78

“be easy.
take your time.
you are coming
home.
to yourself.”

— Nayyirah Waheed, “The Becoming | Wing”

All photos are mine. The full original content of this post got deleted somehow, so I attempted to recreate it as best I could.

XO

71

“You do not need saving.
Only reminding of who you are.”

— Tapiwa Mugabe

At age 7, I traveled to Ireland by myself for the first time. The emerald isle quickly become a second home to me, and each summer I would return to live with my extended family for weeks on end. It was a tradition started by my father, a first generation American who left the rush of New York to work on his uncle's farm in the quiet fishing village of Courtmacsherry, Eire until school started again. Like my Dad, some of my favorite memories are from those summers.

This trip was the first time I had been back in the summertime in 5 years. I was an emotional wreck who was constantly crying of happiness and confessing my love to everyone. Being there again, I realized how much Ireland means to me, how significantly my time and the people there have shaped who I am.

Thank you to my Dad for enabling Rob and I to go, we had an unforgettable trip with you. Thank you to Rose and my cousin Neil for inviting us to your beautiful wedding, it was absolutely incredible. Thank you to Aunt Kathleen and Aunt Margaret for the advice and wisdom you shared with me on the trip, I am so grateful we bonded the way we did. Thank you to Robby for coming with me, meeting (literally) 100s of my family members and making them fall just as deeply in love with you as I am. Thank you to Deirdre and Siob for being future bridesmaids and forever my sisters from another mama. Thank you to Marie for always making me feel so welcome and being down to stay out way after we should be in bed. I could give a million thank yous. This trip was truly the time of my life, I could not have had a better time, and I could not feel more blessed than I do coming away from it. This trip solidified that my wedding (far in the future) will be happening in Ireland. 

We were in County Kerry at the Park Hotel/Samas Spa and then in County Cork in Courtmacsherry, Kinsale, Clonakilty, and Cork City. 

Trip highlights include:

• Brunch with 25 of my Dad's cousins the moment we stepped off the plane.
• Park Hotel desserts outside at 10:30 pm before the sunset.
• The 7 mile hike through Killarney National Park.
• Taking a horse and carriage through the Gap of Dunlop.
• Treatments and spending time at the pool at the Samas Spa.
• A boat tour of the Lakes of Killarney.
• Aunt Margaret dropping her phone in the river and our guide retrieving it.
• 5 hour dinners with my parents, Grandma, and Aunt Kathleen and Margaret in Kenmare.
• Dad and Neilus singing at the pub the night before the wedding.
• Grandma eating 3 ice cream cones after the reception at Rose and Neil’s wedding.
• Watching my Dad's face as Nelius spoke at the wedding (he looked like a kid on Christmas).
• Everyone and their mom stealing Robby away from me on the wedding dance floor.
• Having a 99 at the Clon Street Fair.
• The madness at the Courtmac Hotel the night after the wedding.
• Robby and I staying out til 4 am on our last night, forcing us to go directly to the airport for a 18 hour travel day.

And so much more. Here are some photos taken in the 10 days. All iPhone.

69

“Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

A mood board, just because.

Apologies for not posting as often as I should be. I've been traveling, started a new project with a new company, etc. 

I love you all. Thank you for supporting me and checking back.

66

“The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.”

— Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

Better Late Than Never: Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo. Weekend of April 4th, 2016. All iPhone.

"When The Madonna Inn opened for business in 1958, it quickly became a landmark on the Central Coast of California. The property is adorned with a pseudo-Swiss-Alps exterior and lavish common rooms accented by pink roses, Western murals, and hammered copper. Each of the 110 guest rooms and suites is uniquely designed and themed. Aiming to cater to a range of tastes, rooms were given unusual names such as the Love Nest, Old Mill, Kona Rock, Irish Hills, Cloud Nine, Just Heaven, Hearts & Flowers, Rock Bottom, Caveman Room, Elegance, Daisy Mae, Safari Room, Highway Suite, Jungle Rock, American Home, Bridal Falls, etc. Some rooms are grouped in themes, like the rooms, "Ren", "Dez, and "Vous" are a play on the French word, rendezvous, and "Merry", "Go", and "Round", for an amusement park carousel."

Excerpt from my journal: I wanted to do something nice for R, and after feeling restless for a few days, I decided the surprise would be getting out of town for the weekend. I looked into areas with great breweries and wineries around 3 hours from LA, and San Luis Obisbo fit all my criteria.  I booked a room at the Madonna Inn, an incredible hotel that I stayed in a few years previous. The weekend was like a dream. It was filled with firsts.

...On top of all the activities we got into, I have never felt more connected to or passionate about the person I was with. We are entangled in each other in the most perfect, healthy, balanced ways. I left feeling reinvigorated by life and my relationship...

59

“There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats.”

— Albert Schweitzer

My 4th Coachella left me feeling like I need to be comatose for the remainder of April and half of May. Over the 2.5 days, Rob and I walked 60,767 steps (~26 miles) and danced/jumped 17 flights of stairs in the desert heat on little sleep. My blisters are so bad, I had to go barefoot most of the weekend.

But. It. Was. So. Much. Fun.

Acts we saw included LCD Soundsystem, Jack U, Christine and the Queens, Lido, Jaden Smith, Ice Cube, Disclosure, RL Grime, Silversun Pickups, ZHU, Alunageorge, Guns and Roses, Calvin Harris, Sia (feat. Maddie Zieglar & Kristen Wiig), The Arcs, Major Lazer, Flume, Rancid, Nathaniel Rateliff, Tokimonsta, Usher, etc.

We met Mickey Avalon and chilled near Andre 3000 from Outkast in the Rose Garden. We made a friend from San Paolo, Brazil who spent most of Friday night with us. Sadly, I barely met up with my friends that were there, it's so hard to coordinate. We did get to see Rob's cousin and his friend from high school. Everyone loved the weekend.

And R, I couldn't have asked for a better partner to go with. I had so much fun dancing and loving you. P.S. thank you for not asking me to wear that flower crown, I was having a slight identity crisis with the corniness. P.P.S Let's get married.