I’m so excited to finally be able to start writing again! These last few weeks have been jam packed, but I’m back 🙂 I wanted to share the last few days that I spent in San Diego with one of my best gal pals and biggest encouragement in my life, Erin Wiese. She’s also one of the most amazing photographers out there, so if you’re in San Diego hit her up here!
First of all, I want to speak to those out there who are wanderlusts at heart: GO. Don’t let the mundane routine that you feel like you’re stuck in stifle your dreams. If you have a longing to travel and see the world, find a way. Play hard and work harder is the motto here. I’m going to do a completely different post one day soon on the tools I use to find the cheapest flights, how I prepare, pack, etc!
I booked my trip to San Diego the week before. I had a lot going on and needed time to go and gain new perspective.
If you’re nosey like me, you see people traveling and wonder what the heck they do the whole time.
Here’s the break down of my entire trip!
DAY 1:
I booked a suuuuper early flight in the middle of the week. I was in San Diego by 8am. If you have little-to-nothing planned, I would highly recommend this. The whole point of me taking the trip was to kind of unwind and navigate my way through some things I’d been dealing with over the last few weeks. What better place than the west coast while it’s pouring down rain the entire time at home?
As soon as I got to Erin’s apartment, we quickly gave each other a recap of what had been going on in the other’s lives aaaaand then went straight to the beach, which is a 3 minute walk from her place (!!!). My goal was to truly quiet my mind. I put my phone away, and took everything in around me. We laid out for a few hours (got the world’s most intense sun burn), then went exploring in the neighborhood and found smoothies!
Later that afternoon, we went to the market in Ocean Beach that they have in town every Wednesday. They have fresh flowers, homegrown fruit and veggies, food trucks, live music, and SO MANY DOGS. I was in heaven.
Here are the two things I got at the market that I cannot get over:
First, I came across this booth and saw the most perfect sweatshirt. A hand-sewn sweatshirt made out of scrap pieces of other sweatshirts. I know, right?! Â At first I was like, do I really need a millionth sweatshirt to add to my collection? Answer: of course I freaking do.
I met the owner of the company, and she was the BEST! She also makes other amazing hand-made pieces like t-shirts and flannels. Super unique. You can check out her Instagram @_empulse_  or her website here.
Next, I got some sort of heavenly, healthy bar. I don’t know how else to explain it other than it tastes like a candy bar but somehow it’s healthy and all natural.
When I got home I was craving them so naturally I got on their website and ordered an entire case. You can find them here!
After the market we went to the most amazing walk-in candy bar I’ve ever been to. Candy everywhere. Heart full of joy.
DAY 2:
We wake up. MURKED by sunburn and sickness. We walk to the nearest coffee shop, fill our souls will caffeine, take some Zyrtec, and send up prayers. Erin has a hot yoga place down the street that she loves to go to, so off we went! If you’ve never done hot yoga let me help you understand this – it’s basically an hour of doing a lot of difficult movements in a sauna. You’re pouring sweat and wondering why you don’t practice turning yourself into a pretzel in your downtime. Hear me out on this too if you were raised by incredibly strict parents – I know there is a lot of religious talk about yoga being “of the devil” as my Nana used to say, but like most things, it’s what you make it. I usually spend my time praying and trying to relax when I don’t feel like my back is about to snap in half from the pose I’m trying to do.
Disclaimer: I am in no way a yoga professional. I’m not the biggest yogi out there, and I’m hands-down the least flexible person God ever created, but to each their own! I love trying new things and I encourage others to live outside of their comfort zones as well.
After yoga, we went home and showered. Still murked by sickness, we kind of laid around for the afternoon. I read a little in my book, and tried to let my body continue to rest. That evening we gave ourselves a little pep talk and went to shoot and get content (aka, we took pictures). After we took pictures, we went back to the dreamy candy store and decided to eat all the sweets and watch murder documentaries for the rest of the night.
DAY 3:
We woke up and went to the cuuuutiest little brunch place ever, The Fig Tree Cafe! The atmosphere was amazing and I got the best fresh squeezed OJ of all time. Big breakfast win.
We pretty much spent the entire last day shooting a ton of content and exploring the neighborhood. That evening, we watched the sunset from Ocean Beach and went to the grocery store and got stuff to make dinner! We talked about dreams we have for the future, how to deal with current conflicts in our lives, and lessons we’ve learned from overcoming similar issues in the past.
My Biggest Takeaway:
That night, we listened to a podcast from a sermon I literally stumbled across while I was on Twitter. It was talking about how to deal with life when you’re feeling undervalued. This was HUGE for me to come across. I think so many times in life I can get caught up in wanting approval from certain people that if I don’t get it, I’m crushed. The message was talking about shifting your mindset from needing the approval of others, to doing things unto the Lord instead. This eliminates the possibility of others making you feel inadequate, because you’re not living to please them anyway. Something huge that stuck out to me was that when you feel undervalued, perform on purpose not for approval. Make what you do matter. Not because you’re getting a pat on the back or a “great job!”, but because you know you’re right where God wants you and he called you to be there. That being said, whenever God calls you, he equips you in the process. You can watch the entire sermon here.
All in all, it was an amazing trip that was just what I needed to unwind, and refocus.
You Stay Classy, San Diego.
X,