nothing new.”

Furthermore, as if to add to my bad attitude in going to Croatia, Maddie and I got home from Greece on Thursday afternoon, and at 6:45am Friday morning we were in a death-defying taxi ride to the airport preparing for a FULL DAY of traveling. We didn’t finally touch down in Croatia until 4:30pm. It’s hard to be excited and positive at that point. The late emergence of my 12-year-molars and an overcast day took a bad mood to a downright nasty mood.

We stayed in Villa Antea, an apartment complex only a short bus ride away from the heart of Dubrovnik- not the capital of Croatia but a cultural hub. I did a bit of research on the country I was in: Croatia is a long skinny country bordering the Mediterranean sea. It was part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and was occupied by the Axis powers in WWII. The people are known as “croats” and the entire region went through some very serious political and ethnic wars just a short while ago in the early 90′s (I’ll talk about that more later). Croatia has more than a thousand islands and a cliff-y coast line, which we were snuggled up against.

Dubrovnik is very close to the southern border of the country and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it has a long history as a maritime trading port. We focused our energy in the Old City portion of the city- constructed in the 13th century. The Old City had narrow brick-laid streets, surrounded by massive walls and sprinkled with clock towers and churches. Maddie and I ventured into the Old City with no particular plan and were engulfed by history. 

(I’ve become a big fan of architecture since coming to Europe- it’s rather hard to not)

(We stumbled across a workshop where coral jewellery is made and the craftsman even gave us a little presentation and helped us understand how pieces are priced)

(the cute paved streets were lined with old buildings and artisan storefronts)

(A staircase leading to nowhere)

(One of the shops we went into was an artist trying to sell these adorable minnow paintings. They reminded me so much of snorkeling and the little fish that live along every coastline I’ve been to. It was my *splurge* of the trip)

(most churches are open to the public so long as you remain respectful. We went inside two or three of the churches because Maddie loves looking at the European staples and found this adorable little grotto)

Before long, we had accidentally discovered the harbor and took a glass bottomed boat out for a cruise. It offered some really amazing views of the old city, as well as a really neat perspective of the seafloor and coral reefs. Considering I had just been snorkeling in crystal clear waters just a few days ago, I was underwhelmed by the glass-bottom part of the experience, but the Captain of our little boat let me sit up by him where I got to feel the wind in my face and get splashed by the cool waters. 

(all smiles from this gal!)

(just a neat experience!)

(we got up close to the caves that are carved into the coastline)

So as if that wasn’t enough for the day, we still had two things we wanted to try: take a cable car to the top of the mountain over the city, and climb the city walls (certainly not experiences for those who are afraid of heights). The cable car was a pleasant experience that offered panoramic views of the entire city. Maddie and I enjoyed a pre-dinner snack of draft beer and ice cream at the edge of the mountain before heading down to climb fifteen million steps to summit the old city walls. 

(a *candid* edgy pic of me at the very top, in front of the Old City)

(a foggy day gave us a 10% discount at the restaurant, but every now and then the fog would clear and we got spectacular views. You can clearly see the outline of the Old City in this picture)

(Cutie roomies- there is nobody I’d rather spend this time with!)

(the ride down the mountain- sped up for your viewing pleasure!)

(it blows my mind that people are writing on a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately, graffiti like this has been peppered on much of the historical sites I’ve viewed)

(the walls offered panoramic views of both the city and the sea. I could get used to this!)

(on the left is the church where we found the little grotto. On the right is the mountain we took a cable car up!)

(sharing a view with the seagulls!)

(Dubrovnik is definitely a foodie’s paradise- especially if you’re into eating in unique and interesting locations!)

(I do feel a little bad for the residents who live near the city walls. Privacy is clearly scarce)

The next morning, Maddie and I got up early to venture to Cavtat, a small fishing village with crystal blue waters and a much smaller tourist presence before going back into the Old City with our pal Kalinda for drinks and some stray-cat snuggles. It was a shorter and more relaxed day than the first day because we were both worn out AND we were going to a new country the next day!

(I wished that I had brought my swimsuit so I could’ve spent more time in the water!)

(Kalinda is such a sweetie! Kalinda, Maddie, and I went in on a “Dubrovnik Classic XXL” cocktail and had no regrets and lots of giggles)

(enjoying a beer with dinner- wearing my favorite shirt in honor of Mother’s Day!)

(sufficiently buzzed, Maddie caught this pic of a smug Cass with watermelon gelato in hand, playing with stray cats)

So for our final day of this particular trip, we got up and got in a van destined for Bosnia and Herzegovina. A small country, Bosnia and Herzegovina is usually just called Bosnia for ease, but Bosnia is the northern region whereas Herzegovina is the southern region. Bosnians and Herzegovinians are the same ethnic group, same language, and essentially the same people. To my understanding, it’s the same situation as Southerners and Northerners in the United States. Bosnia and Herzegovinian was recently tangled up in a civil war and experienced an intense genocide. I’ll be the first to admit that I do not know the motivations behind the war and genocide, nor do I really understand the conflict, but I was excited to go into the country. With a start, I realised that this was the closest I had ever been to a war zone, with the exception of the 9/11 memorial in New York City. Its a humbling experience to walk among buildings that were reconstructions of the originals- the original historical sites having been bombed. Even more humbling is seeing the old and young in their shops and restaurants and knowing that many of them have a working memory of the war and atrocities. 

(there are many abandoned buildings and our tour guide informed us that unemployment is around 40% all throughout the country)

(wild lavender plants outside the city)

To my professor’s dismay, I slept almost the entire way to Mostar from Dubrovnik and missed out on a large portion of the tour guide’s spiel (sorry Kim!). However, I did learn that Mostar was established by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century and has a strong liberal muslim culture to this day. To my delight, the Imam’s call to prayer welcomed me into the city- a sound I learned to love in Morocco. We were given the opportunity to explore an area of Mostar that had been completely destroyed in the recent war but has been reconstructed with historical accuracy in the following years. 

(gnocchi and cream sauce)

(frigid waters cut this city in half)

(mosque towers are intermixed with church steeples. SO COOL)

(the view from lunch really captures the essence of Mostar. The most famous sight in the city is the UNESCO certified bridge which young men and boys jump off of to prove their masculinity as a rite of passage. Up on the hill is a cross to represent the Catholics in the area, and to the right is a store selling copper plates. The light ‘tink tink tink’ of hammers against copper provided the background for our lunch)

Then began the trek back home again, and once again I slept almost the entire ride. I did wake up when we pulled over to look at some waterfalls. Being from the midwest (aka the flattest place in the world), waterfalls to me have always been trickling streams and an overrated phenomenon to me. I still can’t believe what I saw that afternoon. Thousands of gallons of water cascaded over lush cliff walls. It seemed like a scene from the Amazon, not Europe. The water was cool and refreshing, and I’m pretty sure this view was in my top five for the entire semester.

(of course it was heavily raining so we were damp and cold when we hiked to the falls but Maddi and I were both re-energized by the beauty)

(it’s hard to not believe in God when you see something like this.)

(even boosted colors don’t quite capture how spectacular this sight was)

(a full panorama of the falls)

(a video of the falls & the car ride through the countryside)

So that was Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina! All I can really say about those countries is that they really are beautiful- a step above the rest! Now, as much as I would LOVE to continue writing about how amazing this last weekend was, I’m unfortunately using this blog post to procrastinate on a paper and I ought to get back to that (if anyone is super interested in Saint Paul’s Shipwreck and how it effected Christianity and Maltese Identity- I’m your girl). Send prayers as I move into my final two weeks here, take a weekend trip to Sicily (the same time Trump will be there- of freakin’ course), and prepare to go home.