Yesterday I took a trip up to Flagstaff with some family to see if I could picture myself living there for school (NAU). I hadn't been there since I was little, so it was great fun to explore and escape the 100 degree weather for a day!
We got lunch at Beaver Street Brewery, then headed downtown to look at the shops. It certainly had all the Kaylieisms that I find necessary--like a record store, an awesome cooking store with good tea and chocolate, a vintage shop (hats!), a quaint bookstore, an old Orpheum theatre, and kitschy Route 66 memorabilia. I fell in love with the soda shop on the corner of Birch Ave. that played old jazzy tunes and carried bottled soda and old-fashioned candies. In fact, all the shops played good music. I am a sucker for this kind of thing. At another shop I even found the best painting ever of a dog in a suit. It was pretty hard to walk away from, no joke.
After driving around the campus, we found Aunt Maude's Antique Mall (see me above in my dream kitchen)and I found a few zippers for cheap. Antique places are the best for sewing finds! Across the street was the Salvation Army. And guess what. I FOUND BOOTS THAT FIT ME! It was a miracle. Now, I've had a thing for cowboys for a while and my love of the West keeps on growing, but now I feel it's a done deal. I want to wear these things everywhere! Except...it's 110 degrees and I can't walk in them yet. OH WELL. This Fall will be THE best with these boots. Just sayin'.
Consensus: Of the three college towns (Tempe/ASU, Tuscon/UofA, Flagstaff/NAU), Flag would most likely fit my personality best and actually allow me to experience the four seasons (here, fall doesn't come until winter, and summer comes in spring), but academically, ASU (Journalism) and UofA (Creative Writing) make more sense. It's so confusing. And money makes it worse. I'll probably end up staying here and going to ASU to save money, so when I study abroad (I will regret it forever if I don't) it won't hit AS hard, but I'm trying to keep my options open.
Gee whiz, it is SUPPOSED to be summer. I wish I could erase 'college' and 'future' from my vocabulary, because it's all I seem to think or talk about. If you have any words of wisdom, feel free to impose them on my poor soul.
