...and the adventure begins...

I am in VA, the second stop of my trip, surrounded by adorable sleeping puppies whose loud-ass snores sound like giant farts ripping through the room.  It's kind of hilarious.

I got here after spending the weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, celebrating the marriage of two friends who couldn't be more in love or more perfect for each other.  Between the wedding and the birthday/bachelorette party for another friend that followed it, my liver is in repair mode and I've actually lost my voice.  It was that much fun.

The bride and groom (top), us girls with the groom (middle), the bride and mutual friend C (bottom)

There are a couple things I want to accomplish (well, that may be too strong a word, but...) while I'm in VA.  Because I was going to move here, and that's still an option, I want to really check it out.  I want to explore some of the younger neighborhoods & see if there's anywhere that feels like a fit for me.  I want to see a play at the local theatre my mom keeps telling me about.  I want to take the metro into DC and spend a backpacker-type touristy day on my own.  I want to go out to some bars/restaurants & check out the social feel of the city.

But not today.  Today, I'm going to nap by the pool.  Hey, I'm still recovering.  :)

I am so grateful and happy for:

~ love

~ friends

~ family

~ internet access

~ safe travels

xo! n.

Euphoria.

This song has gotten a lot of attention lately, but it deserves all of it.  Watch how happy they are singing it!  Let's all open up to even just a little bit of this exuberant joy and love... I swear it's infectious.



I don't feel well today.  I woke up achy and sore throat-y and stuffed up.  I have to get on a plane tomorrow and start my adventure - this is inappropriate!!  So I'm watching things that make me smile, laying on the couch with the fan pointed at me, eating vitamin c and chicken soup and neti potting it up.  I WILL be back to normal tomorrow.

Today I am so grateful and happy for:
~ vitamins
~ joy that's catching
~ the very best friends anyone could ever have
~ the adventure starts tomorrow!

xo! n.

PS - Stratejoy post up!!  My big dreams...  Here.

Ain't Life Grand?

Unpredictable, immeasurable, beautiful and incomprehensible.

I'm going traveling again.  I got a Jet Blue all-you-can-jet pass; it's unlimited flights around the US for the whole month of September for only $500.  I'm subleasing my new room (I know, I just made it a home!), packing a carry-on, and setting out on a new month-long adventure.

I'll be back in LA in October, and if any auditions or anything come up while I'm gone, the pass includes flights to LA, so I can come back.  I found it (thanks, Todd!!) at the exact right moment, and I couldn't think of a single reason NOT to do it.

It is amazing how perfect things can be when you expect nothing and are open to everything.

[source]

Today I am so happy and grateful for:
~ amazing flight deals
~ friends around the country to visit
~ extra money opportunities
~ trust

xo! n.


PS- new Stratejoy post went up Wednesday - Check it out HERE

Week One

My new place is starting to feel like home.  I wake up to sunshine at 9am, make coffee, run into roommates, laugh, go about my day.  I sit outside on the porch.  I write a lot because there are fewer distractions (I'm not even sure how to turn on the TV!) and my little desk-by-the-window setup is super conducive to creativity.  Dogs barking, yard work, and a distant confused rooster lend a soundtrack to my days.  My roommate & I made persimmon cookies & they taste like Christmas.

fresh-picked lemons with fresh-baked cookies on our porch

Life is good.

Today I am so happy and grateful for:
~ comfort
~ new friends
~ cool weather

xo! n.

PS- my second post is up on Stratejoy!!  Check it out here.

Notes From the Edge

My first post is up at Stratejoy!  Check it out here.

The Sweet Spot

I have a new home.

Its walls are a lovely lavender and its creaky hardwood floor can finally breathe after years of being smothered by carpet.  It has beautiful big windows whose frames I painted bright turqouise to bring the sky in, and through which leafy green branches peek in.  I have a simple desk in front of the window so the hills and palms and hummingbirds in the lemon tree can inspire me everyday.

The rest of the house looks like a frat, but I am in domestic heaven.

I haven't put together my little porch garden I told you about yet, but I did take cuttings from two of the succulents outside (LOVE succulents!) and put them in cute pots on my desk.  I hope they root & grow.

Today I am so grateful & happy for:
~ a sweet spot for creating
~ self-sufficient gardens
~ feeling at home

xo! n.

JOY... ya dig?

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned, in teensy tiny little print, that I had a HUGE announcement to make...  and then I never made it.  Whoops.  I was so excited, and so, well, overwhelmed, that I commented on Facebook and told all my friends and never actually got around to posting on here.  So, some of you already know this, but for the rest of you, here goes...


I have been chosen as a Season 3 guest writer for the brilliant website, Stratejoy!

 Those of you that know me in person, or those of you that have been reading this for a while, know that I've gone through a few whopping breakdowns and major life changes in the last few months... ok, years.  I like to call this my Quarterlife Crisis, and it generally makes me feel like a big, bad, good-for-nothing mess of a loser.  Well, guess what?  I'm not as alone as I thought I was.

Stratejoy is a company created to help women in their 20s & 30s, specifically (though I think anyone of any age can benefit from it), get through their Quarterlife Crises.  It's a "tribe of gutsy girls" who are willing to delve into the tough stuff, the questions like "what do I want out of life," and face their fears to come out on the other side happy, whole, and with a game plan.  It's literally Strategies For Joy.

So, you may be wondering - um, hello, self-proclaimed mess of a loser, what makes you fit to write for this site?  You can't even get your own shit together; how are you going to help others do it?  no, you weren't wondering that?  well, the devil's advocate in my brain was, so I'm gonna answer it anyway.

That's the beauty of it.  Because I'm going through it myself, I can help others get through it too, and show them they're not alone.  It gives a purpose to this crisis outside of my own personal growth.

And, I'm super excited to have even MORE reasons to write, which I love to do and had let myself stop for years.  So I hope you all will follow me on Stratejoy, as you do here and on Escape Hatcher, and that you'll also read what the other 5 AMAZING women I will be writing with have to say.  And, if all this Quarterlife Crisis talk sounds parallel to your own life, please check out The Joy Equation - I'm starting it this week and think it's going to do me heaps of good.

I can't tell you how excited (and grateful & happy) I am for this opportunity and for how it will help me grow!  See you on the other side of this QLC!

xo! n.