Welcome to the Cliff

  Welcome to The Cliffhanger! My name is Karrie and I will be your guide!

Okay, okay, you probably don't need a guide. But, welcome to my blog! The purpose of this blog is for me to share the things that make me the happiest (that's a pretty big list of things) from the past and present!

I am 25 years old and I am a senior studying costume design. I work in the costume studio at my university during the school year but during the summer I teach swimming lessons and just enjoy the goodness that comes with summertime and the warm weather. I love all things creative, crafty and do it yourself-y. Not only does it save me money to do it myself, but it brings me so much joy to wear something, hang something, or gift something that I have made with my own two hands. 

We also love to be active! My husband and I love to hike together and we truly believe that hiking together is where we fell in love. We also love to run together! We run multiple races each summer and he does a great job of pushing me to go further and faster (I am realllllllly slow). We find so much joy in being active together and are constantly looking for new things to try together. Whether it's dancing in our living room to canyoning in the Alps, we love it!

My adorable husband, Brad, and I were married on September 28th, 2013 and I look back on that day with such wonderful memories and feelings. In retrospect, as happy as the wedding day was, I feel even more excited about marriage. He is so much better than I could ever deserve or could have ever hoped for. He is full of so much love and goodness, and he makes me want to be a better person every single day. 

Our greatest passion is traveling and we were lucky enough to spend our (delayed) honeymoon backpacking around Europe. We saw so much and had so many wonderful opportunities. For me, the most enjoyable part of our adventure was simply spending time together, away from cell phones, work and technology. I feel like the two weeks we spent together brought us so much closer and we will treasure those memories forever. I will post more regarding our European adventure at a later date. 

I know, I know, at this point in the blog you may be thinking, "Oh great, another sappy love-stricken wife writing about how her life is better than yours." I assure you that never was nor is the purpose of this blog. Over the past decade of my life I have begun a journey to discover what happiness means to me personally. For a long time I believed I never would be, or deserved to be, happy. I looked at the world around me and felt happiness was something I would not acquire. That time in my life was a dark period, and yet, it was a turning point for me on my road to self-discovery. I realized, albeit little by little, that happiness was a choice, not a destination. I started seeing the world around me differently, including myself. Instead of fearing for the worst, I started hoping for the best in myself and others.  I began engaging in life with more purpose, enjoying everything from the small moments of reflection to the larger experiences that seem to take your breath away. I began choosing a different road. 

And now here you are, sitting at home, or on a train or somewhere else reading this blog post. Something peaked your curiosity to read. Maybe you find yourself at a crossroads in your own life. Maybe you feel you are standing on the edge of a large cliff, and you're not sure whether to leap to your death or soar to the sky and fly. Regardless of how you feel about yourself right now, I hope you keep reading. I hope this blog is a small and humble reminder that there is so much good in the world. I hope the activities, crafts, adventures and everything in between bring you joy, hope and confidence.