can you share recipes for all the fun things you’ve been cooking and baking?
links to the recipes of almost everything i have made since january can be found on my “food i’ve made” board on pinterest. i’ve even added my opinions and tips for things to tweak in the captions! i think to myself probably about once a day: man, i love pinterest.
how do you afford to travel so much?
i think it is really interesting how different people prioritize their spending. what we “can afford" is all relative!
i had a roommate once who constantly complained about her tight budget yet came home with new expensive kitchen gadgets every week! garlic crusher, mandoline slicer, vitamix, egg cutter (yes, they make tools specifically for chopping hard boiled eggs…) that's what she loved and chose to spend her money on. my other roommate at the time would often bow out of dinners or activities that cost money yet looooved dropping some benjamins at expensive clothing stores. i was technically unemployed for a good part of last year, but i still managed to get to england in the summer.
the truth is, i always think about money in relation to traveling, and compare all my expenditures to plane tickets. i could spend $300 on new clothes, or i could book a flight to visit a sibling! i could save money by not eating out or buying cheaper groceries (or eating samples for a meal…) and add it to my travel fund! i'm not too picky about where i live, and i've found some screaming deals on rent in the bay area. i spend almost no money on clothes and make everyone aware how much i love handmedowns. i don’t have the newest or nicest gadgets. i can fit everything i own (besides my bed) in my car. i just budget everything based on traveling – and that's how i afford it! (also, i have gotten really good at finding very inexpensive airfare and i know how to travel super cheap.)
i love traveling not just because it is exciting and enjoyable, but because it has become a treasured part of my identity. travel adventure helps me to see who i am and to become who i am, and i truly feel like it is part of my mission in life. we all have different means to nurture and fuel our souls. for me, traveling is fulfilling in significant and spectacular ways.
i am passionate about travel. others are passionate about kitchen gadgets. i truly believe that we can almost always organize our lives in a way to feed our passions. that being said, i also recognize that our passions need to be viewed and lived with a wide lens and an eternal perspective.
how do you expect to find a husband when you’re always traveling?
a few commenters implied this querry in response to my post on being alone {but not lonely}. i think it is a fantastic question. i mentioned in that post that i’m realizing that i’ve used traveling as an attempt to fill an emptiness inside – but it is a round peg for a square hole. in the past few years i have thought a lot about the value of staying put, and about the balance between living out worthy, characteristic passions and making sacrifices for things greater. i’ve grown increasingly aware of the need to contain my wanderlust within the perspective of my deepest yearnings and righteous desires. these lines are not always clear, and so i am grateful that i feel i can petition heaven for help. i earnestly pray to know where i need to be when, and i trust that as i thoughtfully seek balance and strive to be true to myself, i will not miss essential, eternal opportunities.
i’m fascinated by the compromises we must make in mortality in the context of our dreams and passions, the realities of life, and the powerful beauty of sacrifices. the following is from a post i wrote last year about being unemployed:
this quote has always served as sort of my life mission statement, my mantra: "go confidently in the direction of your dreams. live the life you have imagined" (thoreau). i am a romantic heart that subscribes unabashedly to the lofty philosophy of living your dreams. i am quixotic. i am so determined, even stubborn, about living the adventurous, lush life i have imagined. i do think this is an admirable strength, and it is something i like about myself. and i feel really blessed that in so many ways i have lived this quote, and that has brought me a lot of joy. but lately i am coming to understand the extraordinary and strangely beautiful power of - gasp! - abandoning this ideal.
indeed, there is something great to be said of making some big, heart-wrenching sacrifices, surrendering to things less glimmering, and accepting aspects of life that were not imagined or never existed in a dream. in this sense, maybe there is sometimes great power in giving up. society is endlessly inspired by people who make their dreams come true, but what of people who traverse through big and hard changes and formulate new dreams that are less glamorous but more authentic and, in the end, more gratifying in an unseen and unsensational way? i think my background has led me to dream of a very outwardly exotic and adventurous life, but i'm discovering the astounding virtue of consciously succumbing to things that become strangely extraordinary in their seeming ordinariness.
perhaps one of the reasons i am alone {but not lonely!} is to learn in my solidarity where to sacrifice, where to push, where to let go.
a different comment on that post sure made me smile: lds ladies- don't you have brothers, friends, or cousins that are just perfect for charity? i'm so surprised your huge family and blog network isn't working to your advantage. my advice: work that network! your blog speaks volumes about you so i have no doubt your peg is just around the corner.
may it be known that i am always willing to be set up with men that are considered extraordinary :)
what are your best tips about what to do/see/eat in san francisco?
a post titled “the official dripping with passion guide to san francisco, first edition” is coming very soon! it will include instructions on how to complete the world’s best bike route and some recommendations for things i have loved exploring down here on the penninsula, too! i also recently added labels to my blog, and you can click on “san francisco” on the right to see all the posts about my city.
if you have any other questions, please leave me a comment!
