Hey, hey! Happy Summer :)

This summer has been one of the busiest already, but I made sure to do a quick 24 hour getaway in Bloomington before starting work this week!

Thanks to Visit Bloomington, I was able to check out some fun local happenings and stay at Graduate Bloomington for the first time.

The hotel was beautifully done, and I really enjoyed the decorations. Graduate Hotels aims to appeal to college towns and commemorates the optimism surrounding education. Seeing as I just graduated in May, it was the perfect toast to getting my degree in Entrepreneurship :)

I was also able to check out some local shops, which is my personal favorite part of traveling no matter where I go.

I stopped into Goods for Cooks, feeling very optimistic that I would purchase some spices for cooking… but I got distracted by these cute bowls and bags and ended up buying a candle that smelled amazing. I know I’ll use it while I get work done from home, and I especially love burning candles while I read in my spare time :)

Next, I stopped into Gather, which is a local handmade shop. They have so many cute little knick-knacks that would make great gifts! I decided to pick out some cards to use for my graduation thank you notes. They also had some really neat graphic-tees that caught my eye, so if you’re looking for some trendy gifts, I would highly recommend checking out Gather Shoppe.

I got a lot of questions in Instagram about Caveat Emptor. It’s a really neat bookstore that features used and rare books. They have been present in the Bloomington community for 45 years! You can also shop online — something that I think is a really cool feature that they offer and something I haven’t seen before for a local store like that. You can check out their selections here.

For dinner, I went to Uptown Cafe, which was conveniently right next to the hotel. I ordered the Spaghetti Agliata, which features: Basil pesto, Gorgonzola and Romano cheeses, aged balsamic, toasted pecans, and then I also added shrimp to my order :) I loved that the balsamic added the perfect, complimentary flavor to the rest of the dish and I left full and ready to get some work done for the night.

I had some work to get done in the evening, so I headed back to the room to get some editing and emails done before rounding out the night with some Netflix (currently watching The Flash - if you have any recommendations on Netflix shows let me know, ‘cause I’m almost done).

On the way out of town the next morning, I stopped at Hopscotch Coffee for some yogurt and granola and a hot tea. They also have a drive-thru location in case that’s more your style, but I wanted to pop into this larger location and check out the inside :)

If you aren’t quite sure where Bloomington is, check this out:

1 hour & 15 minutes from Indianapolis, IN

2 hours from Louisville, KY

2 hours & 45 minutes from Cincinnati, OH

3 hours & 30 minutes from Lexington, KY

3 hours & 45 minutes from Columbus, OH

3 hours & 45 minutes from St. Louis, MO

4 hours from Chicago, IL

4 hours & 30 minutes from Nashville, TN

5 hours & 30 minutes from Detroit, MI

Overall, I had a great time getting to check out the local scenery and I’m not quite sure when I’ll be back, but I bet I will eventually :)

This post is sponsored by Visit Bloomington, but all opinions are my own.