New Year's Bucket List for the Wild at Heart

In the spirit of dreading New Year's resolutions, I've decided to make a New Year's bucket list instead of all the adventures I hope to do and accomplish this year. Looking back, I've done this almost every year without realizing it, so if you're wild at heart, maybe some of these will be on your 2016 bucket list too!

1. DISCOVER A NEW NATIONAL PARK
I've spent an incredible amount of time wandering Rocky Mountain National Park, and of course, have barely tapped its wilderness, and while I plan to continue to explore this close-to-my-heart park, I've had the itch to see another one of the country's jaw-dropping landscapes. Yosemite? Joshua Tree? So many choices! Big Bend National Park in Texas is, in my opinion, underrated and below the radar, but boasts canyons that rival the Grand and a mountain range that's downright magical, so I'm making it a point to get there this year!

2. SUMMIT A COLORADO 14ER
Call me a peak bagger all you want, but I'll never forget the adrenaline and satisfying exhaustion of hiking my first Fourteener, Long's Peak, a class 3 mountain, and I'll always be chasing that feeling. ;) 2015 checked Mt. Bierstadt off the list, so I'm aiming for Mt. Huron, a classic Rocky Mountain range peak, or Mt. Elbert, Colorado's highest Fourteener at 14,433ft. Check out this list of Colorado's Top 10 Must-Hike 14ers if you're up for the challenge!

3. CLIMB, WITH INTENTION 
Okay, okay, this one is probably more of a resolution, I'll admit, but it's because 2016 will be my third official climbing year, and I've had the privilege to climb in the most beautiful places with the most beautiful people, but much of that time was spent flailing against rock instead of climbing it. I had some major victories and accomplishments, and while flailing is always a part of learning, I hope to be a more conscious climber with a sharper awareness of my body, like a dancer on a rock ;)

4. EXPLORE LOCAL TRAILS 
Adventures in the national parks is unrivaled for sure, but you just can't get out to them every day, and that's okay because chances are there are plenty of unknown parks and nature conversation areas in your backyard. Despite how close they are, it's always harder than it should be to take the time to seek them out. Recently, I've begun running on the foothills trails in Denver because I can drive there in 10 minutes and run alongside the Rockies if it's a day that I can't be running in them. Here's a "Quick and dirty guide to trail running near Denver" if that's your habitat!

5. PHOTOGRAPH WITH PURPOSE
Whoops, did I do it again? Is this another resolution? Oh well, here it goes! I'm beginning 2016 with a new photography kit, a Canon 5D Mark II, and a new photographic mission. For so many years, I've battled my cameras, frustrated with the buying and learning process of new be-dangled DSLR setups that boasted fancy features. This year, I'm going fancy-free, and focusing my photography on storytelling, on the portraits of people and places, and life's quiet, small adventures.

6. CAMP, JUST TO CAMP.
When was the last time you went on a camping trip for no other reason than to chill out in the woods or the desert or the shoreline, wherever the location? For me, it's been ages. I've camped at crags, on a climbing expeditions, river rafting and fishing trips, and don't get me wrong, these are all awesome experiences, but I've been missing the quiet, isolated, purposeless experience of just camping. Haven't you?

7. READ TALES OF ADVENTURE
Typically, I overdose on fiction, you know, the kind with a capital 'F'. In 2016, I'm craving some heart-stopping, soul-wrenching, epic-inspiring tales of real people conquering life's adventures. Here are the tales on my reading list!

The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
Alone on the Wall by Alex Honnold
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

8. TELL MORE STORIES
Isn't a bucket list a resolution to do something, anyway? ;) This year, I'm excited to collect and tell more stories through photography and writing. Storytelling is a compelling method for preserving our environmental history and our culture, and I'm stoked to commit myself more to this humanistic necessity especially because of the upcoming changes coming to this blog! 


Photos by Daryl Love Photography 

2015 Best Adventures

It's that time of year again when December swings around on the calendar so fast that it gives us whiplash. I can't believe how much has happened in 2015: from summiting a Colorado 14er to climbing in Indian Creek to my first river rafting trip in Idaho. Not to mention, starting this blog, which has been a huge exploration all on its own. Of course, not all adventures reach a summit--sometimes you get lost or you're forced to turn around, but it doesn't seem to matter how crazy the idea (remember when Mike and I got matching tattoos?!), you guys have shown so much love and support in your comments and shares, and in your presence. <3

So 2016 will bring big changes to the blog! New year, new goals, new friends, and new adventures.
I'm so excited to make this announcement, so I hope you'll stick around for it in January. :) And if we happened to miss each other on the trail this year, here's 2015 year in review from Ellipsis. 

Thanks for joining me on adventures, big and small--can't wait for more in the new year!

Top Left: Climbing, Poudre Canyon, CO

Top Right: Twin Sisters Colorado Hike

Middle: River Rafting Salmon River, Idaho

Bottom Left: Hanging Lake, Colorado

Bottom Middle: Mt. Bierstadt, CO 14er

Bottom Right: Climbing, Vedauwoo, Wyoming

Mountain Maker & Cookie Giveaway

I'm lucky enough to have friends who are talented artists, makers, and in Kyndra Connor's case, bakers. Kyndra is a Montanan, an artist, DIY-er, and kickass cookie connoisseur. We were pen pals for months before I ever met her in person and her voice was immediately memorable on paper. She's way wittier than I'll ever be, and will deliver cookies to your house by order--that's right, her small business Sweetroot Cookie Company is a custom cookie delivery service. You choose the cookie, like brownie, mint-chocolate chip, strawberry cheesecake, and my favorite, browned butter salted caramel. UGH. 

What's really awesome about Kyndra's cookies are the stories behind a lot of them.

It's really fun to hear how the cookies become a part of another person's story like how I was asked to make my Strawberry Cheesecake cookies for a little girl who wanted to have an extra special tea party with her Grandpa. Or the pink chocolate chip cookies I delivered to some local grandparents expecting to hear the gender of their new grandchild. I mean, it makes it meaningful. That makes long hours and two jobs worth it.

If you get tired of baking over the holidays, she's got you covered, or if you just want free cookies shipped to your front door, enter her DOZEN COOKIE GIVEAWAY, here.

Montana is a huge part of Kyndra's life and artistic inspiration. Her prints, sold in her Etsy shop, Truth & Beauty Designs, are often of the mountains and I'm obsessed with her rainy day photo series. 

I really love mountains and natural colors and textures - solid colors, woods, stone - I think they all work so well together. I like the simplicity that nature sometimes exhibits - strong mountain silhouette, fading blue sky, golden wheat field running along the grey highway. You know? 

I'm easily overwhelmed, so I find a lot of beauty in simplicity and strong contrast. 

Personally, the mountains and trees make me feel safe.

I love typography, literature, hand lettering, abstract art, so many photographers, and even some architects. Right now, I'm really into Yangyang Pan - her abstracts are beautiful. And I'll always love Raymond Carter - his works are so devastating and full of truth.

"I had some sharpies, a map of Montana & some time."

I really love the Pacific Northwest. Growing up in the flatlands makes me really appreciate what some nice topography and thick forest can do for the heart. It's so comforting, so I plan on wandering around up here for awhile. Maybe forever. 

Kyndra is autodidactic by nature, obsessed with cat memes, a waffle enthusiast, thinks Colorado has the best beer, is a terrible joke teller, has the memory of a goldfish, wants to live in the trees, loves the sound of her boyfriend’s laugh, and is a huge San Francisco Giant’s fan.

Keep Sunday Strong

Sundays are the beginning of a new week, and should be a day of celebration (right?!), but most people see Sundays as the end of something: their weekend, and so, the day is terribly depressing. Sundays are shafted. They're delegated to readiness for the work week: grocery shopping, making meals because you don't have time to cook Monday-Thursday, doing laundry--I mean, you know the deal. 

BUT. I'm feeling a tad bit (have to admit, unusually) optimistic on this fine Sunday, and wish to make a proposition for Strong Sundays. That is: readiness of the mind and the body, and not of the work week. 

So today, I biked about 6.5 miles to one of my favorite coffee haunts, Black Hole Coffee House, and while I did work (the entire time I was there), I got out of the house and off of my couch to get there. I took a break and walked around the neighborhood, and stumbled across Mandell Park, an organic community garden and an oasis of green in Houston. 

I biked a different route back to explore alleyways and streets of the city I hadn't seen before, and when I returned home, I had a beer, and sat down, and took a minute. On Friday night, I had friends over for Family Dinner, and we made pizza, and it was a beautiful smorgishboard of tastes and toppings and swapping slices. 

I think I'll make Strong Sundays a tradition. I would love to hear about how you keep Sunday strong, so use the hashtag #keepsundaystrong to give this day of the week a little love! 

Art Festivals | Houston, Texas

The arts festivals in Houston, Texas are like the city's raspa stands and ice houses--there's one on every corner, but each one offers specific flavors and atmosphere.

I wanted to be at all of the exciting events (The Texas Contemporary Arts Festival, the Bayou Park Grand opening, LibroFest, Banned Books at Brazo's Bookstore, and The Greek Festival--just to name a few!). I spent most of Saturday afternoon biking around this urban landscape, exploring, and attending a couple of these festivities.

Houston LibroFest 

Houston LibroFest highlights Hispanic writers. Literary arts organizations, magazines, activists, and vendors spent the beautiful afternoon in the Houston Public Library square celebrating the vibrant Latino community and its literacy love. 

I signed up to help Gulf Coast Journal man their booth. Speaking with other members of the literary arts community was so inspiring! I kept sneaking away to visit all the vendors--there were so many things to do!

Literary Arts of Houston, Texas

My favorite must have been the Workhorse Print Makers booth where I hand-pressed my own poster! I've been in love with letterpress for a few years now (Intended Hobby #656) and it's clear the Workhorse guys are too: 

"Nothing says love like heavy metal. We don’t mean purple satin, long hair and guitars heavy metal. We mean one ton of cast iron slowly squeezing paper in its tender embrace. We mean men lavishing attention on long forgotten machines that once were the epoch of human ingenuity. Hammers hitting steel, the squeak of belts, and the sizzle of oil on well lubed bushings. We love letterpress."

This full-service letterpress print shop uses soy-based inks and citrus-solvents, and their stock is often made from American recycled or tree-free cotton! I mean really, I couldn't admire these guys more! 

Check out my poster! It's a quote from Sandra Cisneros (You might know her best from her novel, The House on Mango Street). You can bet it will be hanging in the most visible spot of my house. 

Little Red Leaves Journal & Press showcased their Textile Series of hand-sewn books of poetry. Each one had its own personality--pieces of art from the inside, out! I wanted to buy all of them, especially the blank notebooks.

Monica Villareal and Jorge Galvan Flores (above) are two of the city's talented graphic artists. Monica is wearing a Voices Breaking Boundaries t-shirt, a Houston grassroots arts organization inciting social justice through art. They work to create open conversations and new experiences of the city's cultural history and present. These guys do it all: performance art, dance, graphic design, photography--you name it. Go like the organization's Facebook page--they deserve support! 

Some young word-lovers played banana-grams at the Gulf Coast Magazine booth.

This is the lovely Adrienne Perry, editor of Gulf Coast Journal. Adrienne has only been living in Houston for two years, but has nestled herself into the city's literary arts community with her warm, generous spirit. 

Inprint, Houston's premier literary arts organization, deployed its team of Poetry Buskers to the Bayou Park Grand Opening. Armed with typewriters and reservoirs of words, these poets wrote poems for park visitors on the spot--how freaking cool is that? "Give us a theme, and we'll write you a poem." A custom-made poem is a special gift, but so is watching these talented writers create them! 

Biking around Houston, the arts are everywhere. I came across this incredible mural on my way to get coffee (Needed to refuel from the overwhelming arts stimulation!). It's gorilla art: get it?! 

Catalina Coffee

I ended my day of Houston exploration at Catalina Coffee. By far, the BEST coffee I've had in Houston so far. Why? Because they roast it themselves, of course! I was thrilled to find a local roaster. While chatting with the barista, I discovered that the editor of Sugar & Rice Magazine, who I spoke with at LibroFest that afternoon, had also been in for java that day. 

I learned so much about my literary arts community and am so excited to explore more ways to get involved. Below is a list of the organizations featured in this blog post. Please visit their websites, like their Facebook pages, and if you're feeling inclined, share their work!

Sugar & Rice Magazine

Houston Library

Arte Publico Press

Inprint 

Gulf Coast Magazine

Voices Breaking Boundaries

Little Red Leaves

Workhorse Letter Press 

Check out more urban art from my travels to Chicago, here! 

My Cross-Country Move to Houston

I've been MIA because I made a huge life decision: to move from Fort Collins, Colorado to Houston, Texas. You're probably wondering, "Why? Why would you ever?" and that's what everyone I knew said when I made this announcement. For months, I was heckled with "I hope you're prepared for unbearable heat" and various versions of "You're crazy." When I arrived, even Houstonians wanted to know why anyone would come to Houston from anywhere else.

I moved away from the backcountry of my Colorado soul, the purity of the air, the diversity of the landscape, the easy-going, slow, savory lifestyle, to pursue a PhD at the University of Houston.

I've been here about a month now, and I finally feel like I can sanely reflect on my insane decision. This is the second cross-country move I've made in three years, the second time I've left behind homes, family, and friends for a place I'd never been, for the sole reason to have the time and space to write. Last night, Jonathan Franzen read from his new novel Purity at the Wortham Theatre in downtown. During the Q&A, in response to the question, how are you able to sustain the energy to write a novel, he said, "You have to be obsessed with it." And I suppose, this too might be the only answer I have for people:

You have to love something enough that you're obsessed with it more than anything else in your life, and you're willing to follow it anywhere. 

I've met incredible people who have already become the friends that I rely on and laugh with like family. Adventure is just that: showing up in the unknown with every doubt and finding your spirit there anyway.

It might be harder to find the backcountry, now that I live in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, but it'll be an even bigger adventure now that I have to go searching for it. So, if you're willing to stick with me, this blog may venture into new territory just as I have, but it'll likely be just as exciting.

Josie, myself, and Corey in front of the "We Love Houston" sign off the freeway. Clearly, I'm not entirely convinced, yet. 

 Who knows what will happen from here, but for now...

Mt. Bierstadt, A Colorado 14er

Mt. Bierstadt, a 14,060-ft mountain, one of more than 50 of Colorado's peaks that surpass 14,000 feet in elevation, receives a lot of smack in reviews.

A tourist's hike. 
Too many people!
Soooo crowded.
Easiest 14er.

To say the least, many people are not too impressed with Mt. Bierstadt in comparison to other 14er experiences. One of the biggest complaints is that the trail is overpopulated, especially during the weekends of its peak season, and for those who seek quiet and solitude in nature, this hike, believe it or not, is a disappointment.

Fields of alpine meadow flowers beneath Sawtooth Ridge, the connection between Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans' summits, two of Colorado's fourteeners.

Except, that almost everyone and anyone who attempts to summit a 14er is looking for exactly the same thing: a wilderness experience, a day that wrenches you from the ordinary, and challenges your body and your mind. So, in my opinion, it's unfair to punish the mountain for so many people who wish to experience it. Maybe as a native New Englander, I am more easily impressed, but this experience, to hike a 14er, let alone to summit it, is a privilege and an accomplishment, and deserves all of our appreciation and respect.

Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to summit the mountain with some of the best company. This was a unique experience because it was the first time that I hiked with a couple of talented artists. Daryl Love is a wonderful friend and photographer in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Alathea Cantrell is a painter and fiber artist at the Fort Collins Downtown Artery.

Photo by Daryl Love Photography

This was our first outdoor adventure as a trio though it felt like we had been on dozens together, and Alathea's first fourteener journey, despite growing up in Colorado!

The summit trail began right at the trailhead parking lot. For many high altitude hikes where the beginning of the trail is a bit of a hike in itself to find, this was an efficient and welcoming start when our journey began between four and six a.m., and followed a few hours' drive in the middle of the night. The sunrise was the first breathtaking moment on a hike that would literally take our breaths away.

After some switchback through the softest, greenest brush and blooming cacti, the landscape opened up to the alpine.

Photo by Daryl Love Photography

We made a lot of stops for photos, for snacks, for catching our breath, and for taking it all in.

Mt. Bierstadt receives an incredible amount of visitors a year, which has led to significant trail erosion. We didn't notice it much on our ascent, but coming down from the summit was especially difficult on the fine, steep, sandy slope. A group of trail workers, however, were working hard to repair and rebuild the trail during our visit, selecting large rocks for trail steps, fitting them to size and setting them in place. "Thanks for your work!" we said as we passed.

Photo by Daryl Love Photography

My favorite part of this trail was its fields of wildflowers.

After a steep, straight-up climb, we came to the final leg our journey: some boulder scrambling over and up to the summit.

Photo by Daryl Love Photography

Here we are! At the top!

I was pretty excited to have carried with me an art print to the summit by Fort Collins designer, Patrick Richardson, who creates these awesome topographical prints of Colorado's Fourteeners. (His tumblr The Woods are Wild features some of his illustrations and t-shirt designs.) I must have been a little woozy from the elevation because I completely forgot to take the print out of its protective sleeve for the picture!

Alathea and Daryl took naps at 14,060 feet.

This whole trip was a real accomplishment, because if you remember, Madison and I had attempted this mountain back in June, and we ended up wandering around in a snowstorm! Check out that Wander Chronicle, here!

Obsessions of July 15th, 2015

I don't know about you, but I often go through obsession phases for certain things, and these obsessions exist in my daily life like a faint pattern, like the lines on my hand.

Currently, for me, it's names. All of them, because names can define or identify or contradict. And textiles, hand-dyed fabrics; hands stained with faded grays and charcoals. And the way cream blooms in a glass of iced black coffee. And, chairs. There's an interesting graphic circulating that illustrates one person laying across seven chairs (chairs representative of wealth in America) and a group of people trying to all sit on one.

Here's some link love for my current obsessions. 

Cold Brew Coffee with Cream

An obsession with coffee is nothing new, and every day has been hardcore hot here in Colorado until the thunderstorms roll over town from the foothills in the afternoon and cool everything down. But until then, I nurse the hotness with some cold brew from my favorite cafes in town. If you want to save some money though, try making your own at home! Here's the recipe for making homemade cold brew from "How Sweet It Is." 

Fog Linens

A brick and mortar shop out of Japan that spins Lithuanian flax fibers into their simple, daily linens. Just picked up two of the navy seersucker kitchen cloths on sale for $8.00 at Rain, a local boutique in Fort Collins, but you can also get them (preferred over any other pattern) here.  

More & Co.

This Portland, Maine studio and shop supports collaborations and makers, and all of their items and artists are beautiful like this graphite on paper seascape by Francisco Faria. Maybe this piece is magnetized for me because I live in a land-locked state and I'm an Atlantic Ocean girl. But I can't stop drooling over their tumblr, "A Little More Like This." 

Maple Wood Bar Stools

I just picked up an IKEA folding leaf, wall-mounted kitchen table at a tag sale (that's New England for garage/yard sale) for $10 the other day--score! So I've been lusting after a couple of simple stools like these maple wood bar stools from Chairish. I love that they have butt mold. 

What are some of your obsessions lately? Would love to hear them in the comments! 

Twin Sisters Peaks

Every time I drove south from Fort Collins, along I-25, I gazed out the window at Twin Sisters Peaks, pointed and said, "I want to climb those." Today, Mike and I summited these beauties, at (only) 11,428 feet, this hike has some of the most spectacular scenic views of the Continental Divide. 

[Psst: If you want to skip ahead to the good part, the top-of-the-world vistas are at the bottom of this post.] 

For a Sunday in July, this trail was also not terribly crowded. We passed a variety of hikers, a group of women who called themselves the "60+ Club," and us, "The Spry Ones," as well as four eighteen-year-olds audibly playing Tchaikovsky from a backpack, though we had plenty of quiet time and space on the trail to ourselves. 

In September 2013, Estes Park experienced a devastating flood that washed away roads, bridges, and houses, and a landslide that had wiped out part of our trail! 

Luckily, the trail, while a bit confusing, is well-marked by cairns. We stopped in our trek to stare at the shocking amount of land that had fallen from above us.

After the landslide area, and some significant climbing in elevation (a total gain of 2,475 feet in only 3.5 miles), we passed through the Krummholz (German for "twisted wood") area that grows between the alpine and the spruce-fir forest, which by the way, smells amazing. I plucked a small piece of fir and held it to my nose for a good portion of our hike! 

It was here, in the Kummholz, almost at the top, that we just couldn't wait any longer for lunch. So picked a rocky seat and ate the first half of our sammies with the mountains behind us and a cool breeze cooling us down. I was super into my hummus, red pepper, turkey, and tomato combo. 

After a bit of lunch, we felt much more energized, and continued into the alpine area of our hike.

Our trail companions are so tiny!

And were greeted by clusters of the tiniest wildflowers.

We barely spent any time in the alpine before we were suddenly...

AT THE TOP!

With the most incredible views I've seen of my beloved Rockies. 

And the closest I've been to Long's Peak since I summited it two years ago!

There's an East and West Sister; they're fraternal as one is slightly taller than the other, and of course, I had to make sure I finished on top of both--to keep things fair. ;) Seated in the saddle, the area between the two peaks is a radio tower used by the USDA Forest Service to save lives, locate lost hunters and downed aircraft in the national park and forests. 

The wind REALLY picked up once we summited East Sister so we scrambled down to begin our descent. I've done a few high-altitude hikes, but I learn something new every time, and today, it was that I can't expect the same experience from all of them. This seems like a pretty obvious conclusion, but I'm thinking about elaborating in a tips for high-altitude hikes post (like how to strike a balance between not eating a giant sandwich at high elevation and getting altitude sickness and how to make sure you pack enough food for sustainable energy.)

All in all, success!

 

At Week's End

The weekend ends the work-week but when you're a graduate student and you work through the the days most people are rebooting, whether at your part-time pizza joint job or grading papers for your assistantship, Fridays don't quite sparkle as much as they do for everyone else. The weekend usually feels like a week-start, go figure. So anyway, in the spirit of the weekend, here's what I'm up to.

READING

Great House by Nicole Krauss

For the second time. I've read History of Love three times. My good friend just picked up History of Love and I'm stoked to see what he thinks. Krauss gets a lot of smack from critics, but I like her. So there.

LISTENING

Allison Weiss, Remember When and Say What You Mean

Gutsy, punked pop, not-too-sweet, but also not trying to prove too much. Here's her newest album for ear-pleasure. Listen to her cover of "Call Your Girlfriend."

DOING

Took a bike ride on my new Performance roadie up to Horsetooth Reservoir with the intention of "beaching it," but when I arrived, the water level was so high it had washed away the entire...shoreline? (What is reservoir language?!) Anyway, I made do until a couple of thunderstorms rolled in from the Rockies, and forced me on my way back home. 

Tomorrow, though, Mike and I are hiking Twin Sisters! Can't wait to share the experience. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Confessions of the Matching Tat

I did the unthinkable, the taboo, the irreversible: I got a matching tattoo.

The one kind of tattoo most feared and most regretted, right? Do a basic Pinterest search and you'll find an infinite number (pun intended) of infinity symbols, locks & keys, heart halves, and anchors on all the seemingly same ankles, fingers, and wrists, but despite the eye-rolls and snickers these inks incur, sometimes, as you scroll through the images thinking, These idiots, how cliche, you kind of secretly want one.

And, it's okay! 

Matching tats are scary, for sure, but there's something exciting about sharing something meaningful with your better half, whether that person is your sister, brother, partner or best friend. I'm going to make the case, of course, that matching tats can be cool, individualistic, and (hopefully) guilt-free.

So, how do you go about even approaching such a topic without feeling lame? How can you be rational about something so completely irrational?

Here are some tips, myths, and confessions from our own matching tat experience!

1. WAIT.

For a long time. Not a day or a week or even a month. I know, it's wicked hard to wait once you've come up with the most perfect, genius idea, but I promise, you'll love it even more when you wait. Mike and I waited more than a year!

2. TOGETHER & APART

Just because the tats match, doesn't mean you two have to. In other words, the image may be the same, but your connection to it should be personal and individualistic. Choose an idea that represents you as an individual and shares something meaningful with your buddy.

APART

Mandi: The Fibonnaci sequence, the perfect ratio as it's known, is a hopeful reminder, to me, that some things occurring in nature are perfect in their own design.

Mike: "The numbers of the Fibonnaci sequence work off their predecessors (0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, etc.) I think it's beautiful how there is a mathematical way to represent a form derived from its functionality. We can find beauty in things that are functionally sound."

TOGETHER

One of the biggest qualms about couple tattoos is: "Well, what if you break up?!"

Our tattoo actually contradicts this concern. We believe that the relationships you have with people are always permanent, because they happened. They are permanent in your memory sure, and maybe you don't want to remember certain relationships with certain people, but that person, and the effect they had on your character, who you were and who you eventually chose to be or continue to be is affected by the people with whom you choose to spend your time. So a matching tat was an outward expression of the internal effect that we've imposed on each other's person, whether it be a conscious or unconscious effect.

I know, deep. ;)

3. THE BALL & CHAIN

If you're in it to win it, cool. But don't think a matching tat is the equivalent of an engagement ring. 

4. TAKE THAT SMACK, THROW IT BACK.

Yeah, we did get some, okay quite a few, eye rolls from friends and raised eyebrows from family members. The less drama we made of it though, the less dramatic others seemed to react. In other words, it's no big deal. As long you and your matching-tatted friend are happy and confident in your decision. 

5. TALK A LOT.

The nightmare: You and your matching-tat buddy show up for your appointment, and rock-paper-scissors for who goes first. You hold hands and take selfies in the tattoo chair and check yourselves in at the studio. The artist finishes the first one, and then you or your buddy freak out. It's not, after all, quite what you or your buddy expected. Now what?

The most important thing you can do is talk candidly with each other about everything, not just about the size, the placement, and whether it should be in color, but also about each of your intentions, the value of the tattoo, and the commitment. 

Talk it to death, and if you still love it, it'll last. 

And then, do the same with your artist. Our artist asked if we wanted our original design changed: Did we want thicker lines? Did we want it horizontal instead of vertical? Flipped instead of facing? Be prepared to answer questions, and agree or disagree with confidence!

My best friend of 16 years and I have tried for years to design a tattoo that we could get together, and no matter how many awesome tats we created, I still couldn't commit. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it didn't feel right. In the end, don't ever pressure yourself, and always go with your gut. 

6. WAIT SOME MORE.

Plant the idea and let it grow into something you finally feel as if you can't live without. 

What are some of your thoughts about matching tats? Anyone else share a tat with someone? Would love to hear your stories!