Texas / Ohio
I'm finally back in New York after a whirlwind two weekends. On Easter I visited my sister, brother-in-law and niece in Texas, and two days later I went to Ohio to visit family, friends and former co-workers. I had a great time in both exotic locales, but I legit teared up when I touched down at LaGuardia because there's nothing like back-to-back trips to the south and mid-west to make me appreciate the fact that I get to call New York "home" even more than I usually do.
While in Texas I hung out with my incredibly smart, hilarious, beautiful and sweet 11-year-old niece — we dyed Easter eggs and I found myself being jealous of every single brilliant egg she made and wondering how I could be so lucky to be related to such cool people.
We even made like proper Texans and ventured to a bluebonnet "field" to take photos, because I think it's against the law not to — the people taking selfies and dragging around props were completely fascinating. We saw empty frames (to stick your head through, of course), lots of matching denim and even a tiny pink Cadillac because nothing says "wildflower field" like a motorized plastic model of a classic car. The people watching definitely trumped the actual bluebonnets themselves, although they were pretty and the closest I'll probably come to an actual flower field until I can make my way over to Holland for their tulips.
On Monday my sister took me to Denton, Texas which is a super cute town with a great candy shop, vintage shops with wonderful signs and a great used book store that I would probably still be browsing if I hadn't had to catch a flight back to New York the next day.
Two days after getting back to New York, I headed back to LaGuardia, this time on my way to Ohio. On Friday I spent all day at my former place of employment, 427 Design, making cookies and helping them get ready for their annual open house party. I wasn't going to let a silly thing like "moving to New York" let me miss the best party in my hometown.
The theme for their 8th-annual open house was 8-bit and I made some very simple "pixel" cookies in New York, packed them in my carry-on bag and iced them in Ohio. It was a great way to see all of my very favorite Ohioans at once, and I hope I'm always able to return for future open houses.
It was also wonderful seeing my dad, uncle and grandparents and I even spent some time in my old bedroom, which my dad has turned into an office while preserving all of my angsty-teenagery hand-painted wall quotes and the crazy color scheme.
This was the first time I had been back to Ohio just to visit since I moved to New York — no moving or packing up all of my possessions, insanely teary goodbyes or cats on eight-hour car rides to complicate matters, and it was nice and blissfully stress-free. My home town may always be in Ohio, but it was equally nice to return to New York, because — to cheesily quote my favorite movie of all-time — there's no place like home.