In the Desert - Arizona 2023
lovely photos from the talented Kristi McDonald
—— An actual dream!
Friends! Last month I spent a truly special week in Arizona that I am still processing. I started off at the Grand Canyon with a dear childhood friend where we hiked, reminsced about the good old days, and just soaked in the natural beauty all around us (plus hiked a good 12 miles one day!). Afterwards I headed down to Tucson for the artist retreat of my DREAMS! Long-time hero of mine Emily Jeffords (I call her my personal Lebron James?!) along with the infectious Tanya Val (seriously just go follow her on instagram if you know what’s good for you!) put together a truly special time in Saguaro National Park for a small group of artists. It was vibey, moody, and oh so inspirational. Also who knew Tucson was such a hidden gem?? I wish I had more time to explore after the retreat! The southwest vibes were so unique and fun and I stayed in probably one of my favorite Airbnbs ever (complete with a household dog for extra cuddles).
—— A certain type of wonder…
My favorite moments are the ones that I can’t quite put into words… which always feels a little ironic when I sit down and try to type out a journal entry like this! But the visual wonder of those desert scenes ministered to me in a way that I can’t quite explain. Venturing out into the unknown always unlocks a piece of me that I didn’t know was there. When I drove up to the retreat center on the first day I was filled with uncertainty and wondered what the actual heck I was doing. I was certain that everyone else there MUST be so much more qualified (and cooler) than I ever was. And then I sunk deep into the process and had space/time to create without any limitations in a way that I hadn’t in months. I would call my cute boyfriend (!!) on my hour-long drive home and process the day and he would let me ramble despite the 2-hour time difference making it quite late on his end. All these little memories are tucked away and already feel so special to think back on.
——— Up next!
I am slowlyyyyy finishing up my Christmas ornaments! They have taken me longer than I anticipated but what else is new? This is always a packed time of year with work and unfortunately my migraines have been slowing me down significantly. It’s a frustrating thing to realize that sometimes you have to slow down and adjust. I think the collection will end up being smaller than I hoped but I’ll get them finished nevertheless! My goal is to launch them early next week :) I highly recommend getting on my email list to get first access especially since it will be a bit smaller of an inventory this year!
