Capturing That Wild Light

While we were in the early stages of planning our wedding, we asked a lot of couples what they wish they had done during their weddings. It didn't surprise me that the same advice kept popping up: I wish we had hired a wedding videographer. 

I knew our wedding day was going to go by in a blur. I knew we couldn't be everywhere at once. There were parts of the day (me getting ready, him getting ready) that we wanted to be there for and wouldn't be able to. And we wanted to be able to relieve our wedding day forever and have something to show our kids one day.



But videographers are a big investment. One that, honestly, we probably couldn't have done without help from my mom. When she asked what she could do to contribute to the wedding, I immediately told her that putting her gift towards our wedding videos would be the most necessary and appreciated way to help us and I'm so grateful that she agreed.

Not only did we hire a videographer, we hired the videographer of my dreams, Steven Kopacz of Wild Light Films in Los Angeles, CA. Steven did such an incredible job on our videos (including our Super 8 Film that I shared last year) that they blow me away every time I watch them.

Which, I have to admit, is more than is probably healthy.

Steven totally exceeded any expectations I had for working with a videographer or for our wedding videos. Also, calling him a videographer doesn't quite seem to do him justice. From the sound to the cuts, these videos really do feel like a work of art created around our wedding. He is the nicest guy and so talented it's unreal. We're endlessly grateful to him for capturing our day, us, our friends and family just so beautifully.

I know I haven't had a chance to post more about our wedding here yet, but if I could give you one piece of wedding advice: if you can invest in it... invest in a videographer Wild Light Films. I am so happy we did and I get to retreat to this amazing celebration and see so many of my favorite people in one video anytime I want. And for that matter, as you will hear me gush about again and again in posts to come, invest in an amazing photographer our amazing photographer Alex (if you can book her... she books up fast and far out!), because without her we wouldn't have found Steven or half of the other incredible vendors that made our wedding what it was.

Plastic Swear Jar Challenge

I started my touch-and-go attempts at a plastic-free lifestyle a couple of years ago when I spent the summer in the ocean with a women's surf therapy group started by a woman-founded nonprofit, Groundswell Community Project. 

In the years since my summer getting stoked and woke, the push for plastic alternatives, bans on different types of single-use plastic and public awareness of the harm that single-use plastic is wreaking on our oceans has become (blissfully) omnipresent in businesses, advertising, community initiatives, Hollywood, influencer communities, government, and the surf and yoga communities. It's created incredible momentum...

...but we still have a long way to go.

Which is why I wanted you to join me and share this cool Earth Day challenge that Changing Tides Foundation (another incredible women-founded nonprofit) has created: The Plastic Swear Jar Challenge.

Among the Wildflowers

pc: @megankobrien

Adding this to the things I love about San Diego: after a rainy "winter" in Southern California, we tend to get what's called a "Superbloom" around mid-March.

The first time I heard about this phenomenon was around 2016/2017 when I got to experience my first desert Superbloom in the Anza Borrego desert. And this year, our rainy season was rewarded with an entirely different Superbloom experience: the Walker Canyon Ecological Reserve poppy fields in Lake Elsinore.

You Eat Clean, San Diego

I don't remember when it started happening precisely and unlike most major changes in my life, this one can't really be traced back to a decision or a moment. But at some point last year I slowly but surely started taking meat out of my diet.

I still ate meat during the holidays and on special occasions, but for the most part, it just hasn't even appealed to me. And in the absence of cooking meals around meat, I started to default hardcore to carbs... pizza and pasta more often than not.

While I wouldn't call myself a vegetarian just yet, I am definitely trending that way. And now that I've noticed this development, I realized I needed to start figuring out how to craft an actual plant-based diet instead of nervously retreating to pizza when I'm not sure what to make.

So I was really glad when Eat Clean Meal Prep reached out offering me a trial of their meal prep service. I've always been interested in meal prep services, but wasn't sure if I would like the food or if would make the most sense financially. Most importantly I was concerned about the abundance of plastic packaging as I'm trying to go plastic-free. But the trial seemed like the best way to give it a shot and break out of my carb-loading rut.

I requested a plant-based meal plan and came home from a girl's weekend away to a ton of delicious food and cold-pressed juices. Here's what I ended up with and what I thought...

Desert X 2019

A few weeks ago, my friend Megan texted me a link to an article about this year's Desert X exhibit, a biennial art exhibit that debuted and last took place in 2017, during our last year at Coachella. I remember meaning to check it out on the way to Indio that year, but the excitement of our #LastChella drove us straight to the polo fields to soak up as much of the festival as possible.

This year, Desert X runs from February 9 to April 21st and showcases 19 artists in a variety of mediums, all using the desert as their canvas. The pieces cover a range of environmental, political and social issues from immigration to climate change, and span across the Coachella Valley, from Palm Springs down to the Salton Sea, with a few pieces in Tijuana and Ensenada this year as well. 

Not wanting to miss it again, Megan and I hit the road, sand storms and Big Horn Sheep crises be damned...

All Our Waves Are Water

Ever since I moved out to the west coast 9 years ago, I have strived (striven?) to continuously better my relationship with the ocean, surfing, meditating, mindfulness and yoga. And for the most part, save for few conversations with likeminded friends and a couple of amazing yoga retreats and surfing workshops, this journey of "bettering" has been conducted solo.

Except for whenever I pick up a book by Jaimal Yogis.

When I finished "Saltwater Buddha" and "The Fear Project," the first two books that I read by Jaimal, each book made me feel feel like I'd just had a long, restorative conversation with a friend about why this "bettering" was so important to us and what we'd learned so far along the way.

It's not that Jaimal's journey is anything like mine (it very much isn't), but the intention and authenticity and relentless persistence fueling his journey through surfing and spirituality has always felt so accessible and relatable to me. Moreover, it's a relief to take my mind off my own journey sometimes and venture into his.

Cheers, 2018!

pc: Alex Monette

Writing these posts at the start of each year is one of my favorite ways to spend New Year's Day. It helps me to reflect on the year as a whole and gain new perspective on what I thought mattered... and what actually mattered.

This year was a big one for us. Ryan switched careers, his father passed away, then my dad got sick, and moved in with us for a bit, we planned a wedding, and we got married. And those are just the really big things. As I wrote this post, I realized just how much we packed into every month of 2018.