At an ungodly hour on a Friday morning in April, I quietly gathered my bags and snuck out of the house. I had a good 6 hour drive (if not more) ahead, and the best time to start the drive was clearly at 5am. I stopped in midtown Sacramento to pick up my travel buddy, and we began the arduous journey to our old stomping grounds. 

As the sun began to rise we passed the time singing old Disney and Motown songs. The roads were fairly empty, and I was convinced into taking a pass through some hills right next to a beautiful lake. We stopped in Pismo Beach to say hello to my travel buddy's parents. And then finished the drive singing ridiculous songs we'd almost forgotten about.

Upon arrival in Isla Vista, our first stop was Freebirds. We were starving and had been craving the I.V. staple for months. After inhaling nachos, we parted ways and I headed to my favorite place in all of Isla Vista. CAJE. I spent so many hours of my undergrad years drinking their soy honey lattes, writing papers, and catching up with friends there. I even wrote a 5 page paper on their lattes for my creative non-fiction class, oh so long ago. 

I met up with my former roomies, and the weekend went from there. In all honesty I failed dramatically at documenting our weekend because I was just so happy to see my friends. But it consisted of delicious food, alcohol, and my favorite faces. The drive home Sunday, was long and sad. But I was ready to be back in Sacramento. 

I love Santa Barbara, and all the amazing friendships and memories that were formed there. But I don't think I could live there again. The beach vibe was just a little to slow for my big city heart.

Here's all of four pictures I took that whole weekend.  

Well, well, well, I've utterly failed to keep up on this. Sorry! I swear I have content floating around in my head. It's just the getting it to the internet thing that I'm having a hard time with. But I do have a Tiny Travels recap coming up. 

In the meantime, here's my most recent playlist. I tried to keep the songs relatively mellow. The new James Blake album is phenomenal.  Both 'I Need a Forest Fire' (with Bon Iver) and 'Points' really stood out to me. So soothing. Last week, Thirdstory released their first EP. They're known for incredible covers of pop songs. Like this Drake one: 

But their new EP is all original. I really love the song included in this playlist, 'Grows Old'. But their song 'G-Train' almost reminds me of the strange theme song from the movie "Holes". I don't really know why, but it does! Another highlight from here is Seafret. Their whole album has been pretty perfect for spring. I tweeted out a live version of their song 'Wildfire' a few days ago. Peep it below. 

I hope you're all having a lovely week (and hopefully an even better weekend). 

honestly @SeafretOfficial https://t.co/4mTsP83eVF pic.twitter.com/MA2R07zmv1

— Kyra K (@chaosofKyra) May 19, 2016

So quite honestly I've avoided podcasts or like audiobooks for ages. I'm not exactly sure why, but it could be because growing up my mom used to listen to a lot of NPR and as a child it was incredibly boring. I typically like to jam out to music as I drive back and forth to work. But I was getting a bit over my commute and my standard rotation of music (because let's be real, I'm always running way too late to find a new playlist), so after saying "no" to podcasts for years I finally caved and downloaded every episode of the LadyGang podcast. Run by Keltie Knight, Jac Vanek, and Becca Tobin, this podcast has become a regular feature on my commute (at least until I catch up on all the episodes --- UPDATE 6/2: I'm all caught up and more obsessed than ever before). 

I've been following Jac and Keltie for a few years now. Buried in the dark depths of my Facebook is a picture of Jac and a very sweaty version of myself from Warped Tour 2010. Keltie's tumblr used to be one of my favorites as well. This podcasts brings their contagious laughter right to your  ears. It's a collection of  funny, relevant, and often times really uplifting conversations. And I find myself so often being like "SAME" to a lot of the things they say. They put out a new episode every Tuesday and I will definitely be looking forward to more. 

Now that I've broken my resolve to not listen to podcasts, please give me many more recommendations to spend my drives learning from. 

Okay, listen. I've been indulging in some serious guilty pleasures this week. I just found out about this show called Outlander and I've been binge watching the first season (hellooooo Scottish accent swooning). I splurged on a glass of 'fancy' wine at dinner the other night. And I cannot stop listening Ariana Grande's "Dangerous Woman". I don't know why, but I have no shame on the amount of times I've hit replay. 

So naturally this playlist had to start with Ariana belting it. Despite my typical aversion to anything slightly country, I added in Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey" because it's been stuck in my head repeatedly for a few weeks now. The rest of the tracks are a pretty mellow collection -- lots of piano action going on here this week.

I tried to post this on Friday, but things got a bit hectic. So here's a Monday Weekender (or Week-Beginner.)

I've been pretty sick the last week or so. It started out as a sore throat and decided to stick around as a full-blown cold. I've spent the majority of last weekend reading and watching the new season of Daredevil (Side note: Can I be Elektra? k. Thanks.)  In the spirit of willing myself to be healthy, I tried to fill this playlist with upbeat jams. 

I like to bump this whole playlist as I drive around running errands for work and I'm not 100% embarrassed to have people hear me sing along when my windows are down. Tame Impala's 'The Less I Know the Better' has been in constant rotation for a few months. The music video is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of strange things and monkey costumes. I really dig the song 'Bad Blood' by NAO (Sorry, it's not a T-Swift cover, but it's worth listening to). 

Hopefully the springtime weather continues to move in this weekend. I have some big brunch plans! Have a great weekend pals. 

It all started 3 years ago, on a cold, London day in January. It was the first day of a new semester at King’s College London, and I was waiting for my creative writing lecture to start. This girl slid into the seat next to me and politely asks, “Aren’t you in my poetry class too?” That, my friends, was the voice of Chelsea Melone. 

Our friendship began easy enough, with lunches between lectures, coffee shop hangs, and of course, fully swooning over our Scottish Professor. And after adventures along canals, midnight bowling rocking Ron Burgundy stashes, and a beautiful beach day in Brighton, — our friendship was sealed. Last spring I flew east to run around Del Ray Beach with her, and on a beautiful day in February we reunited in San Francisco. But we were long overdue for a reunion. 

It’s a quick jaunt into the city from Sacramento, so I was over the moon when Chelsea called and we arranged to meet for a weekend there. Leading up to the weekend there were constant texts about things we needed to do, places we needed to eat at, and most predictably things we need to Instagram. 

I arrived at our hotel in Ghirardelli Square, and saw how unbelievably gorgeous the interior of our room was. TALK ABOUT BRICK WALL GOALS.

We wandered around the city until it was time to get ready for dinner and Trevor Noah. That’s right, we had a chance to see the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah live. We were moderately to fairly intoxicated as one does when they’re on vacation.

But that only added to the hilarity of the ensuing show. While he’s no John Stewart, Trevor holds his own on TDS, and his stand up is outstanding (Apologies for the puns). We cackled the night away. 

The next day we headed out to explore the city a bit more. And if history tells us anything, I have a knack for making my friends come sob at old art with me. We headed off to the Legion of Honor Museum which definitely doesn’t look like a building in San Francisco. It was our own little slice of Athens, and we proceeded to sing every song from Hercules. (And then I cried about Rodin and Monet, because that’s so very typically me.)

Not to be outdone, we headed over to the De Young Museum where my friend Shayan met up with us. In the De Young’s sculpture garden, there’s this little gem hidden down a path. The James Turrell Skyspace is incredible. It’s this weird dome structure that creates a different feeling through light dependent on the time of day. And the three of  us spent at least an hour there — taking pictures, chatting, and listening to Chelsea sing. When the sun set we headed back to our hotel to change and get ready for dinner along the bay.  

Monday morning we headed to my all time favorite breakfast place in the city: Dottie’s True Blue Cafe. I’ve been over-indulging at Dottie’s for at least a decade. Their original location was the coziest place, but could only fit 7 or 8 tables. The line to get in took hours and it was well worth it. These days, they can serve more customers at once, but the wait can still take hours. Again, I say: WORTH IT. 

We spent the next few hours in a food coma wandering the Haight/Ashbury area. After I dropped a few too many dollars on records at Amoeba, we returned to the hotel to say our goodbyes and my lovely friend headed off to continue her adventures to Florida, London, and New York. 

I continue to feel so thankful that I have made such incredible friends along the way.

Until the next Tiny Travel...Cheers! 

Alas, I still haven’t been able to get a serious post up in weeks. I’ve got half a post about a recent San Francisco trip written, and another on deck about at photoshoot with an inspiring local. But I am failing at getting things done. It could be the weather, or lack of sleep, but I need to stop making excuses and start making things happen. Can I hire someone to motivate me? Just a constant friend to text me and be like did you do the thing? No? Fine. I’ll make a better to-do list. 

Meanwhile, I’ve been on a serious Etta James kick. Her song “A Sunday Kind of Love” has been stuck in my head since last Sunday. It’s been a few weeks of jamming Etta James and Sam Cooke on repeat. I’m unashamed of my love for artists of that era. But I’ve also really been digging artists that sounds like they’ve been influenced by Etta and Sam. 

With this playlist, I’ve thrown in some Leon Bridges and Son Little who sound like they’ve taking a turn in Sam’s shoes. There’s also a track from GoldFord who’s album has been playing in the background of my workday for weeks. And of course, Lake Street Dive. Their albums are constantly in rotation. You can probably catch me Car-eoking to them at least twice a week. 

What are some good motivation tricks you have? Share!  

The weather here Sacramento has turned from cozy and rainy, to the epitome of springtime sunlight. The trees have already started to flower and for some reason we have the worst smelling ones in our parking lot at work. Apparently they're popular in many cities since they're pretty resistant to diseases. But please picture Ann Perkins from Parks and Recreation saying the following: "I know they're pretty, but GOD at what cost?!"

With the weather turning, and the work load building, I haven't kept to my self-imposed schedule of posting one of these once a week. I've been quite terrible at searching for new sounds. I've just been commuting to my favorite Pandora stations (September - Earth, Wind, & Fire, S Club 7, Leon Bridges...).  

Since things have been so hectic I've tried to find sounds to slow down too. This collection has a few tunes that come from people I've met along my travels. 'The Bayou' by Iron Eyes Cody is absolute stunning. I met the vocalist last spring in Florida while visiting my friend Chelsea (who happens to be the photographer behind their album cover).  Her voice has this slight husk that I absolutely love. I've had it spinning around my head for weeks. Another track in comes from a Sacramento local, who I saw play at a Starbuck open mic about 4-5 years ago. He just released his debut album under the pseudonym Mansuit. On a rainy afternoon (which hopefully we have a few more of), his album is the perfect driving music. I especially love the track 'Little Metal Box'.  

I've also thrown in 'Ocean' by John Butler Trio which is almost twelve minutes of pure excellence. There's also a new track from Matt Corby and The Lumineers, both of whom have new albums on the way. 

Let me know what you think, who you're listening to, or what your weekend plans are!

Music is a such a massive part of everyday life. It's the soundtrack for your morning routine, the motivator during cardio, the rush hour karaoke playlist -- my favorite form of expression. I have zero musical talents. I've relegated my singing to the shower and solo car rides. You're welcome for that friends. 

But I love music. I mostly function in the folk/singer-songwriter zone, but I grew up with voices like Stevie Wonder and Amy Winehouse so I love it when a performer is vocally stunning. Some days I'll listen to the crooners of the past, other days it's Beyonce on repeat. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I like it all. 

I aim to post a playlist a week, but life happens and there may be Fridays that the playlist doesn't happen. C'est la vie. 

This first playlist as been on repeat for a while now. About as long as it's taken me to actually create this darn website. It's got a few of my favorites in there. I really love Jimi Charles Moody's voice in "Blue Honey". And I had to add an Ady Sulieman song in here. I've been listening to him for a few years now. I caught an acoustic video he did with the Mahogany Sessions and I immediately fell in love with his tone. If you only listen to one song, please let it be his. 

Now if you’ve ever met me outside of the internet, you know that I absolutely love live music. I spent most of my study abroad money on seeing shows. So it won’t come as a shock to hear that I packed my bags and headed south to see a concert. 

About three years ago I saw a video of Matt Corby covering The Black Key’s “Lonely Boy” and I immediately hooked on his vocals. I mean, see for yourself: 

His EP’s have been in constant rotation since. So when I saw he was touring, but only playing four US shows, I decided it was time to make the trip to LA that I’d been promising my friends for years. 

I’ll probably should repeat this many times, but I’ve been so very lucky to have met such incredible people in college. And the two boys that pulled into the arrivals pick-up late Friday night are no exception. They were my partners-in-crime and truly made me the happiest girl all weekend long. 

Saturday morning in Silver Lake, we crawled out bed and headed to their favorite Vegan restaurant — Flore. I have never seen such beautiful avocado toast. It was loaded with Sriracha, edamame, vegan ricotta, sprouts, and chili flakes, and quite frankly it was very difficult to eat but very delicious. I ended trading half my toast for half of a breakfast burrito. I think we were all the epitome of the heart-eye emoji over this meal. (Honestly I was basically heart-eye emoji over every meal I ate while there. So much great food) 

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Once we stopped stuffing our faces, we headed to The Broad museum. I tricked both of them into swooning over art with me all weekend long. Look how beautiful it all was:

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That night, post- ramen, became a reunion of my favorite humans. We headed to Mrs. Fish where my beautiful friend Margot works. My roommate from college came, as well as my best friends from childhood. I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to spend a Saturday night with. 

But the morning after was struggle central for all of us. We went in search of coffee and stumbled across this wall. 

Eventually we decided that the best way to cure a hangover was to drink more. Clearly brunch was invented for a reason. We packed ourselves into the car and headed to Venice to meet up with Margot and drink our weight in mimosas at Sunny Spot.  

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After a home-cooked dinner and a glorious sleep, I dragged the boys to yet another museum: the LACMA. While The Broad has some crazy and wonderful art, the LACMA was filled with pieces from my favorite artists. It was actual swoon city. 

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Rothko, Monet, Magritte, Mondrian, Liechtenstein, Picasso, Twombly, and Kandinsky — do you understand my love yet? I could’ve spent hours there, but I’ll have to save it for another trip. 

Monday night, we headed to the Teragram Ballroom to see Matt Corby. Let me be very clear here, I have spent an excessive amount of my life standing in concert venues, and there are very few artists that have wowed me as much as he did. His set was a mixture of older tracks and new songs from his upcoming album. No matter what he was singing, his rich vocals filled the entire room. It was unreal. He closed his set with a cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”, and I just about lost it. His new album is set to be released on March 11th. Go listen now. 

As great as Monday night was, getting up at 4am to fly home on Tuesday was the worst. I barely made it through security in time to board. I was definitely that girl running through the airport. Sorry! 

My first Tiny Travel was a total success. I think I may need to spend a lot more time in LA with my people. 

Next up: San Francisco