WAL Public Market

I've been seeing and hearing a lot about the WAL Public Market on R Street downtown lately. Recently I made my way down and spent the morning wandering through the shops. I've never spent much time in that area of downtown before, but I loved the vibe. It reminded me of the neighborhood the brewery was in Portland that I did my bike brew tour out of. The artists lofts just above the market looked dreamy. I'm a sucker for the old building/big windows/New Girl loft vibe. 

Inside there are several little shops and eateries. I browsed through Old Gold and found some cute greeting cards (especially the Spice Girls one, which I obviously bought!). 

Local artists were featured in the hallways

xxo

16 Days

I'm heading back to New York for a couple weeks in just 16 days...Feels like it'll take forever to get here since I'm not working right now. But I know time will fly and I'll be boarding my flight before I know it. 

I got in some quality FaceTime with the little this am. So thankful that I have her there to stay with and experience it with. She's been a friend to me since high school and continues to support and encourage me in all that I do.

I've also been feeling a bit anxious about all of the job searching I've been doing. Been looking and applying to jobs both here in California and in New York. Gotten a lot of "thank you for your interest but..." emails, a couple interviews, and a lot of waiting. It's really true what they say, that job hunting is a full time job. 

When I get to New York I want to really be there, body-mind-spirit. So maybe at least the first week I'm there I won't do any job hunting. I'll use that first week to explore and work on my thesis. Then I can get back into that headspace of looking for a job. But if there's one thing I've learned these past couple years traveling, it's that I won't enjoy myself if I'm moving too fast and trying to cram everything in to one trip.

Easy does it.

xxo

A Little Solitude in Auburn

About two months ago I went on my first backpacking trip with five incredible women. It was both fun and challenging, both physically and mentally. My favorite part was sitting on this rock formation in the middle of a river, just listening to the water as it rushed by. 

I regularly see pictures in my Instagram feed of day hikes and great destinations here in Northern California. So Wednesday I decided to look up hikes in the Auburn area. I found the Quarry Hike-Clementine Lake trail was deemed an "easy" hike and only about .5 miles long and I was out the door. 

This is one of my favorite shots. I started out the hike walking along that bridge above to get some cool shots of the river. And while I was up there I saw a runner cooling off down below in the water. I watched him climb back up (totally sounds creepier than it actually was...I realize that now), taking note of the path he took,  and then found my way down. 

After a couple long, hot hours in the sun I headed into Old Auburn to get a cold beer from Auburn Ale House. I've had their beer before, purchased from Whole Foods. But this was my first time to their restaurant and brewery. And it was delicious. Got a pilsner (or two) and some amazing "street tacos" from their menu.

I found these gems at a little shop in Old Auburn as well. On my last trip down to L.A. I took highway 1 and drove through Big Sur. I got a slightly larger quartz crystal in Big Sur and have kept it with me ever since. I take it to yoga, into interviews, when meditating or making a big decision...It's a tiny physical reminder to hope and wish and pray for the things that I need/want. 

xox

Rituals

About six months ago I began making it a habit to enjoy my first cup of coffee sitting on my couch without technological distractions. This little ritual has become an important way to start my day. It gives me the space and time (only about ten minutes) to really sit with myself and enjoy a simple cup of coffee. 

I've never been good at sitting still and slowing down. Most of my twenties has been jam packed with working multiple jobs and going to school. This down time in-between jobs is making me incredibly uncomfortable. But I've lived long enough to know that things will fall into place when they are supposed to. As my teacher says, the Universe is working for me, not against me.

xox

Seize The Day

Today is the first day of some weeks ahead of being unemployed...Two months ago I left working with the kids I nannied for almost five years. And just last Friday the summer camp I worked at ended. So now here I am, equal parts freaked out and thrilled at the idea of some time off.

I'm not typically an idle person. I thrive off of a busy schedule that has me leaving my house at 7:30am and not returning until 9pm. It's the life I've been living for the past seven years or so being in college and working multiple jobs to keep up. 

One of my favorite Dr. Seuss books is Oh the Places You'll Go. I love that it is encouraging, but also real, noting that sometimes you'll be down and out, and sometimes you won't know which way to go. But Dr. Seuss's explanation of "The Waiting Place" turns me off quite a bit. He explains it as a place that you never want to be in. You're just waiting around, not doing anything, perhaps waiting for someone else to do things for you. But to me there's a great deal to be learned in the waiting place. Here's the distinction: I've learned to wait patiently, and not in stagnation. 

My yoga practice has influenced this new perspective on waiting. I think it kind of goes along with the idea of being present, of tuning in to what is going on inside of you and around you at the present moment. Because if I'm always rushing from school to work, from obligation to obligation, how am I ever going to hear the still, small voice inside of me directing and encouraging me? 

So freaking much is unknown in my life right now. How long before I get a job? Will it be a job that fulfills me? Or will I need to put in more time working a menial job just to get to where I'm going? And by the way, WHERE exactly am I going?! Do I go to  New York to look for a job? Or do I go to New York for just a couple weeks to reconnect to myself and dedicate time to my thesis?...

It's a never ending track that runs in my mind and heart all day. But what I am committing to in these weeks of unemployment and unknown is that I will write every day, either in this blog platform, or on my thesis. A friend recently reminded me that yes, this plan of writing is adds a little bit of structure to my time off and that will benefit me. But she encouraged me to also appreciate and sit in the stillness, as it will be gone before I know it and I will be taken back up into the whirlwind of this path I'm on. 

So here's my mantra moving forward: 

Structure and Stillness

xxo