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Mui Ne Vietnam, a Fishing Village by the Sea-that You Have to See

1/20/2019

A couple weeks ago you read all about our yoga retreat in Vietnam with saigon om.
We spent five wonderful days at this retreat, but spent a total of two weeks in Vietnam. So what did we do the other nine days? I'm so glad you asked!
We split our time between Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and Mui Ne, so I will split these two cities into two blog posts-here is the first one, welcome to Mui Ne!

Mui Ne is an adorable little coastal fishing and tourist town along the southeastern edge of Vietnam.

During our first five days in Mui Ne we enjoyed the luxury of the Full Moon Village, a secluded and glorious resort that we stayed at during the retreat. This place was so awesome it will be getting its own blog post soon!
We love the ocean, and there was no shortage of it here as you can see!

I absolutely loved watching the fishermen hard at work, their little boats bobbing around in the ocean, and cruising around the beach on their motorbikes!

Once the retreat was over, Nick and I hopped on a bus and headed into town, a bustling little touristy area with no shortage of restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and seafood. Downtown Mui Ne is divided in two- the ocean side of the road, and the non-ocean side.
The ocean side of Mui Ne is where you can find the luxurious ocean front hotels, ocean front dining, and one of the best clubs I have ever been to. The non-ocean side is usually made up of less expensive hostels and backpacker hotels.

Nick walking on the ocean side of the road.

We found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the long stretch that is Nguyen Dinh Chieu, the street dividing the ocean side and the non ocean side, staying at Cocosand hotel, a little hole in the wall on the non-ocean side. It only cost us $16 a day! We could have gotten an even cheaper room, but we wanted a private bathroom.

We absolutely loved it here-I mean look at that courtyard!

This drop dead gorgeous, magnificent, perfect courtyard was in the middle of the hotel, with a sidewalk going all the way around it, and the rooms branching off of the sidewalk.

This was our room!

Can you tell I'm obsessed?! We were so very happy with our stay here.

Oh yes, the food! Food and drinks are usually one of our favorite parts of vacation (ok life!). Add in an ocean view and crazy cheap food and drinks? We were in heaven!
This was our favorite place, with our favorite view, with our favorite food!

Speaking of restaurants! I am obsessed with this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant where you take your shoes off before you enter, sit on mats on the floor, and the waitress brings you newborn puppies to hold because her dog just had babies!!!

Goooooood morning Vietnam!

As you can tell, we had the best time during our stay in Mue Ne, Vietnam. I would whole-heartedly recommend it as a vacation spot! Why not join saigon om on their next yoga retreat here?!
Thank you so much for reading- stay tuned for upcoming posts about The Full Moon Village Resort, and our time in Saigon!
Have a wondeful week loves <3

Peace Love and Mui Ne Vietnam
Jess <3

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A week in Vietnam with saigon om

11/20/2018

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"Sitting on our mats on the ground, joining in a guided meditation, listening to the birds chirping in the top of our shala, and the waves just beyond, I couldn't help but smile, and just be thankful to be alive, and to be spending a part of my life in this glorious slice of God's earth."
This was an entry I wrote in my journal I kept while at the retreat. I don't normally journal, but there were so many moments, and so many emotions happening, that I didn't want to forget a second of it. A good portion of this post has been taken from the journal I kept at the retreat.

As I am sitting here looking at my three hundred plus pictures, and going through my pages and pages of hand scribbled notes, I am wondering how on earth to truly share with you guys, and do justice, to the five days and six nights I spent with saigon om. I guess I will just share with you what our week looked like, and start by telling you our daily schedule while at the retreat. I know I wrote a little about the schedule in my previous post, where I told you all about saigon om and how excited I was to attend a retreat by them. If I'm being honest, when I wrote that schedule down, and then showed it to my husband, it left us both feeling a little overwhelmed. Neither of us were super advanced in yoga, had ever attended a retreat, or knew anything about mindfulness, and that schedule, while it looked amazing, was a bit daunting! If any of you felt the same way when you looked at it the first time, don't feel bad! But I knew it would be good for us, we wanted to do it, and so we did it! And wow, I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that we did! So with that in mind, here is what our week looked like while at our yoga and mindfulness retreat with saigon om in beautiful Mui Ne, Vietnam.

Daily Schedule
6:00-7 a.m. Qi Gong, mindful walking on the beach, and guided meditation
7:00-7:45 a.m. Fruit, tea and coffee
7:45-8:30 a.m. Lecture
8:30-10 a.m. Morning yoga
10:00 a.m. Brunch
11:00 a.m -4 p.m. Free time
4:00-6 p.m. Evening restorative yoga, mindful tea drinking, group sharing
6:15 p.m. Dinner

6:00-7 a.m. Qi Gong, mindful walking on the beach, and guided meditation
I am a bit embarrassed to admit that one of the things I was worried about, was our schedule beginning at six o'clock in the morning. I have trouble getting to bed before midnight, and getting me out of bed before eight is nearly impossible, so the thought of having to start my day every morning at six, was a bit troubling! However, I discovered with delight, traveling to a place eleven hours ahead of home, is the perfect solution for that! I fell asleep every night before eight, and every morning we arose before sunrise. Sneaking out of our villa, following the trail to the ocean, we would watch the magnificent sunrise, the clouds slowly peeking above the ocean, the sun casting its fiery rays. This was a beautiful moment for Nick and I every morning.

Once the sun had rose, we would wander up to our shala, which was a second story open-air hut with a beautiful thatched roof that housed a large number of birds, that had a breathtaking view of the ocean. Shala means house in Sanskrit-it is used in yoga to mean a house of yoga. This is me at the front of our shala.

The Chinese practice of Qi Gong was a delight! Qi in Chinese means energy, and Qi Gong is the practice of using breathing, meditating, and movement to get your energy moving (Sarah and Hang explain it much better!).
I loved learning about this thousands of year old art form, and getting to use the free flowing movements to wake up my organs, and even ease some of the tension in my shoulders!
The photo above and below are courtesy of Pascal Lefebvre, the owner of Full Moon Village Resort.

Our mindful walking was a beautiful time spent every morning walking in mindful silence, as a group, along the beach.

Guided Meditation
During our first morning guided meditation I sat on my mat, and participated in the guided meditation. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of Sarah's voice gently guiding us on our meditation journey. Tears ran down my face as I listened to the birds chirping, the waves crashing, and focused on loving awareness towards myself. I was overcome by such deep feelings of joy, peace, and a love for myself and my surroundings.

7:00-7:45 a.m. Fruit, tea and coffee
Once the guided meditation was over, we all walked down from the shala where fresh fruit and teas were awaiting us. If that wasn't enough, we got to order a fancy tea or coffee from the wait staff. My iced Vietnamese coffee with coconut cream was probably one of my favorite parts of the day! I also loved the opportunity to sit and conversate with the amazing individuals from five different countries, and all walks of life that were at the retreat. Being in a group of like minded people, talking, sharing, and nobody on their cell phones (!!!) felt like paradise to me!

7:45-8:30 a.m. Lecture
After we had our fill of the glorious fruits, teas, and coffees, we made our way back up to the shala. I thoroughly looked forward to, and enjoyed the lectures. The word lecture conjures up for most hard chairs, fluorescent lighting, and a long-winded professor. More opposite of that this could not have been! We sat in a semi-circle in our shala, on our yoga mats, with the wind in our hair, and the ocean beside us, learning lessons that we would later practice on the mat, and in everyday life. Hang and Sarah enraptured and delighted us with their vast knowledge, humor, and contagious joy. We learned about the different doshas, mindfulness, the garden of the mind, and how words can affect us, and more! I took lots of notes and am so excited to keep applying these wonderful principles to my life.

8:30-10 a.m. Morning yoga
Ahhh morning yoga...can you think of anything more perfect?
Lying there on my back focusing on my breathing, hearing only the gentle sounds of Hang's voice, and the crash of the ocean, with its cool salty breeze blowing delicately on my face, I knew i was truly in paradise. And yes, this is the view from our shala!

10:00 a.m. Brunch
Brunch was an absolutely glorious time! After four hours of yoga, meditation, and lectures, we were all invigorated-and hungry! We made our way downstairs where a buffet of freshly squeezed watermelon, coconut and other various juices were waiting, along with a different vegetarian pho every day, as well as fresh salads, coffee, and other various brunch foods. We ate these with the glass doors wide open to allow the outdoors access to us. Sigh, heaven.

11:00 a.m -4 p.m. Free time
After brunch we had five glorious hours to do whatever our hearts desired. This included for Nick and I spending time at the pool, walking the beach, and spending time in our room.
A note about the hotel, I have never stayed in a place more secluded, delightful, and luxurious, all rolled in to one, than the Full Moon Village Resort in Mui Ne. It housed the most beautiful pool I have ever swam in, incredible and authentic vegetarian Vietnamese cuisine, amazing staff, the ocean right at our back yard, and don't even get me started on our room! It was not even a room, but our own private villa! A completely fenced off, perfectly private villa with a spacious kitchen, dining and living room, bathroom, and a bedroom with romantic netting surrounding the bed! This luxury was completed by our very own outdoor hot tub! I will be writing more about this amazing resort in an upcoming blog post about Vietnam.

4:00-6 p.m. Evening restorative yoga, mindful tea drinking, group sharing
At four we all arrived at Sarah and Hang's villa, yoga mat and couch cushions in hand.
We would start the evening with a mindful tea drinking ceremony, first reading the above mantra, then partaking in mindfully, gratefully, and with purpose drinking our tea.
Next was group share. I loved group share! We took turns sharing whatever was on our mind and heart. Some were joyful things, some had realizations and epiphones, and others were struggles and losses. We shared together, we cried together, we experienced together.
Last was restorative yoga. If you are a person who thinks yoga is too hard, then you must try restorative yoga! The lights were dimmed, soft music was played, and we all lay on our yoga mats using big fluffy couch cushions for comfort. Hang and Sarah took turns guiding us on this relaxing, and healing yoga session. Nick even fell asleep one day and started snoring real loud. And Nick never takes naps! It was that relaxing and good!

6:15 p.m. Dinner
The first fifteen minutes of dinner was spent in mindful silence. We first gave thanks to our higher being, and then gave thanks to the food. We were encouraged to say hello to each piece of food, imagine the journey they took to get to us, and to chew slowly and thoroughly. Doing this, we got to experience mindfulness and a different way of thinking in something we do every day, in something as simple as eating a meal. Truly amazing! I actually really enjoyed the mindful silence at dinner time. I got to really taste, and really enjoy every bite, instead of wolfing it down like I normally do. After fifteen minutes we were free to get seconds, and talk. Nick and I usually stayed until about seven thirty talking with all our new friends, then went back to our villa for bed.
The next morning we got to do it all over again!

I am someone who loves to totally immerse myself in things; cultures, languages, experiences. And being totally immersed in this culture of mindfulness was completely transformative! We got to listen to teachings about mindfulness, and then experience it during a yoga session, a walk on the beach, even eating! And that was just perfect.
And yes, yoga and meditation can be daunting. But Sarah and Hang guide you through it with ease. Giving you tips, helping your form, and always teaching you new techniques and sayings, it was such a special experience.

Not a bad way to spend five days!
I 1,000% recommend trying a yoga and mindfulness retreat at least once in your life. Hang and Sarah hold retreats and trainings year round in Vietnam and Australia, if you've ever wanted to visit one of these delectable places, and also Canada if you live in Canada or the States and don't want to venture too far from home. It doesn't matter which location you choose (though I'm quite partial to Vietnam...), just go! Go on this transformative, once in a lifetime journey with saigon om.
If you have any questions about the retreats or different training courses, feel free to email them (saigonom@gmail.com), Sarah and Hang are the greatest and will be happy to answer any questions. Just tell them Jessica from My Peace Love Life sent you! Go like them on facebook to see all the amazing things they are doing!

*A million thank yous to my wonderful husband Nick for going on this adventure with me, and for all of these amazing pictures he took, and also to saigon om for sponsoring this post and for being so so incredible*

Peace Love and saigon om
Jess <3

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An update on this crazy thing called my life

10/10/2018

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Hello there everyone! If you have been following my Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook the last couple weeks, you have probably caught a glimpse into the craziness that my life has become! By some cruel twist of fate, everything that could possibly happen, has come together to happen in the same three months. The months of September, October, and November 2018 have come together for the perfect storm!

On September 29th one of my best friends who I've known over half my life got married, so we of course had to be there! Me and Nick left the 26th and drove up to Ohio. The wedding was incredible, and getting to see and hang out with everyone was even better!

We spent the next six blissful days at my parent's house, spending our time sitting outside talking and laughing, enjoying each others' company, and the wonderful fall weather. We also went shopping at all the amazing discount stores we have in the area, snuggled with puppies, shot guns, me and my mom read a lot of books, and we hung out with some friends.

On Friday we headed over to Nick's Dad's and Step-Mom's house. We had a great time hanging out with everyone. Saturday morning we got to watch Nick's sister's volleyball game, then headed from there to Nick's cousin's wedding!
On Sunday we returned to Atlanta, getting home at 2:30 in the morning.

All day Monday and Tuesday was spent printing out tons of financial paperwork, hanging out at the police station, filling out more paperwork, getting fingerprinted, paying about a million dollars in application fees, and running all over God’s green earth, all to get our business license! Now we are just waiting for them to do inspections and get back to us! This is really stressful, because we don't really know when they will do the inspection, or when they will approve our business license. So we could be open this weekend, or in a month, who knows! So as soon as we get the go ahead, we will be moving everything in to the shop, and opening!
Now on to even more craziness...

I'm sure all year you've been reading and hearing about our upcoming trip to Vietnam for a yoga and mindfulness retreat with saigon om. We leave for this retreat that I planned almost a year ago, in less than two weeks!!!

So to sum this all up, in the same month that we are trying to open our own business, we are traveling not only out of state, but out of country as well! And we will possibly be opening up right before we leave for Vietnam, leaving us to pay rent the entire two weeks we are there! Sheesh!
Obviously we didn't plan for any of this to go this way. We had a lot of trouble finding a location for the shop at the beginning of this year so we had to push it back. We thought that we wouldn't be able to open until next year, but then this location popped up out of nowhere, and here we are!

So what are we to do? Stress like crazy and freak out?
Nope! I have decided that that is not the way I am going to handle this! The whole situation is definitely not ideal, but there is nothing to be done about it, it is what it is. I have just decided to be as prepared as possible, and not under any circumstances let it get me down! We have rent and all of our other bills (excluding the shop) for November already paid, so when we get back from Vietnam we won't have to worry about anything except for the tattoo shop.
So there it all is! The craziness of our lives right now. But you know what, I wouldn't trade it for anything, because I know that we are going for what we want. Even if it's scary. Because I know that fear is temporary, but regret is forever.

I will just leave you with this, because it is us. Yes we are scared. Really scared actually! We have moved away from home, spent so much money, and put everything else on the back burner for this dream. And going all in on something is about the scariest thing you can do. But we are doing it, and we know that it will pay off!
So thank you for reading, and following us on this journey, I will keep you updated on our life!

Peace Love and My Crazy Life
Jess <3

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Why I am a Modern Day Housewife

9/15/2018

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I am so excited to share that I have recently written an article that got published in the first issue of Peachy Keen Pinup Magazine! Not only were some of my waterfall photo shoot pictures included in the magazine, but directly opposite it was my article that I wrote specifically for the magazine! Go check it out, you can purchase a digital copy, or have the magazine shipped directly to your door! There are some beautiful girls in there!
So since I love you guys so much, I am sharing this article with you that I hastily scribbled down in a day to meet the deadline, but it actually turned out really good, and I am very pleased with it! Here you have, "Why I am a Modern Day Housewife", accompanied by the amazing photos I just received from my latest photo shoot at Dixie Pinup Studios. They were shot by the greatest pinup photographer around, Brooklyn Brat Images. Enjoy!

"As someone who loves 1950's culture, I have come to take the role of housewife very seriously. I have always been pretty good at cleaning, budgeting, and cooking the occasional meal, but it wasn't until I got married in 2015, that I began taking all of that seriously, and embarking on my housewife odyssey!

For those of you getting offended, saying that women aren't servants, and that the concept of a housewife is antiquated, just know that being a housewife isn't about being inferior, and treating your spouse as if they are your superior. Just the opposite actually! I feel such an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment when my house is spotless, the money is budgeted, the bills are paid on time, and there is a healthy, delicious meal made from scratch, waiting on the table. For me, being a housewife is about the most empowering thing I can think of. And of course there's that lovely Mother Teresa quote; "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." Swoon! That is exactly what to me, being a housewife is all about. Showing my husband, our dogs, (and someday if we have kids) how much I love them.

I am a housewife but; I also work a part-time job as a waitress, I have my own blog which I
love, I donate time and money to different charities, I do pinup modeling and events, and
my husband and I are in the process of opening our own business!
I consider myself a modern-day hosewife; I am a strong, smart, independent woman who does a little bit of everything, while taking care of the people she loves. And I love it.

P.S I'm not always in the mood to cook and clean, so I found myself a man who also likes to cook, clean, and who does the laundry every week (because I hate laundry)! We are a team, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Me with some of my beautiful Georgia Pinup Posse girls, embracing the nostalgia together.

What do you think?! Does being a modern day housewife resonate with you? If this is something that you want to delve more into, I have tons of great resources on this blog!
Check out my recipe section for some great food inspiration,
my money section for budgeting tips,
and my blog post "How to Host a 1950's Housewife Dinner Party" for inspiration!

P.S Go like my pinup Facebook page, or follow my Instagram for more great pictures like these!

Peace Love and Modern Day Housewife
Jess <3

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Tiki Time!

7/26/2018

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Hello fabulous darlings!
A couple weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend the Trash Diva Atlanta One Year Anniversary Tiki Party! I was able to attend this amazing event with my fabulous ladies of the Georgia Pinup Posse, which made it a thousand times more memorable!

First there were free mai tais in coconuts, along with great sales at the North Highland Avenue location of the beautiful Trashy Diva stores!

Next we were treated to a completely fabulous burlesque show at the stunning North Highland Inn and Ballroom. I have never quite seen anything like it!

We even saw a black cat laying around. And did I mention that it was Friday the 13th?!

The rest of the night was spent taking pictures, dancing, and laughing!

Don't forget to come on out to the Georgia Pinup Posse's end of summer yard sale! I'll see ya there!

Peace Love and Tiki Time
Jess <3

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Our Atlanta Apartment

5/3/2018

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Hello friends! Well we've been in our apartment in Atlanta for about a year now, so I thought I would show you around our humble abode via a virtual tour!

Let's start with the living room!
Our living room has a fun travel theme to it that I just love. It all comes down to the details.

...Moving on to the kitchen and dining room.
The kitchen and dining room both have a cute retro coffee and bakery theme to them.

Next up on the tour is my office.
My office is where all the magic happens! All the household budgeting, my blogging, all goal-making and recording, my craft headquarters, and also where all our shop documents, and office supplies are kept. For that reason, it is the most cluttered part of the house; the walls are covered in calendars, to do lists, budget lists, yearly goals, and all things inspirational. The top of the desk holds all kinds of papers, folders, my laptop, odds and ends, and dry erase boards.
It is very music themed; Starting with Cat Stevens and Led Zeppelin posters, my guitar propped against the wall, and it is home to my record player and my awesome record collection.
I absolutely love this room!

And now the bedroom.
Our bedroom is pretty simple. Just our king size bed, bed-side tables, dresser, a chair, and a table that holds our noise machine, essential oils, candles, and flowers.
First we start off with the walk-in closets! Because obviously they're awesome! I'll just show you mine.

Decorations from our wedding.

The master bathroom.
The master bathroom has a beautiful gold and black color scheme.

The second bathroom.
The second bathroom is very plain, but I love it because it is where I take my baths.
Here is where I take all my beautiful bath photos you see on my Instagram.

I hope you liked our home!

Psst! Did you know that I'm now a Strawesome affiliate! Check them out via the banner above!

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Outfit of the Day; The Varsity

1/15/2018

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Last week me and the husband went out and explored Atlanta a bit. We ended up at The Varsity, a piece of diner history. Opened in 1928, this place is a downtown Atlanta institution, and with two stories and a gift shop, it is the world's largest drive in restaurant! It serves classic (greasy and deep fried!) yummy diner foods! It was featured on the Travel Channel's Food Paradise Show, pretty cool!
Now on to the outfit details! Diner pictures to follow!

What I Wore;

- A Batman top that my Mom bought me for Christmas

- Annabella shorts that I bought at Goodwill for $3.00

- My Doc Martins that my husband bought for me for $25 at a flea market

- Black sheer tights that I received for free for modeling them

- My purple sweater from Say What? that I got at a garage sale

- My wonderful pink earrings that my Mom got me a couple Christmases ago

- My beautiful new haircut is from my new salon, Melrose and McQueen

Shop My Look;
Love this look? Recreate it with these products!

Photo credits go to this handsome stud right here!

The dining room was almost deserted when we go there, which was awesome! The food was greasy and delicious-get the onion rings! OMG! The vibe was laid back and old school, which I loved almost as much as the onion rings!

We had a really great time at The Varsity, and I would definitely add this to your list of things to do in Atlanta!

25 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Traveling

Peace Love and The Varsity
Jess <3

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Bathrooms around the World

12/4/2017

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Today's post is dedicated to bathrooms!
The humble bathroom; we all use them, hate cleaning them (well I personally don't really mind, but I'm a weirdo that likes to clean!), and simply can't live without them!
I have traveled a lot, both in the United States, and around the world, and have seen some crazy bathrooms! I never realized however, how many pictures of bathrooms I had actually taken, until I discovered Rate My Loo on Instagram. Rate My Loo posts great pictures of bathrooms from all over, if you need a daily bathroom fix, go check them out!

The first bathroom on this bathroom tour of the world, is one that I hold dear to my heart; the bathroom in my first apartment in China!
I absolutely adored this bathroom! There was no distinction between shower and toilet! You could literally turn the shower on, move the nozzle a little to the left, and shower while sitting on the toilet! What more could you ask for?!

This next one is a little (ok a lot) more primitive! But as I always say, the primitive-r the
fun-ner (ok this is my first time saying that, and I'm pretty sure neither of those are actual words but, you get the point!)! So check out this super fun bathroom! This gem was located in a remote village in Vanuatu called Takara Village.
No need to flush,everything just drops straight down into this hole in the ground!

Going in the complete opposite direction of the bathroom above, we move on to one of the most amazing bathrooms I have ever visited!
It's no wonder this beauty is so amazing, it is located in the best airport I have ever been in, South Korea Incheon Airport.
Now, if you've never been on a 13 hour flight before, then you simply can not realize the true luxury of a bathroom that has a shower in it, that is located in the airport where you are about to have a 12 hour layover, right after said 13 hour flight! Oh, and it was free to use! Yes, this bathroom was true bliss.

Ahh the squatty potty...No collection of bathrooms would be complete without it!
For anyone who has done extensive traveling in Asia, I am sure you've come across a one!
The squatty potty is actually a really healthy and smart way to poop (it's all about the pooping posture! You can actually buy a "squatty potty" to replicate this posture in your own home!) but sadly, as China is becoming more and more westernized, they are doing away with a lot of the squatty potties.
Here are some more pictures of the glorious squatty potty...

This is a bathroom in a bar/music venue in China! I'm pretty sure this was the owner's cat, he was just chillin' in there all night!

This is for real! It was hanging in a bathroom! I think in Singapore.

Some abandoned bathrooms in Vanuatu.

I thought this was cool! This was on the outside of a bathroom in Waihai, China.

Me and my friend Rachel goofing off in a bathroom on an airplane!

Hey there hilarious sign in a Starbucks bathroom in Xi'an, China!

I believe this was in Vanuatu.

Soooo....this is a real thing I found! A feet-washing point at a McDonalds in Singapore.

Our lovely shower and toilet area while we were staying in a little village in Vanuatu.

I still have no idea what this was about! Hahaha. I found this while at a music venue in Cleveland, Ohio when we were watching Panic! at the Disco.

This bathroom! Hehe. This was at an outdoor music festival in Xi'an, China.

Peace Love and Bathrooms
Jess <3

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We adopted a dog!

9/28/2017

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I am beyond delighted to introduce to you the newest member of our family; Rocco!
He is a four year old terrier chihuahua mix, and he has completely captured our hearts!
I have been wanting a puppy for a while, and finally decided that now was the time; our lives are stable, we have good jobs and enough money, a place to live, and the Atlanta Humane Society had just taken in over 400 animals from shelters in Texas and Florida!
So on September 13th we made a trip to the Atlanta Humane Society. Tears filled my eyes as we walked up and down the aisles, all the dogs looking up at us through the glass, begging us to take them home and give them a family.
I wanted to adopt all of them, but unfortunately couldn't. But I found my precious sweet Rocco, and we have given him his forever family!

So adorable and so happy!
He loves to play and cuddle. He is so perfect for us, and I am so in love!

As of late I have become super passionate about animals; helping put an end to animal cruelty and neglect, stopping the vicious cycle of puppy mills, and ensuring that every animal out there has a loving and stable home.
Adopting Rocco was the third step I took in my fight for animals. I have also begun to take a closer look at labels, and not support companies who do animal testing. I also give monthly to the ASPCA, they are doing some amazing things in helping stop the abuse and neglect of this country's animals!

Each year, 2.7 million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States, simply because too many pets come into shelters and too few people consider adoption when looking for a pet. The number of euthanized animals could be reduced dramatically if more people adopted pets instead of buying them. When you adopt, you save a loving animal by making them part of your family and open up shelter space for another animal who might desperately need it.

If you buy a dog from a pet store, online seller or flea market, you’re almost certainly getting a dog from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are factory-style breeding facilities that put profit above the welfare of dogs. Animals from puppy mills are housed in poor conditions with improper medical care, and are often very sick and behaviorally troubled as a result. The moms of these puppies are kept in cages to be bred over and over for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever joining a family. And after they're no longer profitable, breeding dogs are simply discarded—either killed, abandoned or sold at auction.
These puppy mills continue to stay in business through deceptive tactics — their customers are unsuspecting consumers who shop in pet stores, over the Internet or through classified ads. Puppy mills will continue to operate until people stop supporting them. By adopting a pet, you can be certain you aren't giving them a dime.

My sister worked at a vet's office for a short time, and she got to witness the horror of puppy mills first-hand. She actually rescued a beautiful little chihuahua that a breeder brought in to euthanize, simply because she was to small to breed. That poor dog was traumatized, and months later is just starting to open up to other people besides my sister. She was definitely abused and neglected.

Here are some ways you can help;

-Give to the ASPCA
A monthly gift of $18 is nothing to us, but can make a world of difference to the hurting animals that the ASPCA helps every day.

-Adopt a pet!
Rescue animals make amazing pets. They will love you so much, and it is amazingly rewarding for you as well! Go to Adopt a Pet or visit your local humane society to find your new best friend.

-Begin boycotting companies who still use animal testing
Let them know that animal testing is not ok! Boycott them, and write to the companies as well, telling them they will not receive any of your business until they stop!

-Volunteer
Volunteer at your local animal shelter.

My boys!

Peace Love and Adopt don't Shop
Jess <3

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A Month of Living in Atlanta

6/19/2017

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Hard to believe that today marks a month exactly since we moved to Atlanta!
You can read all about our move here.

We have both kept ourselves pretty busy since arriving in Atlanta.
I usually work five days a week at my job, and do a lot of hanging out there reading and relaxing when I'm not working.

Nick has been working in Alabama for the past two weeks, so I haven't seen a lot of him lately. I have three days off in a row starting tomorrow, so I'm going with him to Alabama for a couple days!

When we actually have a day (or a couple of hours) that we're both not working, me and Nick go out and explore!

One of my favorite things about Atlanta so far, is the food! There is such a variety of different foods that we certainly don't have in Ohio. We have been eating as much authentic Asian food as we can get our hands on!

Oh, and Cuban food!

Thanks for reading guys!
And thank you so much for all the kind words and encouragement, we really appreciate it!

If you want to keep updated with our lives, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat (jessicalapinta)!

Peace Love and Atlanta
Jess <3

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