Washington

During the last week of July, my family and I traveled up to Washington to visit the beautiful Olympic National Park. I always share a few photos here on the blog from trips that I take, but for this one, I have something extra cool to share.

As you all probably know, I think Elise Joy is a genius! I get so many good ideas and endless inspiration from her. It is through her that I first heard about this amazing app called 1 Second Everyday. (Yes, I know it costs money, but it's worth it!) Basically, you record a series of 1-second video clips throughout a year or throughout a trip and the app puts it all together for you in a short, concise video. I tried it out for this trip and I love the result! Each video clip really brings me back to that moment. If you scroll alllll the way down to the bottom of this post, you will find the video there. But first, a few photos!

Adventures in Colorado

Well, I've finally sorted through the hundreds of pictures that I took while in Colorado and am here this Sunday with a post recapping my trip! It was wonderful, with beautiful nature at every turn and lots of laughs and good times with family. 

Tahoe Weekend

Exactly a week ago today, I took a weekend trip to a cabin up in Tahoe, which is only about 2 1/2 hours from my house. I went with my parents and sister as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was such a relaxing, slow weekend. I had a great time, and I want to go back! 

I know it's Friday, and I usually post on Sunday, but I wanted to share a few pictures from this trip and I have so much planned for the blog this summer that I don't have a Sunday slot for this post! So here are the pictures. On a Friday.

Mexico Trip Video

I hope you all had a fun and safe Fourth of July! As promised, here is my Mexico video! (And my new URL!! Yay! And FYI, it does redirect if you type in the old one.) If you missed my last post, you can find it here. I recapped my trip and shared a few pictures. But today I have for you the 2 minutes and 39 second version! 

Like the song in the video? It's "Mexico" by Tigers in the Sky, one of my favorite bands. When I found out I was going to Mexico, I immediately thought that song would be perfect for a video! Listen to more of their songs here. Thanks for watching!

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

Happy July Fourth weekend! I hope you're enjoying all the staples of this holiday: family and friends, swimming, fireworks... I know I will be tomorrow!

Last Tuesday, I returned from a six-day trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! It was such a fun time with my family, discovering a new country and having all sorts of adventures. I love going to different countries and I consider myself so so lucky to have been able to visit three already. It is so interesting to interact with people from different cultures and, in this case, try to use some of the Spanish I supposedly learned over the past four years of high school! In this post, I'm just going to talk about my trip and show you some pictures I took!

But first, I have a little announcement! I'm finally getting a domain name for my blog! (Yay!!) That means my blog URL will now be www.theyellowmailboxblog.com, without the "blogspot" part. (I'm not sure if it will automatically redirect you to this new URL if you type in the old one, so I just wanted to let you know before it went into effect.)

One more thing, then I'll stop rambling for sure. I created a video of this trip that will be up on the blog on Tuesday, July 5th. So look for that! It's pretty awesome if I do say so myself...

Camping Hack: Eggs in a Bag



Camping is a summer tradition in my family. I love retreating to a beautiful mountain lake and spending time with my family and with myself--painting, reading, and taking pictures. Nature has a way of making everything else in life feel far away and unimportant.

But I think we can all admit that camping can be a little hard. Not for super outdoorsy people like Bear Grylls, perhaps, but it is for the average person (that's me). I mean, you're living outdoors for a few days, without most modern conveniences. No refrigerator, no TV, no Wifi, no AC (though during my last camping experience, the heater was most missed). It's not impossible by any means to sacrifice those things, but I'll be the first to admit it isn't easy.

One of the hardest things about camping is planning meals and packing food. (Luckily for me, however, most of that chore is left to my dad.) Wouldn't it be great if you could just put all the ingredients in a bag, place it in a pot of boiling water, and out comes a meal? But wait... it is possible! Introducing: eggs in a bag. Eggs in a bag is a super easy breakfast idea because it's easy and delicious and each person gets to chose their own mix-ins!

Mar Vista

Are you ready for a picture overload?

I hope so, because I took a crazy amount of pictures on my latest trip. It was just too picturesque to not whip out my camera every five seconds. Mar Vista Cottages is located on the California coast. I've been staying there ever since I was just ten years old. My family's first visit was back in 2008. We obviously fell in love with the place, since we've been back so much! It's a gorgeous place and a very peaceful and relaxing stay. 

On the way, we stopped at a delicious restaurant called Sea Ranch. I had the Humboldt Fog Tomato Galette, which was amazing! It had Humboldt Fog goat cheese, caramelized onion, and sun dried tomatoes. Yum! It inspired me to try making a galette myself.

Camping Trip!

Well, I've returned safe and sound from yet another summer adventure. I came home just yesterday after five days in the mountains. It was refreshing to retreat to the wilderness and do nothing but paint, read, and sit with my thoughts. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to finally take a shower and sleep in a real bed when I returned. 

This week, I'm just going to share some pictures of my trip -- from a foot selfie to roasting marshmallows to the gorgeous wildflowers growing at 8,600 feet elevation.

My England Adventure

Guess what? I just took a trip of a lifetime.

For nine days, I was in England. I spent three days in the bustling city of London and the rest in the beautiful vivid green English countryside. It was, to sum it up in a word, incredible.

I was travelling with nine other people, for a total group of ten. Plus our guide and driver. So I must say that it was a little crazy at times, particularly in the airport and on the plane and rushing about from place to place. Nevertheless, it was definitely an amazing experience.