Oh, there’s no place like
home for the holidays
‘Cause no matter how far away you roam
When you pine for the sunshine
Of a friendly face
For the holidays, you can’t beat
Home, sweet home

Spending Christmas with my family was simply divine. After living in South Africa for nine months, it has been such a blessing to spend the holidays relaxing with those dearest to me! After such a wonderful past few weeks, I feel very refreshed and excited to see what the year ahead holds.

Tomorrow morning I head to the airport to catch a flight back to South Africa! In the meantime, Happy New Year to all!!

Bennett Family Photo 2009

The Historic Chicago Theatre

The next stop of my “nation-wide excursion” was to visit with friends and family in Chicago. Chicago is home to my oldest brother (Mike), so my sister (Katy) and I had an opportunity to spend a little bit of time with him and to stay at his place in Lincoln Park. Chicago is an enchanting city, so it was fun to walk up and down Michigan Avenue looking at all of the festive window displays, decorated with Christmas cheer. Plus, it’s been snowing like crazy, which only adds to the idyllic ambiance!

Katy and me getting on the "L"

Sunset in DC

Washington, D.C. rivals Nashville as my favorite city in America. I love them both, but in completely different ways.

D.C. makes me want to be a better person. It fills me with inspiration and patriotism. And more than anything, the air is laded with possibility. It has been such a blessing to spend the last week here visiting friends.

In the midst of a long day meeting with supporters, my sister and I snuck out to visit the National Museum of American History. Upon leaving the exhibit, I saw the loveliest sunset I’ve ever seen in my life. Luckily, I had my camera : )

Plus, we had one day of intense snow, which left the ground covered in a soft white blanket. Nothing says “Christmas” like cold weather and snow storms. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Winter Wonderland

Food, family, food, giving thanks, food, football…and did I mention food? Of course that reference can only mean one thing: American Thanksgiving.

After my week-long visit to Nashville, my next stop was Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I’ve spent the last week and a half catching up with my sister (Katy) and celebrating Thanksgiving with some close family friends. It’s absolutely beautiful here, and the weather has been very pleasant. Additionally, Katy and I went see UNC women’s soccer team play in the Elite Eight (they went on to win the National Championship!) and we also went to see UNC men’s basketball team face off against our Michigan State Spartans.

UNC Soccer Game