Written by: Kenzie

I'm a believer in getting out and exploring the world. Just recently, I've been lucky enough to actually leave the country and went a little crazy; I visited five countries this year and this was the first year I've ever left the country. More on those adventures later, but big trips like that take a lot of time and a lot of money and those are two things I typically don't have. 

It doesn't matter, though. I think that exploring the world can be something as small are trying a new place for dinner on a Saturday night. Or even taking a different route to a friend's house (it's best to avoid highways in this case for maximum scenery). Lots of people, myself included, don't have the resources for these big, excessive trips all the time, but that doesn't mean I don't want to get out and see the world. The solution? Narrow your radius. And when you can, expand that radius to as far as possible.

A few weekends ago, I explored a narrow radius and took a Saturday trip to the small town of Tomball, TX with my mom and friend, Claire. It's only about a 35 minute drive from home so this was a pretty small radius. There's a flower shop there called Bramble & Bee that I've been following on Instagram for a while (@brambleandbee) and it looked super cute so we went there first.

The shop was just as cute as it appeared on Instagram. The woman behind the counter was super nice and chatted with us while we browsed. They had a cooler full of fresh blooms, several mason jar Christmas arrangements, and a workshop in the back where they worked on floral arrangements for weddings and events in addition to books, candles, jewelry, and odds and ends.

We each bought a little something and she insisted that each of us pick out a small arrangement to take home with us. She even let us pick individual stems out of other jars and add them to the ones we wanted! I'm telling you, an angel. Check it out for beautiful flowers, neat knick-knacks, and the nicest people.

Next, we headed out to find some lunch. I'd heard about Tejas Chocolate Craftory on a few occasions so that was our destination. Sure, they have fancy truffles, but we were more interested in the barbecue. Let me tell you, it was great. We had pulled pork and burnt ends. Baked potatoes and carrot souffle. And we washed it all down with some sweet tea and lemonade. I'm talking down-home Texas barbecue with a twist. 

It was fairly crowded (as it should be) so we sat outside which was nice and it was right next door to our next stop too, Jane and John Dough. Now, this was the place I really wanted to go. It's a cute coffee shop/bakery (I live for coffee shops/bakeries) with a clever name. I was all for it. Mom ran into an old friend as she was leaving the shop so they chatted for a bit. By the time we got to the door, they had just locked up. (Insert weeping emoji.)

On the plus side, this really adorable bus was parked outside. So the trip was definitely worth it. So on that particular weekend, I explored my radius. My thirty-mile radius, but it was an exploration nonetheless. So, I will leave you with this Tolkien quote I have recently discovered. (Silly me for taking so long to get into Tolkien.) "Little by little, one travels far." And that is my aim.