So, I fell off the wagon with my monthly recap posts, but I didn’t stop taking video! I’ve learned since September that managing three internet homes successfully is nigh impossible. Back in September, my fiancé + I launched our podcast, Swept Together. It’s the story of a modern romance between two adventurers, at home, at work + on the road. Audio content is a new medium for me + in some ways, it’s taken up the spot in my life that this blog used to hold, back when I started it in 2011. It’s a creative outlet, separate from my work, where I can make something without looking at the numbers or trying to monetize.

Somehow, to be honest, I lost that from blogging. At some point along the road, it became about getting another follower, another comment, another sponsorship. With that, it stopped being as fun as it once was. I started my videography business, Evergreen Lane Productions, in 2013 – in significant part, because of this little travel blog + the great friendships I’d built in the blogging community. I’ve gone through a few different iterations of that business + now do mainly video editing as opposed to full production. I’ve launched a travel video editing package + will shortly be offering one for entrepreneurs.

It’s been an incredible journey. In case you’ve noticed that I’ve been around here a lot less, it’s partially because my two younger children (toddler Evergreen Lane + newborn Swept Together) have been taking all my attention. It’s partially because I’ve forgotten what I loved about this place in the beginning. So, I’m giving myself space to step back + blog a little more slowly + intentionally. To reinvent the wheel. To pour into my other babies while they need me.

I’ll still be around these parts but if you want to hear from me more regularly in a mini-blogging format, follow me on Instagram – my favorite social media home these days. I’m over there every weekday, and you’ll be able to stay updated on all 3 of my internet kids (the blog, the podcast, the biz) in one happy place. See you there!

I’m a little late with this past month’s recap because it was a BIG month. Here are the highlights:

My family and I finished up our trip in Santa Fe that started in July.

I went camping and hiked a 14er (Quandary Peak) in the rain with some dear friends.

C + I started a home renovation project.

We had a photoshoot with some airplanes for our podcast which is launching in just a few days! The website isn’t up yet, but you can follow along on Facebook or Instagram!

I went to Yellow Conference in Los Angeles.

Overall, I’m feeling quite thankful + inspired. Despite being busier than ever, my time is full of projects that challenge and excite me – so what more can I really ask for? I always get a rush of energy at the start of fall, so I’m diving in head first!

What are you working on right now? Anything that has you especially excited or inspired?

I am so excited to share this project with you guys. Earlier this summer, my client Rebecca asked me to help her with a surprise travel video as a gift to her parents, who planned this trip for Rebecca, her sisters + their families. Of course, I couldn’t wait to work on this because Provence is a place that is near to my heart. I haven’t been back in 13 years, so visiting vicariously through Rebecca’s video clips was a treat.

Rebecca did a great job (using just her iPhone!) to capture the feel of Provence perfectly. I only wish smell-o-vision was a thing so you could smell those stunning lavender fields! It’s one of the best smells on earth.

When Rebecca shared the finished product with her parents + family, there may have been some tears shed. Here’s what she had to say:

“Our week in Provence with my family was such a special time that I will never forget. And thanks to Evergreen Lane Productions, we have this amazing travel video to remember it by. She took our hours and hours of what was mundane iPhone videos and turned it into a story of our week together that we will forever cherish.”

Rebecca, her family, + friends have already watched the video over 200 times! I’m so thankful that part of my work is helping people preserve these memories. My own memories of travels with my family throughout my life are some of my most treasured.

If you’re interested in working with me to curate your own everyday adventure, you can learn more here. Or, get started right away with a sneak peak of the materials I provide through the Juniper package, by signing up at the link below + downloading my 5 secrets to creating an amazing travel video:

It’s kind of crazy when I stop + think about how close I live to Rocky Mountain National Park + I’ve only been a handful of times in the past 7 years.

My friends and I hiked the trail to Alberta Falls, which was just under 2 miles out + back. When we got to the falls, however, we were still feeling pretty good so we opted to continue up the trail to the Loch, which was a more strenuous hike that came out being just under 6 miles total.

The trail ran mostly alongside a river, which is my favorite kind of hike. The perfect soundtrack to any hike is definitely the sound of rushing water. And once we reached the Loch, we were able to sit on the water’s edge + cool our feet off in the water. And it was definitely cold water – on our way up there, we had to hike over a large area of snow that was still covering the trail. In July! No time of year is really safe from the occasional snowfall at such a high elevation.

Over the course of the hike, we gained about 1000 feet of elevation, starting just above 9000 feet + ending over at 10,000 feet above sea level.

One of the best things about living in Denver is that you can spend the morning hiking in a National Park with amazing mountain vistas + in the evening, you can find yourself dancing the night away at a sushi restaurant where your friend is the DJ – which is, as you might have guessed, exactly what I ended up doing that night.

It’s a crazy, wonderful thing. I feel so fortunate that I can have the city life I enjoy while also being so close to the escape + serenity of nature.

If this Project 365 has taught me anything, it’s the immense value in capturing our everyday moments. Time passes SO very fast – like the wind – yet having this tiny glimpse of each of my days helps me to remember. July was a crazy month. There are days I cried, days I laughed, days I held those I love + days they were far away. Days I sat in front of my computer + days I flew halfway around the world. But every last one of them, beautiful.

It is remarkable the spark that one little second of video can trigger.

That’s the main reason I created Juniper. We have these amazing tools at our fingertips, all the time, to capture our world. To hold on to our days. To remember.

Every one of our days holds beauty. The tools I created for my travel video package, Juniper, help guide you in unlocking that beauty – whether with your iPhone or DSLR – and preserving it in a beautifully curated video postcard. And maybe you’re not halfway around the world. Maybe you just want to remember your grandma’s laugh or the way the light falls on your front porch these long summer evenings. Savor your adventures in the everyday and beyond.

A few hours by bus from Bucharest sits a little town called Sinaia. It’s a mountain resort town near Bucegi Natural Park + it was refreshingly cool after the heat of the city. It’s popular in the winter for skiing, but we found a lot of people camping in the surrounding area. I had no idea camping was so popular in Romania, but I guess the desire to be surrounded by nature is a universal one!

A local told us we could walk from our hotel into the town of Sinaia, so a small group of us headed out to explore, but it turns out that the city center was 10 kilometers away – a bit longer than we had budgeted for the afternoon. So we changed out strategy + simply moseyed through the small neighborhood along the highway as we headed back to the hotel. It was dotted with small gardens + chicken coops, amidst charming mountain homes. Woven in between were these big, characterless apartment buildings – remnants of the communist era.

I was quite sad to leave the countryside when it was time to head back home. You don’t realize how much a place has changed you, I think, until you find yourself somewhere else. I never considered myself much of a mountain person, but now that I’ve lived in Colorado for eight years, I find myself at home at elevation. The mist floating in between ridges of pine trees was familiar + yet other-worldly at the same time.

It’s hard to believe almost a year has passed since exploring this beautiful country. Already dreaming of when I can return, but for now, I’ll just be here in Colorado, sipping my afinata.

This video marks the half-way point of 2016. Six months of taking one second of video every day. Having this monthly signpost of sorts is a good reminder to take stock of my goals, see how I’m moving forward, + appreciate everything I’ve accomplished so far this year. Which, as much as I’m sometimes hard on myself for not being as far along as I’d like, is a whole heck of a lot.

June’s highlights: two trips to Louisville + one to California, one baseball game in Cincinnati + one in Denver, and lots of time outside – while still somehow managing to make the most this month than I have all year.

This weekend, while I won’t be working, I’m hoping to spend some time taking stock of the personal goals I set for myself in January to see what needs tweaking + what can be checked off. While also grilling, sitting poolside, loving on my friends (especially those who have served this country) + getting my dance on. Life is a beautiful interplay of working + resting. Once I stopped trying to force “balance,” I’ve found that I somehow have more than I realized.

What are you up to this long weekend? I’d love to hear in the comments!

Did you miss previous 365 recaps? Watch them here:

365 Video Challenge // January Recap

Anyone else shocked by how fast January went by? At the beginning of last month, I decided to embark on a year-longView full post »

365 Video Challenge // February Recap

Another month has gone by, which means another 29 seconds of my Project 365 are behind us (in case you missed itView full post »

365 Video Challenge // March Recap

HOW, how is it April already? Between a week of vacation in Miami + a week sick in bed with the worst cold, MarchView full post »

365 Video Challenge // April Recap

I feel like I say this every month, but holy cow, it’s MAY! I’m holding out hope that this is the lastView full post »

365 Video Challenge // May Recap

Welcome to the month in which my mood consistently improves because days are longer + warmer + sunnier. This time,View full post »

Transylvania is a region of Romania, about 2 hours drive from the capital city of Bucharest. The countryside is absolutely beautiful; however, on the windy country roads outside of Bucharest, visiting these 3 sites took a whole day of driving.

Bran Castle is the legendary Dracula’s castle. The story of Dracula was based on a notoriously bloodthirsty Romanian ruler named Vlad the Impaler. He didn’t actually live in this particular castle, but the location happens to perfectly match the description of the castle in the book of Dracula, even though the author had never actually been to Transylvania. It’s packed during the Halloween season, but since the day of my visit was completely sunny + beautiful, much of the creepiness factor was absent from the castle.

Sinaia Monastery was another stop on our Transylvania adventure. It actually had a tiny museum on the property with the first bible translated into Romanian, which was also the first book translated into Romanian. As a linguaphile, that was a pretty special thing to see. I loved the architecture of this church + the small surrounding grounds.

Next stop was the castle built by the first king of Romania, who was actually German. It is perfectly fairytale-like, like a scene from Beauty + the Beast. Inside, I took a tour of the first floor where the king had elaborate receiving rooms for diplomats + royals from other countries. He also had a large collection of books (ten thousand of them!) + a library with a secret door. Most of the books are now in the Bucharest National Library, but even the small collection left in the castle’s library still reinforced the Beauty + the Beast vibe for me.

Overall, I was completely infatuated with the tranquility of the Romanian countryside. I’m so thankful we had the opportunity to get out of the city for even just a day – completely worth it.

One of the things I’ve been dreaming about recently is a passion project highlighting different Denver neighborhoods + the creative souls who love them. Thankfully, my good friend Stephanie was down to show me around her favorite Denver neighborhood – RiNo, short for River North. We could have spent all day (+ well into the evening) wandering because there are SO many amazing places in this part of our city. Stephanie narrowed it down to these remarkable places which you’ll see featured in the video:

Huckleberry Roasters

Topo Designs

Night Bazaar Denver

The Zero Market

Stowaway Coffee + Kitchen

Also – fun fact: the music you hear in this video was created by Stephanie herself, along with her talented drummer-husband! How cool is that? Stephanie is one of those people who is always challenging me creatively. I’ve been wanting to create custom soundtracks for my videos forever + this has totally inspired me. She killed it, right? Go check her out on Instagram – I know you’ll be inspired.

If you want to know even more about Denver’s cool neighborhoods, you can watch this video featuring some fantastic spots on South Broadway.

Do you know a creative person in Denver that I should feature? How about a neighborhood you’d like to know more about? Let me know in the comments; I’m all ears!

Travel always makes me want to learn all the languages. As I was preparing for my trip to Romania, I found out that the language is Latin-based. I was curious to see how much Romanian I’d be able to extrapolate based on knowing Spanish, and unfortunately, it wasn’t much.  There are bits + pieces of Romanian that are familiar, especially in its written form, but it was nearly completely unrecognizable in its spoken form. Alas!

Bucharest is this interesting blend of Orthodox churches, beautiful Belle Arts government buildings + boxy communist-era buildings. Plus a dash of post-dictatorship casinos + “night clubs.” The unique combination meant that as you walked around the city + turned a corner, you never really knew what you were going to get.

My dad was attending a conference in Bucharest + the hosts organized a day of touring for us, where we visited a beautiful palace called Mogosoaia, one of the only surviving buildings of its kind. It’s considered to be Romanian Renaissance architecture (also known as Brancovenesc), which is a fascinating blend of Ottoman + Italian influences. The almost-pink brick structures were surrounded by rose gardens + the palace grounds were nestled next to a small lake.

We had lunch at a lakeside restaurant, with porches built out back so you could sit on the water to enjoy your meal. Before lunch, we were treated to a tasting of several Romanian wines – I had no idea there were wine regions in Romania! They served traditional Romanian appetizers, soup, polenta + plates of meat for lunch. Then, of course, we finished with dessert. The whole meal took around 3 hours, which is definitely a contrast to our hurried American lives.

I think I ate more pork during my short stay in Romania than I had eaten in the last several years of my life.

On our last day in Bucharest, my dad + I visited the Village Museum, which is an amazing collection of houses from various time periods + regions all across Romania. It gave you a glimpse of what daily life was like for people all across the country. We even stumbled upon a folk dance festival that was taking place inside the museum!

I wasn’t very familiar with Romania or its history before visiting Bucharest last year, but I’m SO glad I did. It just reaffirms my belief that every place on the planet has something beautiful + interesting to offer, which is why I’m obsessed with seeing as much of it as I can. There is so much loveliness in the world.

Have any places you’ve visited surprised you? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!