In the past week, I’ve had plenty of new-to-me experiences trying to make myself a part of the Idaho community. Relocating to a new state and starting completely over – new job, new friends, new atmosphere – is pretty dang incredible, but it also requires work. It’s 2016, people everywhere are consumed in their own cyberworld, and I promise it is NOT like in the movies when being the “new girl” results in instant invitations and friends. You gotta put yourself out there, find situations where people with similar interests will be, and introduce yourself…..opportunities aren’t just going to fall in your lap!

After settling in for the first few days, I was beyond ready to put that NASM personal training certification to use in an athletic club because A.) I want to help motivate people to reach their health goals and B.) A gym is a PERFECT atmosphere to meet lots of new people around my age with similar interests. One gym in particular really attracted me, so I brought my resume and asked for an interview. The next day, I was hired! YAY for the opportunity to work in Boise in a field that I’m so incredibly passionate about. It’s only a part-time position so that I can keep pursuing a creative/marketing career, but trust me – being in a new town can feel very lonely so having these few “social” hours a day is an amazing way to start becoming part of the community here :)

Aside from employment, I’ve also begun learning the local street names and can officially get to the mall without relying on Siri ;) Even though I’m trying to keep coffee splurges to a minimum, I’m LOVING the abundance of local coffee shops here. They each have their own unique vibes, and I swear that Idahoans are the most positive and friendly people I’ve ever been around. Everyone I’ve met has been so sweet and welcoming and that makes this move so worth it. (Coming from Southern California, I’m used to cashiers acting like you’re “inconveniencing” them, so YES, polite employees are a real treat now!)

Hustle & Heart Will Set You Apart. 

I also joined a local weekly running club. A running store just outside of Boise hosts a once-a-week fun run around a local park and I’m excited to have running buddies again (DONE with that solo treadmill grind) and find new trails and sights to explore. Unbelievably enough, the owner of this Idaho running shoe store recognized me as soon as I walked in. He said “You ran track at NAU in Flagstaff!” Small world, right?!? Got me feelin’ all famous… ;) Turns out we had tons of mutual friends in Flagstaff, AZ and he was able to share some local running hotspots and other post-college runners I might be able to work out with. I left even more inspired to keep running and more grateful for all of the kind people I’m surrounded by here in Idaho!

Buuuuut we’re headed into my second weekend here and I don’t know anyone well enough to have fun plans with yet. See, told you it’s not all glamorous. I decided to use this extra solo time to get back in the gym and work on my upper body strength. If I don’t have friends, at least I can have abs ;) (kidding….kind of.)

And as usual, I plan on getting as much SUNSHINE as I can this Memorial Day weekend. There’s a farmers market, the river, the greenbelt, the pool, new trails, and parks to explore. Maybe I’ll find a new cafe or smoothie shop. Or try out a new recipe of my own. Having “too many” fun options for the weekend is a pretty great problem to have. :)

XO Kenz.

I spent about 2.5 hours organizing my new room before I headed out to fully immerse myself in Idaho life! I’ve been waiting for two solid months to be here, explore, find a new job and meet new people and I didn’t want to waste a minute. On Wednesday, my mom took the day off of work to spend the day out and about with me. We were blessed with the most GORGEOUS weather, sunny blue skies comfortable enough for a sundress. :)

Just beyond Boise’s downtown district, next to the old penitentiary, is Table Rock Trail which climbs up to show off beautiful views of Boise. The downtown area stands out among the dense dark green trees and it’s absolutely refreshing coming from smoggy SoCal. We didn’t stay at the top for too long because we were running on empty stomachs, holding out for brunch at a downtown cafe and it was already 10am.

We headed back down the trail and parked in front of the capitol building, walking a block to a cute little brunch spot called Wild Root.

I ordered 2 scrambled eggs with sweet potato hash. And coffee, which goes without saying. My mom and I sat at the bar, facing a window out to the downtown street. There was another local coffee shop across the street, and yet another next door. There are about 13 non-chain coffee shops in a 5 mile radius. Now you know why I moved here ;)

We still had some time left on our meter and no strict schedule to keep so we walked a couple blocks around downtown (passing 3 more cute unique coffee shops….it’s going to test my willpower to be surrounded by all of these). We popped into a record store with it’s own little coffee counter inside, tons of music and quirky gifts.

Later, we headed back downtown around 5:30pm to meet some of my mom’s co-workers for dinner at a seafood restaurant Lucky Fins. We sat out on the patio for a couple of hours and I was so happy to get sushi! I LOVE sushi but I don’t think I’ve had any for months, so I ordered their “fit roll” with steamed shrimp, spinach, cucumber, avocado and (a little too much) sriracha.

It amazes me that the sun doesn’t set until after 9pm so we have such long light evenings. I had the perfect day here, but it still hasn’t hit me yet that I live here and that I won’t be going back to Riverside. I wanted to relocate for a long while. Now I’m here and I’m doing it! My “Idaho To-Do” list is so long now I think it will take years to complete ;) Buuuuuut obviously everyday can’t be as vacation-y as this day. Girls gotta find a job! Thanks for joining in my fun journey. Til next time!

XO Kenz.

I’ve now spent a full 24-hours as a new Idaho resident and I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling once.

Incredibly grateful to be here and very much ready to embrace Idaho life! As promised, I snapchatted a bit of the adventure but I’m here for a full recap today :)

My mom flew out to Southern California for the nearly-1,000 mile drive. I’m so thankful because I don’t see how I would’ve made the 15 hour trek alone. We set our alarm clocks for 4am, but I was wide awake at 3am. My body and my brain were just so anxious to GO. By 4:30 we were northbound. Roadtrip Buddies!

Before I left, I spent my last couple of nights in Riverside celebrating with my parents. My dad and I lived together for 4 months, so we wrapped up our time as “roomies” with some homemade pizza, ice cream sundaes and our favorite shows relaxing at home. Then on Saturday night, my mom was in town for 18 hours so we hit up a local Asian bistro and I said my goodbyes to my hometown!

The stats for the 1,000 mile journey:

• Duration: 14.5 hours (and then we lost an hour from the change in time zone).
• Stops for Gas: 5 (I like to fill up when the tank is at half-full “just in case”)
• Stops for Coffee/Tea: 2

We packed all of our own snacks so we didn’t stop to eat at all. We grazed on apples, bananas, sweet potato crackers with a laughing cow cheese, almonds and cashews, and my guilty pleasure – goldfish grahams!

Once we got past Vegas, the scenery really start to change. Heading in to St. George, Utah led us through gorgeous green lush pastures and canyons of colorful mountains. Beyond Salt Lake City, the highway was a straight shot through farmland and rural communities with tons of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and even a couple of llamas. The sky was bright with puffy white clouds, and it was just so scenic and picturesque. Cameras can’t quite capture it all but I kept snapping pictures and videos. You can see my 15-hour drive condensed to 15 seconds on my latest Instagram video!Around 8:00pm, we finally pulled up to where I now call HOME. Everything is blooming and I love the atmosphere around this apartment complex. I was completely unpacked within 20 hours of arriving and I can’t wait to share more about making myself at home in Boise!

I can get used to this view :)

Today I’m going to fill out a couple of job applications and head over to the DMV to start the registration process, followed by a hair appointment with a new stylist and a trip to my new gym with my mama! More Boise adventures to come,

XOXO Kenz.