I Romanticize

It’s wildflower season. #iromanticize #instagood #wildflowers #spring #wildflowersofinstagram #wildflowergarden https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq38tMrLh1u/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

The city of angels has some serious architectural gems. #la #losangeles #architecture #laarchitecture #thebroadmuseum #lights #cityscapes #laskyline #losangelesskyline #archilover #iromanticize #photowalk #streetphotography #raw_usa_ #raw_community (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqd1wSqP7xg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

One of the best lessons you can learn in life is the ability to remain calm 😊 https://www.instagram.com/p/Co_efyOtLWO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

For the last few days, we’ve been getting a lot of rain. There were thunderstorms and flash floods and emergency warnings… and then there was this. https://www.instagram.com/p/CSuBwUbrwuy/?utm_medium=tumblr

*Are there any plant lovers out there?* My mother has the green thumb. From starting a garden from scratch to maintaining her roses, to killing weeds, to fighting frost, to raising vegetables — she has done it all. And she does it successfully. I have always been more of a beneficiary of all of her hard work. But over the course of last year, I have been nurturing and growing my indoor plant collection. It’s a strange thing really - to see these seemingly inanimate things grow and change overtime. To suddenly become aware that life is being produced right under our noses every single day ever so slowly but beautifully. It’s a strange thing to really just…. pause. https://www.instagram.com/p/CSrqSniHPoi/?utm_medium=tumblr

Two local ladies helped us to get to this spot. It was beautiful and secluded and non-touristy- in fact we were the only people there for a while. Everyone goes to the “famous” red sand beach on Maui. We were in another part of the island. We told them we have heard that there are some red sand beaches in this area as well and would love to see one. So they helped out with a smile and some old-fashioned directions - left by the banyan tree, right by the banana bread shack, 5 mins straight on the dirt road. We would have never experienced this beauty without their help - the Hawaiian breeze one can only experience in Hawaii, the sand as red as blood, water so clear but blue you’re convinced it’s photoshopped. As we sat there, a native man showed up with his fishing gear. An unsupervised 10-year-old kept running around in nothing but his shorts. You could tell he grew up on the waves. The place is clearly a local secret. This is where the locals come to hide as the island slowly gets overrun by tourists - they call it a paradise on Instagram but pollute it left and right, encroach on their beaches, stomp on the natives’ holy grounds, build resorts on their properties, and treat them like second class citizens. (at Maui, HI) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR6vCxwLX3W/?utm_medium=tumblr

Still can’t get over how insane it was watching that sunset from above the clouds…. (at Above The Clouds @ Haleakala) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRx0ShcrdBn/?utm_medium=tumblr

Have you ever seen a green sunset? ⁣⁣ ⁣ Well, this is what it looks like. 𝘕𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱, 𝘐 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I had researched what’s called the “green flash” of the Maui sunset before going there and while I was intrigued, I had very little expectation to actually witnessing it. For one, it doesn’t happen all the time, and two, it’s fairly brief, so easy to miss. But thanks to my husband’s incessant love for sunsets, whenever we are traveling, we must go chase one or two… or every evening. This time we were on top of Haleakala, 10,000ft above sea level, visibly above the cloud line, watching in awe as the sun dipped below the clouds (𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘴?! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦). The sky must have shown us every color on the spectrum that evening until it finally turned this bright green for about half a minute before slowly dimming and diffusing and we saw our first star. The whole experience was both incredible and puzzling, both terrifying and humbling. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Scientifically, the green flash is an atmospheric event that occurs when the horizon is very clear and there is a favorable amount of moisture in the air. As the sun sets, its light becomes highly bent or refracted, separating the colors it normally absorbs so the very top edge appears briefly as a green. While there is no optimal condition that will guarantee a green flash sighting, a green flash is best observed with a clear view of the horizon and in an area that is free of pollution. You are more likely to see a green flash when there is visibility of several miles, almost to the point of the curvature of the earth, and the sky is cloudless (𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘴). (at Green Flash) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRnq8oArLCD/?utm_medium=tumblr

The ocean manages to balance a variety of seemingly opposite extremes. Peace and chaos. Comfort and violence. Life and death. Every time I'm exposed to it, it seems to expand my horizon. Literally and metaphorically. (at Hawaii, USA) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRUHq_zrYOs/?utm_medium=tumblr

A.L.A.S.K.A. These six letters speak enough for a whole caption. https://www.instagram.com/p/CPFS92unHEV/?utm_medium=tumblr

I love brunch and I am not a morning person. So, he takes it upon himself to get up almost every Sunday before me and make me my favorite brunch. It's simple really. Eggs, backed potatoes, turkey bacon, orange juice. But it always come with some a special touch. Sometimes, its a decked up plate, sometimes its an elaborate place setting. This morning, the potatoes fancied into a perfect heart. It is all coming from a man who did not know how to properly fry an egg when we first met. You can see how love has inspired this. https://www.instagram.com/p/CO8GtUpHCUW/?igshid=1irmnwem766kf

Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed. https://www.instagram.com/p/CO4eJwXHSqx/?igshid=hr50zd8vdml2

It doesn’t happen like that. You don’t just wake up one day and find that everything has worked itself out. You must get out of bed, morning after morning, and make a conscious effort to control the circumstances of that given day. You must learn to handle your issues with grace because you respect what they are attempting to teach you. You must drown your insecurities slowly, one self-realization at a time. You must allow yourself to feel the fear bubbling just beneath your skin but you must never allow it the satisfaction of crippling you; grit your teeth and march on. You see, they never tell you how hard these things will be. This fight to reclaim yourself is not easy or straightforward but, my god, is it necessary. (at White Sands National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/COk8wQInsKx/?igshid=1ta9ttewnu433

October, crisp, misty, golden October, when the light is sweet and heavy. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGO37edH3R9/?igshid=tyfpo8vgrhbo

Let’s go into the woods and hold hands and sit on moss-covered trees. Collect some pinecones and leaves and eat blueberries we find in the brambles. Stay there by the little stream and kiss to the sounds of trickling water. Spot deer in the distance and watch as the moon rises and makes your skin glow. @catandherman https://www.instagram.com/p/CFJSOdqHjcc/?igshid=14rtkfy3c6ahe