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A Strong Sense of Wanderlust

I love travel, and I feel as though I have a distinct need to do so. It's as though I can't rest until I get out of Florida and into the mountains for a while. I feel so at peace there. 

The mountains are calling and I must go.

                                                    ― John Muir

I find my wanderlust pulling me back to the West Coast, towards North California and Oregon. I really feel like within my lifetime I will end up moving out there. I felt so at home.

I miss the mountains, the meadows, and the cool weather. I love the jagged coastline and the forward thinking lifestyles - organic & vegan food, sustainability, and an aesthetic flair that is hard to find here in the South East.

Where do you want to travel to?

Instagram Roundup

All Sasha (huskimo), Gizmo (chihuahua) and a little bit of Mr. Z (mali uromastyx lizard).

Journey to Coral Castle II

Part two in my series of photos from Coral Castle - you can see part one here! This post features some of my photos of the nature & details.

Again, you can read more about Coral Castle here! I hope to post more of my shots from that day soon.

2013 Goals

I think it's important to set goals and have aspirations in order to keep you focused on making positive changes in your life. Here are some of my goals for 2013.

• Read more books 
  It used to be, I was always in the midst of a book. Lately, I'm often busy or distracted, and I haven't been devoting as much time to reading as I'd like to. I read a good amount of books last year, but I would like to be more consistent in my reading time. So far I have read one book this year. I just started a second and recently ordered more from amazon.
• Finish organizing my photography archive
  While I was without internet, I spent some of my time organizing my external hard drive, which contains all of my digital photography. I'm happy with the progress I made in having a more organized system & I'd like to keep it that way!
• Shoot more film
  I really loved shooting black & white film photography while I was taking a darkroom course last year. However, since the course ended I've neglected my camera! I have a huge stash of black & white film that I need to put to use!
• Stay in shape
  I am a fairly active person, as my job requires me to be (dog walker). Additionally, as a vegan I eat plenty of healthy foods. However, I want to keep in mind to stay in shape and push myself more. I would love to be stronger. :)
• Continue to minimize my possessions
  When I moved, I sorted through everything I owned - which was a lot. I felt overwhelmed by my amount of STUFF. I filled up a huge garbage bag with items I can sell or donate, and gave plenty of things away. I want to continue to purge my things as I find that I don't need them. Furthermore, I may have a sale on here or facebook of the gently used clothing I no longer wear :)
• Save money
  So far I have been doing quite well with this goal. I've always been pretty good about managing my money, but I want to make a point to save more when possible.
• Fix up my new home
  I've already started with this, having painted & decorated my own bedroom, but there is still a lot of work to do around the house. Although we are renting here, we plan on staying here for some time - and aesthetics are important to me! I'll have to keep in mind to take some before and after photos.
• Paint the bathroom
  I plan on painting it a shade of purple, and painting up the existing furniture in there a brighter white :)
• Paint the kitchenI'm thinking I'd like to paint the kitchen a sage green, and decorate it with a woodland sort of theme!
• Set up my art space
  Right now, all of my art stuff is in a corner of the main room, completely unorganized and inaccessible.  I want to get some shelves and convert that corner into a nice little space for painting and drawing.
• Start a garden
  Living on an acre and a half, we have plenty of room for a garden! First, we need to fix our fence, because some pesky (but adorable) pigs keep sneaking in and rooting up our yard. Once the pigs can no longer sneak in here, we should be able to have a garden just fine.

What are your goals for this year? Or for this month?

Instagram Roundup

 
 

 

Some of my animal friends!

Busy Busy Busy

My recent move left me without internet for about a month, causing this unplanned hiatus & silence of mine. During this time I have completely settled in my new home with three of my friends. We live on an acre and a half, in a beautiful area - far enough to be "in the country" but close enough that a major road and grocery store is less than 5 minutes away.

 My work as a pet sitter has expanded, as with this new stretch of property I can house pets in my home for private boarding - I have had several well behaved doggie guests, and I have to say having doggie guests stay in my home has made it a little easier to be away from the pets at my mothers house (although my cat moved in with me, my Sasha is an old lady and quite content to stay where she knows as home).

I've been busy with plenty of photography, making animal friends, making a home, and learning so much. I hope to continue to share my adventures here with you. 

All in all, the new year has been quite wonderful so far. It has really been a fresh start for me. 

PS: Every day I fall more and more in love with macro nature photography.  Expect to see plenty of it.

How is the new year treating you?

2012 in Review

This year was full of growth & new experiences for me! Here are just some things that happened:

• I fell in love with macro photography
• I went vegan
• I completed an art challenge
• After several re-launches, I've decided to put my etsy shop on hold
• I redesigned & renamed my blog
• I completed an art piece in the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival
• I hosted a few giveaways, and won a few on other blogs
• I celebrated one year of blogging!
• I started using instagram
• I drew quite a bit
• I took tons of photos!
• I got a new car
• I made tons of new friends & reconnected with old ones
• I traveled to Pittsburgh, Atlanta & Oregon!
• I relaunched my modeling hobby
• I did a fair amount of hiking
• I starting shooting in black & white film
• Attended plenty of great concerts - including seeing nearly all of my favorite bands!
• I got more involved with Alternative Fashion & Costuming
• I participated in GISHWHES
• I moved out with friends

All in all, this isn't nearly everything that happened. This year has been full of firsts for me. I've learned so much. I can only imagine what 2013 has in store :)

House Warming Features

Household items are on my mind, since I am in the process of moving! I have odd taste, but here are some items I would love to have around the house:

1. This horseshoe crab wall sconce is too cool! What a neat & unique light to have :)

2. This set of woodland mugs is just perfect. Such a simple but gorgeous design.

3. This puzzle rug is super cool. I would love to have this in my bedroom! I just painted my walls a nice grey.

4. I'd love to decorate the kitchen with owls! And this owl oven mitt design is so darling.

5. This phrase is repeated often. I thought it would be silly to have a cross stitch of it. 

6. Love this design! I adore spirals, and this surreal clock is very much my style.

As usual with my features, all of these items are from etsy - I want to support small handmade businesses as much as possible.

Instagram Roundup

 

1. Light Clouds

2. Beautiful Day | 3. Dramatic Clouds

4. Swampy land | 5. Clear skies

6. Power lines and clouds

7. Grey skies & Pink Flowers | 8. Mossy Tree

9. Good, gnarled tree | 10. Sunshine and Clouds

I've recently found that I really enjoy capturing the sky and clouds throughout the day. In South Florida we are fortunate enough to have a lot of gorgeous weather, and flat enough land to see everything clearly. There are a lot of things about South Florida that I have come to love over the years - although growing up I hated living here.

I think that as I mature, there is an appreciation that grows for this place - a recognition that it is made me who I am. And that it really is beautiful, underneath the things that make it seem ugly and unwelcoming. It feels like a part of growing up to recognize these things.

How do you feel about the place where you grew up?