Hellooooooo again! I’m finally back from NYC! I’ve really missed you and this little corner of the world, but you know, I think absence is a good thing sometimes. Not only was I able to soak in every delicious moment of being fully away from the routines of home and work, but I feel refreshed and ready to pour back out again and create more than ever before.

And having my husband be able to come away with me this time to NYC?

Priceless.

{Bonus feature today: If you want to add a little extra ambience as you read this post, you can click play on the Nora Jones video below. Go ahead, I’ll wait. You are welcome.}

Arriving home after a wonderful vacation can be a little overwhelming after lingering for a week sipping cappuccinos side by side with your love in charming cafes as though you don’t have a care in the world (hello overflowing inbox and a pile up of work I need to get to)!

But the journey is always worth the inconveniences to get there and back again.

Cafe Moomah, SoHo

I’ve been blessed in my life to see the beauty and history of many places around the world.

I know what a gift that is and never for a moment take it for granted.

NY Public Library

Strawberry Fields, Central Park

I have so many wonderful travel memories tucked away from years gone by …

I have floated down the romantic city of Venice in a Gondola, I took a trip on the Orient Express through the lush green hills of Switzerland from Venice to Paris, I’ve sailed through the beautiful salt waters of the San Juan Islands and sipped tea from dainty china in Victoria B.C.

I’ve slept peacefully in a castle and a monastery and to the roar of crashing waves from oceans below my window in creaky old inns. I’ve inhaled the scent of orange blossoms and pineapple groves, and breathed deeply the freshness of sea and mountain air. I’ve seen the beauty of the Black Forest in Germany and stood in awe of the talent of famed artists in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. 

I’ve seen dolphins leaping in the water near our small boat traveling to the island of Lanai, been enchanted on  the charming cobblestone streets of Budapest, stood wide-eyed in the beauty of ancient churches and took in the history and triumph and sorrows of many countries, drooled over amazing castles in Germany and London and soaked in the unique music, style, experiences and cafes of cities like Philadelphia, NYC, San Francisco, Nashville, Santa Barbara, Seattle and dozens of other places around the world.

Just writing all the places I’ve been able to see is like counting my blessings!

I think that is why I love blogging so much, it is like getting to experience the beauty of life twice!

My umbrella and me on the rainy streets of NYC

Traveling the world for adventures is an amazing and life-enriching opportunity, but you really don’t have to go to all those far away places to experience beautiful things. Embracing beauty around us is a choice most of us can make in our day to day living.

Real life isn’t always perfectly charming, that is for sure, but I try to savor as many special moments as I can.

Rain or shine, there are so many adventures to be had and remembered for a lifetime, if we let ourselves go out to find and experience them!

When I was a young girl, one of my favorite things to do when I visited my grandparents on Camano Island in Washington was to go “out to sea” (as I referred to it) in the canal behind their home. I’d hop in a little row boat and go to the middle of the water. I would pretend I was out in the open sea on an adventure around the world. {yep, I think I romanticized everything!) I loved going out to sea, it is one of my fondest childhood memories.

I never outgrew my desire to “go out to see” and experience life, whether it is by land or by sea or by charming cafe or quaint local shop!

I think going on a little series of adventures is one of the best ways to find what is truly lovely in this world.

Adventures can be big or small, far or near! What matters is how you will remember them, which is why I love to focus on the colors, the scents, the textures of what I saw, and then relive the experiences often. So I won’t forget.

A party in NYC we weren’t invited to, but couldn’t resist enjoying their striped tent and string lights as we walked by! Such ambience from fabric and lights!

Super stealth photo in Anthropologie, Rockefeller Plaza. 

Going “out to see” the beauty around us is a sweet reward after we feel like we’ve poured out all of the energy we have through the hard work and stress of daily survival.

It is a perfect way to recharge and re-energize and re-engage with life.

Going “out to see” and experience something of beauty is a great form of therapy, don’t you think?

Where do you like to go to recharge and renew?