To Adventure

The Day He Asked

February 20, 2015

On this day in history, in the year 2009 (seriously how is that six years ago), Jordan asked me to marry him.

I’m honestly not sure if I would remember the exact date, except he chose a day that already stands out to me, since my favorite Backstreet Boy also celebrates his birthday today (Happy Birthday, Brian!). OK my 14-year-old self is showing. (I should mention my embarrassment at the fact that it is also Kurt Cobain’s birthday. My taste in music was shameful. What can I say. I WAS 14.)

I know I’ve written about it on this blog before, but I’ll give you the reader’s digest version:

It was a cold Friday night, and we were at an indoor pool party. Jordan was being quiet, and I thought he was mad at me for taking him to a pool party in the dead of winter. But we didn’t stay too long- Jordan had some other plans in mind.

He took me to the same burger place we went to on our first date, got some hot chocolate, and continued reliving that first date. I was completely and entirely oblivious to the idea of him proposing that night (despite the whole first date reenactment, which is usually a pretty big tell). We had been dating for 4 months, and had yet to even mention the ‘M’ word. I really had no reason to suspect.

But I still knew already. I knew I could marry him. And barring any weird, dark secret Jordan was withholding from me, I knew we probably would get married. I just didn’t know he had already bought the ring.

I realized he wasn’t mad about a mid-February pool party. He was nervous about asking this girl to marry him. He told me he had a surprise for me, and the surprise was a big adventure. Hard at times, but worth it in the end. (His proposal was a big inspiration on the naming of this blog). I said yes, and we stayed up until 4 in the morning talking about what life will be like together. And it’s better than I could have even imagined. Cheesy and I don’t care. I love this kid.

Photo cred: Miesh Photography

Weekend Review // Valentines Edition

February 18, 2015

Been a while since I did a nice weekend round-up, but this weekend was pretty rad!

\\ As you may have seen on Instagram, my sister had her baby! Everyone is in love, especially the big brother. Makes my heart melt.

\\ Climbing! And food! We had an awesome triple-date with some of our best buds. We checked out the climbing gym out in Salt Lake and did a bit of bouldering before stuffing our faces at an all-you-can-eat Mongolian grill.

\\ Jordan and I had a romantic Valentines on the slopes. Felt like a warm spring day, and we rewarded ourselves with a delicious helping of sushi. I guess we reward ourselves with food pretty frequently these days. I also made Jordan a ‘Love You’ banner (thanks for the awesome DIY!)

\\ We took advantage of the day off and went skiing again on Monday. I got to take my 4-year-old nephew out skiing for his first time, too. It was pretty hilarious/adorable. It was my first time teaching someone that young to ski, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. There was really only one meltdown the entire day, and with a child, that’s a win in my book.

We are gearing up for a big work trip next week to Japan! I have been twice before, Jordan once, but this is the first time we will be traveling there together. I CANNOT WAIT.

valentine shmalentine – Activity Ideas for Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2015

These photos are from our first Valentine’s together while we were dating. I took him home to Seattle. AW. CUTE.

This minimalism trend that’s happening all over the Interwebs has hit me, and I’ve been trying to rid our home of non-necessities. De-junking is a constant process, and accumulating things is just so dang easy. When we came home after the Christmas holidays, I went straight to the closet and loaded up a dozen bags with things to donate. And with Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ve been keeping an eye out for activities to do together, rather than things to buy. No need to accumulate more stuff. Unless that stuff is chocolate. Because it doesn’t stick around long, anyway. I’m a woman and I love chocolate and I am cliche.

AND like I’ve said before, my Valentine’s Day mantra is that it doesn’t have to be a day about romantic love. But just love in general. Love for your family, your friends, your weird hobby/pet.

I’ll admit it’s not my favorite holiday. It’s basically a day that commercializes something that is special and personal. Which further supports this Time > Things idea. So here are some ideas for things to do this holiday. It’s over a three-day weekend, after all!

// Make your own pasta! I’ve never made it myself, but it looks super easy. And fun. And delicious.

// Go on a hike! Or if you’re feeling more adventurous (and have some snow to play in), try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing!

// Rock climbing! Jordan and I have really gotten into indoor climbing this past year, and we love it. Not to mention, it’s a good way to build up a relationship a bit by helping each other out as you try different climbing problems. You’ll be problem solving experts!

// Go take photo booth pictures. I found this site that lists locations of photo booths in your area. Or make your own! There is something fun and nostalgic about photo booth pictures. Jordan and I have done a few throughout our years together, and for whatever reason, those simple black and white photographs are super special to me.

As for us, we are going to head up to Brighton for a ski day. Winter in Utah has been weirdly warm (70 degrees in FEBRUARY. WHAT!) and I’m not amused. So I would appreciate if the East Coast would send a snow storm our way. Pretty please and thank you.

weekend adventure inspiration

February 5, 2015

In between weekends, I find myself looking for inspiration for our next adventure. And right now, I’d love to write out some poetic lines about getting outside and exploring… BUT words escape me at the moment. I’m having a funky day, and I want these photographs to speak for themselves.

Now go have an adventure weekend.

P.S. You can check out some more adventure inspiration on my To Adventure board on Pinterest, if you fancy that sort of thing.

Source: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

Seattle Weekend Trip

February 2, 2015

Jo and I visited my old stomping grounds last weekend, and got to see the city buzzing with excitement for the Super Bowl. Though we didn’t see the results we hoped for last night (I cried), I still can’t help but be proud of my team and my city. And okay, I may be a little biased, but Seattle has the best sports fans in the world.

We explored downtown a bit (though Alaskan Way is under major renovations, so the pier walk wasn’t exactly what we were expecting), took a ferry across the sound to Bainbridge Island, and toured the baseball stadium for Mariner’s Fan Fest weekend (those garlic fries, though). I love the Seahawks, but I’m getting anxious for baseball season, now!

I know I’ve said it before- I love living in Utah, but I don’t know what I’d do if Seattle wasn’t just a short flight away.

San Francisco in 48 Hours – A Video Diary

January 30, 2015

We had barely 48 hours in San Francisco, but we made the most of it. Here is a short video diary of us being dorks/tourists:

Baker Beach, San Francisco

January 28, 2015

It was a cool yet comfortable night on Baker Beach, despite being mid-January. The Golden Gate was a beautiful sight as it stretched across the water and peeked through the evening mist. We explored the rocky coast, took dozens of photos, and laughed like teenagers as we passed a man dancing on the shore, enjoying his freedom in the nude. You’re alright, SF.

San Francisco Weekend Trip – Around Town

January 26, 2015

Aside from visiting Muir Woods, we did a bit of touristy exploring around San Francisco, including Fisherman’s Warf (and some delicious sourdough bread bowls), lodging in the Japanese inspired Hotel Tomo, parking our tiny rental car pretty much anywhere it would fit, checking out some of the best sushi in the US, and a quick (and scary) cable car ride.

Some stuff we learned during this quick weekend trip to SF:

\\ Parking is expensive. If you are planning to rent a car, be prepared to pay for parking everywhere. Except on Sundays! There was free parking at a lot of places on Sunday. And if you do rent, get a compact car. You’ll have more options with fitting it in to hard-to-park places.

\\ Make reservations for dining. A lot of places will only do day-of reservations, and not over the phone. So plan ahead. Two of the restaurants we wanted to try out had over an hour wait time. We put our names down and just went exploring around the area to kill time. We recommend Plow for breakfast/brunch, and Ichi Sushi for dinner! (But seriously, Ichi Sushi is what dreams are made of. Mine, at least).

\\ The cable car ride is fun if you have low expectations. And want to check it off the bucket list.

Time for a photo dump. And yes, we did just go inside the city Target just to see it. I didn’t buy anything, I just wanted to look.

SF is a city that didn’t disappoint. I’ve got just one more San Francisco post with our visit to Baker Beach, so stay tuned! We did see a nudist, so… That was exciting.

San Francisco Trip – Muir Woods

January 20, 2015

Jordan and I had a quick weekend trip down to San Francisco this past weekend. We took it easy, and didn’t try to cram too much into the trip, and it ended up being the perfect little getaway.

I was back and forth about visiting Muir Woods. I had heard it gets super crowded, especially on weekends. I thought we could beat the crowds by heading out early Sunday morning, but we really wanted to try this one place for breakfast, and food usually trumps everything. So, we ended up heading out right around 2 PM, which was when everyone else in the state decided to go, too.

I really would recommend making the trek across the Golden Gate Bridge to see this place. But if you hate crowds, try first thing in the morning, or even a weekday. Nonetheless, it was pretty gorgeous. (I’ll say it was a challenge taking photos without other people in the shot. Muir Woods is the Disneyland of forests).

Quick hello!

January 14, 2015

Just popping over for a quick hello! Life is nuts right now. J and I had a busy weekend working up at Park City, then a huge snow storm hit Utah, so we took a day off to hit the slopes. Oh, and we got a membership at the bouldering gym that just opened a few minutes from our house, so we’ve been climbing a bunch more lately, too. Guys, life is FUN. Well, mostly fun.

I’ll admit I’ve been up and down lately, experiencing a mild quarter-life crisis of some sorts. Not the kind that makes you go out and buy a convertible. But more like the kind that makes you second guess yourself. Doubt your own abilities. Stress about how others might perceive you. Sometimes I feel really proud of this blog space I’ve created. And other times, I’m just so dissatisfied. And frustrated. But such is the process of progress, right?

Anyway. Thanks for following along. I always love reading comments from y’all. The blogging world has introduced me to such sweet and talented people from all over the world. And well, that’s just rad.

P.S. Speaking of rad people, Bethany over at The Collaboreat invited me to do a city guide for Park City! Check it out here!