From the moment we stepped off the plane and into sunny California, all of the heaviness I held on to back in Florida seemed to lift, replaced with a sense of peace I hadn't felt quite like that, aside from the other time I landed in CA just a few days before this.

I don't really know what it is, but something about being there, even though so far away, was just what my spirit needed. This entire trip, filled with the best of moments, made every single thing worth it. I'm still trying to process what it meant to feel so light and happy there.

During this trip, we traveled across northern California, starting in Sacramento, then to Napa for a couple of days, back to Sacramento, up to Amador with a day trip to Tahoe and back for a weekend wine festival in Amador that was so fun - essentially visiting multiple wineries both days to taste wine and food!
In Sacramento, we visited old town Sacramento, had some really great crepes and the best brunch at Bacon & Butter, and also cooked out one night with our group. In Napa, we visited wineries and tasting rooms of course! Tahoe was mostly a road trip through the mountains - we saw snow and tried our hands at a casino which wasn't in everyone's favor but got me a whole nine dollars richer. In Amador we stayed in an airbnb type of house that was huge and had the most amazing view in the mountains. We were even visited by deer on our last morning there! All around, it was the best trip with even better people and moments that I will always look back on with a happy heart.

I'll be posting more blog posts about each place specifically, so this is just an overview of everything!



I had a moment one of the first weeks of the year, an on my knees crying and wishing I was someone else kind of moment. My lungs inhaled heavily as I begged God for answers as to why I am this way. Why couldn’t I go out and be like everyone else, finding joy in the same things they did, regaining energy from a crowded bar, people on every side? Instead I was all alone at home, because I couldn’t handle even the thought of the noise and the people without stunted breathing, my lungs feeling as though they were collapsing into the heaviness.

I had that moment. But the moment passed. It didn’t dictate the rest of the year. I wouldn’t let it.

Instead I picked myself up off the floor, swiped my tears away, and told myself it was going to be okay. Even if it didn’t feel like it in that moment.

And from then on, life continued. And you know what? It not only kept going, it got better. Opportunities opened up, things I couldn’t even think to dream of. I experienced a peace I’ve never felt. And that wouldn’t have happened if I let that moment be the end, if I let it have its say in all of my future moments.

Right now, I think we’re all in a moment. It’s heavy, uncertain, disconcerting. We don’t know when it’s going to end or when it will get better. And while some moments may last a little longer, none of them are forever.

I’m telling you that even in the midst of that moment, when you don’t feel you can pick your head up from the ground, that is when you have to muster all of your strength to stand. Look at that moment and say it’s not always going to be like this.

We’re going to have brighter days. We’re going to run outside and cheer and embrace. We’ll have moments that we think couldn’t get any better. And we’ll look back at this moment and remember how it made us stronger. Keep looking forward, to better moments. ♡