Santa Fe – X A N O L I V A S

2016. Oh, what a year. 2016 marked my first full year in Texas and the longest I’ve gone without going home to my beloved Hawai’i nei. It’s been one helluva a year but I’m so ready for 2017.

I’m definitely a social media addict (typical millennial) and I love these dumb top 9 photos from your past year. (You can get yours here.) Obviously, my top 9 is reflective of my favorite things – travel, family, food, & fitness.

The highlights of every year are always my travel adventures – or when people travel to see me! Traveling was to a minimum in the beginning of the year since I was still getting settled into Dallas, but the itch to wander never leaves me and after NM, it was all downhill (or uphill) from there. This year I:

Had my entire family visit me in Dallas (May 2016)
Went to a wedding in Albequerque, New Mexico (June 2016)
Celebrated my sister’s engagement in Phoenix, Arizona (August 2016)
Visited with my BFFs in Portland, Oregon (August 2016)
Had my first Eurotrip to Kythira, Athens, & Santorini, Greece (September 2016)
Worked and played at Dreamforce in San Francisco, California (September 2016)
Rode a wine trolley in Monterey, California (October 2016)
Met my dad and sister in Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2016)
Spent Christmas with a friend’s family in Austin, Texas (December 2016)

I love my little adventures and I’m so grateful that I even have the means to do so many YOLO weekend trips and some extended trips.

I’ve met so many new people and kept in touch with lifelong friends. I even let go of some toxic relationships.

I was disenchanted by society but my faith in humanity was restored. (Still getting over how strongly Christians defend Trump’s misogynistic statements.)

I found a new hobby that I’m actually pretty decent at and started the Pineapple Shack X.O.

I had highs and lows in my faith and questioned what I believe, but overall strengthened my relationship with the Lord.

I gained new confidence in my career and got that “new city, fresh start” I’ve been longing for the past few years.

In 2015, I told myself I’d be out of Arizona in 2016. Little did I know, I’d take the leap and end up in Texas. Overall, moving to a new city where I didn’t really know anyone was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s scary and nerve wracking but a complete adventure and I don’t regret it all.

2016, you were so horrible and great at the same time. As I say every year, Cheers to 2017! May this year be so better than the last.

In an attempt to chronicle my traveling excursions, I’m going to retroactively post about past trips. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I like to scroll through my IG feed to remember what I did, where I went – sometimes even what I wore (insert monkey covering mouth emoji here). It’s crazy to me how far (literally and figuratively) I’ve come and my little #xyzexcursions are a constant reminder to myself that, “Damn Roxy. Life is good.”

I’m infamous for what I like to call The YOLO Trip – one day a friend hits you up or you’re having a random conversation with someone and they’re like “We should go here or do this!” Most people have these conversations and never do it – I on the other hand get so excited that I turn around and book a flight ASAP or road trip the next weekend. The most last minute trips I’ve planned have been to random places, like Knoxville, Tennessee or in the case of this post, Santa Fe, New Mexico. To be completely honest, a lot of the spontaneity comes from my lack of being able to deal emotionally so I will “run away” to refresh myself and frankly it works for me.

An old high school friend of mine had always joked about me being a plus one to one of the many weddings he’s been invited to. The opportunity finally presented itself – he had a wedding for one of his college friends in Santa Fe, New Mexico last June. I stalked the prices online for a few days literally right before the wedding and worked out scheduling things before I finally pulled the trigger said eff it, YOLO!

outside of St. Francis Basilica (don’t mind the tourist ladies!)

A good chunk of the wedding guests stayed at the LaFonda Hotel (insert Napoleon Dynamite joke here), a cute little hotel in the middle of downtown Santa Fe. As much as I love the “YOLO Trip,” I’m honestly really bad at taking pictures. I wish I got at least a few pictures from the little walking around we did, but you can just look at how awesome this church is. Downtown Santa Fe had me reminiscing about Tucson a little with its brown adobe buildings.

inside of the church

The ceremony itself was at St Francis Basicilica, a huge gorgeous Catholic Church, with the reception at the LaFonda. I’ll spare the boring details of the wedding, but let’s just say the day was full of stiff coffees, spirit animals and some bomb ass cookies. 😉