I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to South America and tour Ecuador over New Years. It was the trip of a lifetime and I’m so excited to share it with you!

We started out the trip in the capital city of Quito. This was the view from our hostel! The city is sprawling through a mountain valley and is just beautiful.

The first day we took a tour at the Equator. They tell you all about the history of the Amazon and the natives who live there. Then you get to do all these fun tests like balancing an egg, walking on the equator and watching water flows.

I could not walk on the equator! You walk on a straight line to the side of the equator (sort of like the drunk test!) and you walk perfectly. Then you try it on the exact equator and it’s impossible! Watching water drain through is equally amazing. One side flows clockwise, the other side is counter clockwise. Then set it right on the line and the water sucks straight down like a vacuum, crazy!

Next we rode the cable cars known as Telefericos up to the top of a mountain over looking the city. The sun was setting while the clouds rolled in between the mountains. It was beautiful!

The following day we made the two hour drive to the famous open air market in Otovalo. I wanted to buy everything! Above are the brightly covered hammocks they sell there.

I was swooning over all these embroidered tapestries. The biggest one you could buy was $190 and you could bargain down from there. I settled for two gorgeous pillow cases instead.

Be still my heart…I’m still drooling over them!

After we hiked to a nearby waterfall. There was a little cave you could crawl through and then actually get in the water and walk around. The unique thing about Ecuador is that you can explore anywhere. Swim in the waterfalls, climb up a rickety ladder in a church steeple, they don’t care at all!

Next we took a flight into the cloudforest near the city of Zamora. We stopped for lunch at this beautiful restaurant. You can see a storm rolling through the mountains in the distance. Beautiful.

This is our cabin at the cloud forest lodge called Copalinga. The lodge is built out of local materials and completely off the grid. You eat all your meals with other  guests of the lodge, all handmade and locally sourced food. It was some of the best food I’ve ever had!

This is the waterfall that powers the hydro electric plant on the property. The tires direct the water flow to begin the process. We toured it but I’m not an engineer so it was a bit confusing but impressive nonetheless!

The lodge is also known for it’s bird watching. You can sit and observe several kinds of hummingbirds and other exotic birds only 5 feet away!

This was by far the best part of our trip, I would go back just to stay here again.

The lodge is near a national park. We hiked up to a lookout over the whole forest. It was the hardest hike of my life! Straight up for miles! The humidity was really high too. We turned a corner a few times and kept scaring these large blue pheasant looking things, I think we were equally as scared as the birds though! I will spare you the photos of our sweaty hike, steam was literally coming off of us even though it was 80 degrees!

After the hike we got to actually swim in this huge waterfall. It was freezing! Again I’ll spare you the photos of me trying to look like I’m NOT cold while in it!

We spent the night in the beautiful city of Cuenca before heading to our next destination. Cuenca is known for its churches and touring it at night was amazing.

Then we were off to the coast to stay at the wonderful Mandala lodge.

We took a day tour to Isla De La Plata, also known as the poor man’s Galapagos! The coastline was breathtaking.

These blue footed boobies inhabited the island and they were everywhere along the trail. They were quite displeased with our presence though.

We drove to a cove to snorkel with some very colorful fish and a gorgeous coral reef near the island. It was one of my favorite parts of the coast.

Then we went back to Quito for one last night before heading back to the states.

We toured the part of the city known as old town. This church was unfortunately closed but the outside was really impressive.

We came across a parade while we were there. Apparently it was some kind of holiday.

Then after an amazing 12 days it was back to real life!

Stephanie, our Senior Manger of Product Design and Development, went on a 3 week long scuba diving adventure to Roatan, Honduras.  The water and scenery looks breathtaking,  I felt like I was on a beach after seeing all of her photos.  See what Stephanie did on her vacation to Honduras!

“My husband & I recently visited Roatan, one of the 3 Bay Islands of Honduras. We heard about the island when we became certified scuba divers and fell in love with the sport. Roatan is an easy island to access and lies on the southern edge of the 2nd largest coral reef in the world (the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef).  The island is surrounded by a coral reef with hundreds of dive sites.   A lot of the dive sites were so close to the shore that it took just a short boat ride out to the edge of the reef. We saw some amazing species of fish. Huge grouper that were about 4 feet long, eels, sea turtles and a 7-8 foot nurse shark. ”

“This is a photo of the southwestern end of the island, a town named West Bay. West Bay is home to a lot of the resorts and restaurants on the island, and is the most popular destination for the cruise ships that dock on the island. The beach and water in West Bay was by far the most beautiful on the island. ”

“The island has a beautiful topography covered with lush forests, mangroves, and a mountain ridge that runs down the center of the 37 mile-long island.  Our last day on the island was one of the best. Two of our new friends, from the island, gave us the grand tour. They drove us on a scenic tour of the entire island telling us about the history of the island along the way. We visited some beautiful areas, picked fresh mango, ate fruit off of trees and had a lot of laughs. We saw a small fishing towns as we passed through.  The rest of the island is all mangroves and can only be reached by boat. This was the best way to end our trip!”

The iconic sign. During Christmas, the deer has a red nose!

Portland, Oregon, home of the hippy, locale of the show Portlandia, and one of my favorite places in the U.S. Prior to arrival, my travel buddy, J, and I had a few places we just had to check out. We opted out of getting a rental car, which turned out to be best because we got to do a lot of exploring!

Voodoo Doughnuts:
You absolutely cannot go to Portland and not stop here. There are two locations in the city: The main one on SW 3rd Street and one just west of the Burnside Bridge. I recommend the one on 3rd. It is the smallest place I’ve ever seen and so quirky. The donuts are like confectionary art.

Ace Hotel:

One of my favorite buildings in the city. The lobby has a Stumptown Café, a room full of overstuffed furniture, terrariums, and a photo booth!

Powell Books:

Both J and I are avid readers (English majors, go figure), so there was no way we would miss this stop. This place is humungous! Every section is color-coded and there are three stories! We spent a good 2-3 hours without even realizing it. Check out their website for some good deals.

Pok Pok:
Seriously, the best, most authentic Thai food I’ve ever had. This was our one pricey-ish meal during the vacation. If you go, I recommend checking out the Whiskey Soda Lounge across the street (a sister bar that serves appetizers from Pok Pok).

Of course, once we roamed the city for a day we discovered a few other things to add to our list.
Stumptown Coffee:

A little gilded horseshoe!

I am a serious coffee drinker. Like, I might need an intervention. Stumptown was the remedy for my caffeine-junkie addiction (plus it was nice to have a warm cup o’ joe during the rainy days). They serve every in-house order in a caramel-brown mug and matching saucer with a little sugar spoon. I was in heaven!

Oyster Bar:
I had never had oysters before, but J was adamant I try them during our stay. I’m sort of adventurous so I wasn’t averse. Turns out, I love oysters. The plate you see below has three different types of oysters ranging from super-salty to not-so-much salty. Don’t mind the martinis (living it up on our vacation!).

Burnside Bridge:
It’s hard to miss the Burnside Bridge. It’s one of the main passages from the west side of the river into downtown. We stayed about two blocks west of the bridge and found it very easy and quick to just walk right across.

I added a few more photos I found online of some recommendations, as well as some more from our travels.

J's and my photo strip from the Ace Hotel. Couldn't resist!

Bon Voyage!

As summer approaches and travel plans are being made, I wanted to ask a few of my favorite friends what their summer essentials were when they hit the road for their summer adventures! 

Peacock Alley Mandalay Duvet Cover / Lavender Sleep Mask / Dewdrops in Delhi Earrings (Vintage) / Groovin’ on Granola

Claire Vivier / Morning Glory / Endless Feasts / Life with Keith Richards / Trader Joe’s / Fuji Instant Camera / Moleskin Journal /

/ Isabel Marant Dress / Wedge /

Strathmore Sketch Book / Recorder / Phrasebook

Austin! I love this city! This is my favorite city in Texas and possibly the country. I am fortunate enough to have a ton of friends that live there, so it is easy for me to visit often. I could come up with a month’s worth of activities for you to do while in Austin, but for now, here are five of my favorite places to visit.

1. Barton Springs – During the summer, which lasts 8 months out of the year here, this is a great place to go to stay cool. It is a man-made swimming pool in the heart of Zilker Park.

2. Toy Joy - This is the best toy store ever! Great for kids and adults. You’ll never know what they will have.

3. Franks - They call themselves the “Purveyors of Artisan Sausage.” This place has the fanciest and most delicious hot dogs ever. Franks is also known for their bacon infused vodka.

4. Peter Pan Mini Golf - This place has been around since 1946. There is a variety of huge characters on their two 18-hole putt putt golf courses. Great people watching can be done here and they allow you to bring in your own beverages.

5. South Congress - you can spend an entire afternoon down here. It is full of great boutiques, restaurants/food trucks, and different art galleries.