Venue: Blue Sky Land & Cattle Co, Winona TX Catering: Adalante Catering, Tyler TX Vintage Rentals: Pursuing Eden, Longview TX Photographers: Feather & Twine Photography , Austin TX Flowers: The Flower Girl, Tyler TX Videographers: Keith Charles & Morgan Bolom, St. Thomas USVI Dress: Wtoo – Watters from Happily Ever After Bridal Boutique, Shreveport LA Farm Tables: Handmade by us
I’m fast approaching my two year anniversary as a registered yoga teacher. And although I am young in my practice, both as teacher and as student, these past two years have taught me more than I could have imagined – probably more than I can actually recall. I’ve definitely learned a lot more about myself, more about my practice, and more about working with other people. At 25 I feel as if I’m beginning to find my place in the world, I’m creating a life I’m excited to live, figuring out who I really am, finding out what’s really important to me, and building a brand – all while trying to have as much fun as humanly possible. Almost a year ago I made the leap from part-time to full-time yoga instructor, giving up my nights waiting tables so I could put all of my focus and all of my energy into this decision. Sunburnt & Salty Yoga Company had been a dream of mine for a while and I felt in my bones that …
This hit the sweet spot like nothing else. When I would open the fridge, these little babies called to me like Indian food in Puerto Rico – you cannot say no to that opportunity. I found myself visiting the fridge many times that day, until I finished a row of peanut butter cups. Then I discovered I did have a little self restraint, which kept me from finishing off the whole pan. I had company that evening, after all. What a horrible host would I be if my dessert was half finished before my guests arrived? Okay, maybe just one more. But don’t take my word for it, make these yourselves and you won’t be sorry. Maybe your pants will be sorry, but your brain and your belly and your heart will be full. Full of a delicious I’m-trying-to-be-healthy-by-making-these-with-chickpeas kind of thing. Oh, I just gave away the secret. Ok well here’s the recipe my friends: And enjoy! This recipe is very versatile, you can play around with the shape and size of your peanut …
What are your dreams? Your goals? What does your heart hope for? Take a second. Look for answers within. Get intentional. What does it mean to live intentionally? Intentional living happens when we adopt a mindful attitude towards the choices and situations we are presented with each day. Most of us would agree that we are awake when we go through our daily routine. But how conscious are we? It is so easy to set ourselves to auto-pilot when we wake up each morning and go through the entire day mindlessly going through the motions of living. We sit blindly in the passenger seat of our own lives, allowing moments, experiences and feelings to just pass us by. When we live life with intention we perform every action with conscious intent and a desire to fulfill our core values. We do have basic intent behind most of our daily activities (washing the dishes so they don’t start to pile up and mold, taking the bus to work in order to earn a living, etc.), however …
This is one of my last posts on the Bali honeymoon. We spent one month traveling around the island – and off the island – that it took several weeks to recount the details of the experience here for you. On our last week in Bali, we decided to hop on a “fast boat” and head over to Lombok’s famous little islands – the Gilis. We were not interested in the party scene, so we skipped Gili T – instead, we settled in at Gili Air and spent almost every day out in the ocean. We dove at least twice a day, sometimes three times, and experienced something new every dive. We are amazed at the beautyl of the corals, the fish, the diversity. It was breathtaking. Our dive operators were so friendly, and after realizing we did this for a living, they made sure we were given ample time underwater to explore. No quick 45 minute dive for us! The one thing I wanted to see and experience more than anything in Bali was….. …
I love Eastern cultures. The vibrancy of the offerings, temples, songs, wardrobe… I am always just in awe of the amount of time and attention to detail that go into these aspects of life. It is truly as though your faith comes first, everything else is only secondary. I love that. This was particularly true for Bali. One day, we were taken to a waterfall that our driver referred to simply as “500 steps”. We didn’t count the steps down, but it certainly felt like 500 as we hauled our tired, jet-lagged, dehydrated selves back up to the top. We didn’t get in the water, except to wet our feet and feel the powerful mist of the falls from several yards away. We love to hike to waterfalls, but we pretty rarely swim in their pools. I haven’t found a waterfall yet that feels like a bath tub, so alas, we enjoy from the distance. But the majesty of the falls was something awe inspiring. The fact that this place was obviously something special to …
It was early in the morning as we loaded up the truck and headed south on the 115. The town of Rincon was just beginning to wake up as we drove through the main square, past the grocery store, and through the tunnel of mango trees that shade the road to Mayaguez. We made it through the city before traffic got too bad and then we were off, heading south in search of adventure and hopefully some fun, little waves. Our goal was Playa Inches, a beach nestled in the town of Patillas, located on the southeast corner of Puerto Rico. My boyfriend Brian had been here before, but I had never been to this area of the island so I was excited to see something new. Patillas, which is the Taino (indigenous people of PR) name for a native type of watermelon that was grown in the area, is surrounded by San Lorenzo to the north, Yabucoa to the east, and Arroyo and Guayama to the west. This entire area is known for producing …
Last week, we had a Girls Night dinner over at my house. My hubby was off the island working (diving), and Sophie and I had the house to ourselves, so naturally we wanted some company! The group of girlfriends I have in Rincon is amazing – these women are independent, motivating, adventurous and kind. Anything we do together is always a ton of fun. So when the idea of a Girls Night arose, we were all pretty eager to get together and eat. Because really, let’s be honest there’s only two things we love doing together more than anything — 1.) something outdoors and 2.) eating. Not sure which of those is more important.. So I made a recipe that Evan and I cooked up the week before. We found a black bean burger recipe online, then made homemade rolls and literally had one of the best quick and hearty meals ever. It’s on the weekly rotation, oh yeah. I was also randomly inspired to create a sauce. I had a lot of blueberries, some …
