hello!

Hi I’m Vanessa, thanks for swinging by! I’m sure most of you reading this know me already, but if we haven’t met, it’s nice to ‘meet’ you! Welcome to my small corner of the internet.

the scoop:

Born and raised in the moderately damp and ever beautiful state of Washington (The other Washington, for all those east coasters out there). And no, it doesn’t actually rain there everyday… its funny how many people literally think that, once you tell them you’re from Seattle. But maybe we ought to just keep telling everyone its miserable and yes, in fact it does rain EVERY SINGLE DAY there– just to keep them away?  Because as all the PNWers know Seattle is becoming insanely overcrowded and completely unaffordable now. Sigh… and the traffic is whack! But it’ll always be home and always have my heart. 

Most recently (Pushing 3 years, ahem) I’ve been living on the opposite coast, residing in Jacksonville Florida. What was meant to be a ‘short cup of coffee’ (16 months) in Florida has now turned in to an actual life here {I can literally hear all the cringes from family and friends back home}.  It’s completely different, not only in terms of climate, but what we do, how we do them and a really nice change of pace. Days are filled with sunny runs, spontaneous adventures, beach bummin’, BBQs in the winter?! DISNEYWORLD! … And freedom that we’ve never had before.

I’m the anti homebody. I get stir crazy after spending a day at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love a lazy couch day or a backyard BBQ as much as the next gal, but one day and I’m good.  I just find that there is so much to discover out there and I certainly won’t find it endlessly cleaning or tidying up the house… which for me, is an endless-task.  Or repeatedly having to say the word NO to my girls… cus’ lets be honest, that gets tiresome, and naggy. So I tend to just say F-it, let’s get out of here!! Lucky for me, my Husband is cut from the same cloth, so it takes little arm pulling to get him out.  I live for adventures, mini-weekends away, happy hour with my guy, discovering new yummy restaurants, hiking, biking, you name it. I love good food, especially good-for-you food, I am a beverage connoisseur (as my BFF, Mary, always points out) but seriously– im constantly on the hunt for new healthy, interesting drinks / concoctions (maybe i’ll do a post on this?).

Most days you’ll find me shuttling back and forth from school, sporting a top knot and a “hey, I’m kinda beachy, kinda boho type of style” or running with my husband in the God awful heat of the day (yep, that’s our jam), most likely talking about what on tap for dinner. After that we’re usually counting down the hours to put our girls down {sorry, not sorry} so we can have 2 or 3 blissful hours to ourselves to eat air popped popcorn and binge watch docu-series {so many good ones out these days}.

Speaking of my handsome husband. His name is Colin, and he’s my everything.  He works his butt off {thanks Bill ✈️} to provide this wonderful vibrant life we have. He’s the best Girl-Dad, stroller pusher and shoulder-ride giver. He motivates me, challenges me, and always willing to go the extra mile, for anyone.  Together we have created such an incredible life that I’m so in awe of. I feel so insanely lucky to call this life with him, mine.

the nitty gritty:

We met in junior high, (I know, cheesy right?) But seriously, we did.  Oddly enough, I totally crushed on his older brother first, whom I met through my big sister, Natalie.  After spending a weekend with him and their friends {weeks before JH was starting} he informed me that his younger brother Colin would be attending my school, and just so happens to be the same age. Kismet, I think! And that’s all it took, {well kinda} we dated, then we were BFFs, then we dated some more, then we were kinda BFFs, then we dated again {you get the drift}, then poof! I was off to college at WSU and he was off to AZ. We made it work though, 4 years of long distance dating and lots of memories in between.

After college, my world went spinning a bit. A lot bit. Lots of real life “adulting” went on. I wasted no time, and moved to LA with some of my best girlfriends, lived in the hood, literally– {INGLEWOOD!} During this time, Colin and I split for a bit– only for me to realize it was finally time to go home and start a real life with him.

Here we are now, married 6 years, a house in the PNW, a life in the South, visits all over the United States, even a few abroad.  We’ve ran hundreds of miles together, hiked countless trails together, roadtripped thousands of roads and now have 2 little girls with a lifetime ahead to show them this crazy beautiful world, one mile at a time.

meet the gals:

Rian is our first born and the “easier” child. She always was (shhh, don’t tell Tea). With the exception of her not taking a bottle as a baby she has been a pretty predictable child. She is full of life, sweet, has a hilarious quirky side, which only select people get to witness.  She is quiet, but just social enough to make friends everywhere she goes.  Rian is 5 and going on her second year of Pre-K {august babe}.  Shes a free spirited dancer, a Barbie lover, a collector of randomness, an artist and a Daddys girl thru and thru (tear).

Teagan, our second born, social butterfly of a daughter is 3 (going on 13). She has been stuck to Mama since day one {which makes up for the Daddies girl above}, she’s getting better though! She has a lot to say, literally she never stops talking– “important” mostly nonsensical things to say, but its endearing and hilarious.  Shes a snack monster, a mover and a shaker like me. She wakes up and is ready to tackle the day; demanding a laundry-list of to-dos and needs before we even hit the stairs.  Shes sweet as can be, but fiery all at the same time.

lets wrap it up:

What a wild ride its been.  A beautiful, imperfect, messy, on-the-move life we have made together.  I’m so lucky to have my person along this journey with me, knowing this is exactly where we are supposed to be in this moment. Its funny knowing someone who has nearly known you your whole life, yet still have so much more we want to do. So much more we want to see. Even still, spending a lifetime with him still doesn’t feel like enough time.  So here’s to making the most of it! I dare you to, too!