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I'm really thrilled to have my story of evolution published on the VSCO journal.
It was born out of my California road trip with Shelter Social Club and Taylor Stitch.
It's amazing how much we evolve (or don't) as people and creatives in a lifetime.
"So how do we evolve? Simply by doing. When we do what we love, evolution becomes less of a goal and instead a place where we arrive.”
READ THE FULL STORY ON THE VSCO JOURNAL
Follow me on the VSCO grid at nomadic-habit.vsco.co
I just got back from a week of crawling up the California Coast in partnership with Shelter Social Club and Taylor Stitch. If you have not heard of Shelter Social Club, now is the time to get acquainted. Comprised of 4 locations (Ojai, Santa Barbara, Solvang, & Los Alamos), Shelter Social Club takes old motels in need of some love and updates them in a way that creates the ultimate curated lodging experience. The accommodations are quaint, cozy, and hip. Each place is unique with a specific charm, just like their employees. I had the opportunity to photograph employees in San Francisco based Taylor Stitch threads which only highlighted each of their personalities. I edited all images with VSCO and uploaded previews in real time on my VSCO grid and on instagram. As I made my way in between the locations, I stopped to document the amazing California coast. Here is just a preview of what the last week has been like and the amazing people I met along the way.
Joya + White Aiden Tee
Ariane + Orange Midi Skirt
Wendy + White Caroline Shirt
Ryan + Light Indigo Star Jack
Tyler + Ash Brushed Twill Jack
Jessy + White Caroline Shirt
Angie + Grey Aiden Tee
I'm heading off for a week long solo CA road trip.
Follow my instagram @nomadic_habit to see it unfold in real time.
Bringing along my Manhattan Portage bag to take care of all my photo gear.
Remember mid way through my trip when I had posted this? My journey was plotted through family ties and after Finland I had completed photographing my mother's side. I left the trip, then headed back out to Indonesia and Australia to finish out my initial project to capture my entire family. I'm super late on editing the second part of my journey in regards to my family faces project but here are a few teasers.
My oh my, what beautiful people I share bloodlines with.
Sometimes the greatest journeys we take are internal ones. This blog has been so much about external journeys, places my feet have taken me, and things I have seen, but sometimes it's the journeys within that are most potent.
So here, I explore my inner landscape of pain, vulnerability, heartache, and fear. While I have seen a lot, done a lot, and have been brave in many ways, at the end of the day, I am still human and I still don't have it all figured out.
I present to you...
Part video, part words, part images.
I guess it never gets easier. I guess life is about leaping from one ache to another. It’s about fragility and strength. Bending for both. It’s about breaking. Breaking patterns and breaking hearts and breaking down. And sometimes it feels impossible to do anything but. Sometimes strength feels like such a foreign concept. A distant memory or idea that you can’t find because you don’t remember what it looks like, you don’t remember what it feels like. Clarity becomes a blurry sensation. Wishing for eagle eyes but feeling blind as a bat. How to focus when optics don’t feel optimal? When life feels cruel, when hearts bleed? How to feel vulnerable and bare without committing soul suicide? How do we break down walls and lean on each other? Where do we put the damage? Hide the damage? Clean up the damage and then let go of it? We can never really separate ourselves from our experiences but how can we not let them destroy us? When we are raw, how do we thaw those frozen parts of us? Those cold parts of us? Are there ever really answers? Probably not. But I keep asking them nevertheless. Hoping that through the questions I’ll find that foreign concept of strength hidden between the lines, lodged in between words, and maybe through the pain, I might find a moment of clarity. Even if it’s just a moment.
View the entire gallery by clicking here.
Last time I was in NYC was in August. It was warm, sticky, and hot. Landing back in NYC in mid-January I was reminded of that kind of cold that had me saying good riddance to New York in 2013. Even though the winter had me yearning for the west coast, I remembered all the things I love about New York. If anything, I felt right at home. It even smelled the same. (Good and bad).
I went to NYC for some serious El Camino hustle. My cofounder and I attended the Young Travel Professionals Travel Future Lab which was filled with innovative minds and creative energy focused around the travel industry. The following week we headed over to the NY Times Travel show where the networking continued. Post show, we got down at the after party at The Hudson Hotel. Like really got down. Proof is in the photo below.
My time in NYC though a bit frigid, was lovely. Below are some snapshots from my beloved New York as well as a feature on my new girl crush, Haruka of The Denizen Co.
I may have mentioned in the past my love for the randomness of instagram. Haruka of The Denizen Co is exactly why I love meeting up with other instagrammers I admire. Her and I follow each other on instagram and made plans to meet up for brunch in Bushwick, Brooklyn when I was in town. It was raining, but it didn't matter. I spotted her right off the train and we walked into brunch together. We sat, chatted, shared stories, and next thing we knew it was 4 hours later. Time had escaped us. I love when you get so lost in conversation that time becomes irrelevant. She has an amazing eye and a contagious energy and everything about our time together was so effortless. After filling our bellies, we stepped out into the rain and snapped a few photos. This surely will not be our last stint of time we spend together. This I know.
So thanks NYC, you were brilliant and I escaped just before the blizzard.
Where is Los Alamos?
Los Alamos, California is part of Santa Barbara county and often thought of as part of the Santa Ynez Valley.
I was lucky enough to tag along with the crew from Mosey (what a good looking crew above) for a weekend retreat at The Alamo Motel, which is part of the Shelter Social Club. The renovations are still in progress and we were lucky enough to peek in at the progress. Los Alamos is a sleepy, historic town which makes for a perfect weekend getaway. The action is concentrated and primarily all on one major strip which makes it easy to get around on foot.
Headed that way?
STAY:
EAT:
Breakfast : Bob's Well Bread Bakery
Lunch: Bell Street Farm
Dinner: Full of Life Flatbread
DRINK:
Thanks again for the crew at Mosey and Shelter Social Club for such a great weekend!
Want to be in the know of what's cool locally? Download the MOSEY app here + follow them on instagram @wemosey.
Mosey has micro-guides in 80+ countries and 2500+ cities.
Go on a mosey.
So 2014 is behind me. I crossed many things off my bucket list last year and finished off my epic trip. So what is there to look forward to in 2015? Will I boarding planes left and right? The answer is yes. I'm heading to NYC this week for a few travel conferences for El Camino and will be gearing up for our trip back to Nicaragua in March. SIGN UP HERE. As the resident photographer, I will be documenting the entire trip!
Beyond that, I'm currently based between LA and SF. So still very much living in and out of a suitcase. It's the first year I'll call California home since 2006. It feels great to be back. I've been rediscovering the beauty of the California left and right.
So here I come 2015, swinging at the world like a piñata, hoping to collect the riches at the core.
Have you heard of a sleepy town called Los Alamos in California? Find out just how cute it is in the next post.
After we wrapped the El Camino trip, my co-founder + our babes hopped over to the Corn Islands off the coast of Nicaragua on the Caribbean side. The best way to get there is to fly from Managua to Big Corn on La Costeña.
The Corn Islands are comprised of Big Corn and Little Corn. We stayed on Big Corn at Paraiso Club and hopped over to Little Corn for the day. If you are planning a visit, I suggest staying on Little Corn as it's a bit more quaint but be prepared for a rough boat ride from Big Corn if the sea is choppy. Let's just say I was planning my escape plan should the boat flip over.
Want to learn more about the Corn Islands? Check out this article.
El Camino finished off our epic Nicaragua trip at Popoyo Beach with an amazing view from Magnific Rock. We spent the last two nights taking in the last of the sun, squeezing in a last few surf sessions, and relaxing before boarding a plane back to reality. Interested in joining our next adventure?
What an amazing trip. Can't wait to go back in March.
The next stop on our El Camino trip was the colonial town of Granada where we relaxed at Tribal Hotel, learned how to roll cigars, and shopped local crafts at Masaya Market. In addition, we collaborated with the vivacious ladies of Tinsel & Twine to organize an unforgettable dinner that honored local social entrepreneurs Carla Estrada and Sonia Diaz of Grid Alternatives. 10% of our profits went to the cause.
Our next and last stop? Popoyo!!! Stay tuned!
If you've been following my blog, you know that this past summer I co-launched a travel company called El Camino with this girl below (Katalina Mayorga).
El Camino is a travel company that curates off-beat experiences for groups of 10-12 people to unique locations. The trips all come with a creative photographer in tow, so that travelers can thoroughly enjoy the experiences. In addition, 10% of profits are donated to a local social entrepreneur who is trying to change the country. 
We wrapped our inaugural trip to Nicaragua this past November with eleven amazing travelers. Travelers arrived at Maderas Village just outside of San Juan Del Sur to find themselves in lush treehouse type lodging among the canopy and howler monkeys. We spent 4 nights here where we surfed Maderas Beach, chowed on tacos, went on a catamaran tour, swam to deserted beaches, and learned how to fish the local way. Learn about out Nicaragua itinerary here. Love what you see? We had so much fun that we are doing it again in 2015. Join the adventure. Sign up and put your deposit down for our March and April trips here.
Don't forget to follow El Camino on instagram // @elcamino.travel
Who wants to win a pair of shoes from the Sanuk Kat Collection? My friend and fellow blogger Ana who is behind Fluxi on Tour graciously played model for me in Hayes Valley, San Francisco for this fun Sanuk shoot.
So how do you win a pair? Where in the world would you want to wear your new pair? Head over to instagram and post a picture of where you would rock your new pair of shoes with the hashtag #nomadicKat.
Winner will be announced just before Santa arrives. (12/23/14)
In the mean time, enjoy these images that feature the Katlash style in red. 
Now that I have wrapped up Australia, I have officially closed a chapter. I started this blog with the intention of charting a 1.5 year trip around the world. I left New York City in May of 2013 with a backpack and a dream. I left on the trip with someone and finished it on my own. If you have followed my course, you will know that I made it through almost a year when I left out of Vietnam to head to LA to care for a sick mother and sever a relationship that had runs its’ course.
Within that year I had touched the Berlin Wall, saw the midnight sun in the Arctic Circle, ate reindeer, marveled at Red Square, hopped the Trans-Siberian Railway, dipped in the oldest and deepest lake in the world, slept among nomads in Mongolia, rode camels, rode horses, milked goats, drank fermented mare’s milk, climbed the sand dunes in the Gobi Desert, saw the Taj Mahal, got Delhi Belly, got grabbed, got amazing photos, got eaten alive by mosquitoes, ached for a comfortable bed, wailed for a hot shower, laughed, cried, hunted for Buddha’s tooth, saw blue whales, went for my first scuba dive, island hopped, rode bikes, rode tuk tuk’s, lost clothes, lost my mind, lost faith, broke bread, broke my heart, cut clothes, cut ties, made connections, acknowledged disconnections, wrote words, spat words, held words, felt strong, felt weak, felt big, felt small, carried gear, carried thoughts, carried baggage, threw clothes, threw fits, almost threw up, almost quit the trip several times over, wanted to escape the escape, loved moments, hated moments, was blown away, enamored, shattered, in awe, in pieces, complete, completely unsure, 100% sure, surely wrecked, surely aware, acutely aware, and there at the Ho Chi Minh airport in April of this year, I said goodbye to that part of the journey.
When I got to LA, I vowed to finish the end of the trip on my own once my mom was well enough. At least finish seeing the last of my family, which I hadn’t made it to, whom reside in Indonesia and Australia.
The summer was full of reinvention and transformation during a time of tough circumstances.
As summer closed, I boarded another plane as a different woman. Off to finish what I had started. I traveled through Indonesia and Australia for six weeks. Zigzagging among family and beautiful landscape. I was open and brave in ways I wasn’t before. My heart was full. It was glorious. I had originally planned on New Zealand after Australia, but my heart had other ideas. I changed my ticket with chance in mind and found myself in San Francisco shortly thereafter.
As the trip came to a close, it was bittersweet. This specific journey was over, yet I was thrilled for the next chapter! It has been amazing to share this specific journey with you and I can't wait to share what's to come. Thanks for all the support. During the next month, Nomadic Habit will be taking on new shape and I can't wait to reveal Nomadic Habit version 2.0.
Of the 10,963 photos I currently have from 17 countries, I wanted to share one image from each country that I haven't yet shared in honor of this journey. I hope you enjoy.
THAT'S A WRAP! I DID IT!
What an amazing adventure. I will never be the same. Just wait until you see what I have up my sleeve.
To all my male readers and female readers who have stylish men in their lives, I'd like to introduce you to Owen & Fred. Maybe what I love most is the fact they operate out of the Pencil Factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (My old stomping grounds). If you are looking for the perfect gift for your travel savvy and stylish dude, consider stuffing those stockings with Owen & Fred. Here, the navy duffel proved perfect for a weekend getaway to Sonoma. 
PS- They don't stop at just bags.
I love their personalized luggage tags and all these great home goods.
Get shopping. X-mas is on the way!
After Sydney, I hopped a flight over to Melbourne and stayed with my aunt who lives just outside of the city. It had been a few years since I had seen her and in true family fashion, she fed me to death. Beyond her amazing cooking, she also fed me family stories and I was hungry for them. She showed me old photos (See my grandfather below who passed before I was born) and showed me family heirlooms, one of which was a tiger's tooth that I packed with me. It was some serious family bonding time. 
Before getting to Melbourne, another photographer who had seen my feature on Need Supply had reached out to me. He offered to give me a tour of the city, which I happily accepted. Thanks Zaldy! We museum hopped, graffiti gazed, nibbled on waffles, and window shopped. It was amazing. I've heard a few times that Melbourne has hints of Brooklyn and having lived in Brooklyn for six years, I have to say there were moments of feeling like home.
Thanks again to Zaldy who was the ultimate tour guide.
The cousins and I packed up for a little getaway to the Blue Mountains. Where does the term Blue Mountains come from?
It is derived from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance. The tinge is believed to be caused by mie scattering which occurs when incoming ultraviolet radiation is scattered by particles within the atmosphere creating a blue-greyish colour to any distant objects, including mountains and clouds. Volatile terpenoids emitted in large quantities by the abundant eucalyptus trees in the Blue Mountains may cause mie scattering and thus the blue haze for which the mountains were named. ~ Wikipedia
It is pretty incredible. We posted up in a nearby cabin after taking in the views and the following day we checked out the Jenolan Caves nearby which also blew my mind. Only 50 km outside Sydney, the Blue Mountains is a must see if you are passing through the capital.
In other news, the selfie rod is successful for family photos.
So let's just say I'm running a little behind. It is nearly Thanksgiving and I was in Australia in September. Oops. Life has thankfully been really full the last few months but now it's time to play catch up!
I spent some time in Sydney to hang with my Aussie fam, but of course found some time to take some shots. I hadn't been to Australia since I was around 5 years old, so it felt very much like I was seeing the city for the first time.
While in Sydney, it was a real treat to be a guest on the Wanderlust segment of Bondi Beach Radio. The host Katie Mayors (@katiemayors) and I first collided over instagram and then invited me to the show when she heard I was heading her way. You can listen to the podcast here. (I come in around the 1:18 mark) Thanks Katie!
Next post?
Camping with the cousins.
I just got back from an epic first trip to Nicaragua for my company El Camino (@elcaminotravel) and it was amazing! I packed my Kestrel Bag to foreign lands which proved to be the perfect passport holder. This clutch crossed oceans, borders, and time zones and of course did it all in style. Here it's featured in the lovely Corn Islands of Nicaragua.
Looking for that perfect x-mas gift for your friends who love to travel in style? KESTREL BAGS is your answer.
You too can travel in style. Kestrel Bags is giving away this amazing duo zip jewel box to one lucky Nomadic-Habit fan. How do you win? Details below!
So how do you win this lovely duo zip pictured above?
Sign up for Nomadic-Habit's mailing list and automatically be entered to win. If you are already subscribed, you are automatically entered to win.
[su_button url="http://eepurl.com/U3PCX" style="flat" background="#3f3f3f" size="7"]ENTER TO WIN![/su_button]
Don't forget to follow Kestrel Bags on social media
GIVEAWAY ENDS NOV 30, 2015 + WINNER WILL BE CONTACTED BY EMAIL ON DEC 1, 2015
Before I dive deep into Australia, I wanted to quickly post about how my travel company El Camino is currently in Nicaragua for our first tour which starts tomorrow!!! It's going to be amazing. Watch it unfold live on instagram (@elcaminotravel) and follow the hashtag #elcaminotravel.
Just a few teasers to get your wanderlust in full swing.
My co-founder and I have been in Nicaragua the past few days getting it all in order and scouting the country. Que linda.
