What I Packed for a Weekend in Asheville

I'm a notorious overpacker. Although, my sister packs even more than I do. In the past few months, I've been working on packing less for trips. For this trip, I managed to pack everything I'd need and a little more. My family went to Asheville to visit family for the weekend. We stayed at my Grandma's house. This meant I could do laundry if I ended up needing to.

Chacos

I don't go anywhere in the Summer without my Chacos. Ever since I got them, I've been obsessed with having a Chaco tan. Somehow, I've managed to have a Chaco tan throughout the year ever since. Once again, I'm trying to keep the Chaco tan streak. Plus, these shoes are great for hiking if we had decided to go.

Sneakers

We were going up to Asheville to surprise my cousin at her birthday party. Her birthday was at at a putt putt place. I knew I'd need sneakers in order to be allowed to play. I ended up wearing my sneakers almost the whole trip.

Sweatshirt

A sweatshirt is always a must for the car ride. For some reason, car rides always make me freezing. I love having a sweatshirt to slip on whenever I get cold. Plus, I ended up using it the rest of the vacation whenever I'm cold.

Rain jacket

I’m so glad I brought this. We were on a ropes course while it rained. My rain jacket helped keep me from getting completely soaked. I also used this as an extra layer under my sweatshirt if I needed it.

T-shirt

I wore a t-shirt to sleep every night. Whenever I find a soft t-shirt, I always get it. Soft t-shirts are the best. The t-shirt was incredibly soft.

Exercise Top

On the way up, I wore an exercise top. For some reason, exercise tops are so comfortable to me. I love the way they feel.

Nike shorts

I wear nike shorts to bed and whenever I do something athletic. (I just realized that sounds like I don’t ever do anything athletic. Oops.) These shorts are extremely comfortable. They’re a must have.

Jeans

I didn’t end up wearing any bottoms but jeans and nike shorts. It was perfect jeans weather. Banana Republic makes the best jeans. I got these jeans on super sale last January.

Shirts

I brought along with me some shirts that are incredibly soft. I absolutely love these shirts. They can be paired with anything. They’re some of the most versatile clothes I own.

Toiletry Bag

I keep all the usual toiletries in my toiletry bag. It was extremely important that I bring my toiletry bag so I could have somewhere to store my retainer cases. I don’t want to accidentally lose my retainers.

I didn’t end up wearing everything I packed. I managed to wear a lot of what I packed. I wasn’t sure if we would go somewhere nice so I brought a dress and a pair of lace-up espadrilles. We didn’t end up going to a nice restaurant or to the pool so I didn’t need a swimsuit. Luckily, it didn’t rain for more than an hour while we were in Asheville so I never wore my rain boots. I also never wore my leggings and jean shorts.

Step Into My Week: Braves Game and Swimming

This week was a great week. I've been busy packing for camp. Don't worry, I made time for fun. From a Braves game to a walk on the Beltline I had a really great week. I'm so pumped to see all that happens on my next Summer adventure.

I started the weekend off with a bang. My family went to the Braves game versus the Mets. It was especially exciting since my cousins came in town. We spent the game engrossed in the sport. I've never paid such good attention to a sport. It's so much fun if you try to predict whether a ball is a strike or a ball.

The next morning my younger cousin, Claire, and I woke up much earlier than everybody else. We spent the morning making smiley face pancakes. They were absolutely adorable. After that, Claire and I played baseball outside with a bat she had gotten at the game.

Once everybody had woken up for the day and was ready it was lunch time. We went to the Atlanta Food Truck Park to have lunch. It was absolutely beautiful to sit outside in the sun and talk.

One of my favorite bloggers, Waiting on Martha, was having a warehouse sale for her online shop. I somehow managed to get everyone to go to the sale with me. The most exciting part was meeting her. I ended up getting a few items.

We wound up swimming for a few hours before retreating out to Ponce City Market. I always get the mushroom bao buns from Simply Seoul Kitchen. They're the best. After our delicious meal, we ventured out to the Beltline for a short walk. We got on the Beltline while the sun was setting. It was beautiful to watch. We found a door from Tiny Doors ATL. I finally found my first door!

To end the night we took a pit stop at Cinnaholic on the way home. It's one of my favorite vegan desserts in the city. The cookie dough is absolutely incredible.

Sunday was a relaxing day. My cousins and I went with my uncle to Revolution Doughnuts. Revolution makes the best doughnut in Atlanta in my opinion. This time I opted for a cinnamon roll. My cousins ended up eating a lot of it. It was almost as big as my younger cousin's head.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the pool. They brought a blow-up doughnut that was tons of fun to sit in. We had a great time splashing around in the water before taking an eno break. After that, they had to leave. Time with family is the best.

I got to spend time with some of my BBYO friends this week. I absolutely love them. They're some of the sweetest and most genuine girls I know. We hadn't seen each other since school let out so we had a lot to catch up on.

This weekend is my last weekend before I leave for camp. I'm sure I'll be spending it packing. You'll have to check back next Friday to see what I did for Father's Day.

Gold Clutter is 1!

I launched Gold Clutter a year ago yesterday. It's crazy to think about how fast this year has been. I never thought Gold Clutter would be like it is today. Now, Gold Clutter is something amazing.

It's crazy to think about all that I've done in the past year. Although I really got dedicated in January, it's amazing to see how far I've come since my earlier posts. My readers are from the U.S., Israel, Ireland, France, and more. Readers are young and old. Some read on their phones while others read on their computers. Without my readers, Gold Clutter wouldn't exist. Gold Clutter needs you in order to thrive.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my blog's success over the past year. Blogging has created so much for me and I am excited to see where Gold Clutter will go in the next year. It has brought so much happiness to me. So to everyone who has followed, pinned, or commented, thank you and cheers to another year of blogging!

Step Into My Week: Asheville and Candler Park Music Festival

This week I've kept very busy. I feel like I was constantly doing things. From the Candler Park Music Festival to visiting family in Asheville, I kept my week jam packed. I had a great week being surrounded by family.

I went to the Candler Park Music Festival on Friday. This music festival is one of the best neighborhood festivals in Atlanta. The bands they have always end up making it big in the indie music world. We went to see my favorite artist, Matisyahu. His set was absolutely incredible. I love getting to see musicians live.

While there, my family went around to all the different booths set up. An adorable Airstream trailer was turned into mobile shop. The shop goes around to festivals all over Georgia. I loved all the items they carried. I ended up getting an adorable pair of leggings with mesh zig zags.

We also went into a booth that had a photo booth. I loved taking cute photos with my sister. In the same booth, you could make art. They had a guy on a bike that generated energy to use a spray paint machine. It was so cool.

On Saturday, my family went on a Beltline tour. The Beltline is a walkable loop that is being built on the old traintracks. It is the place to be. The entire thing is supposed to be built by 2030. I hadn't been on or seen much of what hasn't been built. It was fascinating to learn all about the Beltline. I didn't realize all that went into building each part.

Sunday was spent driving to Asheville. It was crazy how rainy it was. The sound of it was absolutely beautiful. I love listening to rain. It's relaxing for me. When we got to Asheville, we got to surprise my cousins. It was amazing to see their faces light up. I love my cousins.

On Monday, we went on an adventure ropes course. I learned pretty quickly that ropes courses aren't my thing. I hung out the whole time on the first level. My sister and cousin were on the fourth level when time was up. They're superwoman. It was amazing to watch them navigate through the elements.

On Tuesday, I went with my Aunt to see fireflies. We drove to Great Smokies National Park to see a firefly show. We took a trolley to the top of a mountain. From there, we hiked to a viewing spot. Suddenly, fireflies came out of nowhere. We got to see the magic as hundreds of fireflies lit up the area. It was breathtaking to watch the magic.

We sadly had to go home on Wednesday. Luckily, I got to drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway. The parkway is always amazing. I loved stopping at all the beautiful sights. On the drive home, we got to see a beautiful sunset.

That's a wrap on my week. I'm heading off to a Braves game later today.

May Lust List

I'm back with another lust list. This month, I didn't spend a ton of time browsing the internet. Instead, I was studying for finals. I managed to find some clothing items I might have to purchase. Forever 21 and ASOS always seem to have the best finds. They're treasure chests of clothes. They're where all the clothes are from. Also, you can tell that I've been loving tie dye. It's so bright and cheerful. Tie dye always manages to put me in a good mood.

Grey T-shirt // Boho Dress // Red Tie Dye Shorts // Rainbow Tie Dye Shorts // Maroon Leggings // Purple Tie Dye Dress // Tie Dye Tank Top // Lace-up Back Dress // Tie-front Tie Dye Dress

Step Into My Week: Boston and Rhode Island

This week was full of adventuring. To celebrate the first week of Summer (wahoo!), my family took a quick weekend trip up to New England. The trip was a complete blast. I definitely know I'll have a good Summer.

We started our trip early Saturday with a quick flight to Providence. As soon as got to Providence, we ventured out for a jam packed day. Brown and RISD are in Providence. While we were in Providence, Brown was having class reunions and graduation. It was magical to watch the excitement on the graduates' faces.

Providence was quite busy during the short time we were there. To kick off our adventure, we went to the RISD museum. The museum has the most impressive art. Seriously, you have to check it out. My favorite part was the fashion portion of the museum. I was mesmerized at all the different types of fabrics and gowns they had on display. Additionally, the student art show was amazing. It was inspiring to see the students' artwork

After a busy morning looking at art and a flight, we were quite hungry for a late lunch. Luckily, my dad found the most amazing restaurant. We ended up at a pizza restaurant named Flatbread. I'm normally not the biggest fan of pizza. This restaurant had a delicious vegan pizza. They also had amazing lemonade. The lemonade used maple syrup instead of sugar. I'm going to try making some at home now.

We went back to the hotel for an hour to freshen up. We had an exciting night ahead of us. I'm so glad we took a break. I definitely needed to save up some energy for the night.

My sister found an ice cream shop. My sister and dad both got ice cream. The portions were so massive it looked like they barely ate anything. I heard the ice cream was quite good.

After that, we headed to Water Fire. Water Fire is where fire puts are placed in the middle of a river. That's right, live fire is floating on water. It's stunning to watch as the two elements come together. We walked along the river for several hours in complete amazement. Townspeople take turns setting up the fires. It's beautiful to watch as the boats blend in with the water. Water Fire was the perfect way to end our first night.

On Tuesday, we road tripped down to Newport. While there, we went on a house tour of some old mansions. I loved learning about who lived in the mansions. The kitchens were gorgeous. I loved all the copper pots in the kitchens. We only had enough time to tour 2 houses (the Breakers and the Marble Home), but their are several more.

After we were done touring the houses, we went on the cliff walk. The cliff walk allows you to get a look at all the backyards, while being next to the ocean. The view was breathtaking. I loved seeing the water hit the large rock piles.

Once we were done with the cliff walk, we headed into the center of Newport. I ended up snagging an extremely comfortable sweatshirt that says Newport. (Keep an eye out for a post featuring the sweatshirt next week.) We also went to a delicious gelato shop. I got chocolate gelato. It was great.

On Monday, we road tripped. It was a super fast car ride. Once we got to Boston, we headed over to Quincy Market and Faniel Hall. We were lucky enough to hear a park ranger talk about the history of Faniel Hall. It was fascinating. Quincy Market is across from Faniel Hall making it the perfect spot to peruse. Outside of Quincy Market, were a bunch of street performers. I loved seeing all the crazy acts they did.

After Quincy Market, we went to By Chloe for lunch. The food was amazing. I got the pancakes, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. My sister got an adorable coconut that she drank coconut water from. If you're in the area, got to By Chloe.

We heard about a modern art museum that was having free admission to celebrate Memorial Day. We popped in for a few minutes before leaving the crowded museum. The museum had a beautiful view of the Boston harbor.

We took a boat ferry over to the USS Constitution and museum. The museum was amazingly interactive. I loved going through the different exhibits they had set up. Sadly, the ship was being repaired. We got to see the boat, but we missed out on seeing everything that is normally on the boat.

We got pizza again for dinner. After that, went to an ice cream sandwich place. You choose what you want your ice cream flavor and your cookie flavor to be. They had avocado ice cream, which I got to try. I ended up getting forero (fake oreo) ice cream. It was really great

Before going back to the hotel, we went to the Boston Convention Center. They have glowing swings outside. It was beautiful to see all the swings lined up together. I had a blast swinging on them.

Tuesday was our last day. We went on the Freedom Trail. I loved getting to see all the old buildings. It was truly amazing to see all the places I'd studied in history. We didn't get to see everything on the Freedom Trail due to not having enough time. I'm so glad we got to explore a little bit of the Freedom Trail.

After the Freedom Trail, we went to an amazing restaurant named Clover. Everything is controlled by iPads and iPhones. It was remarkable to see how much technology helps us in the kitchen. The food was the perfect ending to our trip.

Wednesday was such a productive day for me. I got so much done. I managed to clean my room and bathroom, write a few blog posts, and make myself lunch all in the span of a few hours. It felt so nice to step back and see all that I'd accomplished.

I spent a few hours with my sister and her friend on Wednesday night. We went to the top of Restoration Hardware to look at the skyline. I love Atlanta's skyline. After that, we went over to Warby Parker. We took a few photos in the photo booth while I got my glasses adjusted. My sister and her friend got Shake Shack for dinner. We went to the library for an hour to hang out and look at some books. I found some amazing cookbooks I might have to order.

That's a wrap on my week. What did you do this week?