The Atlas Heart

Hi! I’m Mimi.

As someone who has spent over 80% of her life in California, I created this space to share local insight, practical travel tips, and everything you need to explore the best of the Golden State. From cities to beaches, historic sights, and raw natural beauty, let’s go find somewhere beautiful to get lost!

Hi! I’m Mimi.

As someone who has spent over 80% of her life in California, I created this space to share local insight, practical travel tips, and everything you need to explore the best of the Golden State. From cities to beaches, historic sights, and raw natural beauty, let’s go find somewhere beautiful to get lost!

POPULAR POSTS

things to do in Los Angeles

100+ Best Things to do in LA | The Ultimate Bucket List

Things to do in Santa Cruz

101 Things to Do in Santa Cruz, California (From a Local)

101 things to do in San Diego (from a Local) | The Ultimate Bucket List

101 Things to do in San Diego, California (From a Local) | Bucket List

tieks reviews - are Tieks worth the cost?

Tieks Review (for 2021): Are Tieks Really Worth the Cost?

101 things to do in Sacramento, California | The Ultimate Bucket List

101 Things to do in Sacramento | The Ultimate Bucket List

Figueroa Mountain Brewing - Santa Barbara, California - 30 California Breweries to Visit

The 30 Best California Breweries to Visit

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LATEST ADVENTURES

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11 Best Women’s Snowboard Pants to Stay Warm and Stylish in 2022

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11 Best Waterproof Tents for Heavy Rain That’ll Keep You Dry in 2022

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7 Best Insulated Tents to Keep You Warm in Cold Weather in 2022

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11 Best Tent Air Conditioners to Stay Cool Even on Stifling Summer Days

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11 Best Campgrounds in Northern California That You Should Book Now

26

YEARS IN CALIFORNIA

3

REGIONS I’VE LIVED

8

YEARS OF BLOGGING

ITINERARIES & BUCKET LISTS

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

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.

We’re feeling 22! 💃🏻🎉🎶. . ✅Vaccin

We’re feeling 22! 💃🏻🎉🎶.
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✅Vaccinated + negative COVID tests for everyone the day of before the party.
✅ Fancy on top, casual on the bottom.
✅Piñata, beer pong, rage cage, karaoke, confetti party poppers, midnight countdown, and all the food.
✅ A memorable NYE with some of my favorite people. ❤️
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Happy 2022!! 🎉💃🏻🍾✨

In May 2021, I finally took the leap. I decided to

In May 2021, I finally took the leap. I decided to end all client work and start working on my website full time. Since then, it has been a wild ride. It’s mind-boggling to finally see something grow into what you’ve always imagined it could be after 8 years of dreaming about it.
 In 2021, I published 87 posts. I finally learned how to delegate better, hiring one VA and three writers to create a team of brilliant and talented women beside me. Site traffic grew by 149% to around 870,000 page views for the year (averaging around 93,000 per month for Q4). Annual revenue grew by 300% and included hitting a new benchmark - our first five-figure month (with many more to come)! I also explored so many new corners of California in the name of research, including the Channel Islands, Pinnacles National Park, more of Big Sur and the Bay Area, and even tackled my biggest adventure yet - hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail over 5 days.

My goals for 2022? There are too many to name here, but just know that it will be a year focused on growth and chasing big things. 2021 was a taste of what could be, and this year I finally feel ready to hit those big milestones I used to only dream of (a consistent publishing schedule, six figures, and well over 1M page views before the year is done).

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!! Let’s go kick some ass in 2022.💃🏻✨

A look at some of the books I read in 2021, I read

A look at some of the books I read in 2021, I read 32 books this year!
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In swiping order is 1) my favorite books that I read in 2021 (and one not pictured: “Second Foundation” by Isaac Asimov), 2) all of the fantasy/sci-fi books I read, 3) all of the non-fiction books I read, and 4) all of the misc fiction/historical fiction books I read. There were also a couple others that I read that aren’t pictured here because I read them on my Kindle: “Beach Read” and “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry, both of which I consumed in under a week they were so good.
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In previous years, I’ve mostly focused on reading non-fiction business and travel books. I still read some of those this year (“Profit First” - actually a re-read, “High Performance Habits”, “Leave Only Footprints”), but this was the year I got back into reading just for fun.
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My reading list this year consisted of a lot of good stories, and I especially dove into a lot of fantasy and sci-fi books, a genre I hadn’t explored much before. I also continued my goal from 2020 of reading more books from POCs (including both fiction and non-fiction racial justice books) to surround myself with a wider variety of perspectives.
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The most disappointing book I read this year? Dune. Loved the movie, I don’t understand why so many people love the book though. It was a slog to get through.
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So, what should I read in 2022? What was your favorite book from 2021 that I should add to my reading list? Looking for any and all recommendations (as you can see, I pretty much read anything) to hit my goal of 40 books for 2022.

Wishing everyone a very happy end to their 2021 th

Wishing everyone a very happy end to their 2021 this week. 🍾I’ve been reflecting on this year and the past as a whole a lot lately, as I always do once we get to the dregs of December. I’ve slowly realized over the years how beautiful change can be, that movement to a new chapter or age of your life. How disorienting and anxiety-inducing yet thrilling and exciting it can be, even with all of the unknowns ahead of you. I’ve been through a few different distinct ages in my life so far, from a jock and rule-abiding straight A student in high school to college and four years of novel, confusing, and fun experiences as I figured out who I was and what I wanted, to my years of pure hedonistic freedom as a full time traveler, always chasing ephemeral feelings and experiences. I’ve been in a new chapter of my life since just before I turned 30, my favorite chapter yet - one that has been challenging but also full of stability, financial freedom and working on my business full time, a strong community, and being with someone who finally made me understand what that “you just know” feeling is like when you’re with the love of your life… something I’d never felt before and didn’t think existed. I don’t know what chapters lie ahead of me, I just know that I want to enjoy the ride of this one as long as it lasts. To climb more mountains next year, even if it’s a challenge, because the view is always worth it at the top.☀️

Still reminiscing about my first international tri

Still reminiscing about my first international trip since 2019. Suneel and I spent 8 days in Aruba and Curaçao and it was pure paradise. ☀️So many days of lounging on the beach with a sweet cocktail in hand, swimming at sunset in warm ocean water, and doing a bunch of water and land-based adventure activities.
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We chose the Dutch Caribbean since their vaccination rates are through the roof and they’re very on top of all things Covid. We had to get four Covid tests over 8 days because of how strict they are, but, honestly, the trade off to be able to travel again and to not feel guilty about traveling again was worth it (especially as someone who has been vaccinated, boosted, and who already had a breakthrough case of COVID over the summer).
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We already have a bunch of trips planned for 2022, including New Orleans, Kauai, Arizona, and maybe Europe. Hoping we can make these happen!

Alright, I’m calling it. I’m proud that I made

Alright, I’m calling it. I’m proud that I made it to 13 posts in a row, about two months of content whittled down to two weeks, but I told myself as soon as I started feeling even an ounce of burnout that I would put my challenge on hold and resume my regular posting schedule.

Here are a few things that I took away from it:

1. I thrive (and write best) when I have balance in my life. When I was doing my challenge, I’d work late, feel guilty for having a social life, and I stopped doing my morning routine for a week because I felt like I didn’t have the time. I started feeling off-balance and overworked, which is exactly what I don't want to feel.

2. My most profitable content is my super detailed posts that are usually around 5,000-9,000 words. Those just aren’t feasible when I’m trying to get out content every day and I missed the dedication that I put into each one of those posts. I’d still like to test out a mix of shorter and longer posts, but my long-form content has consistently been my most profitable so I don’t want to lose sight of that.

3. With that said, I think I could do these content sprints better in the future and I look forward to trying them out now and then when I feel like doing a content push and I have the capacity to do so.

4. I realized that one of the reasons I started this challenge was because I missed sharing my progress and having that accountability. It’s made me realize that I want to start doing income recaps from time to time again to update you on my progress and to share the ups and downs of running my own website and trying to make a living from it. These might not be full blog posts but instead quick recaps on Instagram to update you as I go.

5. This challenge only helped improve my writing habit - I’m now writing anywhere from 2,000-3,000 words per day. Every day. It was also a good reminder that consistency is better than perfection.

And on a positive note to round out this challenge, a quick update on my progress: I’m on track to have my best month ever in June in terms of page views and revenue (I'll be hitting over 80,000 page views and making over $5,000 from my blog this month). 🥳🎉Onwards!

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