A perfect representation of where I find myself these days — floating between my old self and this new chapter as a mother. I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been days when I’ve mourned for my old life… the days of spending my savings to jet off to wild places, taking on creative passion projects to feed my soul, and partaking in crazy adventures without a second thought. In fact, it’s taken me nearly 8 months (over a year and a half if you count pregnancy) to come to peace with and reframe how I view this transition from ‘Mar Gone Wild’ to ‘Mom’.

It’s taken a lot of work, long talks with the husband, and plenty of tears to see the beauty in letting go (at least for the foreseeable future) of the ‘wild’ life I worked so hard to cultivate. I’ve had to learn to accept, graciously, that I probably won’t be jetting off on some remote jungle adventure for a monthlong film project anytime soon (I mean, never say never 😜) and instead see the adventure in trying to introduce bits and pieces of my old life to this new one as a mother.

With that, if any of you parents out there have also gone through this (what I like to call) ‘mourning phase’ and have tips for others looking to navigate/make peace with their own transition to parenthood I’d love to hear them! 💜

#newparents #seasonsoflife #parenthood ...

When we became parents I worried that @zandrover & I would never have moments like these again — at least not for another decade or so. It would have been easy to do what was easy (and as any parent knows, traveling anywhere with a baby is anything but easy). But we promised ourselves that instead of giving up the things that made us feel most alive we would force ourselves to find a balance between our old selves and our new.

Sure, our old selves would have preferred sleeping in our rooftop tent, a half flask deep & laughing the night away, after a game drive like this. Instead, it was half a Savannah Light for me and a mad dash back to the lodge (where I may or may not have been in tears because of “mom guilt”)… but hey, that’s balance for ya.


#datenight #parentswhowander #safari #familytravel #southafrica ...

Some of my favorite moments from our time in this quaint beach town paradise… From Coco’s first time playing in the sand to ending each day with the most serene sunset — these are family memories I will cherish forever 💙

#southafrica #capetown #scareborough #travelwithbaby ...

Oh how I missed this girl and the long days spent driving around in her with @zandrover in search of wildlife.

It’s strange, on one hand, it feels like a lifetime ago that we embarked on our 7-country African road trip in our old Land Rover, Hettie. On the other, it’s as if no time has passed at all — like picking up right where we left off (well, minus the whole having a baby thing).🙃

#landroverdefender #travelwithbaby #safari #southafrica #babyonsafari #defender90 ...

South Africa was the first country I ever traveled to solo, and ever since then I have felt intensely drawn to this place — as if deep down I knew it would play a significant role in my life.

Now, here I am, nearly a decade later, watching my half South African daughter experience her first taste of this magical place — a place her father, @zandrover, and I hope she one day feels is her 2nd home.💛

#cocotakessouthafrica #safari #southafricatravel #kidswhoexplore #travelwithkids ...