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Idyllic Beach Camping

Sep 14, 2018 | Lifestyle

It’s been a while since we’ve gone camping…

This island will always and forever be my home, so camping is one of the best ways to celebrate my surrounding environment. Still, it sometimes seems too small and like Trevor says, “because we’ve got A/C”.

It was a long weekend, and our friends made plans to camp in this isolated cove, which for the sake of everyone involved will remain a secret (for now). I couldn’t say no because it’s been on my bucket list for the last 4 years! It felt almost unreal to finally be there, and to just be away from it all – we were pretty remote, even though a couple of tiny fishing boats did pass through.

Val started the fire, Dustin caught some fish to roast later in the evening, the kiddos Eve and Sam jumped off rocks into the shallow waters, and a few of us paddled out to explore the caves and check out the coral life.

As the sun was setting behind the Pola islets, I realized yet again the magnificence of nature in its raw form, and let out a grateful sigh as the sun kissed the horizon good night.

View more photos of our adventure here.

Beach camping American Samoa | Nerelle.com

A Little Big Island Adventure

Sep 14, 2018 | Lifestyle

LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2018

We went with a group of friends on a little adventure… scratch that, it was a big island adventure. Something we’ve been wanting to do for the last 4 years. I was unsure I could leave work early but I promised to work over the weekend. Then Ian picked me up with his kayak and my SUP already strapped to our bright green truck, and a huge smile on his face, and we drove north. Thank God for Ian too because he packed all my stuff and prepped food and carried our vessels onto the truck, which he later offloaded in the bay, and then we paddled out to sea…

(…continued)

I used to be scared of paddling out in deep waters because of the sensible/irrational fear of something ominous beneath the cerulean sea.

I became so much more aware of the beating of my heart.

It took repeated familiarity and a good amount of hand holding before I learned to quell those fears and am now more excited than scared.

And thank goodness I overcame this because if not I would not have been rewarded with idyllic lush mountains and isolated beaches.

Photos taken by Nerelle Que and Ian Moffitt – but on the GoPro, mostly by Ian 😉

Back home

Jul 30, 2018 | Lifestyle, Travel

I’m back home in American Samoa!

You know as much as I love traveling, I love the feeling of coming home. Especially after the 12+ hours of sitting in airplanes and waiting in transit… though it wouldn’t be so bad if my bf was on the flight with me. Still. I like getting out of the airport, going home, opening up my door and seeing Yodi and Officer Scruffles wagging and meowing, excited to see me.

This weekend was a mix of chill, productive, fun, and adventurous. Oh yeah! I’m working on redesigning my website which I’m really excited for, and since I’m home solo while Ian is still traveling, I’ve been doing a lot of dancing in my underwear to loud music. And morning yoga, which I haven’t done in a long time. Some friends are also leaving the island so they rented an aiga bus for their tofa. And today a few friends decided to go to Vatia Tidepools at low tide.

But what I’ve been enjoying most is just hanging out at home, being a hermit crab: putting good music on, watching cheesy shows on Netflix, and writing. I’m always so appreciative to be where I am and right now where I am is exactly where I want to be. As you can tell, I’m in a reflective state so here are some photos from around home that I snapped.

Adventures with Shivaun: Part 1

Jun 25, 2018 | Lifestyle

After last weekend’s clothing swap, our friend Shivaun (who is leaving the island soon) spontaneously decided to take a drive around the island in the back of the truck… because if you know American Samoa at all, you’d know that riding in the back of the truck with friends is one of those special little things about this place.

None of us really had any plans for the rest of the day so we all jumped in the back of Ryan’s truck and took off. We drove east first towards Samu’s for homemade ice cream goodness.

Then went west, because we don’t go to the west side nearly enough. Made a pit stop at a local market stand for a quick coconut drive through.

Got to Amanave and pulled over the side of the road to enjoy our cold coconuts (we brought our own metal and bamboo straws!), and took some silly photos.

“Sometimes you gotta just feel your feelings…” that’s what this light of a human told me yesterday at her tofa.

It’s a weird thing when it’s time to go and the past 2 years feel like a blur. But we’re all travelers on the road of rediscovery and I hope you never stop searching for your dharma Shivvy! Love you my girl and I’ll see ya in Sconsin or absolutely anywhere I can

See Adventures with Shivaun: Part 2, where we hang out in Aoloau.

Also, our Clothing Swap that morning was a lot of fun.

Rainbow moments with Shivaun

Jun 7, 2018 | Lifestyle, Moments

Last weekend in the treehouse with this golden gal, Shivaun.

Talking stories and laughing with rainbows, then running from dark squalls and eating homemade chocolate truffles.

She’s one of my faves.

One of those days

Jun 6, 2018 | Moments

Lucky to have this love

May 26, 2018 | Journal, Lifestyle

I’m so lucky to have this kind of love. You bring more love to my life than I ever could have expected. We’ve grown up a lot too. We’re that old couple that leaves the party early to go watch a movie in bed. I love you old man baby boy. Each year gets better with you.

The sunsets this weekend

Mar 12, 2018 | Moments

Lit up my life

Family Photos on Christmas Day

Dec 28, 2017 | Lifestyle

My little family has grown so much in the last few years. I met my boyfriend, he brought home a stray kitten he named Officer Scruffles, and more recently we’ve adopted our favorite pup Yodi. We’re head over ~~heels~~ paws in love with our unlikely family of drifters.

Christmas Day was sheer perfection. Read more about what we did in my post here.

We took some family photos doing what we love – hanging out in the ocean!

Yodi is a natural in the water. She grew up here at Coconut Point so she’s always swimming whenever we go out. And in case you didn’t know, Officer Scruffles does in fact swim. Photo or it didn’t happen? If you want to see him in action, check out my Instagram video here, where he jumps into the ocean for a swim.

Manuia Le Kerisimasi from our family to yours!

It was so fun to just hang out with my furry family under the sun.

Ian paddled out with Officer on the kayak

I took the stand up paddle board and Yodi swam

Ian jumped into the cool blue water

While I hung out with Officer on the flotilla

A curious Officer going back and forth between the SUP and kayak

Another family photo in action!

The brave Scruffles. Officer Scruffles.

Saw a shark(!!!) for the first time in the water (not pictured). And a bunch of sea turtles <3

Ian took this rad shot of us all heading home

Moffman and the Officer kayak surfing in the small waves!

JOURNAL 6/52: (Christmas) Best Thing That Happened This Week

Dec 28, 2017 | Journal, Lifestyle

It’s the week between two of my favorite holidays – Christmas and New Year – so it’s only natural that the best thing that happened this week was Christmas Day. It was just a perfect day. Breakfast on the balcony (my fave). And our last day of advent gifts. Bittersweet because it’s been so fun to give and get little thoughtful gifts daily!

And I just want to share… YOU GUYS, I got a BCD! It was hilarious – we opened our envelope of clues and I could not for the life of me figure out where my gift was. Ian gave me a hint. I could see it from where I was standing. I scanned the entire house and still nothing. Ian started laughing harder and I followed his eyes OUTSIDE – and finally laid my eyes on a gift FLOATING in the lagoon! I ran out and saw my gift was atop a boogie board tied up to a nearby mangrove. I kind of already knew what it was, and I was beyond thrilled when I tore it open right then and there. A shiny new BCD that fit perfectly! We already made plans to go SUPing so next week, I’m starting 2018 off with a scuba dive!

We joined our friends and neighbors for a community brunch. Ian made baby back ribs, mmm! Then we all gathered on the beach for a group photo to be shared with fam and friends near and far.

And probably the best part of the day was out on the water. I wanted to take a ‘family photo’ and since our pets are known for their love of the ocean, we grabbed our SUP and kayak and took Yodi and Officer Scruffles out for a swim. We hung out just beyond the reef. I saw a shark for the first time in the wild!!! A friendly black tip reef shark, so no biggie really, but it still made my heart pump. And swam with a bunch of sea turtles. Like I said, it was perfect.

Here’s a sneak peek of our family photos, (and you can find the rest of them by clicking here).

Thank you Louise for helping take these photos!

And while I’m writing this, I want to give a shout out to the Man with the plan, the Reason for the season, Jesus Christ. Thank you for your life that gave me mine. And thanks for another beautiful day.

Journal 4/52: View (and Perspectives)

Dec 17, 2017 | Journal, Lifestyle

Inside looking out

The view from my window right now is a lot of green and living things. I can see a little girl playing with 2 dogs a couple of houses away. The pua flowers are in bloom and falling to the ground graciously. The pandanus looks inviting but I know better. Birds are singing and zooming by. I can see the peak of Mt. Matafao, the island’s tallest mountain. The banana tree is leafy and the coconut fronds are salt frayed. The sky is gray. There is wind in the air.

Outside looking in

The studio room is a mess. Christmas wrappers, ribbons, fabric, discarded mail, art supplies… all strewn about. It’s where I’m hiding Ian’s advent gifts. Where I journal. Where I blog. Where I sew and paint things. I’m mentally preparing to close out the year. Declutter. When did I become such a hoarder? Just had a clothing swap with some girlfriends last weekend and then donated the rest of the stuff to Hope House. I’m thinking of getting rid of a bunch more stuff. I did a bit of tidying up around the studio. Here’s a video of that in fast forward.

Journal 2/52: My Home (and a floor plan)

Dec 2, 2017 | Journal

When I think of home…

Home is one of those words that have multiple meanings for me.

I think of a house, someplace cozy, a warm and comfortable bed.

It’s where I want to be on a rainy day.

It’s in the arms of my love.

It’s this tropical island that I’ve always known.

The faces and places that are etched into my heart.

The place I called home for the longest time was my parent’s house in Malaeloa. I never had my own room as a kid (I shared with my sister mostly) so my side of the room was sacred to me. It was a mess most of the time, but I loved everything about it. Like my side table chock full of notebooks, stickers, and homework. Or my bed always occupied by stuffed animals. And I will never forget me and my siblings’ bunk bed back when we lived in Tafuna, and how we would build blanket forts and have picnics and fashion shows every other day.

Today, my home is a sunny little apartment at Coconut Point. Ian and I are of the mentality that our home is our nesting place, our sanctuary, our favorite place on this island — so we’ve put a lot of love into really making this our home. And now that we have pets, it’s got extra love!

Some of my favorite things about this place I call home:

* Yodi and Officer Scruffles
* All the plants, especially the ones that feed us!
* The bookshelf
* Every room has functional table space
* The balcony feels like a little jungle
* Our DIY workbench
* All the art supplies I’ve somehow accumulated
* The pot of fins, masks, and snorkels
* Living next to the ocean so we can go snorkeling or take our boards out whenever we fancy
* Having neighbors that are also your friends
* The king size bed and all the comfy blankets and pillows
* Air conditioning on hot days
* Ian’s toolboxes
* Our list of goals on the wall
* Christmas lights we keep up whether it’s Christmas or not
* The view out of every window
* Our DIY island on wheels
* The bed desk is soooo useful
* The cast iron pans we make absolutely everything on

Earlier this week I drew out a floor plan while I was thinking about what to write, and this morning I decided to digitally illustrate it! I liked it so much I decided to share it with you 🙂 It took me a few hours to complete but doing this really made me appreciate all the details (that I didn’t draw out) and made me think about my home as not just this physical space with walls and a roof but also as my fortress where I can feel safe and at peace no matter what else is going on in this crazy world.