I sat down last night, looked at my laptop, and decided to pop in for a blog update. B and I looked at so many places to live in Santa Monica and we signed a short-term lease on May 1 for a place that felt exactly right…for right now. we’ll look for something more permanent in 6 months or so, hopefully in this same neighborhood.

the beach is our backyard which is a gift. pretty incredible and great for perspective.

times zones are a funny thing. as someone who spent 30 years in the central time zone, and the past year on eastern time, I’m now getting used to pacific time. it’s a whole different world over here on the west coast – 2 hours behind my family in Dallas and 3 hours behind friends in NYC. by the time I get to work in the morning, NYC is eating lunch. I’m reminded of this daily thanks to Instagram.

people keep asking me if I miss NYC and I honestly don’t. of course I miss our friends, but those friendships will continue for a lifetime. while I love Manhattan and will always cherish our time there, Santa Monica feels more like home. and you really can’t beat the weather and natural beauty of Southern California.

I blogged many times during our year in NYC about my love for the city. I still love so many things about Manhattan, but here are some things I’ll never miss:

• cigarette smoke in my face every morning on the way to work, and on my lunch break, and on the walk home, and all the time. seriously people, stop smoking. it’s expensive and it’s killing you.
• being body-checked on the overly crowded streets
• living on top on people – I loved our apartment, but we lived on the 16th floor of a 17-floor building with almost 1,000 individual units. we have more space now…a driveway, a freestanding home with no shared walls, nobody walking above us
• paying twice as much rent for half the space
• riding elevators multiple times a day
• constant sirens and construction
• dog poop and pee all over the sidewalk
• fighting the crowds at Whole Foods with cramped aisles and long lines

on lifestyle…

in Manhattan, Billy and I would set out for a walk and have no idea where the day would take us. we’d stop into different stores, restaurants, markets, wine bars, etc. there is ALWAYS a place to go, something to do, people to see. great memories.

in Santa Monica, we hop on our bikes and ride south to Venice or north to Malibu. we can hop in the car and take weekend road trips to so many amazing nearby places. on our list: San Diego, Santa Barbara, Big Sur, Joshua Tree, and Vegas.

Billy picks me up from work and we’ve gone on several sunset hikes. we already have some favorite restaurants in the neighborhood and love the food trucks and Farmers Market a block away from home on Ocean Park and Main.

Santa Monica suits us for this stage in our life. it’s great to be here.

• does the city you live in really feel like home?
• have you moved recently?
• do you dream of moving to a new city?

hello from Santa Monica!

last time I popped in, I was about to return to NYC from a 10-night stay in LA. Billy and I spent the first week of April working, packing, seeing our friends, working more, and walking around all of our favorite places in Manhattan.

we sold most of our furniture and shipped the rest (+ bicycles, some clothes, boxes of kitchen stuff) to LA. we each packed two bags and flew to Dallas on Southwest – check 2 bags for free! moving day in our mostly empty apartment in Chelsea:

almost as soon as we arrived in Dallas and said hello to our parents, we headed down to Austin for a wedding. it was a beautiful celebration at the bride’s family’s ranch in Dripping Springs. we loved see a bunch of our Austin friends. it had been a while!

no trip to Austin is ever complete without seeing my dear friend, Lindsay. come visit us! back in Dallas I caught up with great friends from my lululemon days. we met at Origin Natural Food. if you live in Dallas, I highly recommend stopping by for a meal.

we were in Dallas for six nights and had plans every night. I’m usually one for some down time, but couldn’t resist the chance to see our friends and family, including my niece’s 2nd grade play – she sang a solo! it was awesome. I cried.

I miss my family and friends in Dallas when we’re away, but I know that Billy and I are on the adventure of a lifetime. we bought a car during our time in Texas, a Mini Cooper Countryman – the bigger, 4-door version of the classic Mini. her name is Gertrudis III. (you can read about the origin of that name here). love her.

and then we hit the road from Dallas to LA, stopping in El Paso and Phoenix (+ so many highway gas stations because I have a small bladder and drink a lot of H2O).

scenes from the window:

after long days in the car with too many bananas, larabars, almonds, vega bars, beef jerky, and pistachios, we switched to proper meals and red wine at night.

I worked during our time in Texas and while on the road (the power of tether!). I’m excited to get back to the office in Santa Monica today. I missed my co-workers.

we aren’t officially settled – we rented a house near my office to stay while we continue to search for a home. sort of surprisingly, I’m not worried or stressed about this. we’ve moved around a lot so I know it takes time to find the right place. I’m enjoying the process and not in a hurry. we received great news this morning that our apartment in Manhattan leased for May 1st move-in so we don’t have to pay double rent next month. that news alone pretty much calls for a celebration.

I’ve learned so much about myself and my marriage in the past couple of months: less resistance and over-thinking, more go with the flow. it’s been good.

more on that soon!

how are you today? anything new? what do you eat on road trips?

NYC –> LA: palm trees have replaced skyscrapers.

I don’t recall ever staying at a hotel for ten consecutive nights. we’re over one week in, and this is home til Wednesday:

my time spent in Santa Monica during this trip is primarily for work (which is proving to be a lot of fun), and it has also given us the chance to explore the city. and eat a lot.

salad from True Food Kitchen: roasted cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and butternut squash, pomegranate, mulberries, grilled chicken. I could eat this every day. fresh berries – I do eat these (almost) every day. they are cheaper here than in NYC.

hiking Temescal Canyon (my bum is sore), hunting for a home in Santa Monica.

brunch at Larchmont Bungalow. the real winner: Billy’s smoked salmon on potato latkes.

an Easter visit to the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

light Sunday brunch/2nd breakfast at Urth Caffe. the apple raisin oatmeal tastes like warm apple pie. they must sauté the apples in butter, cinnamon, and sugar. I’ll recreate this at home…and maybe add vanilla ice cream?

colorful, nourishing meals at Café Gratitude:

always room for treats…

I’m in love with my new job, my co-workers, our office, and the company. I’m grateful that they’ve invested in me as an employee and integral part of the team. we’re working hard leading up to the launch of our site later this month. there is so much to do, and it’s rewarding to be involved in the foundation of a startup.

this month will take us back to NYC, a stop in Texas (Dallas & Austin), then we’ll end up back in LA before the end of April. it’s shaping up to be another life-changing April, but I’m confident that next April will come and go without a big move. Santa Monica is the first place that we’ve decided to put down some roots. feels great!

what’s on your radar for the month of April?

April Fools jokes?

we moved to Manhattan last April, and this April, almost a year to the day, we’ll make the move to Santa Monica via Texas. I transferred from Dallas to NYC with lululemon, a company and culture I still love, but shortly after, I was offered a position at Integrative Nutrition. I wrote this post: nutrition + social media = dream job

and in many ways, working in social media in NYC has been a dream. I learned a lot and worked with some wonderful people. I went from sitting in a regular desk chair to sitting on a balance ball to converting my workspace to a stand-up desk. I rode my bike the mile to and from work every day until October or so, then started walking when the weather turned wintry. I loved the casual work environment where my uniform lately has been wunder unders, sweaters, and boots. <— beyond ready to shed some of the layers of heavy clothes necessary for winter weather.

my last day at Integrative Nutrition was Friday. Saturday was spent running a couple of errands, walking through Central Park with B, and packing our bags…

when we started talking about moving to LA, I figured I’d look for a job once we got there, allowing me time off to move, travel to Texas for a wedding, and to see our families. but there was something on the horizon I couldn’t have planned, and it turns out that the lack of plan is better than anything I actually could have planned.

make sense?

one of the only reasons LA didn’t appeal to me is the necessity for many (most?) to commute to work. if we’re talking dream life, that’s not part of mine. so when an ideal job opportunity appeared before me with an office in Santa Monica, I knew it was worth considering. bike/walk to work = the happiest bird. after several phone calls and a video interview, I happily accepted the position. in social media marketing. for a company I really believe in. with a talented, enthusiastic team. I start today!

whew.

the new company flew me out to LA yesterday for nine nights to meet in person and work at the office for a week before the site launches next month. I’m beyond excited to be part of something new. Billy is here as well, to take several meetings and search for a place to live when we officially relocate next month. he might also be found hanging around our hotel by the pool…I can’t say I blame him.

I’ve learned that when I’m willing to take a chance and get outside my comfort zone of plans and feeling “secure”, amazing things happen. life-changing opportunities appear. once the ball gets rolling, go with it and see where it will take you.

right now it’s taking me to the hotel gym to start my day with a workout.

hope your week is off to a great start!

all the things pre-move, part 1

after a cold, rainy day, the sun came out yesterday afternoon. I was craving fresh air so I went for a walk by myself in our neighborhood. I stopped to see things that I’ve never really seen, however many times I’ve walked past them. it was a series of moments I’ll always remember from the year that Billy and I lived in Manhattan.

the beautiful thing about change is that you learn so much about yourself in the process. as you enter unfamiliar territory, you grow. you find out that you’re capable of things you didn’t know before. our upcoming layers of change have already taught me so much, and reminded me of the incredible people in our lives. we’re saying goodbye to dear friends in NYC who wish us well, and we’re being welcomed with enthusiasm and support from friends in L.A. I am parked in a bubble of gratitude.

I’ve also been reminded that my marriage is strong, and even though we can get caught up in the irrelevant details of miscommunication from time-to-time (the desire to be heard/right/justified), our foundation is built on the same rock of unwavering beliefs, values, and dreams. with every new challenge (there are many when it comes to breaking a lease early and moving across the country), we have pretty painlessly agreed on the best plan of attack, and moved forward to get shit done.

a friend asked me how I deal with all of the change, especially since we’re moving sooner than expected and starting a new job (more on that soon). I told her the simplest (and often most difficult) thing to do is focus on the positive (because there is so much positive!) and don’t let negative energy into your life, whether from others (inevitable) or self-imposed doubt or anxiety. positivity = gratitude. if you’re feeling overwhelmed, start counting your blessings. works for me.

I’ve written about choosing your thoughts before, and I love this simple truth:

speaking of positivity, I received these beautiful spring flowers from my beautiful friend Katie! she’s a perfect example of someone who exudes light and love every day. she sees the good in everything and has the best sense of humor.

also, it’s International Day of Happiness. what’s making you happy today?

we’ve been taking in as much of Manhattan as we can since we’re moving to L.A. art galleries, dinner dates, brunch with friends, neighborhood walks, and even a trip to the Empire State Building (several weeks ago, but worth documenting):

meals at The Mermaid Inn, La Esquina, Hu Kitchen, Westville, and Bagatelle.

with the happy birthday girl.

street/building art.

dinner at a neighborhood favorite, Porteno, and a place we’ve wanted to try in the West Village, Tartine. great meals. too good to capture too many photos.

laid back birthday party on Saturday night with longtime friends in town from Dallas. it was such a joy to see friends from home and catch up. love these ladies.

brunch with friends on Sunday at Peels (Billy’s build-a-biscuit breakfast: why choose fried chicken or sausage when you can have both?). and the perfect NYC souvenirs from a dear friend so we can take a piece of Manhattan with us to Santa Monica.

speaking of Santa Monica, that’s a long way to move! we’ll make a stop in Texas along the way. I’m pretty certain there won’t be a dull moment in the next month (or several months for that matter), but we’re (almost) ready for the adventure.

we are so excited about this move and have no doubt that this is the exact right decision for us. I’m beyond grateful for the time we’ve spent in NYC, and looking forward to the incredible life we’re creating in Santa Monica. more on that soon!

what was the best part of your weekend?

I’ll spare you all of the thoughts swirling in my head, but I wanted to document here on the blog that Billy and I are officially moving to L.A., specifically Santa Monica, this June at the latest. we are incredibly excited. moving across the country will present some challenges, but nothing we can’t handle or haven’t conquered in the past:

• long distance relationship between Dallas & NYC
• selling all of our belongings
• moving to Belize
• (snorkeling, eating lobster ceviche and plantain chips, riding bikes on the beach)
• returning to Dallas to be with family
• getting engaged, getting married, acquiring lots of things
• selling, giving, and throwing away (almost) all of those things
• moving from Dallas to NYC via a kickass road trip
• acquiring more things (including jobs, friends, and countless good great times)

now we’ll once again sell (give and throw away) many of our belongings before our journey south (home) & then west (new home) buying a car along the way  <—fun!

we had a master plan for this transition, arriving in L.A. mid June, but semi-suddenly the timing is now up in the air due to a potential opportunity that begins sooner. that’s all I’ll say about that. the details aren’t available to share at this point, but what I will say is that this week has taught me to be open-minded about the future.

I’m learning that if I let go of the master plan in my head, as wonderful as that plan may seem, I open myself up to more experiences and opportunities.

(source)

instead of getting bogged down in the decisions to make about the future in the coming weeks, I’m grateful to have decisions to make at all. the thing about making decisions is that the “right” one will usually become clear (gut, patience, timing), and the decision almost makes itself. that mindset is where I’ll be camping out for now…

it helps to have 100% love and support from this guy:

along with the best purple recycled love note ever.

edited to add: today is my favorite day. the future is so bright. thank goodness it’s the weekend because we have reason to celebrate.

hope you have a wonderful weekend!

hello! hungry for breakfast? perhaps some oatmeal?

I’m hosting a giveaway this week for the new Love Grown Foods product, Hot Oats:

• vegan
• certified gluten-free
• no sodium –> very rare for a packaged product
• single-serving –> perfect for on-the-go
• lightly sweetened with brown sugar and freeze-dried fruit

the flavors and nutrition info:

to cook, I just added boiling water and waited a couple of minutes before stirring and adding additional toppings (splash of almond milk, fresh fruit, nut butter, etc.).

there are also microwave options, but we don’t have one of those…

Hot Oats are available in the following stores (with more to come):

• Raley’s (Northern CA)
• Whole Foods – Southern CA
• Whole Foods – Rocky Mountain Region
• Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
• King Soopers/City Market (Colorado)
• Sobeys (Canada)

the winner will receive each of the new flavors of Hot Oats and a bag of Love Grown Foods Oat Clusters granola (flavor of your choice – I recommend Cocoa Goodness)!

to enter the giveaway:

1. leave a comment and let me know which flavor you’re most excited to try: Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry Banana Walnut, Peach Almond Vanilla, Strawberry Raspberry.
2. follow Love Grown Foods on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
3. tweet about this giveaway – be sure to tag @lovegrownfoods and @dorrybird.

*giveaway open to U.S. and Canadian residents

I’ll announce a winner this Friday, February 22.

UPDATED – the winner is:

yay! I’m so excited for you, Heather! I’ll email you to get your info.

thanks to everyone who entered. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I looked back at the past couple of Valentine’s Day posts on the blog. after a trip to NYC last February for Billy’s birthday, I published my snowy valentine, remembering the beginning of my relationship with Billy, and the first time he told me he loved me in Central Park. a year later, we now live here, and we went to Central Park last Saturday on a bright, sunny day to check out the snow.

of course Billy is my Valentine – every day. I tell him and show him that I love him. every relationship takes work, but he’s the love of my life so in a way it’s easy. you know what’s not always so easy for me? loving ME.

the relationship we have with ourselves can be complicated and challenging. after all, we are with ourselves all of the time! but I truly believe that self-love (not just acceptance, but genuine love), is crucial for us to thrive in our relationships and endeavors. if we love ourselves, we spread that love to others.

so boost yourself up. give yourself plenty of compliments, and be gentle with your heart. get excited about who you are and the gifts you can offer the people in your life, and the rest of the world. love is a chain reaction that begins within each of us.

if I start my day with kindness and love towards myself – hot tea, a workout or some yoga (or maybe sleeping in), and a nourishing breakfast – I’m going to pass that love to Billy. then I’m going to pass that love to my doorman, to the lady checking me out at Whole Foods, to strangers on the street (smile!), to my co-workers, etc.

by loving ourselves, we love others. so there’s no reason to think of self-love as self-indulgent. it’s a critical part of a happier world. I’m off to take my own advice…

(source, source)

sending you love today, whoever and wherever you are!

xoxo

Billy and I traveled to the west coast last Thursday to spend a 4-day weekend in Los Angeles to celebrate his birthday. we spent time with his little sister who lives there, and had the chance to see several friends as well. we stayed in Santa Monica for the first two nights and Venice for the last two. I love both for different reasons!

Santa Monica:

my main man.

Venice Beach:

a long drive down the Pacific Coast Hwy with a stop at Billy’s favorite beach:

Mulholland Drive scenic lookout:

lots of LIFE in Los Angeles. simply put: I love it there.

our tiny rent car – a Fiat. so much fun to zip around town.

some dining highlights:

True Food Kitchen – I could eat here everyday!

Urth Caffé (Venice)

Mercado and The Misfit (both Santa Monica)

The Tasting Kitchen (Abbot Kinney) and Plate (Malibu)

we also enjoyed breakfast with a friend at Kreation Kafe, a brunch with another couple and their adorable baby at Blu Jam Café, and takeout from Abbot’s Pizza Co.

I recommend each of the restaurants that I linked to in this post – every meal we had was 100% fresh, delicious, and satisfying.

last stop for one of my favorite treats – the I Am Mighty Superfood Energy Bar from Café Gratitude – hemp seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, goji berries, coconut butter, cacao butter, cacao nibs, & vanilla beans dipped in chocolate. bad airplane photo, but you get the drift.

it was nice to escape the winter weather in NYC and spend time in sunny LA. I love so much about each of these cities, but LA is more of a longterm fit for us. as for now, we’re back in NYC and loving our life here in fabulous Manhattan. my focus for the end of winter/beginning of spring is to be as present as I possibly can everyday in every way. rather than getting ahead of myself with plans for the future, I’m going to dig in to right here, right now and make it count.

have you spent time in NYC? in LA? what do you love about these cities?