I’m not a full-time blogger & work in tech for my full-time gig. In my early and mid-twenties I didn’t have the best work benefits when it came to vacation time and I know a lot of people aren’t so lucky or don’t have plentiful vacation days. Many people try and bank their vacation for one big getaway during the year. In the United States there also is some sort of stigma around actually utilizing all your vacation pay for the year because many people don’t use it.…
Hello again. It’s been a minute since I posted here, creative burnout is real, especially when you’re supposed to be creative for a living, outside of your side project. Around April I was started to feel creative burnout fueled in part by the rat race that Instagram & Blogging can feel like sometimes, but also my 30th birthday was approaching in June and it had been on my mind quite a bit (dreading). By April, I’d honestly lost sight of why I had been blogging for so long and was so keen to keep up with everyone else around me that I couldn’t do it anymore. Why was I trying to keep up with the popular girls? I’ve never been one to do that and that’s not who I am at all.…
I love unique pieces of jewelry. Usually I find my favorite pieces in small independant vintage shops, like this ankh necklace. I found it at small little shop in Spokane called Veda Lux. I was visiting my family and got to spend the afternoon with my friend Liz.…
I was watching reruns of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills the other day when Dorit rolled her eyes during one of her interviews and said that Erika wasn’t an introvert. If I’ve completely lost you with my Real Housewives reference, just know that Erika is a performer, who kills it on stage, but is otherwise reserved and holds back with people. Dorit’s comment bothered me quite a bit because it perpetuates the idea that introverts are just shy and cold people when it’s much more complex than that. It involves our brains being wired differently than extroverts and processing everything around us, and that results in a physical effect on us so we choose our interactions carefully. Over the last year and a half, my journey to discover what it really means to be an introvert began and I’d like to share what I’ve learned so far because for me, it was as if a light clicked on and suddenly everything, going as far back as grade school, made sense.…
Happy New Year! It’s a cold morning in Seattle. We had a fairly low-key NYE: watched TV, listened to our neighbors light off mortars from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM (we live far outside of the city), and then went to bed. I didn’t even open my bottle of Moët & Chandon, which I’m thanking myself for this morning. It’s the New Year so I want to talk about resolutions. I approach resolutions a little differently ever since I started working at Microsoft. Every six months, my manager and I and any other team member) go over the priorities that were set 6 months previously and adjust and adapt where needed. Resolutions should be an ongoing conversation with yourself because things change, and much like at work, where I was 6 months ago could be completely different from where I am now.…
Last year I really started making time for reading again. I setup my goal on Goodreads for 12 books: a book a month, and I ended up reading 19. So I setup my challenge at the beginning of this year for 20 books. October got away from me & while I wanted to read two books, I didn’t finish either of them. So October’s list is bleeding into my November reading list.…
It is finally spring in Seattle. Until we make our yearly inaugural trip to Marymoor Dog Park with the pups, I refuse to acknowledge it is spring. On the sunniest & warmest day we’ve had, we pack the pups into the car & head off to Marymoor. The other important factor is whether or not the coffee stand is open at the park. It was.…
The Seattle area shuts down when it snows 2 inches, that’s well known, but when it snows a foot in 24 hours?! Break out the hot chocolate and cozy blankets. This is a real snow day! Growing up in Spokane I am accustomed to driving in inches and inches of snow. I remember driving to my high school, 45 minutes away, when there was about 10 inches of snow on the road. School rarely ever shut down. I don’t think I remember having a snow day at all growing up.…
Well ya caught me. Last week I was bitching about Halloween candy being in stores and then today while out grocery shopping, Ryan & I passed the decorations to which I exclaimed, “Ooh, I want to buy all the things Halloween!” Ryan then promptly called me out. Whoops. I can’t help it though. Autumn is a profound season for me mentally. Perhaps because some of the most impressionable moments from my teen years were in Autumn, so a very deep nostalgia is felt when I smell the leaves & have Depeche Mode playing. It’s a romantic season. you could say I worship it. The pulling out of boots, sweaters and scarves; the purchasing of autumn scented candles; playing Celtic music playlists I’ve carefully curated for the season; these are my rituals. I wish I could explain the Celtic music one. I’ve always been drawn to the British Isles & their ancient past. I’ve romanticized it quite a bit in my head & though I’ve never been, I have this very clear idea of what autumn in the UK looks like. Though I’ll get to find that out for myself in a few weeks! Outfit Details: Top: Zara Jacket: Sam Edelman…