Instagram story viewer> @schatzi_mo> Posts

Morena Duwe

@schatzi_mo

1.8K

followers

1907

following

Editor @buzzfeed
🇵🇭🪩🇩🇪
All’s foul on the wine dark, but there’s joy on the wind if you turn east.

POSTS STORIES REELS

Boys, I think he’s come back for his noon feeding. 🦈

#beardeddragon
#pogonavitticeps
#beardie
#beardeddragonsofinstagram
#reptile
#lizard
#dragon
#thedragonofwestadams by @schatzi_mo

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

#johnmuir
#tresidderpeak
#10600feet
#yosemite
#stillpeaking by @schatzi_mo

A fortuitous stroke of luck brought us to Lisbon at the same exact time that @jarebliewer and @sammybe were there, celebrating their honeymoon. @that_miles and I went from lumbering down winding roads in a camper van to dancing on cobblestone with our Chevrolegs. We also celebrated Jareb’s birthday with delicious food, caipirinhas, marionettes, new friends, and more dancing.

We danced (and sang!) in the rain. We danced at a brothel-turned-nightclub. We danced until we were soaked in sweat. We danced bystanders off the stage (“dance or get off the pot!”). We danced until our brains were drowning in endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. We danced until my hip screamed at me to stop (and for once I listened).

We also got tattoos from @vdvilela and @drocco__ and experienced the evocative sounds of fado music. Lisbon was a whirlwind, especially when spent with two clowns. The laughter was continuous, the caipirinhas were flowing, the conversation never stopped, and my only regret is that I didn’t eat enough gelato and pão de queijo.

#lisbon
#portugal by @schatzi_mo

It’s not called a “highlight reel” for nothing. What’s not pictured alongside the sprawling coastlines, handsome boyfriend, pâté, and caipirinhas: my five oozing crater-like blisters, the bickering, the anxiety, the stressful navigation through hilly, narrow streets, the finicky electrical that forced us to sleep with an open door and get terrorized by a voracious mosquito, the incessant beeping from various appliances that still haunts my dreams, sleeping in not-so-scenic parking lots, peeing in not-so-scenic parking lots, the long morning walks looking for a proper toilet to dump in (and not finding one), the nicks and bruises from constantly scraping and bumping against everything in the small space, the sporadic rain, and the constant search for parking in which we could fit or stay overnight (Park4Night was a lifesaver).

All challenges aside, I get the appeal, and we had a grand ol’ adventure that I’ll reminisce upon fondly. I only mention these minor tribulations because the over-romanization of “van life” is real, and oft feels disingenuous without context. Mayhap, it really *is* as perfect as some depict. Or maybe my algorithm is showing me the wrong types of people. Or maybe if we had been in a van built and customized by us and for us, our experience would’ve been different. Regardless, I wouldn’t trade our version for anyone else’s. Perfect is boring (and unachievable), and it was all worth it for the freedom to pull up next to an empty beach, crack open a Super Bock, throw some Ernest Ranglin on the JBL, and enjoy the view (…of my Kindle 😅).

P.S. Yes, I am a passenger princess, but what I lacked in driving I made up for in DJing, cleaning, organizing, copiloting, and cooking. (And documenting.)

P.P.S. Where my Red Rising howlers at?!

#ericeira
#peniche
#nazare
#portugal
#vanlife by @schatzi_mo

Celebrating the 40th birthday of @nattydevine in Ibiza was a chaotic (yet well-organized), orange-tinted, music-saturated, jamón-flavored, Aperol-fueled fever dream that was nothing short of spectacular and that I would do again 100 times over. Everyone in our crew was fabulous on the inside, outside, upside down, and sideways. It takes a very special person to entice 25+ people from three continents to spend eight hours on a pirate ship going ‘round and ‘round a 221-square-mile island, and Natalie Devine is ~that~ person. It’s an honor to be your friend, and I’m grateful every day for that fortuitous delayed flight to Spokane that slammed us together, never to live separately again. I love you! 🧡

#ibiza
#aperolspritz
#pantone021c
#bummedweforgottobustoutthemustaches by @schatzi_mo

The 33rd Flotildes-Fanuncial-Abellar family reunion at @campscully in Wynantskill, NY was yet another reminder of how grateful I am to be a part of such a loving, adventurous, hilarious, silly, generous, talented, intellectual, and GIGANTIC family. There was feasting, merit badges, swag, jokes, tinikling, basketball, archery, painting, arts ‘n’ crafts, kickball, splishy-splashy, kayaking, snacking, dancing, karaoke, jam sessions, lumpia rolling, line dancing, mass, laughing, tug-o-war, grilling, cooking (lechon, pansit, ube, flan, pasta, picanha, sausage, biko, turon, et alia) campfire stories, s’mores, lore, fishing, fanfare, tears, hugs, dogs, birds, chipmunks, and more more more…

The absence of Terry, Uncle Bernie, and Christopher was inescapably heartbreaking, but their presence was felt. With every loss comes a reminder of the importance of these reunions—you never know if that meal, memory, conversation, laugh, hug, or “I love you” will be the last.

Until that last one comes, though, we’ll keep this tradition alive—not just for ourselves but for those who no longer are. Thank you for coloring my life with your rainbow of love. I love my family so much!

#vegansbeware
#familyreunion
#flotildesfanuncialabellar
#filipinosrolldeep by @schatzi_mo

Denim darlings, brim bumpers, gold goblins, mustachioed menaces, red rampage — the freaks came out to play at Lightning in a Bottle!

#freakstothefront
#lightninginabottle
#libfestival
#freakflag
#musicfestival by @schatzi_mo

Whether they’re on stage, on the dance floor, or in a gopher hole, my friends are superstars! They are my obsession, my family, my medicine, my inspiration, and the subject of almost every photo and video I took at @libfestival this year.

After years of living separate lives in different cities and states, I’m impressed that we can still come together and festival like it’s 2014, albeit with a few more aches and groans. Thank you to the Do LaB for building a world where we can express ourselves, gather, create, dance, laugh, inspire, connect, play, prank, sing, shout, twirl, dress outrageously, blow bubbles, get weird, be silly, party ‘til sunrise, lob ice cream sandwiches, wear mustaches, worship music, and let our freak flags fly.

P.S. Special thanks to the Lost and Found without whom I would not be making this reel!

#lightninginabottle
#libfestival
#lib
#musicfestival
#freakflag by @schatzi_mo

Though I’d rather be stomping grass at Coachella than live streaming from Couchella, it’s made me reflect on the nine I’ve attended over two decades. It’s incredible to see its evolution, from the sparse attendance to the ever-changing fashion to the photo quality to the emergence of smartphones and the eventual dominion of influencer culture. I’ve only been to one Coachella since I’ve had an iPhone, and it’s pretty apparent in these photos. (The first photo was taken with a disposable camera and is the only one I could dig up.)

I’ve seen it go from paper tickets to wristbands, from two days to three days, from one weekend to two weekends, from four stages to seven-plus, from 50,000 people to 126,000. I see my own growth and evolution, too (I had way fewer tattoos and made some questionable fashion choices in my 20s), as well as the friends who have ebbed and flowed through my life, and those who’ve remained consistent. I progressed from a feral festival goblin who wore bedding as clothes and brought little more than a backpack, tent, and sleeping bag, to a highly-prepared festival pro, and relatively upstanding member of society (who still goblins around from time to time).

Between 2005 and 2023, I’ve seen Paul McCartney, Prince, Weezer, Roger Waters, Gil Scott-Heron, Rage Against the Machine, Manu Chao, Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, The Chemical Brothers, New Order, Björk, The Cure, Duran Duran, Portishead, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tiesto, At the Drive-In, Arcade Fire, Wu-Tang Clan, Kendrick Lamar (when he was just a guest appearance with Dre and Snoop), “Tupac,” and so many other artists across all genres, from mainstream to underground.

I am awed by the magnitude of talent, art, production, and scale, and grateful for the technology that allows me to experience a taste of it from home. To those who went/are going this year, lucky you! I hope to attend my 10th Coachella in the near future with my favorite people, and as a much better-dressed feral festival goblin.

#coachella
#coachellamusicfestival
#musicfestival
#festivallife
#goldenvoice by @schatzi_mo

Here’s yet another what-I-looked-like-10-years-ago carousel for your feed. I hadn’t realized how much I did in 2016 and how different my life (and Miles’s hair) looked. I went to my second @envisionfestival, kissed @that_miles under a banyan tree, swam in tide pools and danced on the beach in Costa Rica. Hung out with @alexgreycosm and @allysongreycosm in a green room somewhere. Sat on a log with @onesarahlee and Marla Brando, my OG bearded dragon, at Serenity Festival in Joshua Tree. Wore cat ears with @doc_kac in the middle of May for no reason. Celebrated my mom’s birthday and caught up with family visiting from the Philippines. Soaked in some views with @miss_collage_mom in Sedona. Danced at @infrasoundfestival in Wisconsin. Sat on a cliff overlooking the Negev Desert with @bainofyrexstnce in Israel, where we met. Attended my first Burning Man and danced at the trash fence with @that_miles and @stayflossy at dawn. Then, as I do every year, celebrated Christmas in the Bay with the Najeras, but (more rarely) also rang in 2017 there, wearing sequin with @shel_mar @dracaena_lina and @cynthiajeanherzog. Looking at the first year of my 30s from the first year of my 40s makes me miss the vigor I had, as living that year now seems exhausting, but who knows, maybe I’ll get a second wind in 2026. by @schatzi_mo

Live music, dancing, best friends, new friends, beach days, toucans, lizards, a coatimundi, a red tail boa, jungle hikes, waterfalls, spelunking, BBLs, exotic flora, giant jackfruits, graviola smoothies, epic views, matching crop tops, incredible food, rubber chickens, my first Michelin star restaurant, popping nightlife, skipping through Copacabana, Nat commandeering a fog machine, a beachside bar and snack shack with my name all over it, a 98-foot tall Jesus, and 1,537 caipirinhas (but, unfortunately, 0 capybaras); I am head-over-heels enamored and enchanted with Rio de Janeiro. Saúde!

“If you can’t be happy eating a moist roast pork sandwich, drinking a caipirinha with this view in the background, and a sea of oily, tight buttocks, you’ve really got a problem.” —Anthony Bourdain

#brazil
#riodejaneiro
#tijucaforestnationalpark by @schatzi_mo

We landed in Floripa wearing a patina of Amazon river water. Coming from stormy Manaus where the airport roof leaked into buckets (or straight onto the floor) around unconcerned patrons, to Florianopolis airport where there was a 24-hour beer tap and frozen yogurt shop, was a jarring, albeit welcome, transition.

Our crew grew from four to seven, and we traded the fusty humid floating shanty on the Rio Negro for a bougie beach house in Campeche with a pool and gated community that required a facial scan to enter. The cervejas, caipirinhas, and Aperol spritzes flowed, and we gorged on sushi, oysters, and seafood.

Our first two days were doused in rain. But with a new group dynamic and locale, we used that time to catch up and enjoy the splendors of luxury. We had a fridge full of Antarctica Originals, sausages, chicken wings, and slabs of meat. We barbecued, feasted, imbibed. We squawked rubber chickens and wore matching bucket hats as we drank beers out of matching koozies, designed by @that_miles at the behest of @nattydevine and @logiemusic, who love a little birthday pageantry.

When the weather cleared, we hiked a jungle, shivered under a waterfall, and drank prosecco on its rocky banks. We kayaked to and around Ilha do Francis, which we had to ourselves. (“The island is yours!” —Nestor) There, we picnicked on rocks, admired wild orchids, cacti, and screwpines, collected shells before throwing them back, and splashed in the clear lapping water like mudskippers.

We got tipsy on the shores of Jurerê, buying caipirinhas, Argentinian churros, and souvenirs as we walked. By dinnertime, ridiculous mode was in full swing, jokes rolling out of our mouths as if they were our native tongue. As we ate pizza, we laughed so boisterously that passersby laughed with (or at) us, or at least grinned (or grimaced) in our direction. Those moments of unabashed hilarity keep me grounded, and I experience many with this crew.

We also went out and danced to nostalgic club jams, drank mimosas in the pool, and shared meaningful conversation. At some point I turned 40, but was so enamored by my friends, partner, and Brazil, that I barely felt it.

#floripa
#brazil by @schatzi_mo