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Amy Chen

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amy_chen_design_alaska_1.jpg

Solo Trip 2016: Alaska (Part 2/4)

August 12, 2016

After San Francisco, it was off to ALASKA! Earlier, I talked about why I took this trip - and having this strong desire to stretch my comfort zone. Alaska did just that (and so much more). It was pretty ballsy (for me) to travel there solo, but it was truly a life changing experience.

(click any image below to enlarge)

I got to the Anchorage airport sometime in the afternoon - starving - and grabbed lunch there before taxi-ing to my cousin's house. (Uber doesn't exist in Alaska, lol). I sat down at one of the airport restaurants and ordered a salmon burger and ate the whole damn thing. Even though it was only airport food, it was some of the freshest salmon I've ever tasted. (Fishing / hunting is a huge part of Alaska culture - which makes the majority of the fish / meat local.)

That evening, we took a quick trip to the Glen Alps Trailhead. I was so sleep deprived and jet-lagged (and also had to keep pinching myself that I was actually there in freakin' ALASKA) - and stupidly left my DSLR behind at the house. I wanted to cry when I saw the views - as I had never seen anything like it before. Surrounded completely by mountains from every angle - and a great overlook point. I also encountered a moose (!!!), which I totally was not expecting to happen this early in my trip. Apparently, you aren't supposed to get too close to them / aren't supposed to pet them - or they can charge you. I couldn't believe how big of an animal it was, and it was kinda terrifying (but also wonderful). Luckily, I had my phone and my polaroid camera to capture what I could.

For dinner, we ordered Moose's Tooth Pizza. I wasn't expecting Alaska pizza to be anything phenomenal, but it was actually really good! They have a bunch of "specialty" pizzas with unique topping combos, too - which is kinda what they're known for.

The next day, I walked around the neighborhood of Anchorage. It's pretty much the biggest / most populated city in Alaska. The rest of the state is primarily vast wilderness. Much to my surprise - Anchorage didn't feel THAT different from suburban NJ - but there definitely were some distinct differences. There were a lot of fast food joints, a standard local grocery store, wide sidewalks for walking / biking, etc - and they even had a BLOCKBUSTER (that was still open for business, haha). As ordinary as it sounds, I enjoyed looking at all the houses in the area - I noticed many had trailer homes / campers / boats. I also was entertained by just walking around parking lots (lots of pickup trucks / motorcycles) and reading the license plates, LOL. Apparently, Alaska is really into their customized license plates - which I had no idea until I saw for myself.

I stopped into a place called the Family Flea Market - which was actually more like a thrift store than it was a true "flea market" - but it was awesome. Anywhere I go, I love popping into thrift / antiques stores. I think it's such a great way to see the "locals' stuff" - and you can really get a good feel for the type of people who live there and the lives those people lead. I snagged a little hand-carved wooden whale to take back home to NJ with me.

In the lot next to the Family Flea Market, there were a ton of old run down trucks. I had opted to forego my DSLR while walking around that day, actually - because I felt super out of place walking around with it around town in such a residential area, lol. This lot was literally made for polaroids, so I was super excited about stumbling upon it. I was half-expecting someone to come out and yell at me for trespassing or something, but to my pleasant surprise - this guy came out and said "cool truck, huh?" It wasn't in a dick-ish way, either, haha - he was genuinely asking me if I thought it was a cool truck (and it was). In general, everyone I encountered in Alaska was super nice / friendly / down to earth. They all seem to lead a super simple life up there - and it was a breath of fresh air to be around that.

amy_chen_design_alaska_trucks.jpg

That evening, we drove up to Seward to the trailhead that would lead us to our cabin for the weekend: Dale Clemens. It was about 2-3 hours from Anchorage, but it was the most beautiful drive up the coast. Hours of nothing but mountains and water and trees - I was completely in awe. The hike into the cabin was also a couple hours, and easily the most "hardcore" hike I've ever done (I had never hiked with a bear bell or bear spray before, lol), but it also wasn't as bad as I was expecting either. The trail was well marked and well maintained. I guess a part of me was prepared for the worst - because I had no idea what I was walking into. It was SUPER foggy with dense clouds - so we had really limited visibility - unable to see much more than a few feet in front of us. I didn't mind though - because the fog had it's own magical and eerie quality to it. I felt like I was in a dream.

It rained pretty much the entire weekend up there (and I actually opted to forego bringing my DSLR)... and instantly regretted that decision when I woke up the next morning and saw the view (it was like seeing that moose at Glen Alps all over again, LOL). To be fair, it would have been extra weight to carry in an already jam-packed backpack -- and I was genuinely afraid of the rain damaging it. I didn't want to have to worry about it. But looking back, I probably could have put it in a plastic bag and it would have been 100% fine and doable - damn.

With that said, it was refreshing to disconnect from my normal dose of technology. I did still have my phone (and there was surprisingly cell service up there) - and I also had my polaroid camera ... but I definitely felt like a fish out of water without my laptop and DSLR. It did force me to embrace "living in the moment" and focus less on capturing it all on my best camera, though. As painful as that was for me, it was a healthy break.

Despite the rain, I still had a great time. It was my first time camping in a cabin -- eating meals from a camp stove, functioning without electricity / wifi for multiple days, filtering drinking water from a stream, and mastering the art of holding my nose while peeing in the outhouse.

Speaking of the outhouse - without being too graphic - it weirdly became my pride and joy to get up every morning to pee, LOL. The views were the clearest in the morning, and that was motivation my motivation to get out of bed early. Never in my entire life before had I gotten so excited to get out of bed in the morning before.

amy_chen_design_alaska_blue_skies.JPG

There was a short moment where the blue sky made an appearance, and the rain stopped. I took that moment to go on a short hike, and couldn't believe my eyes.. because I saw mountains that I didn't even know were there -- we couldn't see any of it on the hike up due to the fog. I was also fascinated by all the different shrubbery, moss, and wildflowers. Once the snow melts, everything comes to life - and I couldn't believe how green it all was.

amy_chen_design_alaska_5.JPG

On Sunday, we all hiked out. It was a messy and muddy downhill climb (from all the rain), and my $30 pair of clearance rack sneakers was not cut out for it to say the least.. lol. 

We headed into town (Seward) for our first "real meal" in days at Ray's Waterfront. I got cod fish tacos, and nothing had ever tasted so good before. 

When we got back to the house - I couldn't be more happy to take a shower, brush my teeth at a sink, and pee in a real toilet again. Running water is certainly something I'll never take for granted again. ;)


Monday was my last day in Alaska, and I was determined to take my DSLR out (at last). Ironically, my last day in Alaska was the first and only one where I had my DSLR with me.. and going into the trip, I expected to use it a lot more than that.

I went on a mini road trip with one of my cousin's friends who had off from work that day. I didn't have much on my agenda other than wanting to explore downtown for a bit on foot - and ended up covering more ground on this last day than I ever could have imagined (because of having access to a car).

First, we made a brief stop at an overlook point along the Coastal Trail. 

amy_chen_design_alaska_coastal_trail.jpg

We also stopped at a popular fishing spot called Ship Creek, where thousands of salmon return every year to spawn their eggs. But weirdly enough, there wasn't a single salmon swimming that day - lol.

We made the spontaneous decision to go to Matanuska Glacier next. It was my first time ever seeing a glacier, and I was amazed by the contrast of the greenery against the stark blue / white ice. Unfortunately, we couldn't drive up close to it because the road was closed (it clearly just wasn't my day in Alaska, haha).. but it was still breathtaking from a distance.

On the drive back towards Anchorage, we stopped at the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer - which houses the largest captive herd of musk oxen in the world. Listening to the tour guide tell us stories about each of the musk ox was pretty entertaining, and I had never been on a farm surrounded by such gorgeous mountain views before.

We also pulled off at a place called Bill's Country Antiques that caught my eye while we were driving, but it was sadly closed that day (Monday). We stopped anyways so I could quickly shoot off some polaroids (probably some of my favorite of the entire trip). There were a few houses in the area too - one with a dog on the porch - and I was paranoid someone was going to come out and yell at me for trespassing (just like in the truck yard), but luckily no one did.

We quickly also stopped off at a random bridge (not sure what it was called), which had some incredible views, too. Good thing we aren't playing a drinking game every time I mention the "views" or "mountains" - because ya'll would be completely wasted at this point. ;)

After all that, I spent some time exploring downtown Anchorage. I checked out the Anchorage Museum, which was really great for learning about Alaska's history. There also was a designated section that featured native local artists - which I really enjoyed. It was so fascinating for me - to be surrounded by all this Alaska inspired art.. it's nothing like what I'd find in NYC.

I stayed at the museum until it closed, then walked around a bit outside. I popped into Sevigny Studio Art Gallery, which had a great selection of things. I bought quite a few gifts for friends here - as it wasn't your typical souvenir shop. It had the vibe of a place straight out of Brooklyn. 

Next door to Sevigny is a sweets shop called Cake Studio - where I treated myself to a chocolate madagascar vanilla mousse ball which tasted like straight up heaven. I bought a few things from other shops in the area too, and then was off to catch a red-eye flight out of Anchorage!

A huge thank you to Jess, Kris, Cheryl, and Brandon for making my time here so memorable and stress-free! I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten to experience Alaska in the way that I did, and it wouldn't have been possible without you guys.

NEXT STOP: SEATTLE

In wanderlust Tags solo trip 2016, solo travel, travel, alaska, anchorage, seward, palmer
← Solo Trip 2016: Seattle (Part 3/4)Solo Trip 2016: San Francisco - (Part 1/4) →
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beach plastic valentine card design 8/8 ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’Œโ™ฅ๏ธ created with 31 pieces of beach plastic (including: 4 bottle caps, 4 nurdles, 2 hair clips, 1.5 buttons, 1 pen cap, 1 bead, 1 broken ring pop, 1 toy jack, 1/2 of a floss dispenser, and some other unidentified pieces) โ™ป๏ธ - while valentineโ€™s day is *officially over* itโ€™s really never too late to tell someone that you love them! ๐Ÿ’—(surprising someone when they least expect it can be all the more special ๐Ÿค—) - these cards were designed with blank insides, so you could use them for anything ๐Ÿ™ƒ (anniversaries, wedding invites, thank you notes, birthday cheer, or even just to say hi to your grandma ๐Ÿ’•) #WHPUpToMe #WHPโค๏ธEveryDay
just 1 of 6 valentineโ€™s day treats I made this year ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿฅจ๐Ÿซโœจ (not pictured: chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered banana slices, fudge brownies, heart shaped sugar cookies, and salted chocolate chip cookies) ๐Ÿ˜œ - prior to talking more actively about plastic pollution on here, I used to share a lot more food content.. but now Iโ€™m like... ใ€ฐ๏ธ posting pictures of food next to pictures of trash is *probably* not the MOST appetizing of aesthetic choices??? ใ€ฐ๏ธ ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธโ“ ah well... as @jamesvictore likes to say: โ€œthere ainโ€™t no rulesโ€ โœŒ๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ™ƒ after all, when I created โ€œamyventuresโ€ - I wanted it to be all encompassing of โœจALLโœจ my creative endeavors and interests ๐Ÿ˜‰ #WHPUpToMe #WHPUpToMeToPostWhatIWant ๐Ÿคช
beach plastic valentine card design 7/8 โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’œ created with 22 pieces of beach plastic (including: 3 bottle caps, 3 broken bits / pieces, 1 toy (star top from the christmas tree card), 1 pin (bow from the snowman card), 1 comb, 1 pen cap, 1 security ring, 1/3 of a straw, and some other unidentified pieces) โ™ป๏ธ - hope you all are having a wonderful valentineโ€™s day however and whoever you may be celebrating with! ๐Ÿ’˜ (even itโ€™s just with yourself + some netflix and cake ๐Ÿ˜˜) #shopamyventures
have been using up the leftover white envelopes from christmas to send out personal valentines ใ€ฐ๏ธ while Iโ€™m happy to have upgraded to the recycled kraft paper ones now, I didnโ€™t want these to go to waste ๐Ÿ˜˜ - if youโ€™re one of the lucky ones on my mailing list, keep your eyes peeled this week for some ๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ’—๐Ÿ’– from me! ๐Ÿ™ƒ PS: I was very sad the post office told me they had no more @riflepaperco stamps today ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ’”๐Ÿ“ฌ I knew I should have hoarded more when I had the chance!!!! ๐Ÿ™ˆ #shopamyventures
beach plastic valentine card design 6/8 ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’š created with 17 pieces of beach plastic โ™ป๏ธ (including: 5 bottle caps, 4 broken bits / pieces, 1 hair clip, 1 bread tag, 1/3 of a @starbucks straw, and some other unidentified pieces) #shopamyventures
complimentary beach plastic postcards! ๐Ÿค—๐ŸŒ…โ™ป๏ธ popping these into every @shopamyventures order ๐ŸŒˆ๐ŸŒˆ๐ŸŒˆ theyโ€™re totally functional (ready to be stamped and sent), but also make for great mini wall art ๐Ÿ˜˜ #shopamyventures
beach plastic valentine card design 5/8 ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’œ created with 26 pieces of beach plastic (including: 6 broken bits / pieces, 4 toys (barbie brush / headband, a jack, & a piece of a chair), 3 bottle caps, 3 beads, 1.5 hair clips, and some other unidentified pieces) โ™ป๏ธ #shopamyventures
72 straws I picked up at sandy hook in october ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿฅค๐ŸŒ… #stopsucking #skipthestraw #suckthissabatini #showusthestraws
beach plastic valentine card design 4/8 ๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿงก created with 22 pieces of beach plastic (including: 4 pieces of toys, 3.5 hair clips, 2 bottle caps, 1 marker cap, 1 balloon fragment, 1 bead, and some other unidentified pieces). โ™ป๏ธ valentineโ€™s day is just a week away! (how did that happen?!) ๐Ÿ˜ฑ be sure to place your order soon if you want your card(s) by the 14th! ๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’‹๐Ÿ“ฌ #shopamyventures
donโ€™t mind me ใ€ฐ๏ธ just hovering over the giant trash can of food scraps in the middle of the grocery store to take a photo ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿค“ - I wonder if theyโ€™re going to be composted or tied up in a plastic bag and sent to a landfill.. ๐Ÿค”
beach plastic valentine card design 3/8 - ๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿป created with 16 pieces of beach plastic (including: 4 broken bits / pieces, 1 bottle cap, 1 hair clip, 1 comb, 1 cookie cutter, 1 foam flower cutout, 1 toy wheel, and some other unidentified pieces). โ™ป๏ธ as a reminder, you can create your own 4 PACK of cards! just add the 4 cards that you want to your cart and apply the code โ€œ4for16โ€ for a little discount ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ’˜โœจ #shopamyventures
broken plastic bits and pieces ใ€ฐ๏ธ collected from various NJ / NYC beaches I frequent ๐ŸŒ… #WHPcolorwheel
@shopamyventures beach plastic greeting card envelopes got an upgrade! ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿป the new ones are made from 100% recycled paper ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ - and SO much better quality than those boring white ones I started off with for christmas! ๐Ÿ˜œโ™ป๏ธ๐Ÿ’ฏ #shopamyventures
beach plastic valentine cards are officially LIVE!! ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ each card was created with a unique selection of trash Iโ€™ve collected from NJ / NY beaches. ๐ŸŒ… collected, cleaned, sorted, and arranged into hearts by yours truly ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿค“โ™ป๏ธ - although I played around a bit with the background colors during the editing process, I didnโ€™t alter or retouch the trash itself (I wanted to keep the integrity of the trash! ๐Ÿ˜‰). imperfect, forgotten, broken, scuffed up - and all. each piece of trash has been on itโ€™s own individual journey and has its own story โ€” and now, they get to come together and continue their stories in a whole new way. hopefully, sparking continued conversation about plastic pollution wherever they may go! โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ–ค (shop link is in my bio!) ๐Ÿ˜˜ #shopamyventures
beach plastic valentine card design 2/8 ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’™ created with 16 pieces of beach plastic (including: 2 bottle caps, 2 tags, 1 bouncy ball, 1 hair clip, 1 press on finger nail, 1 bead, 2/3 of a button, and some other unidentified pieces). (valentines will be available on @shopamyventures TOMORROW!!) โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ–ค today is also day 31 (the final day) of @zedster57's #2minbcphotochallenge7 and the theme is #randomactsofrubbish!

I love randomly finding โ€œtrashโ€ in the shapes of happy faces, flowers, stars, hearts, etc. - โ€œrandom acts of rubbishโ€ that always catch me by surprise and make me feel like the beach is throwing some love right back to me ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’ซ๐Ÿ’›โญ๏ธ๐ŸŒผโœจ- the smiley face bouncy ball in this card design is one my favorite recent finds ๐Ÿ™ƒ
day 30 of #2minbcphotochallenge7 is #barefootwarrior ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿผ๐ŸŒ…๐Ÿšฎ - itโ€™s way too cold to โ€œtrash combโ€ barefoot in january, but hereโ€™s a throwback to international coastal clean up day (september) - sorting / photographing beach plastic with @yellow_yeti at coney island! โœจ๐ŸŽก๐Ÿ‘ฏโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿšฏโ™ป๏ธโ˜€๏ธ PS: I miss this tan ๐Ÿคฃ
beach plastic valentine card design 1/8 - ๐Ÿ–ค created with 22 pieces of beach plastic (including: 6 buttons, 3 hair clips, 2 bread tags, 1 straw, 1 spoon, 1 bottle cap, 1 zipper, 1 bubble wand, and some other unidentified pieces). I donโ€™t typically work in black and white, but when I found the โ€œI love youโ€ hair clip I envisioned doing a valentine just like this! ๐Ÿ™ƒ itโ€™s one of the few color combos that remained the same from sketch phase to finish ๐Ÿ˜… - valentines will be available on @shopamyventures this friday FEB. 1! ๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿป #shopamyventures
shout out to those of you who helped me narrow down background colors this weekend for my beach plastic valentine card series ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ (launching FEB. 1 on @shopamyventures if all goes as planned!! ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿผ) - the trickiest thing about designing a series is each design has to be strong enough to stand on its own โ€” and changing one affects all the others ๐Ÿคช๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ˜ฌ โ€” I really enjoyed bringing you guys into the design process, and think Iโ€™m going to do that with future cards too! did you enjoy being a part of it?? ๐Ÿ’ญ I really appreciated having you guys as extra sets of eyes because at times it felt like my eyes were crossing ๐Ÿ˜†๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ’ฅ #shopamyventures
killing 2 #2minbcphotochallenge7 themes w/ 1 plastic bag today (how sustainable! ๐Ÿคฃ) day 23 (#ifonly ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ) + day 24 (#witchesknickers ๐Ÿง™๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ, a term the trash picking community coined to refer to plastic bags stuck in trees) ๐Ÿ˜† โ€”  spotted this one the other day caught up in a tree (too tall for me to reach) at my local grocery storeโ€ฆ if only people would bring their own bags and/or grocery stores banned plastic bags all together (forcing people to bring their own)โ€ฆ I wouldnโ€™t have to wish I was 15 ft taller!! ๐Ÿ˜ฌ โ€ฆthe witches would be left going commando though ๐Ÿ˜…
that vintage sweater I ordered from bulgaria arrived in the mail yesterday and I loved it so much I decided to shoot some self portraits (a true rarity) ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ™ƒ - โ€™twas time for a profile picture refresh anyways ๐ŸŒ ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ“ธ while Iโ€™m at it, letโ€™s turn this post into a โ€œ10 random facts about meโ€ post shall we? because who knows when the next time Iโ€™ll post a photo of my face without sunglasses will be? (last I checkedโ€ฆ was march 2018โ€ฆ yikes LOL). ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜ฌ 1.) The name โ€œAmyโ€ is French and means โ€œbeloved.โ€ I am not French, and my parents rarely if ever tell me they love me or generally speaking even use the L word at all. ๐Ÿ˜‚ 
2.) Iโ€™m a Capricorn, and just turned 27 ten days ago and being categorized as someone in their โ€œlate 20sโ€ just makes me scratch my head like โ€œhuh what how did that happenโ€ โ‰๏ธ
3.) One of my very first experiences with โ€œsocial mediaโ€ and โ€œweb designโ€ was Neopets. ๐Ÿ˜†
4.) I make a MEAN guacamole. ๐Ÿฅ‘
5.) Iโ€™m 100% Chinese, but cannot write or speak it. I know a few words and can SOMETIMES understand while listeningโ€ฆ but for the most part.. nope. Also, I have really really poor chopstick skills. ๐Ÿฅข
6.) Iโ€™m the only one who has a career in a creative field in my immediate family. ๐ŸŽจ
7.) I cut my own hair, have never gone to get a manicure in a nail salon, and have zero piercings / tattoos. ๐Ÿ˜ฑ Makeup is also a mystery to me but I prefer the *roll out of bed and out the door with as little effort as possible* method of life anyways. ๐Ÿคช
8.) Iโ€™ve never been to Disneyland OR Disney World ๐Ÿฐ but grew up pretty much solely watching all the classic Disney movies of the 90sโ€ฆ really need to make the trip happen for myself but ๐Ÿ’ธ
9.) I found an old fully in tact Asbury Park (NJ) Coca Cola bottle while digging around my childhood backyard growing up. I still have it, and itโ€™s one of my most prized pieces of treasure. ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿป
10.) Iโ€™m more of an introvert than an extrovert and have no problem spending a lot of time with myself.. (cue MANY solo beach walks) ๐ŸŒ… + when I do engage in larger group social gatherings I definitely need some โ€œme timeโ€ to *recharge afterwards*.. ๐Ÿ˜…

now itโ€™s your turn! tell me some random facts about YOU!! ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ’•
beach plastic valentine card design 8/8 ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’Œโ™ฅ๏ธ created with 31 pieces of beach plastic (including: 4 bottle caps, 4 nurdles, 2 hair clips, 1.5 buttons, 1 pen cap, 1 bead, 1 broken ring pop, 1 toy jack, 1/2 of a floss dispenser, and some other unidentified pieces) โ™ป๏ธ - while valentineโ€™s day is *officially over* itโ€™s really never too late to tell someone that you love them! ๐Ÿ’—(surprising someone when they least expect it can be all the more special ๐Ÿค—) - these cards were designed with blank insides, so you could use them for anything ๐Ÿ™ƒ (anniversaries, wedding invites, thank you notes, birthday cheer, or even just to say hi to your grandma ๐Ÿ’•) #WHPUpToMe #WHPโค๏ธEveryDay just 1 of 6 valentineโ€™s day treats I made this year ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿฅจ๐Ÿซโœจ (not pictured: chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered banana slices, fudge brownies, heart shaped sugar cookies, and salted chocolate chip cookies) ๐Ÿ˜œ - prior to talking more actively about plastic pollution on here, I used to share a lot more food content.. but now Iโ€™m like... ใ€ฐ๏ธ posting pictures of food next to pictures of trash is *probably* not the MOST appetizing of aesthetic choices??? ใ€ฐ๏ธ ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธโ“ ah well... as @jamesvictore likes to say: โ€œthere ainโ€™t no rulesโ€ โœŒ๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ™ƒ after all, when I created โ€œamyventuresโ€ - I wanted it to be all encompassing of โœจALLโœจ my creative endeavors and interests ๐Ÿ˜‰ #WHPUpToMe #WHPUpToMeToPostWhatIWant ๐Ÿคช beach plastic valentine card design 7/8 โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’œ created with 22 pieces of beach plastic (including: 3 bottle caps, 3 broken bits / pieces, 1 toy (star top from the christmas tree card), 1 pin (bow from the snowman card), 1 comb, 1 pen cap, 1 security ring, 1/3 of a straw, and some other unidentified pieces) โ™ป๏ธ - hope you all are having a wonderful valentineโ€™s day however and whoever you may be celebrating with! ๐Ÿ’˜ (even itโ€™s just with yourself + some netflix and cake ๐Ÿ˜˜) #shopamyventures have been using up the leftover white envelopes from christmas to send out personal valentines ใ€ฐ๏ธ while Iโ€™m happy to have upgraded to the recycled kraft paper ones now, I didnโ€™t want these to go to waste ๐Ÿ˜˜ - if youโ€™re one of the lucky ones on my mailing list, keep your eyes peeled this week for some ๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ’—๐Ÿ’– from me! ๐Ÿ™ƒ PS: I was very sad the post office told me they had no more @riflepaperco stamps today ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ’”๐Ÿ“ฌ I knew I should have hoarded more when I had the chance!!!! ๐Ÿ™ˆ #shopamyventures beach plastic valentine card design 6/8 ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’š created with 17 pieces of beach plastic โ™ป๏ธ (including: 5 bottle caps, 4 broken bits / pieces, 1 hair clip, 1 bread tag, 1/3 of a @starbucks straw, and some other unidentified pieces) #shopamyventures complimentary beach plastic postcards! ๐Ÿค—๐ŸŒ…โ™ป๏ธ popping these into every @shopamyventures order ๐ŸŒˆ๐ŸŒˆ๐ŸŒˆ theyโ€™re totally functional (ready to be stamped and sent), but also make for great mini wall art ๐Ÿ˜˜ #shopamyventures beach plastic valentine card design 5/8 ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’œ created with 26 pieces of beach plastic (including: 6 broken bits / pieces, 4 toys (barbie brush / headband, a jack, & a piece of a chair), 3 bottle caps, 3 beads, 1.5 hair clips, and some other unidentified pieces) โ™ป๏ธ #shopamyventures 72 straws I picked up at sandy hook in october ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿฅค๐ŸŒ… #stopsucking #skipthestraw #suckthissabatini #showusthestraws beach plastic valentine card design 4/8 ๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿงก created with 22 pieces of beach plastic (including: 4 pieces of toys, 3.5 hair clips, 2 bottle caps, 1 marker cap, 1 balloon fragment, 1 bead, and some other unidentified pieces). โ™ป๏ธ valentineโ€™s day is just a week away! (how did that happen?!) ๐Ÿ˜ฑ be sure to place your order soon if you want your card(s) by the 14th! ๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’‹๐Ÿ“ฌ #shopamyventures donโ€™t mind me ใ€ฐ๏ธ just hovering over the giant trash can of food scraps in the middle of the grocery store to take a photo ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿค“ - I wonder if theyโ€™re going to be composted or tied up in a plastic bag and sent to a landfill.. ๐Ÿค” beach plastic valentine card design 3/8 - ๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿป created with 16 pieces of beach plastic (including: 4 broken bits / pieces, 1 bottle cap, 1 hair clip, 1 comb, 1 cookie cutter, 1 foam flower cutout, 1 toy wheel, and some other unidentified pieces). โ™ป๏ธ as a reminder, you can create your own 4 PACK of cards! just add the 4 cards that you want to your cart and apply the code โ€œ4for16โ€ for a little discount ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ’˜โœจ #shopamyventures broken plastic bits and pieces ใ€ฐ๏ธ collected from various NJ / NYC beaches I frequent ๐ŸŒ… #WHPcolorwheel @shopamyventures beach plastic greeting card envelopes got an upgrade! ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿป the new ones are made from 100% recycled paper ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ - and SO much better quality than those boring white ones I started off with for christmas! ๐Ÿ˜œโ™ป๏ธ๐Ÿ’ฏ #shopamyventures beach plastic valentine cards are officially LIVE!! ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ each card was created with a unique selection of trash Iโ€™ve collected from NJ / NY beaches. ๐ŸŒ… collected, cleaned, sorted, and arranged into hearts by yours truly ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿค“โ™ป๏ธ - although I played around a bit with the background colors during the editing process, I didnโ€™t alter or retouch the trash itself (I wanted to keep the integrity of the trash! ๐Ÿ˜‰). imperfect, forgotten, broken, scuffed up - and all. each piece of trash has been on itโ€™s own individual journey and has its own story โ€” and now, they get to come together and continue their stories in a whole new way. hopefully, sparking continued conversation about plastic pollution wherever they may go! โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ–ค (shop link is in my bio!) ๐Ÿ˜˜ #shopamyventures beach plastic valentine card design 2/8 ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’Œ๐Ÿ’™ created with 16 pieces of beach plastic (including: 2 bottle caps, 2 tags, 1 bouncy ball, 1 hair clip, 1 press on finger nail, 1 bead, 2/3 of a button, and some other unidentified pieces). (valentines will be available on @shopamyventures TOMORROW!!) โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ–ค today is also day 31 (the final day) of @zedster57's #2minbcphotochallenge7 and the theme is #randomactsofrubbish!

I love randomly finding โ€œtrashโ€ in the shapes of happy faces, flowers, stars, hearts, etc. - โ€œrandom acts of rubbishโ€ that always catch me by surprise and make me feel like the beach is throwing some love right back to me ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’ซ๐Ÿ’›โญ๏ธ๐ŸŒผโœจ- the smiley face bouncy ball in this card design is one my favorite recent finds ๐Ÿ™ƒ day 30 of #2minbcphotochallenge7 is #barefootwarrior ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿผ๐ŸŒ…๐Ÿšฎ - itโ€™s way too cold to โ€œtrash combโ€ barefoot in january, but hereโ€™s a throwback to international coastal clean up day (september) - sorting / photographing beach plastic with @yellow_yeti at coney island! โœจ๐ŸŽก๐Ÿ‘ฏโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿšฏโ™ป๏ธโ˜€๏ธ PS: I miss this tan ๐Ÿคฃ beach plastic valentine card design 1/8 - ๐Ÿ–ค created with 22 pieces of beach plastic (including: 6 buttons, 3 hair clips, 2 bread tags, 1 straw, 1 spoon, 1 bottle cap, 1 zipper, 1 bubble wand, and some other unidentified pieces). I donโ€™t typically work in black and white, but when I found the โ€œI love youโ€ hair clip I envisioned doing a valentine just like this! ๐Ÿ™ƒ itโ€™s one of the few color combos that remained the same from sketch phase to finish ๐Ÿ˜… - valentines will be available on @shopamyventures this friday FEB. 1! ๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿป #shopamyventures shout out to those of you who helped me narrow down background colors this weekend for my beach plastic valentine card series ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ (launching FEB. 1 on @shopamyventures if all goes as planned!! ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿผ) - the trickiest thing about designing a series is each design has to be strong enough to stand on its own โ€” and changing one affects all the others ๐Ÿคช๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ˜ฌ โ€” I really enjoyed bringing you guys into the design process, and think Iโ€™m going to do that with future cards too! did you enjoy being a part of it?? ๐Ÿ’ญ I really appreciated having you guys as extra sets of eyes because at times it felt like my eyes were crossing ๐Ÿ˜†๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ’ฅ #shopamyventures killing 2 #2minbcphotochallenge7 themes w/ 1 plastic bag today (how sustainable! ๐Ÿคฃ) day 23 (#ifonly ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ) + day 24 (#witchesknickers ๐Ÿง™๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ, a term the trash picking community coined to refer to plastic bags stuck in trees) ๐Ÿ˜† โ€”  spotted this one the other day caught up in a tree (too tall for me to reach) at my local grocery storeโ€ฆ if only people would bring their own bags and/or grocery stores banned plastic bags all together (forcing people to bring their own)โ€ฆ I wouldnโ€™t have to wish I was 15 ft taller!! ๐Ÿ˜ฌ โ€ฆthe witches would be left going commando though ๐Ÿ˜… that vintage sweater I ordered from bulgaria arrived in the mail yesterday and I loved it so much I decided to shoot some self portraits (a true rarity) ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ™ƒ - โ€™twas time for a profile picture refresh anyways ๐ŸŒ ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ“ธ while Iโ€™m at it, letโ€™s turn this post into a โ€œ10 random facts about meโ€ post shall we? because who knows when the next time Iโ€™ll post a photo of my face without sunglasses will be? (last I checkedโ€ฆ was march 2018โ€ฆ yikes LOL). ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜ฌ 1.) The name โ€œAmyโ€ is French and means โ€œbeloved.โ€ I am not French, and my parents rarely if ever tell me they love me or generally speaking even use the L word at all. ๐Ÿ˜‚ 
2.) Iโ€™m a Capricorn, and just turned 27 ten days ago and being categorized as someone in their โ€œlate 20sโ€ just makes me scratch my head like โ€œhuh what how did that happenโ€ โ‰๏ธ
3.) One of my very first experiences with โ€œsocial mediaโ€ and โ€œweb designโ€ was Neopets. ๐Ÿ˜†
4.) I make a MEAN guacamole. ๐Ÿฅ‘
5.) Iโ€™m 100% Chinese, but cannot write or speak it. I know a few words and can SOMETIMES understand while listeningโ€ฆ but for the most part.. nope. Also, I have really really poor chopstick skills. ๐Ÿฅข
6.) Iโ€™m the only one who has a career in a creative field in my immediate family. ๐ŸŽจ
7.) I cut my own hair, have never gone to get a manicure in a nail salon, and have zero piercings / tattoos. ๐Ÿ˜ฑ Makeup is also a mystery to me but I prefer the *roll out of bed and out the door with as little effort as possible* method of life anyways. ๐Ÿคช
8.) Iโ€™ve never been to Disneyland OR Disney World ๐Ÿฐ but grew up pretty much solely watching all the classic Disney movies of the 90sโ€ฆ really need to make the trip happen for myself but ๐Ÿ’ธ
9.) I found an old fully in tact Asbury Park (NJ) Coca Cola bottle while digging around my childhood backyard growing up. I still have it, and itโ€™s one of my most prized pieces of treasure. ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿป
10.) Iโ€™m more of an introvert than an extrovert and have no problem spending a lot of time with myself.. (cue MANY solo beach walks) ๐ŸŒ… + when I do engage in larger group social gatherings I definitely need some โ€œme timeโ€ to *recharge afterwards*.. ๐Ÿ˜…

now itโ€™s your turn! tell me some random facts about YOU!! ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ’•

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Amy Chen (unless otherwise stated). If you decide to reference anything from my blog / website, please give proper credit. Thank you! :)


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