It’s that time of the month again! The ups and downs of the last thirty-ish days, the behind-the-scenes happenings, and everything non-travel related that I feel like sharing with the web.
If you’ve been a long-time reader of this series, welcome back. If this is your first visit, I hope you enjoy getting to know me a little bit better!
You can read the last few monthly roundups here: February, March, April, May. Can you believe I’ve been writing these for three years now? So much has changed in that time!
Without further ado…
In June 2017…
We finally moved into our new place!
Hans and I have officially been in our new apartment for a full month, and we’re loving cohabitating in a simple place that’s all our own.
It’s a one-bedroom basement apartment in Central Washington, where both of us grew up (a town called Wenatchee–the very town where I was born, actually!).
It’s got its quirks, like a hyper-sensitive smoke detector, a creaky floor, and a washing machine that sounds a lot like the world is about to end, but it’s ours and we adore every funky detail.
We were able to furnish it on the cheap, and we’re fortunate enough to have the liberty to make changes so we plan to paint the walls before putting on our finishing touches.
This little place is our home base for the foreseeable future–the place we’ll come back to in between travel adventures, in the city where we’re slowly building a community.
We have family close by and it’s affordable enough to allow us both to chase our dreams (Hans is a musician and will be releasing a few original singles on iTunes in the near future–check out his amazing voice here and subscribe to EnjoyWes if you like what you hear!).
We really couldn’t ask for more and we count our blessings daily.
I finally fell into a blogging groove.
Admittedly, I’ve never been able to maintain much structure when it comes to my blogging routine. But, now that I’m stationary and I have my own little workspace, it has become so much easier to get into the groove of writing every single day.
Even better, I did this in spite of not having a working internet connection at our new place for the first two weeks! It gave me a chance to get familiar with some of the coffee shops in town, too, so I call that a win.
I don’t think I’ll ever be the kind of blogger that churns out 4 posts in a week, but if I can even maintain a rate of 2 new posts per week, well, I think that’s pretty solid work.
Because, as you’ve probably gathered by now, a lot goes into each individual blog post, but beyond that, there is SO much going on “behind the scenes” that writing is only a small fraction of what it takes to maintain a blog.
I spent a weekend in the woods with great friends.
It’s the season of bachelorette parties and weddings, and this month took us into the woods of Central Washington (sort of) for an outdoorsy celebration of the bride-to-be, Piper.
Now, Piper and I go way back–all the way back to middle school when we began playing trumpet together in the school’s concert band (didn’t see that coming, did you?).
Needless to say, I can’t wait to watch her get hitched this coming weekend to the guy of her dreams in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. I just love LOVE!
And, it’s a pretty special thing to still call your childhood pals your friends decades later, in a new and exciting stage of life.
I upgraded my iPhone and it’s kind of awesome.
I hadn’t planned on upgrading my iPhone 5s until the day it finally stopped working–until I wandered into T-Mobile one day to add Hans to my phone plan and saw “portrait mode” in action on the iPhone 7.
As a photography junkie, this feature alone sold me on the new phone. I mean, just LOOK at the photos it creates!
They are seriously beautiful, especially when edited with Lightroom for iPhone (guys, download it now–it’s FREE).
Soon enough, the screen that at first felt enormous in my tiny hands became my new standard. Images were so beautiful! Typing was so easy!
I’m not an early adopter when it comes to technology but I’m pleased that I finally upgraded. I plan to use it to create more video content for Facebook and even Instagram, too, so keep your eyes peeled!
My Most Popular Posts
The Long Way Home – In this post, I shared my whole travel story from my first international trip to my digital nomad lifestyle to my current settled life in Washington. I’m touched that you guys loved this one so much!
8 Affiliate Networks to Join Today to Start Earning Passive Income – A great resource for bloggers who want to earn more through affiliate marketing!
10 Badass Perks of a Location Independent Lifestyle – #3 is my personal favorite!
My Best Instagrams
A Few Things I’m Loving
The latest addition to my lens collection, the Canon 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 wide angle lens. I got this baby for an absolute steal of a price on Amazon ($279.99), and the package included a ton of fun accessories like a lens cap keeper, a lens cleaning kit, a dust blower, and a miniature tabletop tripod.
Not only was I stoked on all of the extras and how light this lens is compared to my 24-70mm f/2.8, I’m absolutely IN LOVE with the images this little guy creates. Exhibit A, this selfie of me and my sweetie. 
Lightroom tutorials on YouTube – I’ve discovered a vast array of Lightroom tutorials by various photographers on YouTube and have been going a little hog wild with them this month.
I’ve learned a lot about how to properly use the program, and I already thought I had a pretty good handle on it–just goes to show there’s always more to learn!
The Sweetest Way Community – In case you missed the news, I started my very own group on Facebook! The Sweetest Way Community is a place for dreamers to connect, learn from one another, and support each other. We’re entrepreneurs, we’re freelancers, we’re travelers, we’re bloggers, and above all, we’re helpers.
We share our knowledge, we celebrate our wins in life and in business, and we show gratitude for that which we already have.
I’m absolutely loving the energy so far–people are engaged, enthusiastic, and kind. I really feel like I’ve finally found my online tribe and I’d love for you to join us if you’re chasing a dream of your own. It might just be the most uplifting and positive group on Facebook.
That’s all for June…onward and upward!
