Roam + Golightly: A Podcast For Creative Adventurers - Laura Jean

It's the most wonderful tiiiiiime of the year! That's right. At this point, our annual Feast Of Saint Pizza is basically my favorite holiday. The idea is simple. Choose a city (large or small!), eat at ten of their best pizzerias, indulge in ample amounts of carbs unabashedly, compare our favorites and have a BLAST while doing so. It's basically a day filled with pizza... and what's not to love about that? This year, we hosted our day of pizza feasting in our very own favorite city of Lancaster! Hear the details of our favorite slices on the podcast as well as our accompanying blog post! 

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

To wrap up our last episode of Season 2 (oh man, say it ain't so), I'm sharing exactly where Luke and I are galavanting off to this summer, as well as what I've learned in the last six months making the podcast. As many of you guys know, I've been teasing the idea of sharing our upcoming adventures with you for FAR too long. Well now it's time! Any guesses? Listen in and find out! Hear why and how we determined to go to our destinations and what we're looking forward to most, as well as how we're getting ourselves prepped for our upcoming trips by researching their cultural histories, watching movies and reading books. I'm also sharing what's next with the podcast and what exactly I'll be up to between now and Season 3!

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Wrapping up Season 2 and the accomplishments we've had since starting in August!

• What I've personally learned this season, including connecting with YOU, our awesome listeners and deepening my roots with creatives here in Lancaster

• Drum roll please... WHERE WE'RE OFF TO THIS SUMMER! (You'll just have to listen to find out)

• Why and how we determined to go to our destinations and what we're looking forward to most

• Getting excited for our upcoming trips by researching their cultural histories, watching movies and reading books 

• What's next with the podcast (including our Feast Of St. Pizza podcasts, and on the road episodes while we're abroad) 

• Exactly what I'll be up to creatively in between seasons and why I enjoy stepping away from the microphone for a bit 

• How we can stay connected between now and Season 3

• Korea: The Impossible Country

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)

• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

Keep Exploring is your new reason to break your routine, to skip class, to see the world, to take a hike, to sleep outside, to take the long way, to stay up late... and so, so much more. What started as a Facebook message sent between two friends before a road trip out west is now one of our favorite brands hellbent on encouraging adventure large and small around the globe. Keep Exploring's creators Brett and Alex are here on the podcast today to talk about their company's beginnings, the meaning behind their iconic big, red flag, and their insight on what it means to be adventurous. Get ready guys, because these two are about to dose up some serious inspo for anyone needing a little mix up in their daily life or hungry for an adventure. Join us!

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Introducing Brett & Alex, the creators of Keep Exploring and their specific jobs with their small business

• The learning curves involved in running a business when both business owners tend to be "right brained"

• The origins of Keep Exploring and the concept that came to fruition with their iconic flag design (and deciding not to spray pain their tagline)

• Sewing together the first flag by hand on the floor of their apartment and the hilarity that ensued

• How bringing their first flag on the road motivated the two of them to stop and seek sights more regularly to capture their adventures with the red flag in tow

• The heart of Keep Exploring's mission: encouraging adventure everywhere, no matter how picturesque or ordinary... there's always something to explore

• Adventure as a perspective, not as a destination 

• Their most meaningful explorations and the lessons they've learned from them

• Celebrating the flag's touching down on all seven continents (including Antarctica!)

• The fun of seeing the community explore all around the world, using it as a tool to capture adventures large and small 

• Alex & Brett's advice for something looking for more adventure and exploration in their life

• What's next for Keep Exploring, including some exciting collaborations with other brands

• Keep Exploring sponsorships

• Keep Exploring's Website & Shop

• Keep Exploring's Instagram (@keepexploring)

• Keep Exploring's Blog
   

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)

• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

You guys, come meet your two new favorite people! Today, you get to meet my friends Sara & Robert Cornelius. These two used to live right down the block from Luke and I, and let me tell you, they're two of my favorite people I've met in my adult life. As a married couple pursuing two different creative passions; Robert, a photographer and "Photoshop wizard" (no, but seriously) and Sara, creator of Cake Over Steak, an illustrated food blog... these two know what it's like to support each other through the highs and lows in life and in creativity too. Come hang out with us as we gab about their very opposing methods of creating content, what's inspiring them lately (including a ton of fun cookbook shoutouts), and hear us talk about all things fun, creative and adventurous. You've just met your new best friends. You're welcome!

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• A brief introduction to the Corneliuses:  Robert, a photographer and Photoshop Wizard, and Sara, a gravestone etcher by day and food blogger and illustrator by night

• How they met and fell in love... hooray for online dating and friendly stalking each other!

• Supporting each other in their side-hussles

• The perks of dating another creative, including having each other to use as a soundboard, tapping into each other's artistic strengths when needed, and having a mutual understanding of when it's time to work 

• What they identify as each other's creative strength: Sara's organization and systematic, big picture planning and Robert's excitement for his projects and ability to dive-deep into his creative ideas

• Robert's experience planning and attending photography meet-ups around the country, and his process when creating his images

• Sara's strategic method for leaving space open in her editorial calendar for what sparks her imagination, while maintaining a fully booked 2017 blog plan

• Explaining The Feast Of Saint Pizza (see our posts here, and Sara's here)

• What's inspiring Sara & Robert lately, including their favorite photographers, cookbook season, Molly Yeh, Flickr

• Connecting with other creatives online and their tips on finding inspiring makers on the vast world wide web

• Sara's thoughts on the blogging industry's future

• Their go-to activities when in need of inspiration

• Robert photo: The Fate Sisters

• Cake Over Steak's "Things I'm Loving" Series

• Wit & Vinegar's Popsicle Week, !Hola Jalapeno!'s Margarita Week

• Sara's Top 3 Recommended Blog Posts: "The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe," "Mini Golden Cake With Chocolate Filling And A Hazel Buttercream," and "The Feast Of Saint Pizza" posts Lebanon and Philadelphia edition

• Molly Yeh's "Molly On The Range"

• Katie Watersell (@katiewatersell_art)

• 500 px

• Flickr

• Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic"

• My Favorite Murder Podcast

• Ziza Bauer's Podcast Episode

• "Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors & Forgotten Recipes From An Ancient City"

• "Florentine: The True Cuisine Of Florence"

• Sara's Blog Cake Over Steak

• Sara's Instagram (@sara_cornelius_)

• Sara's Society 6 Shop

• Cake Over Steak's Facebook
   

• Robert's Blog

• Robert's Instagram (@robertcorneliusphotography)

• Robert's Twitter (@rcorneliusphoto)

• Robert's Facebook
   

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)

• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

Friends, happy Monday! The internet can be a crazy, vast place for a creative to find a home... and that's why I'm so pleased to have Brooke Saxon-Spencer, the creator of Belong Magazine on the podcast today. Belong Magazine is all about celebrating the art and the community of social media, entrepreneurship and blogging while helping women navigate the web in life-giving ways. I mean... talk about a Godsend! The encouraging and empowering community that Brooke has created with Belong is one of my favorite things this year and I'm so excited to chat with her about the magazine's beginnings, the community she's created and the ins and outs of being an editor of a independently run magazine. Get ready... this one's a goodie! 

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Brooke's previous experience working in the health care world before diving headfirst into magazine editorial
• How reflecting on her desire to find an online space to thrive, encourage and support lead her to landing on the idea of Belong Magazine
• Belong's origins in creating content for blogging (including the surprising twist on it's name I'd never realized before!)
• Utilizing Belong's Facebook group as a sound board to share anything from the "stupid questions" to the small victories and everything in between
• The tips and resource she'd give for anyone hunting for their own creative support system
• What's next for Belong Magazine
• Brooke's tips for anyone pursuing a creative passion outside of their 9-5 job, and why staying in touch with your needs, schedule and creative desires is key
• The ins and outs of what Brooke's reality of organizing an editorial magazine, with an in-depth look at her process behind each issue

• Belong Magazine's Facebook Group The Belong Collective
• Belong Magazine's Resource Guidebook

• Belong Magazine
• Belong Magazine's Instagram (@belongmag)
• Belong Magazine's Twitter (@belongmag)
   
• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)
• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

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Today I'm sitting down to talk face to face with one of my favorite bands, Worries! After meeting John and Billy in college and spending many late nights at their gigs and playing their albums endlessly on road trips, I knew that I wanted to feature these guys in one of our Local Minisodes. Worries' music is so incredible; it's punchy yet simple and plays with silence and man, do they guys play with heart... and selfishly I'm so excited that could finally have the chance to hear about their process when songwriting. Together we talk about their eighth year long friendship in bands and out, what they've learned from touring and playing so many shows, what it's like to collaborate on song making and what's next for them. If you're in a band or a music lover you'll love this one!

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Introducing Worries band members John Paul Decker and Billy Gartrell

• Worries' beginnings and its shocking original name (and what inspired them to change it!)

• Playing music together for 8 years and how they've managed to adapt and change to suit their taste 

• John and Billy's friendship, how they both landed at the same college and decided to begin playing together again

• What inspired the content for their first album

• The process of collaborating on writing music and how John, Billy and Luke structure their practice time

• Discussing the ephemeral nature of songwriting

• The song they are most proud of and the song they have the most fun performing

• How they keep it fresh when touring and performing multiple gigs

• The bands that inspired them early on

• John's video production company Old Bear and how his love for his music community in Lancaster inspired him to record personal, intimate sessions with artists

• Billy & John's YouTube famous friend- Frank P

• Lebanon Valley College

• Jack McCarthy

• The Mellowells

• Oh Great Mississippi

• The Menzingers

• Old Bear Productions (check out Luke and I's performance here!)

• Worries Albums On Itunes: Houses, Gardens and Weeds

• Worries Instagram

• Worries Twitter

• Old Bear Productions YouTube Channel

• Old Bear Productions Website

• Billy's Instagram

• John Paul Decker's Instagram
   

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)

• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

Pre-order Dame Traveler’s book “Dame Traveler: Live The Spirit Of Adventure” here!

It's a small world, after all! Today I'm chatting it up with jewelry designer, metalsmith, educator and entrepreneur Megan Auman. After discovering Megan's strikingly gorgeous jewelry on Instagram, I just knew we'd be a match made in heaven on the podcast. Turns out, she also happens to live right in my own neck of the woods in Pennsylvania! Crazy right? We discuss her love for all things India, challenging herself finding the world in our own neck of the woods, and her desire to surround herself with gorgeous things for the sake her own sake of being a super visual learner. This episode is great for anyone needing a quick pick me up in a midwinter, hibernation slump!

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Why Megan designs jewelry that is "bold enough to make a statement but easy enough to wear everyday"

• Her interest in educating entrepreneurs through her experience teaching in higher education and being a professor of metal smithing

• The importance of pursuing curiosities through education and the endless online possibilities to learn through courses online, and Megan's recommendations

• Megan's history in the arts through her mother's painting and her father's machine shop, and how metal smithing and jewelry making is the perfect blend between her two parent's passions

• Her creative process and the realities of needing to be fiercely protective of her studio time

• Focusing on her newest collection using opals from India and how her discovery of these stones immediately inspired her

• Falling in love with Indian culture through attending a workshop in Jaipur, the world's leading gem stone market

• Craving beautiful things and how being a visual learner and surrounding herself with visually stimulating and inspiring textiles, images and museums keeps her creatively on her toes

• Challenging herself to find India in her own neck of the woods through shopping for tastes, fabric, colors and Pinterest boards that influence her designs

• How allowing herself to live life like she did in India through absorbing experiences without screens when traveling around the US keeps her observant and fresh in her daily life

• Where Megan is wanderlusting to go next and her favorite local hidden gem

• CreativeLive, a live free streaming process to learn creative arts

• Harrisburg Area Community College (or HACC)

• Richie Ace Camps

• Metropolitan Museum Of Art

• ABC Home, New York

• Homegoods

• Sage Living

• Vice Land, States Of Undress

• Swatara State Park

• Reading Museum

• Megan's Website

• Megan's Store

• Megan's Instagram (@meganauman)
   

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)

• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

New year, new me. Well... not really! Today on the podcast, I'm baring it all and sharing with you what my goals are for the new year, including the business and personal nitty gritty stuff. Hear why I'm choosing the word "nourish" to focus my efforts in 2017 and just how I'm planning on bringing that nurturing spirit into fruition. Motivated? Absolutely. A little scared to bare it all with you guys? Totally. Keep me accountable and get excited, shall we?!

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Catching up from the change of the new year
• My once, anti-love for new years resolution and why I'm choosing a word for the year as opposed to a goal or daily habit change
• Why "BOLD" was my word last year and how the podcast, course and the Roam + Golightly community were created as an extension of this practice
• My word of the year for 2017.... *drum roll please*... "NOURISH"
• How I plan on nourishing community through creating new, meaningful content for the R+G community, including: creating a physical product for everyday adventures, refreshing the homepage so that it delights my constantly flip-flopping tastes and adapting Creative Coffee Break for email subscribers
• Cherishing my personal relationships in family and friendship that have flourished
• Self care and how I plan on nurturing my mind and mental health with 1 hour a week learning a skill through online resources and allowing myself to take more mental health days

• Being Boss Podcast
• Tone It Up
• Skillshare

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)
• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)

All kinds of magic is in store as I sit down to chat with Local Milk's very own Beth Kirby about slow living, her pantry of inspiring flavors from around the world and her new venture into hosting retreats around the globe! As a freelance stylist, photographer, recipe developer, curator of rich experiences, traveler of the world and downright wonderful writer, Beth's blog is a conglomeration of seasonal recipes, simple gatherings, reflections of quiet living and a slow, intentional approach to life and creativity. Besides winning Saveur's Sites We Love & Saveur's Reader's & Editor's choice in Best Food Blog, Beth's work has been featured in everything from Food & Wine Magazine, Kinfolk Magazine, Food 52 and more... and today we're honored to have her speak with us on the podcast!  

EACH COMMENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR OTHER CREATIVE ADVENTURERS LIKE YOURSELF TO FIND WHAT WE DO!

• Beth's exciting new ventures in marriage and motherhood

• Local Milk's origins and how she organically found her focus through her love of cooking, despite all odds in her young life

• How the blog got its name, through a metaphor "local: being present" and "milk: nourishment and sustenance"

• Her relationship to the art of cooking, her history of loving to eat to being self taught in her teenage years living in New Orleans

• Beth's creative cooking process and how she sources inspiration... including keeping a page of notes dedicated to inspiring flavors she's tasted while traveling

• The particular flavors she's drawn to right now, in this season

• How Beth chooses the location and menu for her workshops and retreats through finding inspiring locations and un-tapped countries and connecting with her network 

• Beth's definition of slow living... creating balance by slowing down to enjoy life with friends and family and also the time and effort it takes to produce great and meaningful results

• Taking time to be quiet and still in order to find discipline and beautiful experiences 

• Slow travel and creating the non-typical tourist moments through connecting with locals, creating downtime to breathe and handpick meaningful experiences unlike those found in a guidebook

• Beth's advice for finding inspiration through the art of cooking

• A look inside Beth's history in being a self taught food stylist and photographer, and her process through experimentation and vacillating between the many styles she loves

• Being Japanophiles and how the landscape, the food culture and their love of imperfect beauty, shadow and light and brokenness and wholeness completely enthralls her 

• Her Japanese pantry of inspiring flavors for anyone wanting a taste of Japan in their own home

• EverNote

• AirBnb

• Her favorite picks for new readers: Buttermilk Biscuits & Homemade Marshmallows, Saison Steamed Mussels w/ Lemons & Saffron

• Haruka Sakaguchi, creator of The Denizen Co.

• Local Milk Blog

• Local Milk Retreats Website

• Beth's Instagram (@local_milk)

• Beth's Pinterest
   

• Our Instagram (@roamandgolightly)

• Our Twitter (@roam_golightly)