honey, hunny.

lately i am grateful for breakfast. simple, right? it is without a doubt my favorite meal of the day. followed by snack time, of course. i prefer breakfast as my one big meal, and snacks throughout the rest of the day, though it doesn't always pan out that way. anyhow, here's what i've been loving...

gluten-free toast or rice cakes with peanut butter or sunflower butter and sliced banana, drizzled with honey. and oh boy! have i told you my recent obsession with honey, hunny? i can't get enough {i think it started with the whole tea thing}. also, a side of blueberries, an apricot, and english breakfast tea with lemon.

perfection in a meal. can't wait until the morning! sweet dreams you little hunnybees.

my story.

we all know my thing with telling our stories, and that each of us has our own one to share. well today, when one of my favorite teachers hosted a workshop about rewriting our own stories, my yoga and writing worlds pretty much collided.

i learned that the stories we've lived in all along... the ones of our past... don't necessarily have to be the ones we choose to live with in our present. dreams can become reality, and it is possible to let go of preconceived notions that do not serve us in order to step into new territory and embrace what is.

i left with a little more courage than i had when i walked through the door. and, doing yoga while blindfolded channeled a deep trust in myself that i didn't know existed... as if no matter what happens throughout life i can tap into my inner strength and find balance.

i also brought home two lovely drawings, which may remind you of this one. i love a good crayon session. in summary, my visualizations consist of breaking out of my comfort zone, being the free-spirit i know that i am, and floating on a river of joy that consistently flows through my open heart.

wherever you go, go with all your heart.

~confucius

as i'm in the thick of understanding what my next chapter is, this will be my mantra.

wave.

so i have this thing for airports {i sure have been in my fair share lately}. i love them. i know i know what you're thinking... even with how difficult it is to get through security lines these days? 

but i'll tell you what, it's part of the experience. i tend to focus on the people watching. the acts of love. the reuniting and the parting of ways. we all have a story... a connection to another... and airports bring out our most vulnerable selves in those moments of hello and goodbye.

i bet this reminds you of a popular quote in one of the best romantic comedies of all time, love actually.

i had a unique experience at jfk this past weekend. my flight happened to be departing within ten minutes of one to india. and oh boy the lines! this plane must have been huge! at first i was annoyed with the amount of people blocking the security line entrance. get a move on! but the longer i observed why they were hovering, the more i realized the heartwarming event that was happening amongst these families.

clearly, loved ones were departing for india and relatives remained behind to send them off. i mean, who does that anymore? my mind immediately went to... they parked? is this taking up their entire day? how much money are they wasting? but see, i realized in that moment that it doesn't matter. i am not exaggerating when i say that every five seconds what looked like a set of older parents turned to wave to their grown-up kids. wave, pause, wave. over and over again. wheel luggage forward, wave. check id, wave. oh just one more wave goodbye...

and, the man in front of me abandoned his luggage to go back and get one last wave goodbye to what looked like his wife and kids. i learned a great lesson here. time is precious. treat the ones you love with the utmost level of respectful love you can possibly give. because, they deserve it. and you just never know when you will see them next.

in light of a horrific tragedy that recently happened in my hometown in which one of my best childhood friends lost both of her parents, this was a timely lesson. say what you need to say, always. tell the ones you love that you love them over and over again. and show it, too, with one more wave.

*quotes, my instagram sitting outside the san airport, hand to hand.

my oh my.

so i saw tristan prettyman perform live last night. you may have heard me mention her a time or two {or three or four! my gosh, i guess she's up there in my book!}.

...and then we met her! {i just love that sentence. i could say it over and over}. we kind of even became friends for a minute or two. like real-life chats. i even told her a snippet of this story.

long story short {even though short stories aren't my forté}, due to the wonderful world of social networks {á la instagram, twitter, facebook, and tumblr} i saw that she was in san francisco playing a "private event" at cafe du nord. and, do you know what i said to that, dolls? private schhhhmivate. we went. and the bouncer {who should absolutely be kept employed there} let two innocent girls not on said list right on in. man do i owe him.

turns out, it was a small gathering organized by her record label. translation: we had no business being there. but sometimes at the right moments in life, that universe is really just on your side.

she loved our crashing the party story so much so that we paused for an instagram pic. did you hear that? an instragram pic! {i mean... you know i think there is no better invention than instagram!} we even got some sweet comments.

tp and i, i feel like we would be pretty great pals. sometimes you just know. ya know? it kind of hit me that i have so many empowering, kickass, kind, good-hearted, fun, and grounded girlfriends surrounding me. tp would undoubtedly be one of them.

wow, this is so far up there on experiences i am grateful for. top ten, for sure. check out her new album - cedar & gold - coming out this fall. she just released her first song, my oh my. so good, sooo gooooood!

endearment.

if i could, i would address everyone with a term of endearment. i mean, why not, right? it would make life that much sweeter.

while trying to fall asleep last night, i came up with my list of favorites {because what else should you fall asleep thinking about?}.

my sweets.

doll. / dollface. / babydoll.

love. / lovebug.

dreamboat.

hun. / hunny. / honeypie.

pumpkin.

darling.

dearest.

sometimes i feel like i truly belong in the south. maybe someday...

i hope i meet someone who will let me playfully call him all of these silly names. just to burst out in a fit of laughter or challenge me to an endearment war.

hugs to you, my dreamboats.

*pic taken with my instagram. a simple paper gifted to me by a "dear" friend.

only love.

i've been out of touch, my loves. and, i attribute that mostly to not being in a normal routine. instead, there's been lots of movement and quality time and well... just summer. there's more than enough goodness to write about, with so little free time to write it.

it makes me think about the ebb and flow of life. the phases, the busy-ness, the downtime. they all balance each other out. we must take care of ourselves along the way.

as of late, i've learned that tea can sometimes be the best medicine. i've drank more hot tea in the past two weeks than i have in my whole life. and i feel comforted by the warmth. things are a-shiftin' and i feel so blessed to be riding this wave of self-discovery.

i'm overwhelmed with a sense of fullness - much like a warm cup of tea - which best describes this uncharted territory. one sip of this higher-level of understanding and i'm pleased to my core, my heart expanding to fit only love. there is only space for love.

*i knew i pinned this weeks ago with a post in mind.

oh hi, seattle.

i was lucky enough to be able to travel to seattle for the first time this past week. and, i really want to be consciously aware of the luck in this trip. thank you, work. oh how i've been pining to get to the pacific northwest! even though i was pretty under the weather {and no pun intended due to the seattle climate} i was still able to enjoy a few hours of adventuring.

mostly i felt wrapped in a big hug by seattle. it's cozy, mystical, and green. with the space needle on the horizon, i sat on the courthouse steps eating lunch, trying to soak in what vitamin d i could, and i had this thought about traveling...

sometimes the best part is just existing in a new city by yourself. picking a place - whether it be a park bench, a coffee shop, or those courthouse steps - immersing yourself in it and pretending you are a true city dweller just for the day. what would it be like to live here? you ask yourself.

no one knows who you are, and the anonymity is oddly comforting and freeing at the same time. i believe you learn a lot about yourself when you don't know a soul. what direction will i walk? what exchanges will i have with strangers? what will i fill my day with? it's fascinating what one can discover about oneself on a solo traveling adventure. the key is to have an open heart and a genuine awareness {gosh, those keys certainly sound familiar}.

i wish a good independent trip upon you soon. xoxo.