It’s been a little over a month since I moved into a van and it’s been the most extraordinary month of my life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been incredibly hard at times, but the challenges have only enriched the beauty—I feel like I’ve grown an entire year since I left. I’ve never prioritized solitude or flexibility into my life, but centering both has felt nothing short of magical. 💫
I’ve visited five (!) National Parks, made friends in tiny Colorado towns, climbed a frozen waterfall to an alpine lake, met Morning Person readers, spontaneously followed a car with skis to the opening day of a mountain, seen landscapes I had no idea existed, meditated at a mountaintop shrine, made soo many matchas, spent nourishing days alone with Toast in deep wilderness and a week in a best friend’s driveway, reconnecting.
I’ve wanted to do this for years and opened a savings account labeled “van” a decade ago. Still I had no idea what was in store for me before I left my home and community in Portland. I knew I wanted a big adventure but there’s no way to fully capture how grateful I feel just 34 days in—I can only imagine where this year will take me.
If you’re curious, I’ve shared sooo much more on Morning Person. Off to go see what today holds. 💕
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I’m going on tour! ✈️ My debut novel YOU’RE SAFE HERE comes out in less than one month (!) and I’ll be hitting the road to meet you in person and chat with some of my favorite writers, beginning in New York then heading west! Details and tickets available in the link below and in my bio! Any cities we should add?? Let me know here and tag your favorite local bookstore!
I’m an offline gal working in an online world—I cannot WAIT to meet in person! 🙌
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Lots of new faces here! 👋 In case we haven’t met yet, here’s a little introduction: I’m a former food and lifestyle editor and write the bestselling weekly newsletter, Morning Person (with over 44K subscribers!). I live in Portland, Oregon with my pit-mix, Toast. This year was a big one: I’m 31 and recently separated from my husband and partner of ten years. I’m living alone for the first time in my life and am in the process of meeting myself.
A bit more… I love skiing and going to movies solo, and backpacking til my legs ache. My favorite thing in the world is reading a book while someone cooks or makes coffee for me. I discovered Mary Oliver’s poetry last August and have read her every day since. I’m halfway through a 3-year Master’s in Mental Health Counseling specializing in addiction and wrote a novel called You’re Safe Here that comes out next year with @scoutpress (!). I’m unlearning a lifetime of “shoulds” and trying to live according to my intuition now, which has been terrifying and exhausting, but beautiful and exhilarating too. My favorite song is You Are Mine by Jay Robinson, but if I hear the piano intro to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, I will bulldoze anything on my way to the dance floor. I wear contacts, read the paper every Sunday, love being in bodies of water but hate baths, and have a small tattoo of a mountain range in Reno, where I grew up. I post on Instagram in fits and starts, but share much more at morningpersonewsletter.com! Thank you for being here! ♥️
Windows wide open, jasmine incense burning, the physical paper fetched barefoot from my front porch, and Sunday Edition on Morning Person 💕 fresh issues with obsessively curated recommendations delivered to your inbox, every week!
Hi, hello! 👋 It’s been nearly six months since I was last here, but that’s because I’ve been spending most of my time finishing grad school (two more months!!) and building a community (with over 40,000 readers!) over on my Substack, Morning Person Newsletter!
This morning, I hosted Portland readers at an outdoor Pilates class, taught by the owner of my favorite studio @rollupspilates , with matcha lemonades from @teabar afterwards and time to meet and mingle with other readers! It was such a joy, aaaand we raised $325 for a local animal shelter, @onetailatatime , in the process! Anyways, just wanted to pop in and share the love from a truly restorative gathering, bringing this online community offline. More to come! xx
If 2023 felt like being tossed down a tunnel of grief, 2024 was the year I crawled out of it. Looking back, I can’t entirely believe everything that happened. I had my fill of monumental milestones—getting divorced, publishing my first novel, building Morning Person, creating my home, traveling the world—but, in reflecting, it’s the smaller moments that stand out.
I hiked in the pouring rain, made frittatas, read books, then befriended the women who wrote them, ran back onto dance floors for my favorite song, shared kisses, sat in hot saunas, brewed hundreds of cups of coffee (and forgot to finish at least half of them). I learned to love a little deeper, and that the low-lows make room for the high-highs. I’m ending this year in amazement, so full of gratitude and excited for the next chapter! 💕
I spent the last month traveling through Japan (!), but I’m still thinking about my first week in Tokyo. I fit as many miles and meals as possible into this city, which quickly became one of my favorite cities in the world (it blew away my impossibly high expectations).
I shared an obsessively compiled four-day itinerary, including a downloadable Google map packed with over 200 recommendations. It’s the most in-depth travel guide I’ve ever written and is a must for anyone considering a trip to Tokyo (I don’t say that lightly)! There are tons of photos from my own adventures there, with honest reviews, but here are a few best bites and sips! (With a special moment for the best bar in the world, 📍 Bar Martha)
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I don’t have the words (or organized photos!) yet to encapsulate just how incredible my time in Tokyo has already been, but yesterday was an absolute peak experience. It began with summiting Mt Fuji at 2 am, in time to see the sun rise over the crater with the lights of Tokyo in the background, after spending the night in a mountain station. I’m at a loss for words, but filled with endless gratitude for this trip and this country, and for rediscovering my love of adventure and solo exploration! 🗻💕
I left my heart in Lombok 💕 I’m currently in the Jakarta Airport on my way to Japan (!), but spent my final week in Indonesia scootering down dirt roads in search of remote beaches, making new friends, devouring smoothie bowls and jamu, scuba diving among sharks and neon coral (don’t even get me started on bubble coral!!), and doing it all with @betsyschell ! A true adventure and we didn’t even crash our scooter once 🙌🛵
I’ll be sharing a full trip recap on Morning Person next week! Expect all the tips, photos, and details there! x
