The Atlas Heart

Hi! I'm Mimi.

I created The Atlas Heart with the intention of not only seeing the world, but understanding and writing about cultures from the perspectives of locals – what I call ‘seeing the world through a kaleidoscope lens’.

Popular posts

Destinations

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World Map

latest adventures

best 4 person tent

Best 4 Person Tent for Camping and Backpacking in 2020

Outdoor Travel, Resources, Travel Products

Best 4 Person Tent for Camping and Backpacking in 2020

best weekend trips from san francisco, california

17 Best Weekend Trips From San Francisco (From a Local)

California, USA

17 Best Weekend Trips From San Francisco (From a Local)

where to see the redwood near San Francisco

Where to See the Redwoods Near San Francisco (Within a 2-Hour Drive)

California, Outdoor Travel, USA

Where to See the Redwoods Near San Francisco (Within a 2-Hour Drive)

Things to do in San Jose California

35 Best Things to do in San Jose, California

California, USA

35 Best Things to do in San Jose, California

best hikes in san francisco

14 Best Hikes in San Francisco, California (From a Local)

California, Outdoor Travel, USA

14 Best Hikes in San Francisco, California (From a Local)

38

countries visited

10

Places I've lived

7

years of blogging

my travel essentials

All of my favorite travel essentials in one place! Find out my recommended travel resources, preferred products, and must-have gear that I use in my own travels so you can be prepared for your next trip.

I understand that I will never understand, but I’m hear to listen and learn. I’m with you. 🖤 #blackouttuesday . . I’ll only be sharing black voices and perspectives in my stories for the next week. I’m also leaving the link to a list of antiracist resources in my bio (that I’ll be reading through as well). . Here’s to not slipping back into apathy after this week is done. Here’s to speaking up against injustice and systemic racism. Here’s to getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Here’s to standing in solidarity. Here’s to having those hard conversations. Here’s to supporting the black community and actively fighting against racial inequality. Black lives matter.

It took me a week to write, but my birthday post i

It took me a week to write, but my birthday post is finally here! In it, I talk about my favorite memories from my 20s and the things I’m most looking forward to about my 30s. I have to be honest, it was hard to write. 10 years of reflections and another 10 years of visualizations for the next decade. Mostly, I feel gratitude for the amount of good memories I have to look back on in my 20s and how much I still have to look forward to - even if the world feels uncertain right now. I truly had one of the best birthdays this year, even though I was turning 30 in quarantine. And that’s mostly because of the people in my life. So, not to be gushy or anything, but this post is for everyone I met in my 20s and the ways you impacted me and made me grow for the better. . . Thank you. ❤️ Here’s to 30 and another 10 years of adventure, laughter, love, and friendships. . 👉Find the full post on my blog at theatlasheart.com

So this is 30. I guess it's a good sign that the

So this is 30. I guess it's a good sign that the feeling that’s the strongest right now is excitement. The one thing I promised myself when I turned 20 was that my 20s would be for myself. As cliche as it sounds, I wanted to "find myself" in my 20s. I wanted to do exactly what I wanted to do without feeling guilty for not following the traditional path that had been laid out for me as an American since I was little. I turned down a stable life at 22 after graduation. Instead, I moved abroad on and off for the next five years, chasing adventure, romance, and good stories that I could write about on my blog. I turned down a marriage proposal at 26 because I knew I wasn't ready for that yet and I wanted more than what that relationship gave me. I moved to new cities on a whim and a gut feeling. I learned how to scuba dive, I went to culinary school in Italy, became a bartender, jumped out of a plane in New Zealand, and danced on the beach barefoot in foreign lands. I spent a lot of my 20s hesitant and unsure about a lot of things, but also determined to live my life on my terms. I wanted adventure. I wanted passion. I wanted to simply live and to see how things came together from following my own path. And live I did. Even when change and the lack of stability made me anxious and uncomfortable, I leaned into it more because I knew it was all part of the process of growing up. I have so many memories from my 20s that I'm glad I experienced when I was young and malleable. And I still have so much to look forward to as I transition into a new decade. Most notably, I love the idea of adventurous stability in my 30s. To celebrate the start of my new decade, I went hiking at one of the recently opened hiking trails, ate burritos on the beach, had a classy Margarita night with my housemates, and received so many messages and calls from my favorite people. It was the perfect way to ring in my 30s. I have a full blog post coming out soon about my thoughts on turning 30 and my favorite memories from my 20s. But until then… Here's to my 30s - full of adventure, love, and raw beautiful things. x Mimi

Finding the daily joys, even in quarantine. ❤️

Finding the daily joys, even in quarantine. ❤️✨

✨For any of you who have recently been laid off

✨For any of you who have recently been laid off or who are looking to pick up a side hustle or full time work.✨ . . I’ve been doing freelance marketing and SEO consulting work for the past 7 years, fully remote. I know this is a stressful and uncertain time for many and I’d like to extend a (virtual) hand to help in anyway I can. . . This is what I can offer: 👉 WFH / productivity tips. 👉Resources on how to learn marketing/ SEO and how to apply those skills for your own business or for consulting work. 👉 How to get freelance clients / start a consulting business if you’re looking to work remotely. . . Shoot me a message or comment below - I’d love to help if you’re needing advice or support in any of these areas. I originally offered this to my friend group, and after coaching one person 1:1 this week and sending resources and advice to a dozen others, it made me want to extend this offer to a wider community to see how I can help more people right now. If there’s enough interest and overlap, I’m also thinking of doing a series on my blog about these topics and some free video trainings. Stay healthy, stay safe.❤️ . . #wfh #workfromhomejobs #workfromhomelife #freelancelife #freelancer #freelancewriter #freelancework #upwork #upworkfreelancer #remotework #remoteworking #remotejobs #freelancejob #consultingservices #consultinglife #consulting #covıd19 #covid_19 #covid #coronavírus #coronavirus

This too shall pass. 💛 . . My traffic has dropp

This too shall pass. 💛 . . My traffic has dropped by 75% since last week. The passive income that I so diligently built up for the past six months has all but disappeared within a week. This could be an easy time to throw in the towel, to accept that maybe it’s just not in the cards for me to one day make a living from my travel blog or passive income alone. But I don’t see it that way. I don’t give up easily, and I see this as a chance to find ways to be more resilient in a less than ideal time, instead of losing faith in my journey. . . It has also given me pause to focus on other things besides just work. . . 👉I’ve reconnected with my housemates more in the last week than I have in the last few months because we have a sweet little coworking space set up in our quarantined house. . . 👉I’ve been reading more and expanding my mind in the form of business and psychology books and business and marketing courses. . . 👉I’ve started discovering the free workouts local SF studios are offering online right now while people are quarantined (including CorePower yoga!🧘🏼‍♀️) . . 👉I’ve made it a point to reconnect with more people on a regular basis over FaceTime and via phone call just to say hi and catch up. . . 👉I’ve made room in my schedule for daily journaling again. . . 👉 I’ve been brainstorming other ways I can still make an income doing what I love, even if that means taking a break from travel content for a while. . . I know people have it much worse right now and I know that everyone deals with stressful times in different ways. Just know that this too shall pass. In the meantime, learn a new skill, reconnect with friends and family, and find joy in the little things that still make this world a beautiful place. I know it’s easy to give into the negativity and panic inducing thoughts. Stay strong, stay healthy, and take a break from the news when you need to recharge. From my quarantine to yours. ❤️

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© 2019 The Atlas Heart | made in collaboration with Ink & Honey Design Co. + Michelle Robins Creative