These are the in-between moments.
Have Bag, Wish of Travel
It’s been almost a whole year since the Coronavirus rocked entire countries, economies, communities, and industries. While I’m so happy to still be at home, and safely tucked away on an island free of Covid, it seems I’ve caught the travel bug… again. Yup, even though I went to Manu’a twice last year, I’m daydreaming of more travels beyond the borders. Step 1 is to get the vaccine, which I’m halfway done with. Got my first dose a couple weeks ago! Next, wait for the borders to open.
Over the holidays, Ian gifted me with a Cotopaxi Allpa 35-liter bag from the Del Dia collection. I specifically requested a travel bag because I’m so looking forward to jumping on a plane with Ian and experiencing someplace new. I love it so far. I’ve been using it for my laptop even though it could probably pack an entire week of clothes and supplies in there, but that’s just how excited I am to use it!
Anyway, I’m babbling because it’s late, but look at me – I’m slowly uploading little updates here and there!
The Treehouse
Where Ian and I first met, where we live, and where we got married. Feeling so much love.
No place…
Like home.
Walking back home from a morning swim.
Happy Friday!
Halloween 2020
A very very last minute Star Wars costume but I loved it. We were actually having a very productive wedding prep day and lost track of the time, so around 6pm I brought out the sewing machine. We wanted to dress up as a couple and had decided just the night before we would try to go as Princess Leia and Han Solo. I sewed Ian’s vest and my wrap shirt really sloppily but quickly so we could meet up with our friends at Flying Fox at 7ish. I made my belt out of straight up duct tape. Ian wore my giant belt and it didn’t fit all the way around him lol, so we used paracord to link it up.
And the best part – Peep our banana blasters!
Sunset casa
The casa basking in the golden glow of sunset — my favorite time of day at home. No filter needed.
Today was a good day. I did a short sun salutation yoga flow, got some work done, drank my fav matcha latte, did laundry, tidied up around the house, and vegged out for a bit too 🙂 a nice mix to keep me in balance since the last week of the year always throws me off and I barely remember what day it even is until it’s suddenly the new year.
12.28.20
Sunset
12.08.2020
Power outage
We could hear our neighbors’ kids playing igave’a (hide and seek) in the dark, giggling and scurrying around the property under the starlit sky. The moon was bright and I looked beyond the lagoon towards the flatlands of Tafuna, electric lights on, busy and unaware of our tranquil brown-out.
10.13.2020 — My darling fiance made a delicious dinner of chicken dumplings and green salad with avocado and peppers. The power went out around 7pm, and we didn’t know how long it would be out for, but he got the tealights out, our battery-powered fans normally reserved for cyclone season, and streamed “Community” using his cellular data hotspotted on his fully charged laptop.
Luckily the water was still working, so I washed the dishes and Ian gently touched my back with his fingertips, something I normally do for him when he’s doing the dishes. His finger has an infection on it, so I’ve been on dish duty and it’s not so bad with stars on my back. We sat back in bed, brushed our teeth, and chatted for a bit before slipping into a humid-hot restless sleep.
TLDR: Late night babbling
Well HELLO to anyone visiting my corner of the interwebs!
It’s been a hot hot minute since I’ve gotten a chance to catch up with you online and share some of my recent photos. Time often seems to escape me, as per usual.
I’m up late again, listening to lofi love jams, sipping on an old pasta jar filled with good ol’ delicious water, and simply cruising the internet. I don’t want to think too hard about what to post because I’ve been doing that every day this week and look how that turned out — I ended up never posting anything because it feels like too much of a time commitment to get all my photos organized and uploaded, and a thoughtful post written out. I do have a ton of wonderful photo journals I want to share from my recent trip to Ofu, Manu’a though, so do look out for those to come!
I looked over at my traveler’s notebook journal laying open with a spread full of various to-do lists for the upcoming days. I try not to think about the growing list and take another sip of water. I’m actually in between editing photos of some photo canvases I had printed and hope to sell at the Pacific Roots Open Mic Showcase event this weekend, and toggling way too many Chrome tabs for wedding planning inspo…
Yup, it’s that season again. Time for me to start thinking about what the heck is going on with our betrothals. As bummed as I was that we had to postpone our wedding, I like that I have another opportunity to get excited about my wedding, albeit with caveats to accommodate the uncertainty of basically the entire world right now. It’s a crazy time we live in… strike that, it’s a dicey time we live in! Sorry about that; I’m trying to cut the word “crazy” from my language when referring to situations or current events by using language that is more accurately descriptive of what I’m referring to and does not refer to a deranged mental state, given the mental health crisis we are facing around the world and even in American Samoa. Anyway, I digress.
Something new and exciting that I do want to mention briefly here is that I got my illustrated stickers in the mail! Many many thanks to Polly for forwarding the package to me since the price of shipping directly from the manufacturer to American Samoa was exorbitant. I haven’t taken any photos or really done anything with the stickers yet except label them. I have that feeling like when you get a brand new notebook and you’re too intimidated by the blank page, and you want to keep it new but you want to use it… y’know what I’m saying? Maybe not, but it’s an exciting feeling and I am going to try to break the pack in by sticking some on my new reusable water bottle or on my phone. I want to sell them here on my website too, so gotta take photos of them soon and hope to open up shop like I’ve been dreaming of for quite a while.
Well clearly, it’s late here. I find myself getting more and more tangential as I type on in the wee hours of the night.
If you’re still reading, wow, thank you for being here. Feel free to visit more often, or send me a quick note in the comments because I would honestly love that so much. Blogging is so different than other social media platforms like facebook, instagram, or twitter. I love getting on here and just feeling at home on my own website, just minding my own business… but it’s also nice to get some interaction once in a while. Again, more blah blah blah from me… thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful day wherever you are.
Also, no photo journal here (I’m unfortunately past my capacity right now), but here are a few photos I snapped a couple months ago at Fagatele Bay while I was filming for our Get Into Your Sanctuary video campaign. Enjoy.
“hug hug, kiss kiss, hug hug, big kiss, little hug, kiss kiss, little kiss”
Life Lately: Burnt out but still going
Been a hottt lil minute since I had a chance to get on here and share a life update. July was a busier than expected month for me, and I can barely believe that it’s already mid-August?! Wild.
Between my full time job, freelance work, social life, “thriving” social media presence for work and self, PLUS my self care couch potato time *foreshadowing here*, I’ve been burning out. I was really hoping to blog my weekly Plastic Free July updates, and all the photo sessions I’ve been taking over the last few months, but that fell off real quick when my work schedule picked up. I even dropped the ball on a project I committed to—drafting a book design for a travel guide—and I felt really bad about my dwindling motivation and time management, so I re-prioritized and got it done.
The to-do list never ends. And I’m not mad about it. I’m just losing steam. This loco-motive is in desperate need of a vacay; some time away to recharge.
I live in paradise, so working from home—slow mornings, settled routines, and jumping in the ocean for lunch—has been a great deal of help. But I got a case of wanderlust and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a trip to Manu’a in the near future.
A few highlights of my life lately though:
I got a new couch! — *see I told you, foreshadowing* On the tag, it said it’s an L-shape chaise sleeper, so it can be converted from a couch into a full size bed. It’s the perfect size for our little home, and I’ve been stationed here most days lately with my bamboo lap desk and reading pillow for working on my laptop, or watching Netflix with my guy.
Finding rest and loving it — And while I know I said I’ve been uber busy, I’ve also been maxin’ my relaxin’ as much as I can. If the pandemic taught me one thing, it’s that there is never enough time in the world to do it all right now, so be kind to your mind and body, and do whatever it is that keeps you going. Can’t stay motivated if you are burnt out all the time!
Landed a new web design project — I’ve briefly mentioned this in a previous blog post, but I’ve made some changes to how I’m running my web design projects and I’m excited to have landed a sweet gig to keep me busy, active, and honing my skills. I generally only take one or two projects on each year so I can dedicate my time to each client since I have to do all this work in my spare time, when I’m not smashed with work at my full time job.
Plastic Free July — I truly meant to be better and share my daily updates, but alas, I was only able to post about my first week of the challenge. I did take photos on my phone that I’ll eventually get around to posting, but for now, all I can say is that it was pretty chill. There were definitely some fails, especially when it came to food and groceries, but it was a good way to reinforce my habits, and take stock in my plastic consumption again.
Dry July — On top of going plastic free in July, I also decided to go the entire month without alcohol. It wasn’t for any specific reason either. I just wanted to give it a try. And it was super easy. I didn’t crave a drink at all, except towards the end of the month when I was stressing about work stuff, and wanted to wine down (pun intended) with a cold bevvy. But yeah, it was cool otherwise.
Videos — The newest episode of PBS Changing Seas came out in early July featuring National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa and the various resource management agency partners, and I am stoked to be able to say I was a part of it! Back in October or November of last year, I pitched the episode idea to our office’s research coordinator, and she helped guide the direction and inform with research, and we sent it off to our headquarters media person, and got word from the South Florida PBS executive producer that we were selected for an episode! I helped with some logistics, and welcomed the film team back in February… literally just after the island’s measles epidemic, and just before 3 hurricanes came through, and of course COVID happened… it was a miracle it all worked out and they got a good weather window too. Anyhow, the show was amazing and I highly encourage you to watch it and get a sense of my beautiful island home and a bit of the science and research being done here to protect our natural resources. On another similar but unrelated note, I filmed a 20+ minute Get Into Your Sanctuary video program that turned out better than I expected. It took me and my coworkers 3 weeks to film, edit, schedule, and share the video on social media and I was so happy when it premiered live and the engagement was through the roof. Video work is new in my arsenal as I’ve always only been a still photo type of person, but I dig it and who knows, maybe if I upgrade my laptop’s RAM, I can get into more video work.
Hmm yeah, there’s probably more but honestly I’m tired. It’s 1am, and I’ve been forcing myself to stay up so I can finally post a blog update. And my eyes are drooping… so don’t mind any typos, and till next time!
xo,
Nerelle
morning coffee wisps
new (love) couch
lovingggg our new couch, and on each other. if this is adulting, i am here for it.
love seat
iphone photo snapped by Gabby F.
Sunday brunch by the water
Sunday brunching at the treehouse hammock.
Ian made probably the best avo tomato toast I’ve ever had.
He jumped in the water and swam a couple of laps.
Yodi girl followed him for a bit. I took some videos but they were too large of a video file to upload here.
Felt so good this morning.
Film strip moments today
August 12, 2020
Grateful to be working from home. The rain on the mountains. Officer Scruffles’ all cozy. These film strip moments.
sleepy animals
Photos by the bestie Alafaga, during a shoot I tagged along on. Also, I made this top just the night before! Even though I messed up a lot on it, it turned out kinda cute, and held through the windy day out despite not wearing a bra hahah
Impromptu date night
On Friday, Ian and I went and got massages with a gift certificate I forgot I had been gifted with back in November, and it was amazing. Then we went to dinner at The Equator Restaurant which was right next door, and treated ourselves to a lovely dinner out.
Weekend brunching
Sunset shadows
A little evening light reprise, after many days of clouds.
Take action today
Life Lately: a lengthy one, but a good one
HELLO friends, strangers of the Internet, and future me reading back entries when I’m feeling nostalgic or wondering what I did with my life… I hope you’re well!
I’ve been keeping busy over the last few weeks, and while I’ve been posting a bit more frequently in terms of random photos and tidbits from my days, I realize I haven’t summed up other notable life updates.
So here we go… a few “life latelies” that come to mind:
The most notable is… I celebrated half a dozen years with Ian! Who knew that I’d meet the love of my life right here at home when I least expected it?! I feel so lucky to have the kindest, most caring, handsome, and adventurous fiancé-slash-soon-to-be-husband. As you may know, we were supposed to get married last month in Samoa, but with the whole pandemic and everything, our destination wedding had to be moved. This deserves a whole other blog post dedicated to the details of how we celebrated our would be wedding weekend, but for now, I’ll mention that it was amazing. We went camping with just a small group of friends, and I wouldn’t have spent it any other way.
I’ve been actively saving money, mostly because I was saving for my wedding, and trying to meet my annual savings goals, but since one of those wasn’t going to happen this year, I did a little treat yo’self and got a new camera lens! It’s a prime Sigma 105mm f/1.4 lens, and let me tell you, it is a behemoth of a lens. It weighs about 5 pounds on the camera, and is so front heavy that it comes with a tripod holder for the lens. I’m still a little bit like, “whyyyy did I just buy that?!” because I tend to lean towards a lighter and more compact camera setup, but this was one of the best portrait lenses on the market, I just went for it. I love it though! Been getting different photos, and excited to keep shooting with it.
Something I never really talk about is my freelance work offering web design to clients. It’s been a journey over the years learning how to manage clients and design websites with the ever changing interwebs, but just a little update that I’m in the progress of changing up my process and will hopefully come up with a more streamlined strategy. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I have to say no when I can’t commit to a project. I have a full time job that I love and obviously takes up most of my working time, so I’m hoping a little changeup in my process will allow me to still do web design work in a more efficient way.
Speaking of work, I am a HUGE fan of working from home. I love being able to get up at sunrise, taking in the morning slowly, dressing up or down whenever I wanted to, working out in the mornings, spending time with Ian, Yodi, and Scruff, journaling, making matcha, and getting my work station all set up with the view of the lagoon. I feel less stressed when I work at home, and my skin has definitely been loving WFH life. My office building just has a really dry and sort of musty air about it, so my eczema gets irritated easily there. But at home by the beach? Ahhh my skin, mental health, and physical body are living for it lol. Oh yes, I’m also making food at home a lot, which means healthier meals, and not just tuna sushi and saimin. And saving time and money on my commute to town. Wow, I think it’s so cool that we can do so much of our work online these days, and I hope this means that workplaces will start to encourage teleworking going forward.
A couple of months ago, I upcycled a Tahiti-inspired two piece dress from a hand-me-down skirt, and coupled with the extra time at home, and my lifestyle shift towards slow fashion, I’ve been wanting to make more of my own clothes. I’ve spent more time on my sewing machine and made myself a reversible wrap crop top from scratch, upcycled an old favorite shirt I thrifted like 10 years ago into a tank top, and also made a wrap mini skirt from scratch. It’s been so fun to pick up this hobby again, and I’m excited to make more original clothing pieces that I’ll wear for another ten years.
Ian built a new board rack in our office/ studio/ spare room. Not a crazy update, but I thought it was worth mentioning. He got a new power tool (I forget what it’s called) and it’s so cute seeing him all excited to build stuff.
Last but not least, we are still safe from coronavirus in American Samoa. The borders are closed for another month and the local regulations have eased restrictions on business hours and social distancing rules, like allowing churches to congregate, and extending business operations hours to 8 or 9pm instead of 6pm. We are crazy blessed. Also, I don’t remember if I shared this on here, but my best friend’s photos were featured on this New York Times article about American Samoa being the only place in the US that does not have COVID-19! Proud of her, and also of our little island, for being a safe haven.
me painting, taken by ian.
ian hanging up the painting, taken by me.
hi hello how are you
sunset, happy hour, dominoes
The sun finally peeking through all the gray from this week. Sunset, happy hour, and dominoes on the balcony with my guy.
my precious fur babies
Yellow
the hue of home
From back in October last year I think?
sunday brunch
friday evening in 10 seconds
morning moon set
The moon setting at 6am yesterday. Peaceful moments chillin’ in the net hammocks by the lagoon.
Nu‘uuli waterfall
A few weeks back at Nu‘uuli waterfall with Gabby. She was there for a photo shoot, and I tagged along and assisted where I could. Then we wandered off and hung out the rest of the afternoon, did an impromptu photo shoot of our own, then hiked back, went home and got some reusable tupperware, and ordered Chinese takeout for dinner. I love days like these.
tired
I have been feeling so tired the last couple of weeks.
So mentally and sort of physically drained.
I have a lot of photos and little memories from the last few weeks that I want to share on the Journal… from my would-be-wedding-weekend camping trip to a fun shoot with Gabby in the jungle and experimental photos with my new prime lens… I’ll be randomly uploading as I settle back in to myself, and will try my best to get updated even though I feel so dreary.
On another note, I just watched 13th, the documentary on Netflix, and I literally cried. Learning about the injustices and the hidden targeted racism in America has opened my eyes to new perspectives on the #BlackLivesMatter movement. I’ve always been in support of active listening when it comes to stories from people of color, and it is so great to see people coming together to support and amplify them. I truly hope the world moves forward from this.
I took this photo earlier this evening of birds flying together back inland from the ocean, and thought it was pretty with the gradient of the sky and the cloud in the back peeking through.
Good night!
Pale workshop
It’s graduation season on island, and last night Gabby made a pale for her cousin whose graduation was this morning, and she (re)taught me how to make a tī ula.
And here’s Officer Scruffles, sniffing the keu Gabby made for me to take home.
Some people are exhausting. Really taking notice of how much I’m enjoying my time in isolation.
Daddy and zaddy bonding
Happy Mama’s Day to my mama
Safe in American Samoa’s closed borders
I’ve lost track of what day we’re in since quarantine began… let’s see, it’s been 5 weeks since we closed the island’s borders after the last flight in and out on March 26th. Many people were demanding the borders close early, and I’m so glad the government did just that. I keep wondering what might have happened if the government waited another week. Would we still be safe? I’ve been relishing in these days, feeling more safe within our tiny island’s borders than I would have thought or expected amidst a global health pandemic. Our one and only hospital has been on high alert since before the State of Emergency was announced, preparing for the worst, but I’m afraid that no amount of time will actually prepare us for what is to come if we let our guard down. While the stress tension in my shoulders have eased up, I am still weary of the possibility that it could still make its way here. I myself have let my guard down a couple of times over the last week, and have leaned in for hugs when my neighbor’s kids come running up to me to greet me. Kids aren’t very good at reinforcing social distancing. I’m not very good at resisting their open arms. I still have a pesky cough too, which is weird because I feel totally normal and fine. But my mister has pointed out that I can’t just chalk it up to nothing, and that I should still be careful, so thanks for the reminder.
A good day in isolation
My echo dot alarm goes off at 5:30am, and I listen to the automated daily NPR update as I convince myself to get up even though it’s still dark out. I call Jabs because she never wakes up on time, and we both meet in the treehouse 15 minutes later with our yoga mats for a half hour flexibility sequence we find on Sarah Beth’s YouTube channel. We’ve been getting up early every day this week to work out and move our bodies. The surface of the ocean is lit in tiny sparkles, and the sun hides behind dark clouds the entire day. I’m in my studio/office by 8:00am, headphones on listening to chill lofi beats, and looking up fautasi articles to contextualize my research of the history of fautasi evolving in American Samoa. The morning flies by and before I know it, it’s lunch, and high tide. Ian goes for quick SUP surf, and I plop down in the treehouse with Swell: A Sailing Surfer’s Voyage of Awakening by Liz Clark. It’s an easy read but I’m taking her blog-style chapters in slowly to sate my appetite for travel and adventure. I’m only distracted by a turtle that buzzes by. Back in the studio/office, I find out from my supervisor that we’re going to continue teleworking next week and I exhale an audible sigh of relief, and tell Ian beside me that he’s stuck with me at home for at least one more week. He’s happy to hear it. We work steadily until early evening and walk out to watch the pink and gold sunset skies. I head down to Gabby’s to get my camera sensor cleaned and walk with her to scout a location for a video interview she’s filming for AJ+. Ian and I play cards for our usual ‘happy hour’, then turn on the AC and get cozy for another night of healthily binging Ozark on Netflix. I tried to post this blog last night but could only muster the energy to finally edit my photos from Three (which I’ll post later) and upload these pics from my camera roll. My eyes started to droop, and not wanting to fight my sleepiness, I dozed off for the night. Here are a few little photo journal snaps from my phone yesterday.
Ocean sparkles 
Sunrise over east side of Tutuila and Aunu‘u Island 
Morning yoga in the treehouse with Jabs 
Turtle buzzing by 
Turtle buzzing by 
Morning sparkles over the water 
Sunset pinks over the neighborhood 
Sunset gold in the backyard 
WFH lunch break 
New outdoor shower that Ian installed, and our downstairs neighbors decorated!
Flight over Raiatea
In-flight photos on the way to Raiatea, summer 2019
Ian made me soup and got me all cozied up in bed when I was sick a few weeks ago.
Rain
rain and high tide in the backyard a couple weeks ago
Yodi’s mortal enemy, Koko
Yodi napping in the shadow
Liuasi and Sima
Hallway shelfie
Little bits and bobs in the hallway that make me happy
It’s not all black and white
Belt or no belt?
Finally used my JOBY GorillaPod and set my camera on timer for today’s portrait. Didn’t do the best job with the shot composition because I never use tripods so I couldn’t be bothered with
Played around with poses and it’s kinda feeling like a fashion look book lol.
Made this duster dress a few years ago with a couple yards of marigold-colored light jacquard cotton fabric I picked up at Manu’a’s. We don’t have a lot of good cotton fabric for flowy-style clothes here, so I love this dress because I love this fabric. I did a pretty sloppy job on the actual sewing, and there are loose threads everywhere because I don’t have a serger. That’s okay thought. It’s lasted this long in my closet, and I don’t foresee me getting rid of it anytime soon.
Pacific Roots Open Mic
Last weekend high tide fun
