This Is Stori: Designing a Life
The first time we went to Naples, we were on a mission to find the world’s first known pizza restaurant. We'd read about it in a travel guide and were sure we could track it down with nothing but a printed map and some stubborn optimism.
After three hours of wandering winding streets, asking strangers, and debating turns, we were hangry, tired, and finally ready to give up. We had somehow looped back to where we started—only to realize the restaurant we were looking for had been right behind us the whole time.
We sat down, ordered the pizza… and fell asleep at the table before it even arrived.
It’s one of my favorite travel memories.
Because it reminded me: travel isn’t about checking places off a list. It’s about getting lost, being present, laughing when things go sideways, and realizing the thing you’re searching for might’ve been right in front of you all along.
And that, in a way, is what Stori is all about.
A Lioness, a Look, and a Shift in Perspective
I didn’t know that watching a lioness fail could change the way I see the world.
But there we were—on a bush drive in South Africa, morning after morning—watching two mother lions move their cubs from place to place, trying and failing to hunt. For days.
There was something about the stillness of those early drives that did something to me. I slowed down. For the first time in a long time, I was quiet enough to notice things: the stars, the sound of insects, the way light moved across the brush. I became obsessed—with plants, with animals, with tiny ants I’d never have paid attention to in my normal life.
I felt awake. Like the world had cracked open and was whispering, “You’ve been rushing. Look again.”
A few months later, we were in Peru with our entire family. That’s where I finally found the words for what I was feeling. We talked. We sat. We reflected. And I thought: This is what I want other people to experience too.
Not just the views. The shift.
Looking back, I think that’s when Stori really started—even if we didn’t have a name for it yet.
Why We Travel
We’ve been a traveling family for over 25 years, but in the early days, it was pretty casual. Some weekend road trips. National parks. The occasional flight if we got adventurous. It was part of our life, but not the center of it.
Then everything changed. My dad was diagnosed with a progressive disease that began to affect his sight and mobility faster than any of us expected. Within a year and a half, he was walking with a cane and had lost most of the vision in one eye.
That was the moment my parents stopped waiting.
Egypt was one of the first big trips we took after his diagnosis. It wasn’t about snapping photos in front of pyramids. It was about living—while we still had the chance to do it together.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that trip changed everything. Not just how we traveled, but why.
As we got older, my sisters and I were given a choice every year: “We can get new carpet in the house… or we can go to Turkey.” We chose Travel. Every time.
(And honestly, the carpet we never got has become its own kind of memory.)
Travel Isn’t Just What We Do—It’s How We Live
Over the years, we stopped thinking of travel as something separate from our life. It’s not a break from reality. It is our reality—just lived a little deeper, with our eyes and hearts a little more open.
For our daughters, it’s shaping who they are. After Africa, their love for animals became something so central in our family, it influence’s books they read, games they play, even how they see the world. Travel has taught them how to be okay with being uncomfortable, how to adapt, how to look around and really notice what’s happening.
And yes—it feeds our work too. At Decorworx, our firm, we pull inspiration from the road all the time. Whether it's a texture on a wall in Turkey or the rhythm of a fish market in Japan, travel shows us what's possible. It gives us perspective, depth, and the kind of creativity you can’t get from behind a desk.
But more than that? It keeps us humble. Curious. Hungry for more.
The Truth About Travel
One thing we hear all the time is: “That must be so expensive” or “I could never plan something like that.” And I get it—travel can be overwhelming.
But it doesn’t have to be.
We’ve stayed in places that cost $11 a night and walked away completely changed. We’ve slept in train stations, learned to pack light, and discovered that a five-star memory rarely has anything to do with a five-star hotel.
Travel lives on a spectrum—not just of cost, but of emotion, energy, and expectation.
That’s why we created the Journey Color Spectrum. Some seasons of life call for rest, stillness, and slow mornings. Others? You want wild, sweaty, once-in-a-lifetime chaos. And not everyone thrives in the same environments.
I learned that firsthand in Vietnam—our first full-on “Red” trip. It took buses, boats, a walk through a fishing village, and finally a ride on a barely-floating house built on barrels to get to our destination. We were exhausted… and thrilled. But I also realized: not everyone would find that fun. And that’s okay.
Matching your trip to your energy is half the magic.
Why Stori Exists
We didn’t start Stori because we needed something else to do.
We started it because we didn’t want to forget. We wanted to feel more, not less. We wanted our kids to grow up knowing how to see the world—and themselves—with wonder.
Stori is a collection of stories, rituals, photos, reflections, questions, tools, and real-life moments that help families travel with more meaning. It’s our way of remembering that life moves fast, but connection lasts longer when you slow down enough to notice it.
It’s for anyone who’s ever thought:
“I want to live a little more on purpose.”
An Invitation
Whether you’re planning a big family adventure or just trying to bring a little more magic into your everyday rhythm, I hope Stori gives you something to hold onto.
A spark.
A question.
A deeper breath.
Let’s write a better story—together.
Here is the video of our reaction to getting to our “house” that we stayed at in Vietnam. Definitely a Red on the Journey Spectrum 🤪