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Archives for November 2014

New Year’s Eve Events in New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: Sp

New Year's Eve celebrations are kind of  big thing in New Zealand. I guess it would be similar to a holiday like the 4th of July in the U.S….we're talking about great summer fun: concerts, BBQs, road trips, beach parties, and ocean outings. Derik and I won't be in New Zealand for New Year's to experience all the fun because we've decided to take a cruise around the South Pacific islands and then bring in 2015 Sydney, Australia style. There's always next year. If you're living in New Zealand now, or have plans to come visit over the holidays, here are a few events you might want to consider attending. Britomart Beach Party -Auckland (North Island)  This event has been sold out the last two years, and it's coming back in epic style! ... Read More

Why You Should Travel in 2015

Written by: Amanda // Category: Expat Living, travel tips

The truth of the matter is, this year went by too fast as years normally do. Now that we're heading into the last month of 2014, we're left wondering where all the time went, what exactly we did with ourselves, and did we actually do anything about the past year's resolutions?   I'll be writing a 'looking back on 2014' post at the end of December, but I'd have to say I loved this year. It's been on of my favorites! I also have high hopes for 2015, and look forward to seeing what kind of opportunities come our way. The older I get the more I realize how short life is, and that makes me want to make sure I'm living it the best that I can. “I beg young people to travel. If you don’t have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack ... Read More

Travel Blogging + Marriage

Written by: Amanda // Category: Blogging, Travel Blogging

It's a rainy cold Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting here covered in blankets drinking spiked coffee; just your normal afternoon if you asked me. Some readers may get tricked into thinking I'm living back in the Northern Hemisphere where it is, indeed, almost winter. But nope, I'm sitting here in Spring/Summer New Zealand (which does not at all feel like Christmas)  watching the rain change from water to ice…to back to water again. Apparently we had this weather in for us after making the choice to live so far down south, but honestly we weren't even thinking about the weather when we chose this location. My only hope is that it's just the rainy season here and that sunshine and rainbows soon take over this cold mess of a month. We've had ... Read More

Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, Osaka, Japan

Written by: Amanda // Category: Japan

I can't believe it's been over a year since our last trip to Japan. Derik and I took a small trip over while were on vacation from teaching in Korea because of the Chuseok holiday. I've always meant to post about the gorgeous Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, but I never seemed to find the time. So here I am, over a year later, finally posting about it! Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of the oldest shrines in Japan, founded in the 3rd century. Yes, you read right, 3rd century!!!  If you're looking for a little peace and quiet, a breather from the hustle and bustle of busy Osaka, the quick trip via train may be just the thing! We visited the shrine on the most gorgeous day in the middle of the week, and literally only saw 3 or 4 other people ... Read More

Things I Find Strange About New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand

I'm sure all my Kiwi readers will pop up in the comments of this post, and my hope is I can give you all great laugh…or at least to crack a smile. The thing is, I'm not from your country, so obviously I'm going to find a few things strange about it, just like you would find strange in the United States. It's no secret I've fallen head-over-heels in love with New Zealand, but this little country does hold it's own when it comes to quirkiness. If you haven't been to here and get the opportunity to, you'll see that this country packs a punch with all things good, as well as a bit weird. Before we get started, you may have noticed I changed a few things up around here. I was hoping my last design would stay around a while, as I made it ... Read More

Pearl Harbor

Written by: Amanda // Category: hawaii, United States

Since today is Veteran's Day back in the U.S., it only seemed fitting to post something a bit patriotic. I already wrote from my heart on how I feel about Veteran's Day on Instagram, and from reading that you'll know I am very proud of our enlisted: past, present, and future. If you haven't thanked a veteran or a military service member yet for the things they have done for our country, you better get on it. Back in January we had the opportunity to tour Pearl Harbor during our time in Hawaii with my family. Both my father and my brother-in-law are currently serving in the military, and my brother is also quite the history buff, so visiting this historic site was top of our list. We spent about 3 hours walking though the visitor ... Read More

Five things you should do before you start traveling

Written by: Amanda // Category: travel tips

1. Get the larger passport book. There's probably a 50% chance that before you move abroad or start your international travels, you'll need to renew or apply for a passport. The standard issue passport book comes with 17 exit/entry visa pages, but believe it or not, there is an 'extended' passport book that can be given to you at no additional cost, with a whopping 43 exit/entry visa pages.  I'm just kicking myself that I didn't get one of the larger books when I renewed my passport after getting married; only four years in and I have only three pages left to fill. We all know how much of a headache getting a new passport book is! 2. Consolidate your things. I used to be a chronic over-packer. I was the girl that literally packed ... Read More

Tunnel Beach, Dunedin

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Photography

I'm convinced one of the most magical times of day is from sunrise-2 hours after. The sunlight, the dew still on the grass, sheep lazily soaking up the rays or grazing in the pasture (this applies only to NZ of course), and the sense of solitude as the world around you is still mostly asleep. I've been itching to get back out to Tunnel Beach here in Dunedin for quite some time, but it's been closed for lambing since August 31st. That's two whole months of waiting for the perfect day to trek the one hour long path down to one of the most breathtaking views in Dunedin. We're lucky to live an only 5 minute drive from Tunnel Beach, and I'm gearing myself up to wake up at the ungodly hour of 5:00am one of these weekends to go shoot the ... Read More

The 10 Stages of the Solo Road Trip

Written by: Amanda // Category: Guest Post

The past two years, I've had such lovely sponsors gracing me with their presence on my sidebar. I have enjoyed meeting new bloggers and discovering some of the best blogs to read. Jillian's blog is no acceptation. I am absolutely in love with her writing style, and she makes the most boring day-to-day activities interesting and fun. I couldn't be more excited to have her guest post for me, as I know you'll love her as much as I do! Be sure to drop by her blog, read a few more posts, have a laugh, and give her a comment or two to let her know you stopped by! Enjoy! ———————————————————————————— Once upon a time I moved from the deep suburbs of South Jordan, Utah to the salty paradise of Malibu, California. Let's see if I have ... Read More

Currently on Instagram

Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays, but the ones we get to take are oh so sweet. 

My daughters are now 2.5 years and 6 months old. Life never slows down, but only gets faster with each day we’re blessed to live. Social media may not be a part of my life how it used to be, and instead I’m working on living life intentionally each day as we raise our girls during these crazy times. 💕
2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
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