Nikki’s Field Trip

10/09/2026

A fruit I’m really enjoying this season is the persimmon. This is my first time eating one, and baby, it is everything! Sweet, creamy, and silky smooth.

Check your local farmers market, Whole Foods, or Fiesta. If you get a Hachiya persimmon, make sure it is extremely soft, almost like jelly inside the skin. That’s when it’s ready. 🍊

10/08/2026

Your Halloween costume deserves a field trip! ✨

Join Nikki’s Field Trip at the Texas Renaissance Festival on October 24 for jousting, live entertainment, artisan shopping and new connections.

$99 plus fees includes festival admission and a hosted group experience. Guests drive their own vehicles.

Come solo or bring a friend. Book by October 21. Link in bio! 🎟️

10/08/2026

09/30/2026

My Pivot Year: A Memoir
Chapter 16: The Video I Deleted

One afternoon, I sat alone at a café in the city center and started recording.

I talked about how lonely I felt and how uncertain I was that this move was going to work.

Somewhere in the middle, I started to cry.

I posted the video.

Then I deleted it.

I wasn’t ready for everyone to see just how much I was struggling.

But someone had already seen it.

My former department chair and friend sent me a message:

“It’s okay to come home.”

I wasn’t ready to come home yet.

But for the first time, someone reminded me that coming home was an option.

And maybe it wouldn’t mean I had failed. 💜

09/29/2026

Men’s dating experiences might change if they stopped measuring their value by whether they can convince an uninterested woman to choose them.

09/23/2026

My Pivot Year: A Memoir
Chapter 15: Fighting to Stay Above Water

By late March, I knew I was struggling.

The negative thoughts that had once been whispers were becoming incessant.

I questioned myself. Replayed conversations. Worried that people didn’t like me. Wondered if moving to Portugal was even possible.

I felt like I was fighting myself inside my own head.

I was convinced I was experiencing depression, so I turned to The Depression Cure and began following its protocol.

Sunlight. Get outside. Spend time with people.

So I made myself do those things.

I went to cafés. Explored the castles of Sintra. Went to kizomba parties. Met up with people even when I wanted to stay home.

From the outside, I was in Portugal living this beautiful new life.

Inside, I was uncomfortable almost everywhere I went.

I shared that I was lonely and unsure whether the move would work, but even then, I was afraid to tell the full truth about what I was experiencing.

I didn’t know how to explain the battle happening inside my head, and part of me was scared to admit just how much I was struggling.

So I kept much of it to myself.

I was doing everything I knew to keep myself above water.

And some days, that was enough. 💜

09/23/2026

I wrote the manuscript. Then I had to teach my AI assistant how to find it. Im tired, Grandpa. 😩😂

09/17/2026

Good mead, fresh air and great company. This is what a Nikki’s Field Trip looks like. 🍷💜

We’re returning to Rohan Meadery on September 26 for a tasting, wood fired pizza and a scenic escape from Houston.

Tickets are $49. Comment MEAD or click the link in the bio.

09/16/2026

My Pivot Year: A Memoir

Chapter 14: The Park That Held Me

By the end of March, the park in Amadora had become my safe space. In a foreign country where so much felt uncertain, I had created a place of familiarity.

One morning, sitting beside the pond, I cried. Instead of stopping myself, I let the emotions come. Sadness. Fear. Loneliness. Despair. I wondered how much of it had been buried beneath years of simply having to keep going.

I became grateful for the people who acknowledged me each day and for occasionally running into Sunil and Sarah, friends I had stayed with during my previous visit to Portugal.

Sometimes we would sit on a bench and talk, and for those moments, my mind wasn’t racing. I wasn’t questioning myself, the move or everything I still had to figure out.

I could simply be.

While I was still trying to build a new life, that little park had quietly become somewhere I could return to.

09/15/2026

Some experiences are worth revisiting! We had such a great time exploring Rohan Meadery on one of our previous field trips, and now we’re going back.

Join us September 26 for mead tasting, wood fired pizza, countryside views and great company.

Tickets are $49:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1998548104179?aff=oddtdtcreator