Books, NonFiction, Travel

Dame Traveler by Nastasia Yakoub; Exploration of the Feminine Gaze

Read Yes
Length 215
Overall Feels Awe
Gay Vibes Unfortunately nonesies
Drink Pairing Sombai 
⭐⭐⭐⭐

A woman standing on Brighton Beach in Melbourne looking at Bathing Boxes, holding Dame Traveler.
I’m a dame traveler. While I was on the biggest trip I’ve ever taken, I met the woman I call my partner in Australia. So now, I have one exceptionally amazing reason to travel even more.

Women are amazing. I am obsessed with them. I’m also lucky enough to be a lesbian [maybe not “lucky” in the political sense…], so I’ve gotten to know women as humans, friends, adventurers, lovers, coworkers, and more. 

In a world where women are still a minority after millenia of subjugation, they never cease to defy convention and live their lives unabashedly. I’m sure throughout history, there have been countless women who have done the same in their own extraordinary ways, but the vast majority have been lost to history through erasure and a failure to see the importance and document… Thanks, men. 

With the rise of social media—also education, healthcare, right to vote, legal protection, employment, status as almost human, etc, but that was just the groundwork for what women do on Instagram—women have visibility, representation, autonomy, and power in a completely unprecedented way. Women are living their lives publicly. And they’re doing it in a really aesthetically pleasing way. But pretty pictures in cool places is not what Dame Traveler by Nastasia Yakoub is really showcasing. It’s about women untethered. Women who are not afraid to see the world alone, with others, on their own terms, and document it. The fact women feel important enough to document themselves, their travels, their lives, their art is a feat in and of itself. The world has finally arrived at a place where women are deemed human enough to be interesting enough to care enough to give us space enough to exist. Not only are women doing it and posting about it, there are now books in bookstores for little girls, little boys, and little theys to see and make their own dreams.

A woman standing on Brighton Beach in Melbourne looking at Bathing Boxes, holding Dame Traveler.
While my girlfriend was at work, I did some touristy things… like take pictures in front of the iconic Bathing Boxes at Brighton Beach in Melbourne, Australia.

This is an interesting book to review because it is mostly an amalgam of pictures by creators from around the world, whose work has been showcased on Yakoub’s curated instagram account @dametraveler. There are snippets from contributors as well as information and tips about certain locations. Yakoub could have created a book dedicated to her own travels and photography. Instead, she used this opportunity to support and document incredible women who believe enough to do. Divided into sections on architecture, water, culture, and nature, Dame Traveler delves into a photographic exploration of the diverse feminine gaze of a world too large for any one person to experience fully. So, for those of us who are trying to know the world in its entirety, we must turn to beautiful collections like this to explore, learn, and grow. 

Yakoub curated a stunning book. The only thing stopping me from grabbing my passport and leaving permanently is my dogs and bank account. Until then, this will be sitting on my coffee table to daydream through.  

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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A woman standing on Brighton Beach in Melbourne looking at Bathing Boxes, holding Dame Traveler.
I loved this day. It was so good.

Title: Dame Traveler; Live the Spirit of Adventure
Author: Nastasia Yakoub
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9781984857910

Books, Reading Lists

11… Books I’m Excited to Read This Fall

I started out niched solely as a book blogger in the Insta-sphere. Even though that’s not the only thing I was writing about way back when, it was what I became known for. I rebranded so I had more freedom to talk about all the things without any push back and unfollows because travel, dogs, social justice, opinion pieces, etc were not on brand. 

The books topping my reading list this fall.

When COVID hit, my life became wrapped up in the puppies and staying home. I’ve lost a great deal of motivation. Before 2020, I was extremely self-motivated and would often work ten or more hours a day seven days a week between my writing for work and content creating for the blog. I have found a complete loss of self-motivation in ALL things. Not just blog content. 

A book part of this blog has been and will be book critiques. I love reading and expanding my world views. I have not fallen off the wagon when it comes to reading…. Although, I’m Netflixing more than I used to. My reading quotas are still being met. The book critique quotas are not, however. I’m getting back to it… Probably. 

Bear really wanted to let you all know he’s super excited to be involved too.

Anyways. Publishers are still sending me books. I am still reading them. I’m just not posting them—or anything else—lately. But I wanted to give you a little sneak peek into eleven books I’m excited to read this fall. My reading taste is pretty focused. As a book critic, I like to vary it more than I would if I were solely reading for pleasure, so I aim for half nonfiction and half fiction on a wide range of topics, views, authors, and more. There is always a lean towards social justice, inclusion, representation, and progress. Even in my light reading, I choose female point of views and authors as well as finding POC writers because even when it’s a cute novel, women of color speak to things I may not immediately think of as a white woman.  

Here are the eleven books on the top of my reading list right now:

  1. Charged Emily Bazelon
  2. Harlem Shuffle Colson Whitehead
  3. Sister Outsider Audre Lorde
  4. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
  5. My Broken Language Quiara Alegría Hudes
  6. Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
  7. The Testaments Margaret Atwood
  8. The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals Becky Mandelbaum
  9. Slaughterhouse Five Kurt Vonnegut
  10. Entitled Kate Manne
  11. Ghost Forest Pik-Shuen Fung

Fingers crossed I publish book critiques of what should be some amazing books in a relatively soon time frame. We shall see. 

anbisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Blog + Dog

Who Rescued Who? Seriously, Please Rescue Me!

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Let sleeping dogs lie, so this is the picture we got today for the post.  I love this water bottle!

Who rescued who? 

Please rescue me!

Just kidding. Kind of. It’s been a long week, and it’s only Wednesday. A lot of things out of my control have gone to shit all of a sudden. It’s been stressful as fuck. Having thirteen puppies is not a regret, but it is, for sure, making everything harder right now. Life is weird in the chaos of the pandemic, and like many, many other people around the world, it has started affecting me and my family. It wouldn’t be quite so devastating if it weren’t for the puppies. Taking care of them is the first priority, and I will do anything and everything to protect and keep them safe. The best thing I can do for them is to love them fiercely, and that’s what I will be doing through this frustrating time. Puppy cuddles may not be a cure to all ills, but they definitely help.

I love the saying ‘Who rescued who?’ In so many ways, it’s true. Rescuing Beau was one of the best choices I ever made for myself and hopefully for her. I don’t know what would have happened to Tess and the babies had I not saw her on the side of the road. Hopefully, someone else would have helped her, but I was able to. The other day it started hailing. All I could think about was what would have happened to them in the horrible weather. I can’t imagine what Tess would have been going through. It makes me sick thinking about it, but I’m here for her and her babies. I was able to rescue them all, and they have given me so much hope and purpose in these crazy times. 

Still, feel free to send someone to rescue me right now. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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11..., Lifestyle

11… Reasons I Take Sporadic Breaks from Social Media

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I’ve been hiding from the world for a week and a half. Beau hasn’t complained.

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If I can’t see the world, that means I’m successfully hiding. Beau is not convinced. | Pajamas | Sweater | Hat | Sheets | Bed Frame |

Every once in awhile I basically disappear from social media. I don’t consciously decide to take a break; it just happens. I won’t post for a week or two. It doesn’t mean I’ve quit, I’m just having an accidental social media detox. This is the first post in a week and a half; I was kinda done with life and needed to disentangle myself.

  1. I have a life, and I get busy. When life is happening, I don’t have time to post. 
  2. Being present with my loved ones and all the people I choose to spend time with will always be more important to me than posting at a certain time. 
  3. PTSD is a bitch. When I’m in the throws of a bad day or a bad week or a bad month, being a successful blogger is on the back burner. I’m just trying to hold it all together and not be a human puddle. 
  4. Traveling sucks up my time. When I’m behind the wheel, I’m obviously not going to post. 
  5. Sickness. I hate working when I’m sick, so I don’t. 
  6. BURN OUT!!! It’s real. I’ve been dealing with some burn out lately. Not necessarily because of Instagram or social media. Just burnt out in general on a lot of things. When the burn out hits, though, I’m gonna take a break. It can strike at any time.   
  7. Migraines are horrible. I refuse to stare at a bright screen when my head feels like home to a mutiny.
  8. I’m lazy. 
  9. Work takes up way more of my time than I would like it to. When I’m busy, I literally can’t stop the word flow to post. It can be hard to hold onto thought streams as a writer, so I refuse to interrupt it. 
  10. There are periods of time where I lose all brain activity and have zero original thoughts. At least, it feels like that is true. It’s hard to be an enthusiastic content creator when I don’t feel like I’m creative. 
  11. I’m not in the mood to deal with the fucking algorithm. The algorithm sucks, and I don’t want to deal with it. Instagram hates me, and I don’t want to deal with the shitty, shitty interaction percentages because NO ONE sees what I post because Instagram withholds them because Instagram hates me. 

I’m never going to feel bad about not posting because it is my life and my feed. Being present is more important to me than having a plugged in and constantly curated social media existence. I love my job. I love being a blogger. I love connecting with everyone. I love sharing my life with each and every one of you. Sometimes, I need a vacation or mental break from being present all the time.  

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Hello, world. I’m blogging again after a small recess.

Blog + Dog

Ruff Holidays

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High fives for making it home alive.

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She’s excited to be able to go outside without three coats.

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Puppy kisses are the best kisses.

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There is no place like our chair. | [the softest] Pajamas | Bralette | Glasses | Blanket | Chair
As much as I love the holidays, sometimes they are really stressful. Holidays 2019 ended up stressing me out, but Beau was the one who suffered the most. She had a really rough holiday trip. It did not go so great for her, but the last leg was really the worst. 

People always wonder how Beau does in the car for long periods of time. Honestly, she does great. I think she does a better job handling the car rides than I do. Then again, she gets to sleep, and we’d all die if I did that. So no issues there. 

Beau stayed with Dylan and his family when I ran up to [not literally, I drove] my best friend’s in Minnesota. Dylan’s family has a German Shepherd, named Harley. He’s a lovely dog, but he likes to be all up in Beau’s face all the time. She loves to play, but she also likes to spend 92.3% of her time lying on the couch, sleeping. There was a ton of things going on combined with the dog, so Beau was on edge and stressed out of her mind. 

On Christmas Eve, Beau came to my family’s house. She did really well except for the cats. She wanted to play with the cats and give them all the mouth cuddles. I really do mean mouth cuddles; she didn’t want to hurt them, but she loves to mouth things. Suffice to say, she was crazy pants, and it stressed me out. My hand got scratched up by one of the cats because I got between them during a “CUDDLE ME!!!”/“DON’T FUCKING COME NEAR ME” encounter. Come to find out: If I left her alone in the house with the family, she didn’t mess with the cats…. I swear, dogs are just like kids. They’re on their best behavior when the parents aren’t around. I’d rather have her behave when I’m not around and test her boundaries when I am, though.  

So far so good. All of these things are completely manageable. A pain in the ass, but manageable. Part of life in a family. Part of life with a dog. 

What made the trip really hard was at my parents’ house in Ames, Iowa. What happened was no one’s fault. I’m not harboring any anger, but it was traumatic for Beau and for me. This past fall, my parents’ rescued a new dog. His name is Barney, and he’s very sweet. We don’t know anything about his background, but he’s getting used to his new life in my parents’ house. 

We pulled into my parents’ driveway just after dark and in the rain. We took the truck because it’s easier on Dylan’s back for long drives. We left Beau in the truck while we unloaded everything from the bed into the garage. Dylan let Beau out of the truck; Dad didn’t have a hold of Barney, and I was in the truck grabbing a few other things. All of a sudden, I heard snarling and screeching and yelling. I dropped everything and ran around the back of the truck. Beau was on top of Barney, and they were spiralling. It was like a horrible, terrifying scene of the worst dog fight you’ve ever seen in a movie. Dylan and Dad were trying to get them apart. I jumped in and reached between them (you’re not supposed to do that, but I’ll be damned if anything or anyone hurts my dog). I picked Beau up and had her in my arms. She was screaming, and Barney was hanging off of her with his teeth on her throat. My dad ended up punching Barney to get him to let go of her. Beau makes a lot of noise and pins other dogs when she’s attacked, but she doesn’t ever bite. Barney didn’t have a scratch on him. We thought Beau was fine because nothing was evident at first. An hour later, I looked at Beau, and her neck was covered in blood. Dylan and I took her into the bathroom. She had huge gauge marks on her neck and tons of scratches on her ears. She didn’t whine or complain once as we cleaned it, covered her in antibiotics, and wrapped her neck in a towel to protect it. 

I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. It was so bad, but it could have been so much worse. It wasn’t Barney’s fault or Beau’s fault. They’re both rescues. These things happen. Barney is still getting acclimated to his environment. By the end of the trip, they were getting along much better, but I won’t be leaving Beau alone with him in a room. Accidents happen. Beau’s wounds are all scabbed over and healing nicely. She was an absolute trouper. I can’t believe how brave and strong she was through every cleaning and disinfecting. It still makes my stomach churn when I think about it, but it’s behind us now. 

We are VERY happy to be home. Beau is feeling much better after the holidays now that she’s in the comfort and predictability of home. We’ve been cuddling a LOT in our big comfy chair. The holidays are beautiful, but the everyday pieces of life are my favorite bits. I wouldn’t change these simple beautiful moments with Beau for anything in the whole wide world. Our chair is our happy place. I’m watching her snore, curled up in the chair as I type away. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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That’s the are you out of treats? face.

In My Own Words, Lifestyle

Instagram Tax

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Me posing with an overpriced lemonade in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood at a kitschy unicorn cafe. |Sweater|Scarf|Yogas

New theory. Instagram tax. No, it’s not just another new and terrible thing Instagram is doing, but it is a thing we are paying for as consumers and content creators. Places are cropping up everywhere with a visually appealing and stimulating aesthetic trying to be the next local must-be-seen local place. As a traveler and blogger, I have come across a ton of them here in Houston and all over. They’re fun, inviting, cute, and trendy. It’s fun taking pictures and posting from these places. Content creators are under pressure to be at these places constantly and always be on the lookout for the next one. It’s not just content creators who are on the lookout. Anyone who likes a cute picture for their feed is out and about. We’re all just trying to look cute. Cute is not cheap. These hotspots are not accessible to everyone, and they’re not meant to be. The market is targeting this need for cute content, and prices are rising because the demand will pay for that picture.

If you have spent any time around me, you are probably aware I don’t like spending money. I am a saver, a scrimper, a spend as little as possible kind of person. I don’t make a lot of money, and I have a travel addiction. I am picky where and what I spend ma monies. As a blogger, there are lots of things pulling me in a lot of directions. I love it. I hate it. I wish it were free.

Everything costs money. I live in the fourth largest city in the U.S. I know I’m going to pay more for dinner here than I would in small town Illinois. I like city living, and I’m willing to pay that price. Cities have a range, and that range now includes an Instagram tax. Aesthetic costs money. In the Insta-era, people are going places just for the picture with the thing. I’ve done it. I’ve spent more money on some things than I normally would because Instagram. I hate spending money. Sure it’s fun, but it’s fleeting. That lifestyle costs money I don’t have. Even if I did have it, I can’t justify spending $15 on an ok milkshake for the picture in the unicorn place. No thank you. I can make that shake at home. Instagram is all about aesthetic. I mean, I love aesthetic; it’s great. A coffee shop turns into a floral paradise. Why have a dessert shop when you can have a unicorn dessert shop? White, sleek, and modern. Go for it. Rustic, leather, and low to the ground. Have at it. There’s a niche for everything. Find it, design it, add $4 to every item.

Aesthetic is what draws us in. It’s what keeps us taking pictures and telling our friends about it. It’s CUTE! It may not make for loyal or return customers. Once you have the picture, do you really need to keep going back? Probably not. I have a picture of me eating ice cream out of a watermelon. I’ve not been back. Why pay $8 across town, when I like my $3 ice cream just down the street.  

I have no problems paying market value for whatever it is I want. I’m kind of tired going to places to buy the thing to have the picture and paying double or triple the cost. It’s crazy stupid. No judgement. I will probably continue having those pictures when my friends go, but I’m not going to search them out. I search out the food not the look. I’d rather have $10 in my bank account than spending time in a poorly decorated unicorn dessert bar. Speaking of which. The picture was taken at a unicorn themed dessert bar in Montrose. It looks like a unicorn wet dream. Anything unicorn, pink, or sparkles is there. No continuity what-so-ever. My friend got a $8 lavender lemonade. It was fine, but you’re paying the Instagram tax. It has cotton candy and lights up. Not worth it. I borrowed her drink for the picture because I prefer plane tickets.

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