Then and Now

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Bf and I took a trip to Charlottesville recently, home of our alma mater (go Hoos!) It was a reach school for me, a safety school for him, but once we stepped foot onto the Grounds, it was inevitable that we would meet. School was where we became friends, started dating, and spent the best four years of our lives. Sappy much? :) Whenever we return to visit, we make a point to stop by our old stomping grounds, to simply marvel at the changes over the years, but also to reminisce about the good times. Just to name a few, must-see places include our old dorms, the Corner, and the picturesque lawn that Thomas Jefferson designed.

While we hardly took the time to seek out new local food spots back then, we make a point to do so now. What was wrong with us in college, you wonder? We both enjoyed dining hall food. And still miss it sometimes, hahaha. It's too bad they're closed over the summer, or we would've definitely made a stop :) So instead, on our must-eat itinerary was Bodo's (best everything bagels ever), La Michoacana Deli (I'm still sad we missed tacos by 20 minutes!), Marco & Luca (mmm dumplings and sweet & spicy noodles), and The Flat (light and doughy, salty and sweet crepes).

Good day, good times. I miss Cville already.

What do you miss the most about your alma mater?

Picture overload ahead. Mouse over photos for descriptions.

necklace: Forever 21 (currently sold here; similar)
top: J.Crew (similar)
skirt: Forever 21 (currently sold here)
bag: agnes b - gift from cousin
flats: Old Navy (currently sold here)

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22 comments

  1. Aww glad that a school revisit can bring back so many memories! You guys have a BEAUTIFUL campus. I love the brick buildings!

    I never felt that connected to my alma mater mostly because I only lived on campus for one year, studied abroad 2nd year, and then commuted from home the last two years, and I hated school and just wanted to leave by then. It also doesn't help that I live 30 min away from school so it's not that novel to go back and visit (though I rarely do).

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  2. Love this post and your scalloped skirt! I'm currently in grad school at UNC, and I hear the town is a lot like Charlottesville. From your pics the campus looks similar too. I'm definitely going to miss the all quaint restaurants here and of course the basketball fever. But I'm a big city girl so I hope to live in some place like Boston after I graduate.

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  3. Such a fun vibrant skirt. I love it and the color great!

    Shasie
    Enter My Niqué Cosmetics Giveaway

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  4. Wow, if only my alma mater's campus looked this historic and clean. Good old Southern charm. Now we get the story of how you met the bf...yay! I am drooling over the spicy noodles (with apples sound like taste bud explosion). I want to try! And I'm all for crepes....I found diff places have diff batters. And I love the skirt with the chambray shirt...I'm crazy for orange now too.

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  5. Love this post. :) And thanks for the obligatory food pics (I thoroughly enjoyed them). sigh...I miss my alma mater so much. Bf's still there so I get to relive college glory days when I visit (I am going again this weekend, maybe I should draw inspiration from you and get some pics taken for my private collection).

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  6. Oo I love how each pix has a discription when you rollover! how neat!!! It has been 4 yrs since I have been back to revisit my college, and I do miss it..miss how life was so simple back then :D gosh Im getting sappy and old! your college is beautiful!

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  7. Been reading your blog for awhile, and these pics totally made my day! When did you graduate from UVA? Everything bagels at Bodo's are definitely the best. And those M&L dumplings are so good with that sauce, you forget they're from Sam's Club! Boy, I need to plan a trip back to Cville asap...

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  8. I love the cute detailing on your skirt! And I love how you did the "mouse over for descriptions." That's brilliant!

    The best thing about the college I went to is that I met the man of my dreams there. *sigh* Other than that, Eh... It was a small Christian college. It has some really great things about it, but I have lots of issues with them too. Oh, well, I got a good education and I have an amazing husband and a few really good friends, thanks to the years I spent there. =)

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  9. Aw, your campus and the surrounding area is gorgeous! Even though my alma mater is quite a trip for us these days, we try to get back for at least one football game a year. It's where Steve and I met, and where we got married, so it has all sorts of memories for us.

    Football weekends were by far my favorite parts of the year when I was a student, because the campus was so festive and full of visitors. And now I am one of those visitors, and I have to walk to my car after the game instead of my dorm or the dining hall, and I get all kinds of nostalgic about 'the good ol' days' :)

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  10. i think it's so cute that you are still w/ your college sweetheart. :) will wedding bells be chiming in the future? ;)

    thanks for sharing! :)

    kimchi girl

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  11. Aww, you met your BF in college too? Go college sweethearts :) I love the scallops on your skirt - so pretty!

    What a gorgeous campus! Hubby and I like to visit ours as well (got married there) every once in a while to reminisce :)

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  12. I was a commuter and so I didn't get out of college what it seems you did. In retrospect I would take student loans over missing out such an amazing experience. Glad you had fun with your gal!

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  13. 1. Love your outfit (the bright pop of color, the gold sandals, the overall chic and easy feel)!

    2. I went to Wellesley (an all women's college) - I miss Schneider's (a place where they had the best mushroom swiss burgers and chicken fingers - it was torn down a few years ago), walking around in sweats and not feeling out of place amongst the sea of women who would also wear sweats, the changing of the seasons, all you can eat food (a curse and a blessing), and all the lovely scenery.

    3. I also love hearing about college sweethearts. ;D

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  14. I enjoyed reading about everyone's college experiences, so thank you all so much for sharing!

    @kimmie - Studying abroad sounds like so much fun! Where did you go? I wish I had seriously considered that one year, but alas, no regrets.

    @R.L. - I totally get where you're coming from. Even though I'm not a city girl (more like suburbia girl, haha), Cville is a wee bit small-town for my liking too. It's great for college because it's like living in a bubble for four years, but for a lifetime, I'd rather be closer to a city. Good luck with the rest of your grad school and if Boston doesn't pan out, there's always DC, where the jobs are :)

    @Shasie - Thanks :)

    @Jarucha - The spicy sauce was so good! And this is coming from someone who has trouble handling spicy foods, lol. They use the same sauce for the dumplings too. Now if only I can get my hands on that recipe!

    @Elle - Yes, take pics! But please share some with us! B/c chances are I'll never get a chance to visit your campus (where did you go, Elle?!) or eat yummy food around the area.

    @simplyvonne - Isn't it? At the time, school seemed so stressful (at least to me sometimes), but we didn't know how good we had it until real life hit us, haha :)

    @aquav87 - Hi fellow Wahoo! I was in the class of 05, what about you? It'd be funny if we know each other... but chances are slim because I was pretty much holed up in the E-School, lol. Are you serious about the dumplings from Sam's Club?!?!? I had no idea. I know what I'll be doing this weekend :)

    @Tiffany, @SewPetiteGal - Aww, I love hearing about college sweethearts! It seems like this is more common than I had originally thought.

    @Tara - Would you believe that I went to... oh 3 football games max while I was in college? hahaha My excuse is that we're pretty bad at football AND basketball, the two biggest sports. Sigh.

    @kimchi girl - Maybe? :) We're in no hurry though, and it'll probably just "happen" one day haha.

    @Emily - I'm sure you made the best decision for you at the time though. With the economy the way it is now, having no student loans must be a wonderful relief.

    @questforfashionsense - Wellesley sounds wonderful! I also hate when they tear down old buildings. There is also a food place at my school that opened until the wee hours of the night, but when they replaced it with a bigger building, they didn't bring back the same food :(

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  15. haha, Cee your preppy style fits these kinds of places! You look patriotic too :) And I'm salivating at those crepes with bananas, yum!

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  16. awww how cute, i love these kind of personal posts :) should have taken a pix of you two together! :)

    i went to undergrad and grad school at the same place...and it's 10 minutes from where i live so i don't think i miss it yet lol. what i miss is the student life though...man did we have a lot of free time back then! i thought college was so much easier than HS cuz in HS, i had to wake up at 5am every day to finish my homework...whereas in college i took classes every other day. the good life, it was!

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  17. Love your pictures!.....and your outfit is so cute ;)

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  18. hi there! what a gorgeous campus! your photos look so pretty! love to visit one of these days! i'm in total love with your blog though! now following! =D

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  19. @Olyvia - Hehehe, it's the other way around! My school definitely influenced my preppy style :)

    @Sunshine - We did take a few shots of us together... but I couldn't figure out a way to crop the heads off but still kept most of the background, so they didn't make the cut :) Maybe next time!

    @Callandra, @ALYSSA - Thank you both!

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  20. I super miss my Alma Matter too, my highschool more! That skirt is an absolute winner on you dear!

    besos,

    ML
    I'm Back!
    Please come say hello!
    Twenty York Street
    http://www.twentyyork.com/2011/06/i-am-fashion-are-you.html

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  21. I just came across your blog and I'm from C'ville! I have to admit I haven't really been back since I left for college - Virginia Tech. But it was a beautiful town and I love and miss Bodo's soooo much! And I used to hang out with friends at the Corner. Oh, the memories. ;)

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  22. How cute...college sweethearts!!

    I've always been so curious about where you're from I wanted to ask you when I emailed you (I'm so nosy haha!).

    My university is really ghetto looking....your campus looks beautiful! Sometimes I miss my school....but I think I mostly miss hanging out with my friends all the time! Food was horrible there, so I definitely don't miss that!

    -Lor

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