At the Turn | Feb → March
Nervous. Grounded. Expanding.
Reporting live from Clearwater Beach, Florida. It’s sunny and 75 degrees. I’m sitting on the dock of our Air BnB. My mom is next to me reading. I smell like salt water and sunscreen. All I can hear is the hum of people vacationing.
I’m happy. Not in a loud “I’m on vacation” way, but in a steady way.
The world around me feels calm and ambitious at the same time. Kind of like how I feel thinking about the turn of the month. February treated me well. We locked in the first in person Snack Attack event date. I’m 7 months into my day job and things are feeling clearer, less frantic. My husband and I are riding the married-no-kids-wave with intention.
There’s momentum, but there’s also peace.
When I’m away from my kitchen and routine, I see what actually matters. I spent a lot of my 20s trying things and anticipating what my life could look like. Testing identifies and forecasting futures. Now that I’m 30 and married, I’m settling in. I’m accepting. I care less about what people think about me, and more about feeling joy. I’m showing up with confidence and owning my narrative. I’m choosing visibility even when it feels vulnerable.
Travel always clarifies things for me. I used to think confidence meant a lack of nerves. Now I think confidence is building anyway. In March, I’m not shrinking to make anyone else feel comfortable. I’m building by design.
I’m going to keep showing up.
I’m going to keep making snacks.
And I’m going to keep talking about both.
And maybe (hopefully?!) I’ll bring a little of this sunshine back to Western New York with me. Because what travel really reminds me is that routines will always be there. Systems are portable. You can fall back on them anywhere.
Snacks Prep Method: Travel Edition
I studied abroad and have backpacked Europe and Thailand. It’s safe to say I know my way around the travel snacks department. While the scenery changes, my Snackagories are ingrained.
Grab + Go Pantry Snack
Travel snacks start with nuts. Cashews, Peanuts, Almonds. Roasted or salted, I’m not picky. Backpacking Nicole always had a pack of corn nuts on her. Present-day Nicole builds from the same foundation. I start with nuts, then layer dried fruit, banana chips and yogurt-covered raisins.
Sweet + salty + protein = stability
Emergency Protein: Airport Insurance
When I’m stuck in an airport and need fuel, I usually reach for a Perfect bar, Luna Bar or ONE Bar. Those are my go to brands. They may not be glamorous, but they are extremely effective.
Airbnb = Guaranteed Grocery Haul
These days, I usually prefer to stay in an Airbnb over a hotel. My mom and I landed in the rain this weekend, so before we even checked in, we went straight to the grocery store. We spent our first night catching up over snacks. Our board included cheese and crackers, specifically vanilla-blueberry goat cheese and Ritz crackers. Salami Mozzarella rolls, hummus and pretzel thins, strawberries, bananas and personal pizza supplies.
Vacation doesn’t need to mean abandoning all structure. It means choosing it intentionally.
Eating Out: Anchor the Meal
While eating out, I try to anchor meals so I don’t swing between starving and stuffed. I’ve been opting for fish, especially since grouper is the local speciality. So far, I’ve had ahi tuna nachos (incredible), grouper nuggets, old-bay crab fries and an egg sandwich from Caffeinated Bakery.
Being here in the sun with my mom, at the turn of the month, has me in my feels. I keep coming back to a theme: I don’t want to shrink my ambition or joy anymore. For a long time, I think I confused visibility with arrogance. I worried that sharing my life and what I’m building might look like rubbing it in.
But that’s not what I’m doing.
I’m building something that lights me up. Something I care about. Something I want to host in real life.
That’s alignment.
If this season of building, anchoring, and not shrinking resonates with you, please drop a comment.
For me, March is about expansion.
April 19 is about gathering.
And Niknack is just getting started.
Subscribe if you want snack systems, seasonal living, and a front-row seat to building something real in Western New York.
And if this felt like a deep exhale, forward it to someone who needs that too.
Thanks for reading this weeks SubSnack <3
With sunshine,
Niknack
