Monthly Shakedown
Things I liked in March + April (plus a pep talk!)
Dear Kula Diaries friends,
I’ve been trying to do a ‘once a month’ shakedown, but I’m a bit inconsistent on the timing — ha! So, this post includes a bunch of things that I loved in the month of March… plus, other random things I wanted to share. Basically, these are things that I wanted to tell you about… but couldn’t necessarily fit all of them into their own post.
Please note that there are no affiliate links in this post — everything that I’m sharing is out of genuinely loving the things I’ve discovered or purchased.
This shakedown is part product review… part musical concert… part love note to a dear friend… and part random rampage about the secrets of the universe and life. I hope you love it!
An unexpected gift from the universe
A few months ago, my husband unexpectedly presented me with a very special gift… this shirt:
In addition to being a literal work of art… the shirt depicts my favorite character, Princess Donut, from the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series… riding her pet velociraptor, Mongo. Oh, and she’s wearing her magical tiara and sunglasses.
A few days after receiving this shirt, I posted a photo of myself on the Kula Instagram to highlight the fact that there was a write-up about me and Kula Cloth in the latest issue of Adventure Journal (if you don’t subscribe, you should — it’s one of only two magazines I personally subscribe to, and it’s amazing!):
I snuck in the photo of the t-shirt after this photo… and I secretly wondered to myself, “Will anybody else recognize this unbelievably obscure reference to a book character?”
Unbelievably, one person did — and we exchanged a few messages of excitement over IG and then I decided to send them a custom, Princess Donut Kula Cloth. The person was so thrilled and excited that she told me she wanted to return the favor. She works for a company that owns an allergen-friendly fragrance called Skylar, and she wanted to send me some fragrances! I was so giddy about the unexpected gifts that were seemingly tumbling out of the universe — isn’t it wild how things ‘just happen’ when you aren’t trying to make anything happen?
I wasn’t sure what to think about receiving some fragrances, because, quite honestly — I haven’t used any fragrance at all in decades. Waaaaaay back in my college days, I used the classic, ‘Versace Red Jeans’ and ‘Issey Miyake’ fragrances. I don’t think I could tolerate those scents now. I tend to gravitate towards scents that are a bit ‘warmer’ and less ‘floral’.
I was very excited when my fragrances arrived — they were all in ‘rollerball’ format (not an aerosol spritz). The fragrances from Skylar are all vegan and hypoallergenic — and, if you want to get creative, you can actually ‘layer’ the scents to make an entirely custom scent profile. I do not like scents that are overpowering, so I just rolled a tiny bit onto my wrists and rubbed them together — and I loved them! The scents are really gentle and soft, and not at all overpowering. Out of all the scents I received, I (honestly) liked all of them, but I think that the Nude Skin scent was my favorite.
I never expected my irrational love of Dungeon Crawler Carl to lead me to re-discovering joy in interesting fragrances, but here we are. It’s an infinite universe, and I’m here for the surprises and delights!
The Musical Mountaineers — Live at Benaroya Hall!
On April 25th, Rose and I (The Musical Mountaineers) will be performing for the 4th time on stage at Benaroya Hall! Back in January, we snowshoed with our friend Mitch Pittman to a spot called Artist Point to film our video for this concert, and we are so excited to be able to share it with you. Here’s a photo from that evening:
It was so cold that night. I mean… IT WAS REALLY COLD. I could barely feel my hands for most of the evening, and we performed for a long time so that Mitch could film the video. When we perform at Benaroya Hall, it’s a pretty magical experience, because we are performing live on stage while our wilderness video is playing on a huge screen above us. It’s a totally immersive and incredible experience — our hope is that it gives the audience the feeling of what it is like to have the opportunity to attend one of our wilderness concerts (without having to experience the sufferfest of cold hands!).
Here’s a quick improvisation video that we filmed just before we packed up our instruments and snowshoed back down to our cars:
This is my favorite photo from last year’s event, taken by our dear friend Chris:
It still feels like a dream to perform on stage at Benaroya Hall. As a kid, I never thought that I was ‘good enough’ to perform in a space like that — but I’ve come to realize that it is only that belief itself that ever prevented me from doing anything. When I let go of the familiar stories of doubt that I had repeated to myself for so long, the door to new experiences opened itself joyfully.
When we performed last year, I didn’t know if we’d have the opportunity to perform there again — simply because I wasn’t sure if the benefit concerts would continue taking place. And so, I seized the moment to perform one of my favorite songs on stage:
And, before our performance, we did a run through with our video from last year’s concert. This video was also filmed by Mitch Pittman on the summit of Vesper Peak.
While we aren’t sharing our song for this year’s concert until the night of the performance, I can tell you this: I’m incredibly excited for what we have planned, and I know that it is going to be a beautiful evening. I feel unbelievably honored to have the opportunity to perform in this spot again, and I know that our music is helping to raise money that helps protect trails in Washington State and that is so special. Many years ago, as I was patrolling the campground at my park during my time as a Park Ranger, I never could have dreamed that I’d have the opportunity to use my music to have an even bigger influence on public lands. The universe has a funny way of working things out, doesn’t it?
Coffee and Chocolate
I discovered COBA chocolate at an event a few months ago, and fell in love.
CHOCOLATE + COFFEE … do I need any other explanation?
Well, actually, it’s even better than just chocolate and coffee. The founder, Peter, has combined chocolate + caffeine in a delicious square that features flavors like chai, matcha and hojicha (a traditional type of Japanese tea).
The chocolates are delicious and the boost of energy is just a bonus. I’ve also tried their coffee concentrate, and I have found it to be similarly delicious… just make sure you read the directions, because it only takes two teaspoons to make 6oz of a coffee… so a little bit goes a very long way!
My new favorite t-shirt
My dear friend Mallory, founder of Youer, came to visit me last week. Mallory is one of those friends who, if she asked to move into my guest bedroom for an undetermined amount of time, I’d say yes without hesitation.
She wanted to visit WA to take some photos for her upcoming product launch (which went LIVE on April 10th!). It’s her spring launch, and taking photos with GREENERY just wasn’t really possible in her home town of Missoula. So, she planned a retreat for herself and drove to WA to spend a few days with me + a few days on her own to draw patterns for her 2026 fabric prints.
Together, we hosted a pop-up in Seattle… went on a lot of walks… painted watercolors… and talked shop in the way that only the people who are in the ‘thick’ of running a business can do — without our eyes glazing over.
One of the products that she launched a few days ago was a shirt called the ‘Own It Tee’ . I’m a bit of a t-shirt connoisseur, and I have to say that — without a doubt — this is the best t-shirt that I’ve ever owned in my life. It’s buttery soft… flattering… flowy… and literally everything that a t-shirt should be:
Mallory and I have a very special friendship, and it’s worth telling the story — because it goes way beyond the clothing or the Kulas that we both sell for a living. This is a particular adventure that all started with a DRESS. A fleece dress… purchased by my mom. I never imagined that this dress would change my life in ways I couldn’t possibly predict.
My mom called me sometime in 2017 after she had purchased her ‘Fjord Dress’ from (formerly) Kind Apparel: “You HAVE TO SEE THIS COMPANY, Kind Apparel! This dress is amazing. I’m obsessed.”
I checked out their website: WOW!? An entire brand started by a woman named Mallory who had the audacity to start a company with just a sewing machine in her basement?!
Here’s the truth: about 8-10 years ago, I was a VERY DIFFERENT person. I complained all the time. I really wanted to have a career in the outdoor industry, but I didn’t know how to do it. I felt totally and utterly stuck. I was working a job as a railroad police officer.. The only time that I felt ‘happy’ was when I was backpacking or hiking, but I wondered:
DO PEOPLE DO THAT FOR A JOB?
I looked at other folks who were leading these incredibly ‘adventurous’ lifestyles, and I thought that they had received some SECRET CODE that I hadn’t gotten.
In the midst of my searching, I had a near death experience that showed me something I hadn’t realized: to create something different outside of yourself, you must first look within yourself.
As I began to take tiny steps in a new direction, everything started to change, and in the midst of it all, I decided that the next ‘natural’ step was to: START A PODCAST.
Except that I had a major problem: I needed guests for my podcast and absolutely NOBODY knew who I was. I remembered the dress that my mom had purchased, so I went to Mallory’s Instagram account and gasped – “SHE HAS 3,000 FOLLOWERS?! SHE’LL PROBABLY NEVER TALK TO ME!!!”
As I quieted the untrue voices in my head, I worked up the nerve to reach out to her, and – much to my surprise – Mallory told me that she’d love to be interviewed for my podcast, The Inspired Adventurepreneur Podcast.
That interview was the start of a friendship that would bloom and grow into something that I never expected, but really needed.
As I began my own journey of creating Kula Cloth, Mallory was the friend who understood what I was going through: the sometimes agonizing process of creating something from nothing. In the midst of COVID, when her own business was struggling, it was our weekly phone calls where she started sharing her idea of rebranding Kind Apparel to a brand new company called Youer. Every other week, we spent an hour or two on the phone with each other – finding ways to lift each other up during times when sometimes we felt very ‘unliftable’.
Performing with my Treasure Dress on:
Together, over the past 7+ years, our friendship has grown stronger and stronger and we’ve had the opportunity to witness each other navigating the constant ups and downs of running a business. We’ve done collaborative Kulas together… we’ve hosted events together… we’ve danced together… and, most importantly, laughed together.
I am continually in awe of Mallory’s ability to pivot and her deep commitment to transparency as she walks forward into the unknown. It’s easy to judge somebody who is running a business from the outside looking in – but it’s an entirely different experience to be the driver and to carry the weight of that responsibility on a daily basis. It’s often thankless – and founders of companies often report feelings of loneliness and isolation.
I don’t know where I would be today if my mom hadn’t purchased her fleece dress so many years ago – but I know that the JOY of owning a business is not found in checking off arbitrary boxes … instead, it’s in the love and the connections that I have shared with others over the past few years. Mallory has been by my side since the early days when I was slinging handmade Kulas in a backpack … and I know that she will continue to be by my side, no matter where our respective paths take us.
I want you all to know that a dress isn’t just a dress. Mallory’s Treasure Dress, for me, represents something so much more. It represents the dream of one woman lifting up the dream of another – it represents friendship, resilience and connection. When a small business owner creates something, it doesn’t come from a sense of obligation or duty – instead, it comes straight from the heart. The goodness and love that is infused in what Mallory does has impacted my life in so many ways that I can’t fathom what my life would be like if we hadn’t met. I’m so truly grateful for her friendship and her constant support over the past few years … and I want you all to know that she’s truly everything that she represents publicly as a business owner – and MORE.
A few years ago, she came to my house for a week and even though she was in the midst of a bout of food poisoning and could only eat bananas, we went out onto the lake together and we tucked into a cove, surrounded by giant mossy rocks and overhanging trees. We laid down on our paddleboards and just felt the air and the gentle swaying of the water. We wrote down our dreams for what we wanted to create, and then we let them go out into the universe. Many of those dreams have come true for both of us, some of them haven’t, but you don’t find what you are looking for by chasing it endlessly. You find the things you are looking for by realizing that you already have them. More than anything that day, I realized that my Kula journey had gifted me with something more beautiful than any number of ‘business accomplishments’ – it had gifted me with the most precious gift of all: a true friend.
Thank you all so much for the opportunity to share this personal and special story with all of you today. Always trust the little impulses that you have in your heart… you never know where a dress might lead.
Friends, as always… thanks for being here!
I appreciate all of you so very much, and I am so grateful for the gift of being able to share my favorite things with all of you. This month has felt like a bit of a whirlwind so far… I’m in the midst of continuing to go through my PQ (Positive Intelligence) Program (which is amazing and life changing)… I’ve had the opportunity to host a booth at my first REI Grand Opening event… and our Benaroya Concert is quickly approaching.
In the midst of all of that, I’m trying to savor where I am along the way. There are days when the fear and worry of running a business gets the best of me, but when that happens, I come back to a deep knowing in my heart: anything is possible, and anything can happen tomorrow. I want to live my life on the verge of infinite possibility, which is what gives the universe the permission to open the door … to allow more and more beautiful things to continue to flow. I continue to make my primary focus my own ability to choose to focus on the things that matter to me the most — and to make it my deliberate and intentional purpose and choice to focus on the abundant, ever-present and infinite love that is available to all of us in every single moment of every single day.
Fear closes us off from that love. Gratitude and appreciation and kindness open us up to the anything-ness of everything-ness that could happen in each new second of each new day. I choose to live for right now, and not in an imaginary world of what-ifs that could happen some day in the future. As Eckhart Tolle reminded me on my walk this morning (since I’m re-listening to The Power of Now for the 10th+ time):
Are you worried? Do you have many ‘what if’ thoughts? You are identified with your mind, which is projecting itself into an imaginary future situation and creating fear. There is no way that you can cope with such a situation, because it doesn’t exist. It’s a mental phantom. You can stop this health-and-life corroding insanity simply by acknowledging the present moment. Become aware of your breathing. Feel the air flowing in and out of your body. Feel your inner energy field. All that you ever have to deal with, cope with, in real life — as opposed to imaginary mind projections — is this moment. Ask yourself what “problem'“ you have right now, not next year, tomorrow, or five minutes from now. What is wrong with this moment? You can always cope with the Now, but you can never cope with the future — nor do you have to. The answer, the strength, the right action or resource will be there when you need it, not before, not after.
How often I have allowed myself to cling to my fear — incorrectly believing that it was keeping me ‘safe’, when really, it was keeping me even closer to the things that I didn’t want to create. What does it feel like to let go of fear? It feels like walking into the unknown and trusting that things are going to work out. It feels like doing things that other people say will not work, but knowing in your heart that you should do them anyway. It feels like letting go of needing the answers. It feels like lying in my bed and listening to the rain on the roof and feeling completely and utterly and totally free. It feels like dancing outside, for no reason other than it simply feels good to be alive. It feels like letting go of the illusion of all the stuff that the world has told us we need to worry about — and embracing the things that do matter: love, kindness, trust, peace, and a deep appreciation for life. It feels like saying f* it to the ‘rules’… and just doing what feels good, simply because it feels good — and because it feels like the right thing to do — not because somebody told me that their solution would fill the void in my heart. It feels like knowing that that, no matter what happens outside of me, my heart is full… and I am loved… and am love. That’s what matters. That’s what it feels like to let go — to see through the unfortunate veil of what we’ve been told, and to remember the truth of what life is.
We’ve forgotten about life — in this whole mess of systems of processes and spreadsheets and metrics we’ve forgotten the most important thing of all — that life is hidden in there. Don’t forget life. That’s the most important thing of all. Don’t trade your life for the promise of something that will never arrive in some distant time when things are a certain way. You are the certain way… and you are right now.
Ok, I went on an unexpected tangential pep talk there, but I enjoyed it so much that I decided to keep going with it. I guess I needed to hear those words too. And maybe they’ll help you feel something that you need to feel today too.
Friends, I cherish YOU and the life you are. Sending you so much love today, and all days.
Funny how podcasts and dream jobs have a way of intersecting!
That fleece dress is still my favorite plus I’ve added her skorts and shorts to the list of must haves AND I just got my Own it Tee yesterday! It feels like butter. 💖 this was a wonderful shakedown!