Living in Another Language

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A Visit to Berchtesgaden, Germany

Written by: Amanda // Category: Germany, Photojournalism, Travel

Derik and I knew we wanted to take an cool trip somewhere in Germany over Memorial Day, but we didn’t realize how epic Berchtesgaden was going to be until we drove into town. It’s hard to get a genuine feel for a place by looking at Google images, and honestly half the time the images found are only of the most scenic and picturesque locations, and sometimes the rest of the area can be rather drab and boring. Not Berchtesgaden. This sleepy little ski-town is home to some of the most gorgeous landscape views in Germany (personal opinion but should be straight fact), and part of me kind of wishes to keep it all to myself and not share it with you guys. I like the fact that it wasn’t overly polluted with tourists for being a destination ... Read More

A Day in Ruedesheim

Written by: Amanda // Category: Germany, Photojournalism

You may have already noticed on Instagram and Facebook, but we're in Germany! We couldn't be more excited to spend a couple months with my sister, brother-in-law, and our two adorable little nieces (stationed here with the U.S. military). As the weather has started to cool, we've been enjoying the great outdoors as much as possible! I'm still bogged down with work, so that hinders me from permanently living outside (I have an insane amount of content to share with you from New Zealand, Bali, Italy, and Croatia). We decided to take a trip to Ruedesheim (Rhine River — wine country) yesterday after the weather once again pulled out for the win. As we arrived at one of the many parking areas in Ruedesheim, I couldn't have been more ... Read More

Aurora Australis in New Zealand

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

I've been researching the Aurora Australis since before we moved to New Zealand. I was lucky enough to have spent some of my childhood in Alaska, and because of that I grew up watching the beautiful Aurora Borealis so close to me I felt like I could touch it. When I found out the Southern Hemisphere delivered the same phenomenon (just not so close or visible), I knew I just had to try and photograph it. The Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) are a bit rarer to view down here than the big Borealis is, and many people joke that Australis is Borealis' ugly stepsister. I feel like the poor Australis gets a lot of flack for it, but it's only because where New Zealand (and Australia) sit on the map degree-wise is quite a bit different than ... Read More

Sunrise at St Clair Beach, Dunedin

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

One of my favorite things about living directly on the east coast of New Zealand is the incredible sunrises I get to experience almost every day. The summer days are long, and the sun appears bright and early (5am early). One of my favorite things to do is go out by myself and experience the sunrise in different locations across Dunedin. With a variety of beach locations (Tunnel Beach and Sandfly Bay are some of my favorites), the Moeraki Boulders an hour and a half north,  and Nugget Point an hour and a half south, I've got my work cut out for me photographing these early mornings. Derik and I are a one car family, so I typically have to wait until the weekends, when Derik isn't working, if I want to see the sunrise from a different ... Read More

The Lunar Eclipse

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

I meant to write this post shortly after October 8th, but time got away from me. October 8th was a significant day for two reasons, one being the lunar eclipse (blood moon) that happened late in the evening (my time) or maybe early morning yours. The second significance? It was my 26th birthday. I was actually pretty bummed during the day because I thought my husband forgot my birthday, and I didn't have a single person to go out and celebrate with. But no, I was being overdramatic for nothing, because he came home with chocolates, beautiful brown orchids (seriously they're so pretty), and a dinner reservation at a local Thai restaurant. My day immediately did a 180 degree turn, and I thoroughly enjoyed rest of my birthday with ... Read More

Long Neck Karen Tribe

Written by: Amanda // Category: Photography, Photojournalism, Thailand

I just met some of the most beautiful women on earth. Sure not in your 'modern' sense of beautiful, but the ladies of the Long Neck Karen Tribe are far more attractive to me than anyone I see all photoshopped up in Cosmo. I'm fascinated by people. I've always enjoyed reading National Geographic since I was a little girl, and I distinctly remember a story covering the Long Neck Tribe so many years ago. I would have never dreamed I'd get to meet them in real life. Yes, there are men in the tribe as well, they're mostly field-workers, and are rarely seen by tourists (and do NOT wear the brass rings). The Long Neck ladies start wearing heavy brass rings around their necks (and ankles) from a very young age, most likely around 3-5 years old. ... Read More

The temple on the sea

Written by: Amanda // Category: Photography, Photojournalism, South Korea

Notice anything different around here? Yeah, my last design didn't stick around too long. I'm very indecisive on certain things, and when I don't have it exactly the way I want, I change. :) This new design is a product of my curiosity as I dove head first into html and css coding, as well as my 'wanting something better' mindset. I'd have to say I'm loving the process of learning blog design! Each time I make a new layout for my blog, I learn more and more. Thanks for being patient readers and rolling with the flow. A couple of weekends ago I was asked to go on an impromptu girls trip to Busan. We had little to no agenda, and it was fun figuring out things to do on the fly! You may have read earlier, but we went to a cat cafe (yeah if ... Read More

Currently on Instagram

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. 💕
Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a coup Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a couple days enjoying the beautiful weather in the land of chocolate, cheese, mountains, and cows with bells 😍😍🤩. If you remember, we visited the same area  a month shy of two years ago but but the weather was quite the opposite! I’d have to say though, when you visit such a majestic and beautiful area, it doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re going to be in awe and love it anyway!
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