Monday (On Crete!)

Hope you guys are doing well. Peter and I are busy eating, acclimating and preparing for the big day over here, but I'll try to post fairly regularly, at least until the Big Day rolls around. In the meantime, enjoy your kalokairi- ours has just begun :)

And Just Like That, I'm a Doctor

G.C. M.D. It's wild. Surreal. Kind of thrilling, kind of terrifying. It took me 8 years, loads of love, support and cheer-leading from a village of friends and family, quite a few tears, and one silly Hogwarts-like costume that shouts "ONE HUNDRED POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR," But somehow, I made it. I'm going to be a doctor I am a doctor. I'm going to be a pediatrician!

To Mom and Dad, Peter, my siblings and the countless friends and family who showed me support, patience, love and grace throughout this journey, thank you. I will try my best to make you proud of the physician I become. 

Sincerely,

G.C., Medical Doctor.

Music Monday

In the whirl of packing, wedding prep, and tying loose ends before I leave the country, this post somehow got lost in the shuffle. To be honest, I'm not too mad about it because (a) we finally got around to celebrating Peter's birthday, which is WAY more important than blogging, and (b) I just made the wedding playlists to end all playlists. Guys, they are good. And will (hopefully) get people dancing and having a good time. I'll share them on 8tracks eventually, but for now here's a quick tease!

The interesting thing about the whole process is, you can't necessarily make your perfect wedding playlist. If you really want your guests to have a good time, you have to try and get a balance of what they'll like- your cousins, your friends, and the older crowds all want to hear different things. So I skipped a few of my personal favorites (sorry, Passion Pit) in favor of impossibly catchy pop songs and some classic oldies and of course a few rock hits where I thought I could get away with it ;-). Hopefully the formula works- we'll find out soon enough!

What are your favorite wedding songs? Slow dance songs? What's the last song you want to hear at a wedding these days because you're so sick of it?

Oh yea- we're leaving the U.S. TONIGHT! First stop: London. Feel free to follow along on instagram if you'd like! :)

One Week, One Month

It's incredible to me how much can change in a few short weeks. A week from today, I'll be a physician. A week from today, I'll be on a dreamliner, preparing to depart the U.S. for London, then Crete. A month from today, I'll be someone's wife.

Life isn't always a series of small and large changes and transitions, but for me it has been for at least 2 years now, maybe more. In college I moved far, far away, casting off the comforting but restricting confines of the tiny world I grew up in. I forged some beautiful friendships, lost others, and became even more desperate for something more. I moved even farther away- to another country, another island, another culture. Got lost, stumbled, got up, fell in love, moved home, went to medical school, fell harder, studied. studied. And then I studied some more.

Life doesn't stop for medical school- why should it? Still, you don't realize this until the final stretch. For me, this spring was the first time I came up for air in what felt like months- or even years. I found everything had shifted- my views of others, others' views of me, my place and position in what once was a familiar and safe place. For a personality as rigid as mine (big flaw, I know- I'm working on it,) this was hard- painful, even. And again, this week and the weeks to come will change things. It feels strange- like excitement and fear, all wrapped into one.

Not sure where I was going with this. Perhaps trying to get myself psyched for all the changes ahead. Which, don't get me wrong, is all really exciting. Leaping into the great unknown is something I've always greeted with relish. Then again, after months without a true home- a few weeks in with my parents Florida, a handful of days back at school, another handful of days driving up the coast to New York- I think what I'm looking forward the most to is staying in one place for awhile. I don't think there's anything more thrilling to me right now than forging a new, beautiful, scary-tiny-358-square-foot home with my almost-there-so-close-now husband. With him on my team, I'm sure we can't lose.

What about you? Are you feeling restless, needing change? Or are you eager to stay in one place for awhile?

Monday

I hate how much energy I spend on worrying. Worrying about how Peter and I will move our things to New York, worrying about what to do after residency (uh, hi brain, I have three years to figure that out,) worrying about how to incorporate a family into my medical mission life plan. It takes away from the beautiful now, from appreciating the subtleties and nuances that go on right in front of you. Worry takes away peace, lightness and joy. 

Things will work out. Life will go on as its supposed to. There will be good things and bad things, some easy, some hard. This week I'm going to work on taking things one day at a time, focusing on the good when it happens, rather than leaping to the next problem to solve or worry about. It's going to be a beautiful week, friends (:

Wrapped Up in Books

I don't know what it is about cold, wet, rainy days and books, but the two seem to go together like tea, lemon and honey. I'm not sure if there's anything better than a warm drink, cozy room and a good book on a cold rainy day...

Unless you're talking about a Vintage Book Barn. Cozy nooks and crannies and more dusty, beautiful, hand-bound books than you can shake a stick at? Now we're talking.

On a break from the interview trail (yes, this post is LONG overdue,) Peter took me to a remote corner of Southern Pennsylvania to check out Baldwin's Book Barn. Built in 1822, The place has five whole stories' worth (haha, punny!) of books- old, new, vintage, fiction, non-fiction, semi-fiction.

Duck (or Grouse.)

It was so much fun to peruse the old prints and books, and of course to look up what versions of my favorite series they had in stock. I almost went home with a copy of this incredibly intriguing book, but on a medical student's budget, I happily settled for a European travel guide from the turn of the century. Peter and I recently agreed to hit a new country every year, so I can't wait to crack it open before each trip.

One of the things that excites me most about moving to a place like New York is the wealth of amazing local and independently owned bookstores that will be at our disposal. Any recommendations or must-go shops anyone can recommend?

Best, 

Lessons in Life and Photography

My brother and sister both graduated Summa Cum Laude last weekend. Because we're all getting older (breaking news, I know!), we seem to get the whole family together less and less these days. That meant that this weekend, in spite of the chaos and long, drawn-out ceremony, had extra weight to it. Not only did it seem an auspicious moment (the two youngest members of our clan graduated from college, after all,) but every minute we spent together seemed important, somehow. Not sure if that makes sense, but there it is. These times that we're together, all seven of us, are going to become more and more rare with each passing year. We've got to make the most out of them, right?

So, we lingered. We spent extra time at brunch sitting and laughing at our cousin's dog being paranoid (she was doped up after a veterinary procedure.) Took the long way home and stopped at a country store to poke around and play with the old juke box. We sprang for the finer wine at the restaurant. We lingered on the campus green, soaking in the golden hour and our precious last moments surrounded by our university's red-brick and Spanish moss-clad lawns and gardens.

Our family to a T

Turns out, lingering is good for you. It's liberating, not having to worry about rushing on to the next event, and to soak up those last rays of sunshine. It makes for good living, and apparently more fun and goofiness in your photo subjects. I think I'll try this lingering thing more often (:

Monday

Can't get this one out of my head. I found an amazing Americana feed on Spotify (still a morally gray area for me, but seeing as I'm buying Leon Bridges' new album after discovering it on there, I'd say at least some artists are being fairly comped by gaining new fanbases.) Can you tell I'm in a Soul kind of mood lately? Definitely check out the video, its shot in a beautifully sultry black and white and has this totally chill old-school vibe to it.

Happy Monday, folks!