HNL > MAD 7,855 Miles

Next week marks six months of me selling everything I own and flying 7,855 miles to live in Madrid, Spain.  It’s crazy to think about, because it doesn’t feel like that long at all.  This whole experience has been great and I am really quiet happy that I decided to take that “little” step out of my comfort zone.

Selling my things, and moving somewhere without even knowing the language can only be described with one word:  Humbling.

Of course there are tough days, but that is expected.  I just know I won’t be given anything I can’t handle, and I have complete faith in that.  Plus at the end of the day I am getting to learn new things (even if at times it get frustrating) and see places I never would have otherwise.

But the best part about this whole experience is getting to live with my sister.  I don’t mean to sound cheesy, but it is so great!  I have always been a little jealous of people that could call their family and head over for dinner or grab a drink with their siblings.  I never thought I would get to have that chance.  But now I do, and I realize that my jealousy was completely valid, because it’s the best!

Also, with a lot of help and encouragement from her, I am starting on something I should have done a while ago. . . .But more on that later.  As for now, here are some pictures of Madrid.

The cherry blossoms are everywhere right now.

This was taken the first day I arrived from our street.

The days are starting to be so nice!

A church down the street from where we live.

Neighborhood carnival.

The Egyptian Temple of Debod.

Breakfast

A sweet little cafe

 Enjoy your weekend.

Happy Aloha Friday!

When in Rome.

Last month I hopped on a quick two hour flight and headed to Rome, Italy.  I thought Rome was going to be really great, but it was more impressive than I could have ever imagined!

The first day, I did a lot of the touristy things, such as visit the Coloseeum, the Roman Forum, and the Patheon.  All of which were outstanding!

The following day I went to Vatican City, which was also breathtaking.  I toured the museum, saw the Sistine Chapel, went inside St. Peter’s Basilica and enjoyed some great pizza with an ice cold Italian Peroni!

Rome is an incredible city during that day, but at night it was even more lovely!  After leaving Vatican City, I walked around and saw a lot of the famous fountains.  They do an amazing job of illuminating all the monuments at night, especially the fountains.

The last day I was there was a Sunday, which meant the Pope would be speaking at the Vatican.  Even though I had already gone the day before I really didn’t want to miss seeing him.  After that I headed to a small neighborhood to walk around and have lunch.  I’m pretty sure I had the best gnocchi of my life that day!

Hope you enjoyed.  Ciao!

Roadtrippin’

This post should have been written a long time ago, but oh well,  here goes.

In August a friend and I took a roadtrip that started in San Diego, went through Arizona and into New Mexico and then back.  Though it was spur of the moment, no part of it ever felt rushed.  I forget sometimes that I spent half my youth in New Mexico and I defiantly forgot how beautiful the southwest was.  Actually, maybe I never knew, maybe its beauty was something I couldn’t truly appreciated until now.

Day 1  –  6:00 am  (San Diego, CA – Flagstaff, AZ)

My roadtrippin partner and I

We hit the road with a full tank of gas, blankets, coffee, snacks, a deck of cards and a cribbage board.  We traveled out of the city and haze and onto endless stretches of open road, one of them being the historic Route 66.  Around 3pm we arrived at our first destination:

The Grand Canyon.

Day 2  – 7:00 am (Flagstaff, AZ – Las Cruces, NM)

This day was amazing!  We went to a meteor crater impact site, a petrified forest, drove through a massive rain storm complete with thunder and lightning that lit up the whole sky, and finally ended up and White Sands National Park.  I had been here when I was younger and I remembered liking it, but I don’t think I remembered it being this amazing.  It is unlike any place with a beauty all its own.

Looking out into the crater.

White Sands National Park.

Day 3  – 7:00 am  (Las Cruces, NM – San Diego, CA)

Our final day was a lot of driving, but it really didn’t seem like it.  Between playing cribbage, stopping at random places and all the things we saw while driving it was actually quite enjoyable.  The main stop for the day was Tombstone, AZ, which we ended up spending almost 4 hours at.  We went on a tour of the town, saw a gunfight (that I ended up being a part of), ate lunch at a saloon and wondered around the town for a bit.

The Colorado River

After a long, hot day we stopped in Yuma, AZ to stretch our legs.  Because it was 8pm and still 101º we went for a swim in the Colorado River.  It was the perfect way to end our southwest roadtrip adventure!

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Hope you enjoyed.

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ps. some of you may know that I am on a new adventure, living in Madrid, I will be updating soon about that!

::Aloha::

Friday Song.

Happy Aloha Friday!

I think this video is such a riot and it makes me smile every time.  It is called “Ways to Go” by Grouplove.  Hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend!

Chocolate Avocado Mousse!

Another goal I had for the month of July was to really try and eat healthy.  This is hard when I have such a big sweet tooth, but I am learning there are ways around it.  Today I made a wonderful chocolate mousse that uses an avocado instead of the normal sugar, butter and heavy whipping cream.  It is beyond delicious and pretty close to being guilt free.

Recipe:

– 3 Avocados

(Though I used the single one I’m holding in the picture above, seeing as it is massive!)

– 1/4 Tsp. Salt

– 1 Tbsp. Vanilla

– 3 Tbsp. Agave

– 2/3 Cup Melted Dark Chocolate Chips**

**The original recipe called for 1/3 cup natural cocoa and 1/3 cup melted dark chocolate.

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides occasionally. If your avocados are a bit dry add a couple tablespoons of natural sugar-free almond milk.

Hope you enjoy!!

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::Aloha::

July July!

For the month of July I set one simple goal. . .  to get in the ocean everyday.

The salt water has a way of making everything better, a way of effortlessly cleansing my mind, body and soul.  I am instantly humbled by the vastness and power that the ocean holds.  All my problems wash away, or at least feel a bit smaller than they were.

Getting in the ocean everyday has made me so much more happy.  It makes me feel beyond blessed for everything I have.  I could be anywhere in the world, but for some lucky reason, I am here, now and couldn’t ask for anything more.

My favorite beach.

I have been wanting to watch the sunrise for a little bit now, but can never seem to wake up early enough.  Today though I made it a point.  I woke up at 5am, grabbed a coffee and headed out.  I was not disappointed. . .

The sun starting to make its way to the horizon.

The sun rising on Lanikai beach.

Glistening sand.

Greeting the day in a beautiful way.

“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air.”

                                                                                                   – Ralph Waldo Emerson

:: Aloha ::

Holiday Cheer!

How wonderful is this video?!  Instant holiday cheer and smiles.

:: Enjoy! ::

You Fancy Huh?

Yesterday I made some faux leather bow bracelets.  For now they are just in Olive or Black, but I want to make other colors as well.  They have a clasp and chain to secure them as well as a little bead at the end.  If you would like to order one just email me at arielpadon@gmail.com.  They are only $10!

Thrift Shop

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this video on another website.  It is from Seattle based artist, Macklemore, who is more well known then I realized.  Macklemore, who works alongside his producer, Ryan Lewis, just released their debut album “The Heist” on October 9, 2012 which has already hit #1 on iTunes.  The following video for their song Thrift Shop, has over 8 million views on YouTube, and once you watch it you will know why.  Enjoy!

http://macklemore.com/

A Tuesday Kind of Love

This beautiful post was written by  Stephanie Georgopulos of Thought Catalog and is called “I Want A Tuesday Kind of Love”.  Re-reading it tonight is exactly what I needed.  I needed to be reassured that what I want and crave isn’t some ridiculous, outlandish dream that only happens in movies.  In fact, reading this made me realize that the Tuesday kind of love is everything they leave out of those sappy love movies, yet is what makes love in real life, well. . . .real.

 “I Want A Tuesday Kind of Love”

I want a Tuesday kind of love. The sort of thing that involves little dreaming and scheming; the sort of thing that comes paired with too-strong coffee and too-loud songbirds and the drone of the news at 6 a.m. or any time before the sky finds its identity, really. A Tuesday kind of love that isn’t indulgent, one that doesn’t stop the earth from spinning but maybe keeps us grounded in spite of all that uncontrollable movement.

I want to split the bill and pay the bills and not get lost in some unsustainable delusion where the rest of our lives become inconsequential. I want us to be human, I want to argue, I want to take too long in the shower. I want to hear about the horrific lines at the DMV, about a boss who doesn’t get it, about plans to pick up the laundry after work. I want stories of strangers on the bus, of a child who looked lost but turned out not to be, of chance encounters with high school classmates because these seemingly colorless instances are meaningful when filtered through the eyes of someone I care about. A Tuesday kind of love, breathing relevance into otherwise monotonous moments.

A Tuesday kind of love is this: commuting to work knowing that someone cares about what you’re going to have for lunch; understanding that you do not have to be your dynamic, charming, weekend self this time; this time you can butcher sentences and make bad jokes and trip over thin air and it won’t change anything. A Tuesday kind of love is when weekends and weekdays are one and the same, expanses of time where unpredictable, irreplaceable closeness exists, swells, bursts. Tuesday is directionless conversation about things that happened five hours or five years ago; it’s knowing where he keeps his receipts and when he has a doctor appointment; it’s ordering Chinese food or taking his parents out for dinner because they’re in town or forgetting to eat because you’re full of each other’s words and there’s just no room for anything else.

I don’t want to dream through our lives together, don’t want to sleep in, don’t want to put on my sunglasses and pretend that life’s a vacation. The fantasy is that I want to exist in reality; the fantasy is to be there for someone on a Sunday morning but also on a Tuesday night, when the haze and laze of the weekend has worn thin and seems far away as ever. I want a Tuesday kind of love.