One of my favorite hashtags is #exploretocreate. Luckily enough, it fits perfectly with my blogging plans and even my title format. I've done my fair share of exploring this year, more than I ever have before. Obviously in Edinburgh, but also in my hometown of Greenville.

Explore to create. What does that mean to you? Here's what it means to me:

Explore- Take advantage of opportunity. Take matters into your own hands. Jump at every chance to do something new and different. Jump at every chance to make connections. Make new friendships wherever and whenever you can.

Create- Write, draw, photograph. Sing, speak, share. Use your unique abilities to innovate. Follow your inspirations in person and on social media. Make the most of whatever you love to do.

Rishi Peach Blossom tea at The Village Grind this morning.

Hashtags are ways to connect. You put them in your Instagram posts because you want to find the people who think similarily, go to similar places, and who you can relate to through those few little words and characters. This is why we tag, locate, and hashtag: these are the ways we mark our territory.

Where is your territory? Where do you explore to create? These are all aspects of my life that I think about regularly. I've only ever lived in two places, but I want to know those places like the back of my hand. I want to walk into my favorite coffee shops and have them know my name. I want to see my favorite public art and interact with it through photography and social media. I want to see people that I know that understand me and support my creative endeavors.

Find your territory. That's my advice to you. Whether it's a new place you've never been or somewhere you've lived all of your life, don't hesitate to explore to create. That's how you cement yourself in a place. When you come back, you will have places to go and people to see. Always the goal.

Lucky Strike of the Day: I woke up early, saw the sunrise with Coleen at Bex Café and Juice Bar, visited The Village Grind and had a lovely conversation with two friends, saw the new workspace of Tangible Strategies, and finished the day at lunch with a friend/mentor at Rick Erwin's Deli. Suffice to say, it was a happy day of living local and loving life.