Colombia Cravings

Several months ago we took a three week holiday in Colombia to visit my parents. It had been over a year and a half since we got married there and we were itching to be back at the finca. I of course, was missing my mom and dad like crazy, too.

It was a perfectly leisure time with family and some fun DIY projects on the side. All of the photos above are from the Zona Cafetera, Colombia's coffee region, from a small batch coffee plantation and the colonial town of Salento. You can see past photos and experiences here and visit my folk's airbnb page here. 

It's such a beautiful place, already counting the days until we can go back.

Loving Lately

I always feel like doing something more with my Pins so here ya go :)

Loving Lately: Nature inspired but organically (and abstractly) executed wallpaper, taking risks often - big or small, simple and elegant overhead lighting, comfy yet bad-ass kicks. 

/ 1 River Wallpaper by Emma Hayes  / 2 unknown via Tumblr  / 3  Snowberry by Hanna Dalrot with Design House Stockholm  / 4 Seksti Mid Leather by Tretorn

Relocated to Raleigh

At last...I feel like I can sit down, think a little, and type a little bit more. I've missed sharing things here and man do I have things to share! Since my last post in July we've moved out of LA, visited my parents in Colombia, road tripped across the USA, and moved into our new home in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I'll share more from all of the above soon but first a quick "howdy" from the new location of the next chapter of our lives. We've been here just over one month and are loving it so far. Can't wait to get even more settled in and acquainted with this gorgeous city and state. We are HOME! 

ferry good

Ahhh ... a city by the sea. And a lake. I'll take either as long as it's a big body of water.

We took advantage of Seattle's ferry system and spent an afternoon on Bainbridge Island. We had drinks by the marina at Doc's Grill and a last-meal-worthy dinner at Cafe Nola. Both were great but the real treat was simply being out on the water in the sunshine and during sunset. It was so peaceful and scenic - definitely wouldn't hate calling this my daily commute as so many others do. 

Until next time, Seattle!

seeing seattle

Some snaps from our walks around Pioneer Square (where the old Seattle is making a comeback), Belltown (where the Olympic Sculpture Park is top-notch), and around Pike Place Market (no explanation needed).

What an interesting, beautiful, and easy city to explore by foot. If we weren't already moving to Raleigh, North Carolina, Seattle would be it. Hands down.

road trip

When a friend mentioned that she wanted to drive her car to Seattle when she moved from LA (and didn't want to do it solo), Joe didn't hesitate to offer our company.  He knew that I'd been dying to drive up to the Pacific Northwest and as you know, we love any excuse to get away. The road trip was a quick but restful 3 days and 2 nights and we took a mix of the 101, 1, and 5 highways. It was gorgeous. From the cliffs and crashing waves of Big Sur, to the charm of wine country, to the winding roads lined with majestic redwoods ... we saw it all and soaked it up as much as we could within our daily mileage/time goals.

Our first night was spent in San Fransisco with another friend who had just moved (we're all leaving LA, one by one apparently). We met for dinner and had a sleepover in an Airbnb apartment in the Mission District. Airbnb has been so good to us - if you haven't used them yet, do consider it for your next trip.

For our second night we stopped in Crescent City and got a room at the Curly Redwood Lodge. I was obsessed with this place from the moment we pulled up. The structural lines, the color and grain of the wood - it was all too perfect for a road trip crashpad. Even more perfect was that the entire lodge was made using one single Curly Redwood tree (!). Pretty much the coolest place in town.

That's the great thing about road trips. There is cool stuff out there and different roads will always lead to new experiences and ways of viewing the world. The perks of doing it via your own vehicle is, of course, bottomless snacks and unlimited coffee stops. Oh to be on the road ...

PS:

Before any more time passes - and a new trip takes center stage - I want to share these snapshots from a getaway to Palm Springs with Joe's parents last month. We stayed at the new Sparrows hotel and loved every bit of it: the contemporary rustic design, the property's quiet nature, and their comfortable make-yourself-at-home approach to service. It was just right for showing the Snowbirds (aka my in-laws) how restorative and enjoyable a stay in the desert can be.

I wish that we could go back before moving (more on that later) but our summer is already packed with work and other travels. So what's next? A road trip from LA to Seattle! It'll be a quick one since we're helping a friend move up there but we'll definitely make time for sightseeing and fun. I'm really excited for the drive. I've never driven north of San Fransisco and have never seen the Redwoods ... can't wait to wrap my tiny arms around a giant tree trunk. Yes, cliché photo-op but hey, at least I'm getting back to taking pictures! New adventures await and my spirit, and camera, are ready.

New

I'm back! New website, new direction, new focus, and a new skip to my step. The past several months have been personally and creatively enlightening/encouraging but in order to wrap my head around what needed to be done, I had to step away. I wasn't blogging but I was scheming and working on putting this here website together - a place to share what I've done and welcome what's to come.  I'll be back with more updates but for now, I just wanted to say "hello, hola!" and welcome you to the new anamariamunoz.com. Click around and stay awhile.

because i miss you {checking in}

Helloooo! I hope you've been well. This photo is from a brief stroll in Downtown Santa Barbara while I waited for my train. I was there last weekend for a bachelorette party and it was such a treat to relax and have fun with my gal pals. It was a treat not only because I had just wrapped up a crazy week of work, but because there was a moment when I realized that hanging out with a group of girls like that had become so rare in my life. Living away for three years meant lots of solo time with Joe and double dates with other couples. I love both very much but sometimes a girl just needs girl-time, you know?

The weekend was great and because I do love my solo time with Joe, I really want to go back with him to check out the old missions and spend time on the beach. We'll see when we can squeeze it in as the next few months are already booked with travels, activities, and Ring Cozy is keeping me very very busy. It's been growing, I've been learning, and the business is really starting to feel like the real-deal. It's getting out of the awkward stage of testing the market, figuring out suppliers, etc, and moving into the more consistent stream of sales and processes that come with time, experience, and confidence in both myself and the product. I can't tell you how awesome it is to get emails from customers who tell me how Ring Cozy has solved a problem they had. To think that my idea, my creation, and all my work in bringing it to life is adding something positive to someone's everyday life - even if it's for something as seemingly small as a ring - is truly amazing. With that said, this little blog break is over. Time to get back to work!

ps - I'm on instagram more often than here these days so come join me there if you haven't already!

all stretched out

Happy Friday, guys! I was flipping through my sketchbook and I came across several 'inside outside' doodles that I made around the time of this post. In that post I said

"I’ve been stretched so far out of my comfort zone that it’s hard to imagine going back to my original shape. I like the new irregular shape that’s been molded by everything I’ve seen and experienced, both the good and the not-so-great."

I really like the whole "irregular" shape idea of constantly morphing into a new form. A form that kinda resembles the original, familiar, and safe one but knows that it will never be as confined again.

I have so many sketches in my notebook that I want to play further with and this is my first step in doing so.

It felt like the right week for it too - I had two great online features for things that have taken me out of my comfort zones both personally and professionally:

Sharing my experience of living in Malaysia + traveling with the amazing Project Bly

A funny hate-love take on Ring Cozy on xoJane

It was a good week!

Now cheers to the weekend - go have an adventure and get all stretched out and irregular.

mountain getaway {mammoth}

"Going to the mountains is going home". This John Muir quote was posted on a sign for departing visitors of Mammoth and as we drove past it - leaving behind an incredible weekend of reconnecting with friends and nature - I smiled and thanked Mr. Muir for the reminder. The mountains have never felt more like home than they do right now and I'm really relishing the opportunity to enjoy them while we're in LA. For Christmas they were just one and a half hours away and for this long weekend, it was six. One day I want to actually live in the mountains, but for now our current proximity is just right to satisfy my nature longings.

It's been a very dry winter so there was hardly any snow in the area and the snow on the slopes was mostly man-made. Not perfect for avid skiers but perfect for me as a newbie. I had only snowboarded four times prior to trying skiing on Saturday and since I never quite got into having my feet strapped into one single unit while facing sideways, I figured that skiing was worth trying. Joe, being the pro that he is, spent the day with me playing instructor and after only four runs (with breaks in between because my legs were giving in!) I think I'm on a good track. I have some balance and speed issues to deal with but at least the giant tennis ball size bruise on my left hip proves that I tried.

When we weren't on the slopes we relaxed at the condo/cabin. There were ten of us so it was perfect for playing a variety of card games, one of which was totally new for me: Cards Against Humanity. Have you ever played that? It's pretty awful/hilarious. You really need to be in comfortable company for it, and that we were.

On day two we took a break from the bindings to watch the US Snowboarding Grand Prix for the Olympics. There's nothing like watching pros to make you realize how much of a beginner you are...it all would have been so simple had I learned when I was five like all the other kids doing the "pizza" stance with me...

Luckily the rest of the day included a hike around Convict Lake, something that I felt very comfortable doing on my feet. It was beautiful and just the right time of day to watch the light change on the lake and surrounding formations. I say formations because every side looked different from the other - one with pine trees, one with jagged rock walls, and the other like an uphill prairie. We took our time making the loop, oooing and awwing with every turn that we made. Unfortunately on the last leg there were multiple stretches where the trail was covered in ice, and I slipped and fell on my right hip. Had to balance out the bruise from the previous day, right?! It was worth it though, to get that time in nature with friends, to be out breathing the fresh air, and to simply be surrounded by something so majestic.

Can't wait to go 'home' again.

re-set

I know we're mid-way through the month but it's still January soooo ... Happy New Year! I'm excited for 2014. It looks good when written, it sounds great when said aloud, and I'll finally turn that ripe age of 29 after a year of mistakenly saying that that's what I am (obviously not afraid of getting old here).

The year got off to a solid start with work and social fun but the sick bug I had been avoiding for months apparently decided that 2014 was its time to shine. I spent two days with the worst fever I've had since childhood and had it not been for Joe diligently taking care of me it might have been four.

Now with the sick-me out of the way, it almost feels like I'm starting the new year all over again. It's time to get back to business, put some non-pj looking clothes on, and actually leave the house (yay!). And in the middle of it all, remember to stop and notice the inspiring things around me like these sunset building patterns and colors the day before I got sick.

That's what I'm excited to get back to - the accomplished feeling that comes from getting things done and the little moments through out each day that make life feel magical.

I think that the real 29 is going to be great :)