the muscarellas take on lake tahoe!

when my mom married my stepdad back in 1998, i went from having 2 cousins to approximately one million. my step dad is a true italian and comes with the massive family to prove it. so about a year ago, some of the cousins started talking about a family reunion. and then somehow or another, we actually pulled it off!

so grandma and grandpa muscarella had 3 kids - mark, joe, and gigi. mark had 6 kids, joe had 10 kids, and gigi had 4 kids. my step dad belongs to mark and he grew up in new jersey. joe's 10 kids grew up in california and all still live there today. my mom and stepdad have been married since i was 9 years old - and until this trip - my mom, nor my sister and i, had ever met any of the california muscarellas!

after a  super long day of travel, i got into lake tahoe around midnight california time. momma picked me up in reno and when we finally got to the resort (lakeland village), my heart was so full to find my first cousins drinking around a bonfire. i hadn't seen a lot of them in a few years and i absolutely loved getting to spend a whole 5 days with them.

over the next 4 days we beached, drank (a lot), paddle boarded, cooked out, rented out a restaurant for our big party, gambled, swam in emerald bay, parasailed, and got to know the "westies." it was an amazing vacation and lake tahoe is easily one of the most beautiful places i've ever been. 

{my parents and i went out on a boat with a few of brian's cousins and drove over to emerald bay. it was so beautiful and brian said he couldn't pass up a chance to swim there. so before we knew it he had thrown himself into the water and scared my mom and i half to death. but getting to swim with him in one of the most beautiful bays in the world was truly special. there are a lot of things his stroke took away from him and from us, but his determination and spirit have never wavered. i am thankful.}

this was one of my all time favorite trips and i am so glad i was able to make it. hoping to make it out to california for easter next year for the annual muscarella easter bash! 

nashville: part 3.

i moved to tennessee and have become the world's worst blogger. life just feels so busy and exciting and when i get home at night, i can't bring myself to stare at the computer anymore. but i miss my little space on the internet, and i'm going to work on my blogging skills. and there's a lot of room to improve from my current once a month posting!

let's see...

work is busy and work is amazing. i am still learning a million new things a day and sometimes it feels like i'll never figure the hotel out. but i am thankful for a team full of wonderful co-stars (we call our employees, stars) who are always more than willing to help me figure it all out.

my girls came to visit! the last weekend in june, britt and rach made the terrible drive from charlotte to nashville for the weekend. i was so happy to have them in nashville and show them around my new town. they also got to meet linds!

 {at east side hootenanny}

{rooftop at tootsies!}

july 4th was spent day drinking with linds + erin in east nashville. the weather was GORGEOUS in nashville the weekend of the 4th and it was actually enjoyable to be outside. the 4th is my favorite day of the year, and i was a little bit bummed not to be at the ocean like usual. but nashville did not disappoint me at all and i was so glad to celebrate my favorite day in this city. 

{proud to say i wore that headband all day/night}

{downtown listening to the {free} billy currington concert before the fireworks!}

life in nashville is so, so good and i am so very lucky. 

next up: family reunion in lake tahoe.

and then: weekend in louisville with linds!

and then: a delicious new salsa chicken recipe. 

... i've got some catching up to do!

#cmafest & #cabrewing

first and foremost... lola bella turned 5 this month! i am so glad to have her with me and am loving introducing her to my friends here. she makes me feel at home.

{her dog walker brought her this princess crown!}

{birthday treats}

{stop working and love me}

two weekends ago, i got to experience cma fest for the first time! we headed downtown around 1pm and spent the afternoon at the river stage listening to all sorts of artists play... for free. that's the best part about cma fest. all the daytime concerts are free and the only thing you need tickets to are the big name artists that play at LP field each night.

this stage is floating on the river - awesome!

after a torrential downpour, and 10 hours at the honkey tonks, we decided to head home. it was such a fun day!

this past sunday, a whole gang of us headed about 45 minutes down south to duck river.  we packed the coolers in the canoes and set out on our 5 mile journey. IT WAS SO FUN! there were 16 of us in 8 canoes. it took us about 5 hours to make it down due to the fact canoeing wasn't actually the first priority. it was a beautiful day and i couldn't be more thankful to have found a great group of friends here already. i am blessed. 

nashville: part 2.

5.16: south carolina baseball comes to vandy.

5.17: skylar & cole come to nashville!

5.16: gamecocks living in nashville aka #nashcocks

5.22: hike at radnor and a beautiful sunset.

5.24: east side hootenanny!

5.25: night out in east nasty!

5.30: mae's birthday followed by santa's pub!

5.31: lola girl is finally a tennessean! 

i love this town.

welcome to tennessee.

whirlwind doesn't even begin to cover it. i last posted on april 2nd that i was moving to nashville. it's been a crazy 6 weeks since then. and i'm still internet-less in my apartment, so this little iPhone post will have to do for now.

i am now in week 4 of living in nashville. i have been home twice since i got here to stand next to two dear friends while they said "i do." i have checked in and out of more hotel rooms than i care to count, and am finally getting settled into my apartment. but through all the crazy - it has been awesome. my job rocks. my coworkers are incredible. i love my tiny apartment. things are going so well.

here are a few pics of my life the last month and a half. i will update more once i have internet again on saturday!

took my mom out on broadway! 

whiskey jam! love and theft. 

this is where i now work. 

wedding number one! mrs. wiggins! 

new apartment! 

wedding number two!

EXCITING NEWS: i'm moving to nashville!

after several months of interviewing, i've accepted a new job with a great company and will be moving in just a few weeks! i'm sad to leave my friends and family in charlotte, but super excited about the opportunity to do life in nashville. let me know if you have any friends in nashville because i hardly know anyone! cheers to a new life adventure!