One of my very favorite ways to remember my travels is through the artful objects collected on my various trips. Learning to see objects as art has made souvenir shopping so much more interesting and now, one of my favorite elements of travel! When I was a bit younger I assumed the best…
Did you know that wool makes an exceptional diffuser for essential oils? Wool felt is a highly porous natural fiber, allowing air to pass through rather than around it. Because of this, wool felt can be used as an eco-friendly portable diffuser for your favorite scents. You may have seen diffuser necklaces that use felt…
Perhaps one of the hardest parts of long-term travel is the care and feeding of my own body. What’s familiar and second-nature back home, takes energy- and often creativity- when traveling. When I settle into a work-friendly AirBnB for a few days to catch up on business (Usually about 5 to 7 days) I find…
When I lived in downtown Seattle my 35-unit building shared a total of two basement washers, two dryers, and zero elevators. This, combined with living on the third floor of a very high-ceilinged 19th-century building made laundry day a dreaded task. Laundry day meant lugging laundry down several floors only to find the washroom busy…
The Internet is filled with tutorials for fixing scratches on leather chairs and sofas- I know because I read at least a half-dozen of them when I adopted my leather Broyhill armchair from Craigslist. In excellent condition other than surface scratches, this find from the free section of Craigslist was well worth the short drive…
Classy floor lamps are expensive –like, very expensive. As I priced sturdy lamps for my new North Seattle apartment, I couldn’t find a single sturdy tripod-style adjustable lamp for under $250. Target and World Market had non-adjustable options in the $80-$120 range, but I’d been tricked into buying cute-but-fragile lamps there before and always ended…
This post updated: One of my most-read posts – and the post that really got me taking my blog more seriously- is my tutorial on how to convert a light fixture to a plug-in style lamp, but for some of the applications where a portable-chandelier lamp comes in handy, it can be easier and safer…
We all have them: Adorable flats or heels that almost but don’t quite fit, causing them to uncomfortably slip off your heel with each step. Sometimes the result of shopping a bit late in the day (when feet are fractionally larger) or sometimes the result of an against-better-judgment-impulse-buy, we all have a few pairs just…
Traveling by train is one of the best ways to see Romania, although actually a less-popular mode of travel for locals. The Romanian rail system has a reputation for being unreliable and very slow. This reputation has led most Romanian citizens to abandon train travel entirely, resulting in low operating budgets and even rarer…
I felt equal parts fascination and horror the first time I walked into a goodwill outlet. Although I’d heard about the outlet by word of mouth, I found myself there by accident. It wasn’t until a GPS told to “take us to Goodwill” routed us to the outlet instead of the Goodwill mega-store a…
Recently I have been on a horchata kick, and here’s my doodle to prove it. I’ve taken a little time off from “professional illustrating” but this little horchata doodle is an example of my creative cavorting during my recent hiatus. Read on for recipes! Horchata can be made from scratch using basic ingredients…
It would be fair to say that my timing for this project was less than ideal. Although I picked up these BED|STU boots up a few weeks ago at my favorite thrift store, I didn’t actually get around to re-dying them until Seattle was smack dab in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak. I…
There (and Back!) + How I Got Stranded at A National Park in Chile In all my adventures, Cuevas de Anzota is the only place I have managed to get myself really, truly, stranded. After walking about a mile and a half back down the road from Cuevas de Anzota and getting no cell phone…
Traveling solo can be an incredibly enriching experience. Over the years, I’ve spent about a year total traveling abroad alone. Although being an introvert helps, I always miss my friends and family back home. As a solo traveler and someone with experience working in the mental health field, here are my tips for caring for…
I believe one of the very best ways to become acquainted with the culture and take home something of artistic – but affordable – value is by visiting local markets and shopping with the individual vendors that come together to create the magic of an open air market. There’s something almost magical about how vendors arriving…
If you have the luxury of a slow-paced visit to Romania- the kind of visit where you can wander and take time to unwind enough in one location to allow your senses to take in the experience of an utterly unique place on the globe- the Maramures region of Romania should move to the top…
In 2019 I worked online as I wandered through about a dozen countries in South America and Europe. With iPad usually in hand, I found myself moved to doodle when I discovered a particularly good idea to make like a bit easier or better as a full-time traveler. Here are my tips, products, and hacks…
