"To stay curious is to stay committed to learning. And if you’re not learning something new, you’re staying in the same place. And while I don’t know everything I want from my life and business yet, I do know that I want to always be learning. Whether I’m learning a new technology, a new piece of photo editing software or just a new trend that’s happening in my community, I want to stay committed to always keeping an open mind. Because an open mind is one that doesn’t miss out on something wonderful just because it’s hidden behind a door that might be hard or scary to open."

-Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge

Mahalo

Where to begin! Maui was a week of pure HEAVEN!! It was like nothing I have ever experienced and now I finally understand why so many people fall in love and dream of living on the islands. We stayed in cute little beach condos with the ocean as our backyard and let me say every ones day would start out so much better if they could eat breakfast while watching the waves crash in! 

Our week was packed full of activities, starting with a drive up into the hills to find the blow hole and famous heart in the rock.  It was also our first attempt at snorkeling which resulted in gasping for air, screaming and a panicked swim back to shore and cut up feet. It's funny looking back, but at the time we were sure that was the end. 

One thing I loved was driving down the highway and seeing all of the surfers, swimmers and campers just pulled off to the side of the road enjoying the beach. One of the roadside beaches is where Drea and I made our second attempt at snorkeling, it went over much better; if you don't count getting trapped in coral.

Next day we made the trek in our minivan across the island to the Road to Hana, 68 miles of winding, TINY road through the Maui hills to the small town of Hana. We walked through forests of bamboo, swam in a COLD waterfall, found my new beachfront property and swam in the warmer waters of Black Sand Beach. And let's not forget swimming in a cave while a beach bum played a didgeridoo. 

My other absolute favorite part was our two whale watching trips. The first was a dinner cruise which made us feel classy and resulted in a lot of Titanic jokes and the second I got rocked by a giant wave and saw whales fight and a baby show off so I guess they were both a win. Lastly we took one final snorkeling trip to Black Rock at Ka'anapali Beach and it was fantastic! Tropical fish, beautiful coral and so many sea turtles! Our last night was spent celebrating Bennett's birthday (Drea's aunt) with pizza, chocolate cake and some laughs (mostly at Paige).

The next morning as we drove to the airport I took in the scenery around me trying to commit everything I saw, heard and smelled to memory. I can honestly say I have never been so sad to leave any place as I was Maui. I guess this just means I'll have to go back!

We Can Dance

Because I'm Happy

The past few days I've been on a happiness high. It could be that I'll be in Hawaii with my best next week, that the sun has been out (and warm!) for the past few days or the amount of Fantasy Factory and Ridiculousness I've been watching, but no matter the cause I don't hate it. It sounds like a no brainer, but it's amazing to see how everyday life changes when you genuinely feel happy.

Goshen

Still

Most nights my roommates, and sometimes myself, find ourselves in bed at a time my nineteen year old self would have called me a loser for. And if I'm being honest sometimes my twenty-seven year old self does now. I guess it's part of being a responsible adult, something I avoid looking in the eye in hopes of squeezing out what's left of my acceptable kidulthood. Though I'm usually cooped up in my bedroom on these nights I've come to enjoy them. I putter around the room, look up songs, paint my nails, read, research my current obsessions and more often than not binge watch whatever I have queued up on Netflix. Though there are times I wish we would stay up until all hours of the night, I am grateful for that perfect moment when the house is still and I truly relax.

Changes

My best friend is moving to Arizona in three days. THREE DAYS. Besides my initial mental breakdown (Drea knows what I'm talking about) I've been holding in the tears pretty well...so far. "Arizona's a state away, Provo airport flies out to Mesa, we can text, call, email!" This has been my mantra for basically the past month and will probably have to continue well into the next few months at least.

Even though I'm incredibly sad and we've ignored any sort of hug or goodbye I'm trying to take some good out of the situation and by trying I mean grasping for any possible good outcome. What I've come up with is being inspired by the huge change that's on the way for their family. Change is scary, terrifying if you're me, but living in fear is not living! With my new found inspiration I will make an effort to put plans in motion and make things happen.

Imma miss ya fren.