CURRENT MISSION

To dream, explore, discover and connect through an extraordinary journey across the world. To change the world by sharing our story.

ABOUT ME

We are best friends. We met seven years ago in Los Angeles and have been growing our friendship through travel ever since. At first the traveling was between LA and whichever city Ashley happened to be living in next. As time went on and more magical visits unfolded, we started to realize just how happy spending time together in new places made us.

Going against the grain, trying new things and meeting new people made us feel alive and excited about the future all while instilling in us a genuine faith in humanity. These new cultural experiences and interpersonal connections held so much truth about life and became our most cherished moments of self discovery.

It got us thinking about destiny and purpose and the point of it all and we decided that the only way we were ever going to arrive at any thorough conclusions to these lofty questions would be through a journey across the world. Shortly thereafter, a friend told us about the Couch Surfing Project and we were in.

KATE- I am a pretty easy going person. I am happiest when I am in a new city. I get restless when I am stationary for too long. I try to live life by the fullest and take advantage of everyday that I have been given. I love laughter over a glass of wine. I love spending an afternoon reading a book. I love unspoken moments shared between people. I also believe in serendipitous events and that's what makes life magical

ASHLEY- My Mom calls me a gypsy because I never stay in one place for long. Compared to some of the couch surfers on this site I hardly live up to the title, but compared to most of the people where I'm from I guess she is right. My soul craves adventure, exploration, diverse culture and new people. It took me a little while to realize this about myself and quit my 9-5 corporate job, but now that I've broken through I couldn't be happier. I am a dreamer and an eternal optimist. I believe everything happens for a reason and that your intuition is the most trustworthy compass you can follow in life. I love sushi, dancing and books.

PHILOSOPHY

"Consciousness is everything."

"Each person represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." - Anais Nin

"There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo

"Everything that happens to you in some way is the best thing that has ever happened to you..you just have to look for it."

"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

"Where there is love there is no question."

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will be among the stars."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone." - Audrey Hepburn

"Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other; One inspires us the other softens us" - Pema Chodron

"Better to join in with humanity than to set ourselves apart" - Pema Chodron

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

PANAMA - AMAZING!

Interests

KATE-
Travel, Yoga, hiking, wine, dining, books, laughter, people, communication, writing, Anais Nin, swimming, discovering, eating food, talking about food, Pema Chodron, coconut ice cream, flea markets, philosophy, crisp white wine on a hot day, road trips, movies, documentary films, lazy Sundays, Black and White photographs, balance, sleeping, loving

ASHLEY -
My cat Shilo, yoga, hiking, traveling, wine, dining, cooking, books, people watching, talking, laughing, listening, pilates, kundalini, kabbalah, french, piano, writing, quantum physics, chinese medicine, acupuncture, dancing, karaoke, boating, snorkeling, photography, documentary films, interior design, astrology, art, live music, volunteering at the homeless shelter, boutique hotels, history, entertaining friends, environmental issues (specifically improving air quality), psychology, sociology, philosophy, marketing, public relations, branding, entrepreneurship, brunch.

• cats
• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• design
• interior design
• photography
• documentaries
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• white wine
• yoga
• pilates
• boating
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• poker
• music
• live music
• piano
• karaoke
• hiking
• surfing
• snorkeling
• swimming
• entrepreneurship
• history
• medicine
• physics
• psychology
• sociology
• volunteering
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

KATE-
Books- The Alchemist, Spontaneous fulfillment of desire, Extremely loud and Incredibly Close, Alice In Wonderland, The Bell Jar, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Conversations with God, The Places That Scare You, Start Where You Are and When Things Fall Apart.

Movies- Vicky Christina Barcelona, When Harry met Sally, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Annie Hall, The Big Lebowski, Lars and The Real Girl, Flirting With Disaster, Requiem For A Dream, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, A Single Man, The Royal Tennenbaums

Music-
Madonna, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Etta James, Radiohead, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, Pheonix, Ray LaMontagne and just about anything classical.

ASHLEY-
Books - The Zohar, The Alchemist, Alice in Wonderland, The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, The Power to Change Everything, The Answer, Nano, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Other Boleyn Girl, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Running With Scissors, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, God Wears Lipstick, The Da Vinci Code, Eat Pray Love, Women Who Run With the Wolves, The Tipping Point, Conversations with God.

Movies- Garden State, The Departed, Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder version is my fav despite my love for Johnny Depp), The Notebook, Meet the Parents, Old School, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Snatch, Ghost, Good Will Hunting, Almost Famous, Chicago, Ghostbusters, Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums, Goodfellas, Titanic, An Inconvenient Truth, Jerry Maguire, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Little Miss Sunshine, Moulin Rouge, Dirty Dancing, Pirates of the Caribbean, Traffic, Thank you for Smoking, Amelie, Swingers, Pretty Woman, Interview With a Vampire, Donnie Darko, Napoleon Dynamite, Clueless

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

KATE-
Jumping out of plane. That was quite a rush
Swimming in the "The Baths" at Virgin Gorda
Necker Island

ASHLEY-
Studied painting at a studio next to Paul Cezanne's in Aix-en-Provence, France
Hostessed a high stakes underground Texas hold 'em poker night in Manhattan, NY
Caught lobster off the coast of Norman Island, VI
Moved to St Thomas, VI from NYC within 3 weeks of visiting there

Countries I’ve Visited

Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States, Virgin Islands, U.S.

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