The deepest powder I’ve ever skied!! Mammoth got a mammoth blizzard and we got to ski it!! Who cares about the most boring game of ever when you get to ski feet and feet of powdaaaaah??? It was so much fun. I finally get it. All the time I lived in Aspen, I never got…
You’ll have to forgive me for indulging in some good ole fashioned nostalgia because this year was a freakin’ doozy. SO many amazing trips, the year split by a big move, the most perfect scenario of moving next door to my little brother … the most amazing people in my life … 2018 is GOOD…
The magic of the mountains is hard to describe, it feels like words can’t do justice. I did not understand it until I lived there, and even then, I don’t know that I fully understood it until I left, and yearned for home. Couple that sense of physical place and grounding with the love I…
A faux celeb summary of my solo female travel adventure for 2.5 weeks living out of an adult backpack in Europe… I had an awesome time, nothing life altering happened, I was safe as could be all the time, I loved all my airbnbs, I love Norway, and I am happy to come home. To…
In journalism or travel writing, many travel pieces are intended to be “service” pieces—to serve the reader by giving recommendations, telling them what to do, etc. You can plan for these types of stories and actively take note of your activities, restaurants, itineraries as you’re traveling. Then there are “personal essay” type pieces intended to…
The Challenge: Pack for Norway including hiking, Copenhagen, Dutch countryside retreat, and Amsterdam for 14 days + 4 days in Orange County, including a wedding, in late August (temps 50s – 90s, rain) in a 30L backpack that fits under the seat in even the cheap airplanes. For my post on the Briidgs backpack I…
After all that research on what backpack to bring backpacking as an adult, I went rogue and backed the Briidgs ($150) on Kickstarter (where it was $90), which arrived—as promised—one day before my trip. I love it. Here’s why I picked it: Size: starts at 30L, can expand to 39L Straps/function: can be carried as a…
I mean, milk those cheap European flights, right? I had 18 hours in Copenhagen, wheels down to wheels up. Here’s what I did: Airport – train – 5 min walk – Check in to badass attic airbnb in Nyhavn. Badass = historic building, attic = no seriously an attic, Nyhavn = the place to be;…
A week ago, I was on an airplane flying to LA from Amsterdam. After a weekend of wedding shenanigans, I finally landed back in Austin on Monday at midnight. Tuesday, I closed on my new house. A friend who I am exceptionally grateful for helped be excited for me when I was too tired to…
I am 34 tomorrow. Thirty-four is somehow so much older than 33, and two weeks ago I prepared a post for this Feel Good Friday that didn’t actually feel very good, deep in the angsty throes of self-reflection about what it means to be a certain age at which I suddenly feel like I should…