Touring Hobbiton, New Zealand

I was thrilled to finally be able to visit Hobbiton in New Zealand! It had long been a dream of mine and Casey's to walk through Hobbiton and see Bag End in person.

Book Review: Bad Feminist

Title: Bad Feminist (Essays) Author: Roxane Gay I picked up this book while Casey and I were living in Oregon from Powells book store.  It sat on my shelf for several years before ending up in my duffle bag to be read during our travels in New Zealand.  Roxane Gay published these series of essays...

What is WWOOFing and How Does it Work?

All about WWOOF: how it works and what you need to know - from the perspective a WWOOFer.

Our First WWOOF Experience: Sacred Earth, Karekare, New Zealand

I first heard the term WWOOF while attending a Mother Earth News Fair in Oregon.  In short, WWOOF is a program where organic farmers seek a volunteer and offer room/board and meals in exchange for a few hours of work.  It gives the farmer some extra hands to help with the work load, and gives...

Rock Climbing: Mangaokewa, New Zealand

Casey and I had just begun our adventure of traveling New Zealand in our Campervan.  We had spent almost a week managing our jet-lag in Auckland before hitting the road and heading to some "touristy" destinations on the top of our list. We had found a free camping site to stay at for our first...

Our First Week in New Zealand: Auckland

I was gifted a bullet journal (BuJo) by my coworkers on my last day of work before our big trip to New Zealand.  I have been using the BuJo to document all my memories I am making here.  Of course I also planned to blog about all the cool new things Casey and I were...

Book Review: The Alchemist

While WWOOF-ing at Sacred Earth in New Zealand for three weeks, I found this small book on a shelf in one of the volunteer spaces.  It was a thin book, and I had heard people mention this little book casually as a required reading they may have had to do in school.  I didn't really know much else about it, but figured it would be a quick read so I decided to spend an evening absorbing the content.

Everything you need to know about moving to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa

Who hasn’t dreamed of ditching their desk job and jetting off to a foreign country with nothing but a backpack full of clothes?  I did, constantly! For most people, this daydream quickly ends after realizing that travel requires money and money does not grow on trees.  If only there was an easy way to travel...

Rock Climbing & Craft Beer – Austin, TX

My hands have learned to understand the sandstone cliffs of Horseshoe Canyon Ranch (HCR).  My husband and I have taken a few trips there over the years to learn and improve our outdoor rock climbing skills.  This hobby has turned into a full blow passion, and we began to crave more. We heard about the...

Camping & Canoeing: Buffalo National River, AR

The Ozarks in Arkansas are wonderfully wild.  It's lush forest and rich history make an adventurers paradise!  Casey and I wanted to go on a canoe trip this summer, and our river of choice was Buffalo National River in Arkansas. The Buffalo National River was established in 1972, becoming America's First National River.  Casey and...

2018 Spring & Summer Garden

A new growing season, a new house. We composted and used plants grown in a greenhouse. Check out what we learned!

Book Review: Origin

The storyline of "Origin" pits creationism against science, not far from how society has always handled the two concepts.  Both science and religion struggling to keep their hold on people and culture, while trying to douse the flames of the other.

Lead Climbing at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch has been a wonderful experience for rock climbing each time we visit. This trip was probably our favorite so far!

How to Be An Entomologists Assistant

If you open the door to my freezer, you may be shocked to find it mostly filled with containers and jars full of insects of all sizes.  My husband, Casey, is an entomologist.  His career path is the reason we live in Louisiana, where the bugs grow big and congregate in large numbers.

Book Review: How to Tame a Fox

Title: How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog) by: Lee Alan Dugatkin and Lyudmila Trut   Imagine scientists who have to perform experiments in secret; not because of the nature of said experiments, but because the countries government could declare their research as illegal and opposing to political ideologies. Scientists attempt to follow...