I hope you have a perfect weekend.
P.S. I hope my pals and I take a picture exactly like this in 30 or 40 years.

{photo via, quote via John Leonard}

And now a little about my trip. My sister lives in Belfast, and my mom and nephew already had a three week trip planned to go visit her this summer. They were going to be in Belfast for two weeks and then they were going to travel around for the third week. After the break up, the timing worked out so that I was able to go for the week they were planning to travel around. We spent three days in Galway, two days in Dublin and another two back in Belfast. It was a lot of traveling (mostly by bus), but there are worse ways to spend a few hours than staring out the window of a bus rolling through the Irish countryside. No complaints from me. Ireland is beautiful and the people are so nice. This was my third time there and if you haven’t gone you should put it on your list of things to do lickety split. And it really helps that one of my favorite people on the whole planet, my sis, happens to live there.

I took hundreds of pictures but have selected a few highlights to share with you. Here’s Galway…

{image via}

The door to our cute little bungalow, #51.

The adorable cruisers were parked in front of our cottage, just waiting to be ridden.

There was a back patio with comfy chairs, a thatched trellis and some lovely flowers.

We ate delicious breakfasts, and the hotel brought bottles of water with fresh mint (a detail yours truly particularly enjoyed).

And, of course, vino. I mean we were in wine country after all.

I admit , we spent most of our time on that back patio. And, when we weren’t there we were relaxing poolside or sleeping.

{borrowed these photos from the Solage website}

I’m at a weird cross roads in my life. No matter where I end up (be it back in New York, Atlanta or somewhere else), it’s going to be a huge change. And change can be scary as hell. But, that lovely little optimist that resides in my heart is hopeful and excited. Who knows what will happen next.

(image via)

I have retreated to Atlanta for the time being, under the loving care of my mom. And the next few weeks will be about being around people who love me. I’m going to San Francisco tomorrow to see one of my best friends in the whole world so we can laugh and cry and be together. I also have a trip to Ireland planned to see my sis and then two other best friends are coming to see me in Atlanta for our annual ladies weekend. Posts will be spotty but I will be sure to share some of my amazing travels with you.

This was not the ending I had imagined. I poured everything I had into our relationship and to have this be the outcome just doesn’t seem fair. But, then again, life is rarely fair. And it almost never works out in the way you thought it would. But if you can find the strength to roll with what is thrown at you, you have the opportunity to come out wiser and better on the other side. Oh friends, I can’t wait to get there.

(photo via, quote via Gwyneth Paltrow)