afternoon adventuring

I don't know if there is anything I enjoy doing for an afternoon more than picking something semi-spontaneous and "out of the norm" to do with my closest girlfriends and just going and doing it. Sometimes I get too caught up in this never ending to-do list of mine and I forget that life is meant to be enjoyed and cherished and made the most of. Sitting at a desk all day or stressing over classwork isn't a way to live. Also, neglecting the fact that there is a beautiful world all around us and forgetting to venture out and explore it, is an equally sad way to live too.  

Yesterday, in honor of Earth Day and the weird reality that I graduate college next week, my closest gal and I set off to have a picnic somewhere pretty. We spotted this beautiful location where there was picnic tables and a cute little brook a while back when we adventured up the top of a nearby mountain. We mentally noted it for the future and, well, today was the day we had a free afternoon and an appetite for a fun memory, so that cute little spot was put to good use.

If you are anything like me and love to try new things and explore new places, you might want to add these five cute little adventurous afternoon 'best friend dates' to your FUN to-do list. I am slowly checking them off right there alongside ya. 

Explore a local farmers market and/or a flower mart. In some strange and illogical part of my brain, I really want to move to a place where I can walk down the street to a farmers market on Sunday mornings. It sounds charming, straight out of a chick flick. That remains one of those obscure dreams that will probably never come to fruition, but it's a good dream, yeah? The next chance I get, I likewise, totally dream of wandering through a flower mart and buying a few of the prettiest flowers to make a cute little floral crown out of. This is probably one of those mundane adventures that is seemingly normal, but you could make so much fun given the right company. Try some new foods, have a little homemade dinner afterwards, or explore a new city if the farmer market's a ways away.

Build a fort. I still build forts with friends and I am so unashamed of that. Pop in a cheesy romantic comedy and grab some hummus and carrots to snack on and I'm in. Friendships is so much more fun in an Anthropologie-inspired tent creation, amiright?

Go to the zoo. I mean, how often do we forget that the zoo is so much fun and given some good deals that happen all the time, you can get into a zoo for a pretty reasonable price. Next to how badly I want to go to Sea World (I haven't been there for ages), the zoo is on my list for sure.

Outdoor Tea Party, duh. Throw together some cute little appetizers, some homemade iced tea (or hot tea if it's chilly out), some trendy little props and bottles and dollies and quilts, and you got yourself an outdoor tea party. Even for a girlfriends birthday, I think this would be such a cute low-key idea that wouldn't require much work but would turn out super original and fun. Who said Pinterest can't be real life?

Try line dancing. Even if you look like a fool, and even if you don't know all the moves (join the club), line dancing is such a cheap, fun option to step out of your comfort zone and spend a night doing something out of the ordinary. Bonus points for cowboy boots.