Rae Goes Away: Packing for NOLA

When this post goes up I'll be in the car on my way to #NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) for the Katy Perry concert! Sadly, we'll only be staying in my self-appointed second home for one night, but I'm super excited to go. As I was packing for the trip I found it looked like I was moving to NOLA permanently! So I grabbed my smaller over-night vintage suitcase and started downsizing.

Here are a few little tips I learned along the way:

1. 2 for 1. Since our trip is going to be two days of traveling, I wanted something comfortable both days, so I decided to make two outfits using the same pair of leggings. This saves space in my luggage since I'll be wearing  the leggings and boots on the way.
2. Make a List. This is the simplest trick that everyone suggests but I'm so the worst at it! I ended up actually outlining each outfit (3 in all) and seeing what pieces I could cross over. This is a different approach to packing for me and it really worked.
3. Smaller Suitcases Win. When I was trying to pack my big carry all suitcase for this trip, I packed about 6 completely different outfits and two variations FOR ONE NIGHT! I felt like I needed to fill up the bag despite the fact that I don't need much for the night.
4. Plan for Travel. I initially started by putting my bag together with the clothes I wanted to wear on the car ride down. Then I realized how dumb that was, pulled everything out and reassessed. I knew we'd be leaving early so I wanted to have my outfit picked out, so I set it on top of my suitcase with hair accessories and all ready for a quick, speedy morning.

Packing List:

2 Concert Dresses

Heels

Fast Flats

Underclothes

Sweater

Hairbrush

Make up/Toiletry Bag

2 Tunic Tanks

Leggings

Boots

Extra Tunic

Hair Accessories

Night Gown

Slip-on Shoes

Blankets/Pillow/etc.

How do you pack for overnight trips?

Rae Does Baton Rouge

Fun Fact: My best friend turned 21!!

And because of that fun fact, we went to Baton Rouge for the weekend for shopping craziness! It was really a lot of fun, and I'm sure there's more to do in Baton Rouge, but I'd certainly return just for that mall! It's huge and crazy and wonderful!

But before the mall, the night we rolled into town, we went down to Perkins Rowe to look around and have a lovely dinner. For dinner we went to Texas de Brazil, which is a Brazilian style steakhouse which is very interesting. By far, my favorite part of the experience at Texas de Brazil was the salad bar! There were so many options and such interesting items. When you're ready, you flip your little coin and the very nice staff will parade different cuts and preparations of meat around for your sampling. It's a very interesting experience, even though I wasn't super impressed with the meats. (Note: I don't eat much meat anyway.) Overall, I'd give Texas de Brazil a 3/5 star rating just based on the salad bar and the interesting experience.

The next morning, we headed for the mall and the shopping! I am so impressed by the size of the Mall of Louisiana! There are about a million different stores and many of them are 2 stories! Personally, I really loved getting to visit my second Lush Store ever! I so love Lush. The Hot Topic, Forever 21, and Victoria's Secret were also really nice. There was just such an array of shops to wander in and out of that I couldn't keep up with everything.

All in all, great experience! I always love getting out of town and exploring the fun things to do close to home but more than that I love getting to spend a whole weekend just me and my girl! HAPPY 21st MISS JORDY! SO MUCH LOVE! <3

What are some of your favorite weekend trips close to where you live?

A New Direction: Rae Goes Away

My name is Raelynn and it has been over 1 year since I've last blogged.

A YEAR! Can you believe it?! Last I was here, I was a Sophomore English major on track to study abroad in Ireland, go into the Peace Corps, and head off to grad school for Linguistics. My how a year changes things. Here are some major points:

• I'm now a Sociology Major, with a focus on Social Work and a minor in Nonprofit Administration.
• While I still hope to go abroad, I'm looking more into internships in global aid.
• Peace Corps is not out of the question, but it seems a little impractical by the time I'll finally finish my undergrad. I have 6 semesters left...
• I hope to go to Grad School for Counseling. I still love linguistics and study it independently, my heart really lies in helping others however I can. I'd love to work the "messy" cases most people don't want to know exist. I want to help the rape victims, the violence victims, those with mental illnesses, and, should I have the opportunity, genocide survivors, political refugees, and the like.
• I'm still writing. I'm beginning my second book next month and another in November. I've not yet approached any agents though, I want to flesh out the entire world to present, not just one novel.
• I have a new boyfriend. See here: Hiatus: Wii Unboxing! "(aka This is Keith)
• AND CHECK IT! NEW BLOG NAME!! LIFEDUCKS = RAE GOES AWAY! (I call that fair warning I will most likely disappear again.)

I guess those are the things that were before and now are changing, but a lot of entirely new things are happening too! Here, have another bulleted list:

• I'M MOVING OUT! As soon as Keith can find a job and we save the money we'll be getting our own place! I'm crazy excited about that, so be prepared for weird posts about moving and decor.
• I'm interning with a local nonprofit called PEP! (The Pet Education Project!).
• Keith and I are opening a nonprofit... in the future. That sounds a little weird and sketchy but it's happening and I will undoubtably say something about it eventually.

So, if you were wondering, life's good. I'm really wanting to get back into blogging and vlogging and everything I really enjoyed doing online. With school and work and interning and life it'll be hard, but I really do love it so hopefully some of you lovely readers will stick around?

That being said, since my life has changed so much my blogging will, inevitably, as well. If you didn't notice, last year, in general, my blogging was less about books I'd read and more just about books in general. I simply don't have the time to read like I used to. And what I do read I don't think anyone will be interested in. So, I think the biggest change to my blogging content will be the lessening of book talk. I still love to read and to buy books for those far off times when I will have time to read, but books take up far less of my life than they once did. Instead, I'll be posting more about my life and things I think about and do. Expect travel pieces, expect rants, expect introspection, expect DIYs and [failed] DIYs, expect recipes, expect anything. 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is I'm really going to try to dedicate myself to blogging again and that this isn't "Lifeducks" as you knew it (or didn't know it). Rae Goes Away is a just another lifestyle blog about random things in the life of a random girl somewhere in the world doing random things like someone cares. I hope you'll stick around.

The Question.

It's been a while, and I had planned for it to be longer still, but I watched my movie, the one that inspires me most, again: Eat, Pray, Love.

photocredit

I'm quickly nearing the end of my high school career, five days left of the only life I've known. Then come summer, then college, and the pattern continues, but that is only five years of my life. The question now is, what do I want to do with my life? I've always said I want to be a teacher, get married, have children, raise them, etc., but isn't that what most everyone says? Picket fence, logical, easy. A job that will always be needed, secure someone to take care of me, continue the race. Life in the U.S. That's what I envision for myself, but that's not really what I want for myself. I want to spend my life somewhere else. Seeing the world, not as a tourist, but as a local. Stay in one place until I'm tired of it or until I feel in my heart it is time to move on, then go somewhere else. That's what I really want. I want to eat what I like and not care that I gain several pounds. I want to study religion, all religions. I want to find God or some faith that is perfectly right for me. I want to study the old ways of every country or town or area I visit. I want to meet people, friends that become family, all over the globe. I want to fall in love, repeatedly, with new people, strangers, or with the same person. I want to go create myself. I want to get into the world. I want to help new members of my family if they need it. I want to find my word. I want to be at peace. Truly, happily at peace. While I know it's a long shot, and it's probably impossible, it's what I want. And there's no reason not to dream.