About Us
I’m Tori, and this is my partner in life, Jared. We’re a 30-something couple trying our best to live by a ‘Community First’ value system. With chosen roots in Minnesota, we have roots wherever our community is around the world. Our favorite kind of travel is “mental travel”. We live life through a lens of finding joy and beauty in any place, but first in ourselves. Because wherever you are, there you are. We focus on being present and expanding our love with the community that’s already here; that supported and supports us.
If you meet Jared, you’ll quickly see how genuinely at ease he is in his own skin. He dedicates himself fully to making others feel comfortable—a beautiful soul who might need some therapy for it! He’s curious and good at just about anything he tries, from multi-pitch climbing to exploring "Buy It for Life" Reddit threads.
As for me, I’m the type to get an overpriced yet cruelty-free manicure and crush a backcountry hike all in the same week. I’ve had my sense of style intuitively since an early tween, while also properly prepared for adverse environments that aren’t instinctual. We show up for life with curiosity, intention, and a deep connection to our community—including ourselves.
Prioritizing diverse experiences, and thus diverse community, we’re lucky to have friends in many places—I bet you do too! The good news? There are so many ways to genuinely connect beyond in-person meetups. Trust me, we were faced with intense forms of various angles of conflict and learned we both weren’t very good in the face of it. We learned the hard way what not to do on our journey to living ‘Community First.’
Some Relevant Context
Jared and I have been together for 13 years. We’ve lived off oatmeal and noodles, taken jobs to pay off student debt, and stuck with roles to feel like “responsible adults.” When we saw the cracks, we quit, moved out west with a best friend, and ski-bummed for a while. This time and space ended up being pivotal and formative to give ourselves space to reset and re-launch.
After landing jobs we actually enjoyed and building up some savings, we planned our wedding. It became a gratitude-filled celebration, thanking ourselves and our community for helping us get there.
Beyond the wedding, we gained the ability to physically show up for our people—something we didn’t have growing up. Flying across the country became routine, and dining out no longer meant the “fancy” chicken nuggets at McDonald’s. Just a few years earlier, I was drowning in credit card debt just to get groceries, triggered by a simple traffic ticket. Now, not without privilege and the help of our community, we’d moved into a new chapter, always on the go, visiting the important people in our lives.
In 2024, we took our community connection to the max, fueled by privilege and resources. Constantly on the move—whether for play, business, or work—I experienced my first anxiety and panic attacks, and Jared had a seizure. It became clear we needed to set healthy boundaries. While staying committed to meeting our community where they are, we realized it was time to reassess and make some serious changes. Knowing that our intention to remain driven by community to meet them “where” they are needed to remain, it was time to rethink how we approached it.
Allow me to introduce……
Psyche Butterfly Values
Community
Simplicity
Inner Work
Everything I share—activities, books, resources—is to help you show up as your best self, guided by these values. We won’t always get it right, but showing up with intention matters. I want to support you in protecting how you engage with your community. Maybe simplicity and inner work will become your pillars too.
Join me in exploring how to find roots and simplicity in a world full of complexity. Whether you're on a physical or inner journey, we’re all on our path. Let’s walk it in parallel.
QUESTIONS? LET’S CHAT.
