Hello everyone! Welcome to this month’s photo diary. October is my second favorite month, my first being of course my birthday month. I love that it’s finally fall time, except for the fact that in both Texas and California there really is no fall, it’s just still hot. Luckily, for the first few days of October, I got to experience an actual fall climate in Oregon! More on that later because I’m still working on those posts. So, keep reading to see my October adventures.

As I said, Lyle and I spent the first few days of October in Oregon. When we got back, I immediately went back to work. That being said, I worked a TON this month, again. YAY money, BOO always tired. I made sure to treasure my days off and treat myself to some relaxation.

One highlight of the month was another trip to Disneyland with a million thanks to Marissa! I’ve always wanted to visit Disneyland during Halloween and I’m so happy I finally got to check this off
my bucket list. We went during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and it was so much fun!

  

    

There were so many trick or treating trails and you better believe we hit all of them. Also, Marissa enjoys spending her time at Disneyland waiting in the crazy long lines to meet characters, something I haven’t done since I was 5. So of course, we waited to meet Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit.

  

Another thing that I haven’t done in a long time was sit and watch the fireworks and parade. I have to say, although I’m not a fan of sitting around, I enjoyed watching them this time. It was nice to do something different there.

 

Of course, I’m that girl that takes my dog to the pumpkin patch just to take some cute pictures. I honestly felt like a mom trying to get the attention of a 3 year old. Which, thinking back, was pretty much the case considering Sadie turned 3 this month! Her attention span for the pumpkin patch was about 20 minutes and then she was ready to go home.

  

  

Last but not least there’s Halloween weekend. Lyle and I went to a family party and decided to be Little Red Riding Hood & The Big Bad Wolf. I was pretty excited that Lyle was willing to let me put makeup all over his face. Not so bad for some last minute costumes, huh?

As far as Halloween day, I spent it laying around with Sadie watching the Halloween marathon on AMC and working on blogposts. I also spent a good amount of time deleting photos off my phone. I swear I’m a photo hoarder and it’s so hard to part with them, even if they are backed up somewhere else. I’m awful.

Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoyed this month’s photo diaries! I still have some blogposts from our Portland trip coming up so be on the lookout for those! Thanks for reading!

Hey, y’all! So as you’re reading this, Lyle and I are galavanting around Portland, Oregon. I’m pretty excited because this city has been on my “To Visit” list for a few years now. *EDIT* This blogpost WAS supposed to go up while we were away, but unfortunately it didn’t post as scheduled. But, that’s not what this blogpost is about! Today’s post is all about what I was up to during the month of September. So, let’s get into it.

I’ll start off by saying that I honestly didn’t get to do too much. I worked quite a bit this month and while that may have been awesome for my bank account, it definitely was not good for my soul. There were days where I felt so uninspired and stuck. I was upset that I didn’t have any content to work on and that drove me crazy. I tried to make the best of all my days this month by being thankful I worked as much as I did, enjoying the days I was able to do something, and enjoying the few days I had off to do absolutely nothing but relax and unwind.

In the beginning of September, Lyle’s best friend Alex came into town with his girlfriend Zoe! They came out on a road trip to celebrate his birthday and spent a few days with us. We showed them around as much of LA as we could and we had to take them to California Donuts! After a few days of hanging out around LA, they left and went on to visit Yosemite.

The only other outing I had was a day out with Marissa. I had picked her up from her apartment to spend the night with us before the fair and we had decided to run a few errands. Honestly, I feel like our outings are pretty typical; a day that includes some food, coffee and dessert. Of course, some shopping is always involved at some point.

I know I didn’t get into too many shenanigans this month but I hope you enjoyed reading regardless! It was tough but I needed to save some energy and money for Portland! We’re super excited to be exploring out here! Some blogposts are semi in the works so be on the lookout for those in the next few weeks! Oh look, another exclamation mark! Until next time, xo 🙂

I did one of the scariest things I’ve ever had to do. I packed up my things and moved across the country to California with Lyle. We both felt like it was something that needed to be done to further our careers.

This new journey of our lives started on the morning of October 6, 2015. We packed up Lyle’s car and  headed to West Texas. I was ready for something new but I wasn’t ready to stop exploring my beautiful home state. There were so many places I had yet to see so we decided to use this time to check some things off our bucket list. I already wrote about our West Texas adventures and our journey west in previous blogposts, but here’s a quick recap in some photos.

Life here has definitely been rough at times for the both of us, but we’ve learned to work together and push through the bad times. It’s taught us to be stronger as individuals and for each other. I’m super thankful that Lyle and I can both flourish out here because I’m not sure if I would have ever made the move alone or been able to survive out here as long as I have.

Since being here in LA, I feel as if I’ve grown and gotten further in my “career”. Even though I’m still constantly questioning “What do I want to do with my life?”, I think moving was a good choice. It’s helped me find a little more direction in my life. I may still be a little lost at times (what 20 something isn’t a little lost? Let’s be real!) but every day things are getting a little more clear.

It has definitely taken some time, but I’ve found the inspiration I was hoping to find in the move. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and have new experiences that have helped me create some awesome content that I might not have had otherwise. We’ve explored a new state and seen some awesome places together during our time here.

It’s been a blessing to have the opportunity to live in and experience a new city, one of the biggest cities, and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s been a whole lot easier having my cousin Marissa out here as well. Lyle and I would go here and there on occasion, but once Marissa moved back here in January, she dragged us out a lot more. Like that time she made us wake up at 6am to drive to Sea World San Diego so she could see Shamu…

Currently, I am photographing clothing and accessories for online consignment. It’s such a particular LA job that I feel lucky to have found. I often find myself wondering what my life would be like if I had stayed in Texas. I really don’t think I would be doing anything close to what I have done with my time in California. But who knows really? All I know is that I feel like I am on the right path to something great.

I’ve never felt stronger about doing something that absolutely terrifies you. Getting outside of your comfort zone and doing something you never thought you would do is so freeing. If you’re waiting for a sign or message that it’s time to do something different with your life, here it is. I 100% support anyone who feels they need a change. Do what scares you because it’s true, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” -Neale Donald Walsch.

Previous Blogposts on our move:
Moving West: Roadtrip Day 1 / Marfa, Texas
Moving West: Roadtrip Day 2 / Monahans Sandhills State Park
Moving West: Roadtrip Day 3 / Palo Duro Canyon State Park & Cadillac Ranch
Moving West: Roadtrip Day 4 // Hoover Dam, Las Vegas & California!

Helloooo everyone, welcome back to another photo diaries. Why is it already September?! I’m not sure if I’m more ready for fall to come or more sad that summer will end soon. But does summer ever really end in LA? Let’s be real, not really. Anyway, keep reading to see what I’ve been up to this past month.

If you didn’t know, I had an article published with the San Antonio Newspaper about my trip to Big Bend National Park a few years ago! My mom had shown me the article in print but I’m still confused as to where it was exactly. That doesn’t matter now because I’m not sure who actually still reads the physical paper besides my parents. If you’re late to the game and thinking “Hey Lori, I would LOVE to see what got published” then don’t worry, I got you covered. You can click here to check it out!

After returning from our trip in Texas, we pretty much immediately began helping move Marissa into her new apartment at USC. It was a three day process and I’m not even sure how that happened. It made me feel super nostalgic because I remember moving around dorms and apartments in San Marcos and it made me miss it! I also feel old now, great. And if we didn’t get ice cream, coffee or go to Alfred’s Tea, did we even really hang out with Marissa?

My favorite thing that happened this month was going to a Boys Like Girls concert. If you know me well, you know that BLG was my favorite band all through high school and into college. Now, I’ve definitely grown past the whole going to shows phase of my life. I remember my parents being so annoyed when I wanted to go to a show or concert just about every weekend in high school. Being that I haven’t really been to a concert in I don’t know how long, it was kind of weird and uncomfortable for me to be there. I felt super out of place. This tour they were on was a 10 year anniversary tour of the release of their first album. Once they came out and started playing I was instantly 15 again and felt right at home. Ugh, shout out to Marissa for convincing me to go! I had so much fun that night and now I’m sad and want to see them again.

Hey everyone! Usual intro: How is it already August? What’s happening? Make time stop. PLEASE. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s have a little recap of what I’ve been up to this month, shall we?

The day after my family left I felt lost and didn’t know what to do with my time. I had gone from nonstop activities to having nothing to do. I felt restless and I knew I needed to get out for an adventure. We decided to head out to Vasquez Rocks for sunset. We decided to take Sadie this time because I’m sure she hates being inside sometimes also. She is in no way an adventure dog but I’m determined to try to make her one! Watching the sunset on Vasquez Rocks was the perfect way to spend my evening.

A few weeks ago, Lyle played show in Mt. Baldy, California. I had never been out there so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was envisioning some sort of wooded outdoor festival, although I’m not sure why. It turns out, they played at Top of the Notch at Mt. Baldy. We took the ski lifts up there and it was such a fun experience. If you follow my snapchat, which you should, you know I was obsessed with the views! The band put on a great show and it was just a fun day overall.

Last week, Lyle and I went to the California Science Center to check out National Parks Adventure in 3D and IMAX. I had been wanting to see this for months so I was super excited we were finally going. I honestly almost cried watching this film. I have such a strong love for the outdoors and a passion for helping to protect our land. I walked out of that movie planning trips for all the National Parks I plan to visit soon. If you get the chance, I suggest you check it out! From there, we grabbed a coffee (what’s new?) and some tacos from Pinches Tacos (so, so good).

This past Saturday was Marissa day (kidding, sort of). I actually hadn’t seen her since my family had left due to our conflicting schedules. We finally got some hang time in and decided to grab some lunch at a place called Bruxie at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. It’s a chicken and waffle restaurant that offers a variety of waffle sandwiches as well as a classic chicken and waffles skillet. I’m not going to lie, I was just going to order chicken strips and waffle fries because the idea of a waffle taco weirded me out. I decided against that and went with the bbq pork waffle sandwich and it was surprisingly delicious.

After lunch, we headed to Alfred’s Tea Room. I had been to Alfred’s Coffee before but Alfred’s Tea Room just recently opened. I ordered a tropical coconut tea and it did not disappoint! We relaxed here for a while before heading out to Griffith Park for some hammock hangs. Fun fact: Marissa fell out of the hammock. No one got it on camera, which would have been pretty great, but it did indeed happen. No worries though, she’s doing fine!

Our last stop of the night was grabbing a snack at Lemonade. Their truffle mac and cheese is my favorite thing ever. Also, what’s a stop at Lemonade without lemonade? I’m never daring when it comes to mixing drinks but I decided to mix Blood Orange lemonade with Guava Limeade and holy cow. If you ever visit LA and check out Lemonade, I highly suggest this mix.

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another photo diary blogpost! I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty sad my adventures for this month were minimal. I did have a few exciting outings but for the most part, I was pretty busy working as much as I could so that I could spend time with my family! They should be here sometime tomorrow and I’m pretty excited about it! Anyway, let’s jump into this June photo diary.

Our first adventure was in Malibu at El Matador State Beach. I had reached out to a brand on Instagram asking if we could work together. They organized it so that I could buy their product at a discounted rate in exchange for an honest opinion. So, I received a Kanga Pocket Blanket from Wild Life Outfitters and we decided to take it out to Malibu to chill out on the cliffs.

Their pocket blanket comes nice and compact in a small bag that can easily be attached to your backpack or thrown in a purse. We took it out to lay it on the ground and discovered that each of the four corners is weighted to help it lay flatter easier. However, that wasn’t the case for us. There’s always a coastal breeze and the past few times we’ve gone to Malibu, it’s been pretty strong. The weighted corners were not helpful to us in these weather conditions. However, the corners do also come with rope attached in which you can use to stake them down. We were not prepared for this at all but at least we now know for future reference!

Super huge thank you to Wild Life Outfitters for hooking us up with their product! I know I can take it out many more times and use it for many different things so that is something I will definitely be doing in the future! My pocket blanket is blue but they now offer three new colors: orange, red and green! If you’re interested in purchasing the Kanga Pocket Blanket from Wild Life Outfitters you can do so here.

Just last week, Lyle, Marissa and I woke up at 6am to road trip down to San Diego to visit Sea World for the day. Marissa just HAD to see Shamu before they cancelled the show. We arrived shortly after 10am, just as they opened, and Marissa immediately started planning our day. She wanted to make sure that we (she) saw/did everything, or at least as much as we could. We saw both killer whale shows, the dolphin show, and Sea Lions Live. We also got on a few rides, fed some of the animals and just overall explored all Sea World had to offer. There isn’t much to say about our day so I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves. By the way, some photo credits go to Marissa as she was nice enough to share them with me for this blogpost!

I hope you enjoyed checking out what was up to during the month of June. Since my family will be here, the next couple of days should be pretty exciting! Be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming blogposts! Until next time, thanks for checking out my blog!

Hey everyone! I’m not sure if you’re tired of seeing about my trip, but, you shouldn’t be. I mean, who doesn’t want to see beautiful places all the time, right? Anyway, for this month’s photo diaries, I figured I would include the rest of the photos from my birthday celebration. Since the blogposts were long enough with my ranting, I didn’t want to overdo it with excessive photos as well. And surprise! A vlog of my trip is here as well! Thank you for letting me bring you along on this trip and I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! Until next time, xo.

JULIA PFEIFFER BURNS STATE PARK

SAN FRANCISCO

(Muir Woods)

(Mount Tamalpais) 

 

(Golden Gate Bridge)

(Twin Peaks)

https://player.vimeo.com/video/169141307  

Thank you so much for taking the time to read what I have to say! I have so much fun traveling, exploring and adventuring! It means a lot that you take time to check out my blog!

Hi there, I hope you’re doing well! Can we just take a minute to talk about how it’s already May? Yay because it’s my birthday month but also, why does this always happen? I’ll never understand. Anyway, we’re here to talk about April adventures, so let’s get on with it.

As I started preparing for this post, I realized I didn’t do much during April. A few outings here and there but, aside from our adventures at Sequoia National Park, nothing major really happened. In the beginning of the month, Lyle, Marissa and I did head out to Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. I’ve visited the pier a few times, even before moving here, but I’ve never gotten to experience the park before.

We had wristbands that allowed us unlimited access to most of the rides there. Of course, we rode the ferris wheel. The view from the top was perfect. You could see the entire beach and the entire pier, it was just super cool. We also got on the Sea Dragon, which is one of those rides that rocks you back and forth and makes you feel like you’re going to fall out. At least, that’s how those rides make me feel. We rode the rollercoaster, which is another given, and the Pacific Plunge, which is similar to the Scream at Six Flags. Those are probably my favorite rides. You never know when the drop is going to happen and the anticipation is the best part. Lastly, we got on the bumper car.. things. I’m not a fan of bumper cars because I’m never good at it. I always get stuck in some corner. This time, a small boy came at me full force screaming his head off. I was terrified. He kept backing me into a corner and I couldn’t get out. I do not like bumper cars.

Oh and how could I forget that I had my first corndog, excuse me, Hotdog on a Stick. I will admit it was pretty delicious. So, we stuck around Santa Monica until sunset and went on for dinner and who knows what.

One major common reoccurrence was coffee outings. I’m a sucker for iced coffees and I love trying new places. As I was scrolling through photos on my phone, I was amazed at how many times we actually went out for coffee. I leave you with my different coffee choices from some places we have tried. Next month, I’ll have some exciting blog posts up so be ready! Let me know what you think & I hope you have a great day! 🙂 xo

Hi everyone, I hope you’re having a great day! It’s almost the weekend and you can make it through! I believe in you! So, aside from paddle boating at Echo Park and hiking up Vasquez Rocks, March was quite an eventful month! So, let’s just get started in this month’s photo diaries.

Early in March, Miclynn came to visit us again! It’s always a great time when she’s here because we’re running all over the place trying to find as many fun things as we can. I did have to work most of the weekend she was here but the few times we got to go out were fun! As much as we try to avoid Hollywood, we always find ourselves in the area when she’s here. This time, we first went to check out the Wax Museum. I had never been so it was pretty neat. Then, we had birds and snakes thrown on us by the street performers. I’m pretty sure this is the most tourist thing I’ve ever done, but it was still so much fun. We were also accompanied by her friends Abdullah and Yaqoob, who are the sweetest guys ever and so much fun to be around!

A week later, we decided to head out to Malibu for the day. We drove through the canyon down so many winding roads but it was such a pretty view! Marissa needed her fix of Malibu Yogurt so that was our first stop when we got into town. After that, we went down to the beach to chill and watch the sun set.  We sat and talked for a while and watched the surfers. Overall, it was just a great time. Shoutout to Marissa for capturing the waves trying to drown me (a little dramatic, Lori). But really, those waves came out of nowhere. Never turn your back to the ocean, friends!

Finally, yesterday’s adventures included helping out Marissa with a photoshoot, a coffee/tea break, my first Chipotle meal since Lent began, randomly discovering the murder house from season one of American Horror Story and, last but not least, finding the Halliwell Manor from Charmed. I used to watch Charmed every Sunday with my mom when it was on TV and it was our favorite show! I’ve currently managed to convince Lyle to watch it also. I was so excited when I first found out that the house they used was in LA (since the show takes places in San Francisco) and I had been meaning to find it for some time. I’m happy I finally did!