Author: Staci

Staci blogs about travel at TheVoyageer.com.

Year of Focus: Check in 1

If meaning to blog was the same as actually blogging, I’d have posted probably 5 or 6 times already this year. Alas, this is my second post of 2016. I thought I would check in on how I’m doing, a month into my “year of focus,” and link to a few interesting things I’ve seen online lately.

Travel: Like I said before, I’m focusing more on a few large trips and not as many small weekend getaways this year. We’ve booked a trip for Washington DC, and it’s going to be six days, believe it or not! Looking forward to having more than one day off work and showing Doug a city that I love and he’s never seen before. Also bracing myself for the cold (we’re going while it’s still winter. Eek!)

Business: Trying to focus on starting my business is long term, really long term, which leads to a bit of discouragement. But I’m trying to rustle up some clients for my side hustle, manuscript preparation, and stash that money away. I’ve also enrolled in another evening class, this time on graphic design– last semester I took a business plan writing class. Baby steps!

Personal: Our Mac has been having problems lately so I’ve been using Pixlr to edit photos for the web, but I needed something better for print. I quit hemming and hawing about the $10 a month and signed up for Photoshop Creative Suite (cloud-based). Now I can get down to business on my annual photobook. I managed to re-edit all of my LA photos, so expect a few of those to make their way onto the blog shortly. Even though those trips were months ago.

Work: Work has been forcing me to focus because ever since the students have come back it’s been crazy busy. I mean, like, crazy. It’s good because it makes the day go by much faster, but it’s sad because it means less downtime to look at memes.

Links: The title says it all, but Donald Trump Accidentally Sat Through A Sermon About Welcoming Immigrants. Also, do you suffer from Information Overload? I bet you do…  And, I don’t have kids but I found this article on life with toys interesting. I think it can apply to adults too, and “junk” that always accumulates in our lives.

So, I’ve checked in… how are you doing?

2016: The Year Of…

I have noticed an increase in the trend of eschewing traditional “New Year’s Resolutions” and instead picking a word for the year or a theme for the year. I don’t think I picked a resolution or a theme for 2015, but looking back it is clear to see the theme of the year was “Travel/Exploration.” This is something I am so happy about– being privileged enough to have these getaways.

I was so busy I only blogged 13 times in 2015, disappointing myself. This year I will blog more, and I’ll probably work my way through my recent photos and put together a few blog posts about last fall’s travels even though it’s been a while at this point.

Anyway, in reflection on how scattered I was last year, and inspired by my friend Libby’s decision to follow her dreams, I’m going to designate the theme of 2016 as “Focus.” I want to focus on a couple larger trips instead of lots of weekend trips. I’d also like to streamline and focus my finances and priorities with the ultimate goal of starting my own small business, possibly a year  from now. By reminding myself on a constant basis to focus, I hope to be more purposeful and productive, building habits that support this goal.

2016 Year of Focus

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution or a theme for 2016 yet?

Our Portland AirBnB

When we were in Portland last July, there were several conventions and events happening city-wide so we couldn’t find any affordable hotel rooms. Enter Airbnb! We had used the site once in the past, when we stayed in Denver, so we knew it was easy to book a stylish, comfortable place.

The place we stayed in was a basement-level apartment north of the Alberta Arts district. I like the idea of an Airbnb most when the rental is within or attached to (but still separate) from someone’s home. This place, called Peaceful Retreat, was just that. Very peaceful with a monochromatic color scheme. The couple that owns the home are both designers, and you can tell.

Portland AirBnB

Portland AirBnB

I loved the cozy accessories. If we were there longer I would have liked to take better advantage of the sound system, games, and kitchen.

Portland AirBnB

Portland AirBnBl

Portland AirBnB

We weren’t downtown like we were last time, but since we had always intended on renting a car anyway, it was nice to be in a quiet part of town. I like taking advantage of Airbnb especially to check out cool neighborhoods in big cities that don’t really have a large hotel presence. If you have a trip coming up, possibly during the holidays, keep one of these vacation rentals in mind especially as hotels may have filled up! If you haven’t joined Airbnb yet, here’s my referral link, which will give me a little somethin’ somethin’ for recommending you. ;)

Disclosure: I was not asked by Airbnb to write this review (they have no idea who I am), but if you use my code to join, I get a credit to my account.