Hello Old Friend

It's been so long since we've talked. 

I can't express how much I have missed you.

It has been over eleven months since I last wrote.

I think I lost my spark. 

I lost my drive to keep this going.

I had no inspiration.

 But I think more than that I lost myself. 

I couldn't figure out a way to express what I believe or where I am headed.

But today, I found my voice.

And I knew that I had something more to say.

It was very simple.

I was getting my nails done. 

A pretty lavender for my fingers and a neon purple for my toes.

I had my nose in the book I've recently started reading and I was tuning out the world.

Until I heard a tone in a woman's voice.

It sparked my interest because it had so much anger in it.

I pulled myself out the words on the page and found the source of the anger.

This woman had been waiting for twenty minutes.

She felt forgotten about.

Her daughter was next to her engrossed in her phone unaware of her mother.

Instead of simply asking how much longer of a wait it would be, she lashed out.

She was making a scene in the middle of nail salon.

The poor women working were so overwhelmed, but they offered her some water while she waited.

She continued to berate the women working in the salon until finally someone was available to see her.

It made me consider a few things.

The first was that people need more patience. 

For me, getting my nails done is a treasured time. 

It is a time when I am not on my phone, but I am focused on myself.

It is an easy confidence booster for me to have my nails nicely painted and for that I am always willing to be patient. 

The second was that her daughter was witnessing the way she spoke to the women who were working. 

Her impressionable daughter was listening to her mother yell at women for doing their jobs learning from her that the way to get what you want is to make a scene. She is learning that patience is not a valued attribute. Whether she realizes it or not, her daughter is watching her.

The third is that the way people treat those who are serving them is very indicative of the kind of person they are. 

This is in no way limited to the nail salon.

It can be a waiter, a valet, a mechanic, a salesperson, etc. 

When I witness this kind of impatience and rudeness, I assume that this is how that person conducts themselves in other settings as well. 

It is easy to forget that the people who are serving us in our daily lives are people too. 

Anyways, my point is, that we should all have a little patience.

And that inspiration can come in any form, including an impatient woman at a nail salon.  
 

Style Icon

As a part of my pledge to blog more, I've also decided to write more about things I am interested in. Such as interior design, fashion, beauty, food, etc. Instead of just about my day to day happenings. I think it could do me some good to find a bigger purpose for this blog.    So for today's post, I am going to share with you one of my biggest fashion inspirations. Kourtney Kardashian

 Now, say what you want about the Kardashians, I still love their style. Their show is entertaining to watch when I have the chance,  but it's not something I keep up with on the reg.  However, Kourtney's style is fab. I wish I could wake up every morning and be styled like her.  PS. Can anyone tell me where to find a hat like the one below??    
Until then, 

Blogging

This blog means the world to me. 

But as a reader you may not see the love I have for this blog.

Sometimes I don't know what to say and sometimes I forget my purpose.

Some days I feel like my life isn't interesting enough to write down on paper.

But these things don't matter. 

What matters is that this is my space to share the parts of my life that I love the most.

I've been doing some thinking lately about where I want to take this blog and how I can make it fit in my life. I don't ever want this to feel like an obligation or a hassle. I want to sit down and make the choice to write what I want at my own convenience. 

I've decided to set a goal for myself to blog during the week at my own pace. I want to focus on my content and what messages I'm sending the world about myself through this blog. I want this blog to develop and grow at its own pace and I want to flourish and blossom when the time is right for me a d my life. 

For now all I want is to make a bigger effort to write what's on my heart fairly regularly. I don't want to limit myself too much with this goal because as I said, I don't want this to be an obligation. I want to enjoy every moment of it. I hope that I can achieve this and make some of my other dreams regarding this blog happen. 

       

Until next time 

Slow Mornings

Summer mornings should all start this way. Waking up slowly with the sun streaming in my window. Drifting in and out of sleep until it's finally time to get up. Taking my time getting ready and enjoying the process. Spending some time reading blogs or watching Netflix. All of it is slow and easy. It is finally summer.

Summer Obsessions

Summer is here and I have a few obsessions right now. I had to share these with you guys because they are my  absolute favorite part of summer right now.

 Bath & Body Works Candles

 Summer Scarves 

These two are from CWonder and Three Birds Nest on Etsy

Victoria's Secret Swimsuits

Happy Wednesday!

Art

As an interior design majors we are forced to take a lot of art classes.

 All of the following a projects I completed last semester. In my new art class, we are working on a self reflective piece. I mentioned to my teacher that I write this blog and he gave me the idea to run with a visual blog. I've been playing around with it a lot.  It's a hard piece. It forces me to dig really deeply into my blog and myself to figure out my purpose here. I guess in reality it's just an expression of my life and my memories, and that's what this piece is going to reflect as well. But there is something about my classmates reading these posts that intimidates me. I don't mind when complete strangers read my daily thoughts, but when the people in my art class have the opportunity to, it sort of terrifies me. It's a weird thought that I can express myself so vulnerably to the internet but not  to people who I see on a daily basis. I guess that's kind of the beauty of the internet. Anyways, I'm looking forward to sharing the finished product and seeing how it progresses. I hope you've had a fabulous Thursday.

Empire State of Mind

I'm back from the big city and back to real life. And I'm a little bittersweet about it.  First of all, it feels like I never left. While I was there, I felt like the week was going slowly. It was nice considering that we were doing so much. We saw all the big stuff, the empire state building, lincoln center, radio city hall, columbus circle, central park, the works you know.

It was overall a fabulous week. We did so much shopping and sight seeing. By the end of the week, I was confident enough to navigate myself and  walk a few blocks alone to get a pastry from a little french bakery. I felt like a true New Yorker. But I'm going to be real with you. This Texas girl can not handle the big city. I was overwhelmed by how big it was. It was a great place to visit, but it is not a place I ever see myself living. It's a place filled with people all crammed together. And that's just not my style. I can't wait to go back and get another taste of the big apple, but for now, I've got my fix and I'm happy with where I'm at. 

 

NYC

Here's the thing. 

I am so incredibly blessed.

My family is amazing.

They support me in all my endeavors.

They help me reach all of my dreams no matter what they are.

And because of my amazing family, I have a really cool opportunity this week.

I am going to New York City.

And it would not have been possible without the support of my grandparents or my mom.

 

I am going for a class.

It's a design trip.
So we get to see showrooms

 and meet with some of the most well known designers in the city.

We are going to all the best museums.

We are having a mixer in Holly Hunts showroom, 

where the furniture costs more than my tuition.

 

I am beyond excited to be able to take advantage of this trip class while I am in college.

Texas Tech has given me so many opportunities that I couldn't have ever dreamed of.

I absolutely love my life here and

 I am so thrilled that I am able to soak up every moment that comes my way.

I definitely haven't been living the life of a normal college kid these past few weeks

and getting to go to NYC for spring break is just another great thing in my life.

I want to say thank you to my family for always loving me and 

supporting all my undertakings no matter how crazy you may think I am for 

being involved in so many different things.

Thank you for giving me the life that I have.

I wouldn't be where I'm at today with you.

Thank you for paying for me to go this week.

I can't wait to get back and tell y'all about this little bloggers trip to 

the big city.

 

Things You Should Know About Me if We are Going to be Best Friends

Hello blog, Long time no see. In fact, it's been almost two months. And that my friends hurts my heart. So I'm back. Maybe not permanently, but I definitely need my blog in my life. It keeps me sane people. Speaking of my sanity, I'm going to tell you all the things you should know if we are going to be best friends. I stole this idea from Little Miss Momma, so don't go thinking I'm all creative or anything.
Here goes:

I am a sunshine person. My favorite color changes all the time, but I've been stuck on orange for a while now. I crave chocolate ninety percent of the time. I like to have a bunch of pillows on my bed, but in the morning they're almost all on the floor. I love the smell of gasoline and sharpies (or maybe I just believe in killing brain cells) I develop minor obsessions and then forget about them only a few days later I dream about traveling the world, but I know I'll most likely stay right here in Texas. I have a large fear of birds. I drive a truck and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am insanely indecisive I believe that easy is overrated I have a thing for old fashioned things I love drinking tea Doing my nails makes me smile, but getting them done makes me feel really special I really miss when my hair was long, but I feel like my short hair suits me

 I like to be in control, but I'll rarely admit that out loud I really love painting, but I never find the time for it outside of class. A clean apartment makes me happy, however the cleaning process overwhelms me.  I miss the way my life was a year ago, but I really enjoy where I am at right now. Sometimes I can be overly competitive, but I don't like to voice it. Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week. Perfume of choice is Hello by Harvey Prince.  I don't like to leave my house if my hair and makeup aren't done, although it happens frequently The quickest way to my heart is through compliments and coffee. And lastly, I'm most comfortable in jeans and a tshirt.

My happiest happy

So here's the deal.

I have a thing for the movie We Bought a Zoo.

And one of my favorite things (aside from the killer soundtrack)

is the way they say "your happy"

Instead, of just referring to laughter or a smile,

it's your happy.

And I want to adopt that in my life.

Because I often steal creatively written things from movies and introduce them into my own life.

You know, on the off chance someone is filming me in my natural habitat, 

I'd like to appear to be generally adorable and lovable, rather than outright crazy.

Back to business.

Here's my happiest happy from the past year.

 

I look forward to another year of happy.

And taking ridiculous pictures along the way.

One of my resolutions is to include more silly.

Because my life isn't mine without ample amounts of silly.

And so, here's to looking back on a year of happy.

2012

So here's the thing.

I tend to make these plans.

And then, life decides that my plans aren't right.

Which is fine.

(mostly)

I mean, when my plan is

"Hey, I wanna blog on New Years,"

I thought it would be harmless.

But then life was like,

"Oh no, emergency room visits are where it's at on the first day of the year,"

And I mean, I wasn't about to disagree, because I couldn't feel my face.

Turns out, those sinus infections are pretty brutal when they wanna be.

 

 Anyway,

I've been meaning to get around to this whole blog thing.

It's been three whole days.

But, you know, I'm not so good with the whole do-things-when-I-say-I-will concept

But here's how my 2012 went.

The quick version because no one is really all that interested.

(don't be that person that lies right now and says you are)

You see, I started my 2012 in love.

But then like I said, my plans don't always work out.

Things ended.

And I got a taste of heartbreak.

Like the serious kind, you know, not the "I'm mad for a day or two but then totally cool" kind.

TV shows don't really portray these things in the right sort of light.

 

Anyways, so I went back to school.

I got busy.

Like really busy, the kind of busy where you get gray hairs at 19.

(It's not really always as fun as it sounds)

And then a really crazy thing happened.

In the middle of all my busy and my sad and my heartbreak.

I was happy.

My life, even though it wasn't where I imagined it would be, is pretty great.

And my happy is pretty great if you ask me.

I am starting off this year as the vice president of my sorority.

I'm really freaking excited about it. 

In a few months, I'm going to NYC.

I'm taking really awesome classes this semester.

Things are pretty great if you ask me. 

I'm also really excited about some other things in my life.

But, for now, those are my happy to keep to myself.

So as I start 2013, I'm looking back on this year, and wondering why I spent so long

wondering why things weren't working.

I mean, my life is pretty awesome.

Then I realized what I need to do for this year.

Stop worrying.

I'm in no hurry.

I want to enjoy myself.

I want to have fun.

I want to be silly again.

And that's exactly what I plan on doing.

I hope you all have a splendid year regardless of what your plans are.

Just be silly and have fun.

The happy will come when it's ready.

 And like so many of you, I have chosen a word for this coming year.

Well, techincally two. 

I'm a rule breaker that way. 

These words are: 

Silly and balance.

Both are things I need more of and both are the way to be happy in my book.

Happy 2013.

From me and my silly.

A heavy heart

I know I haven't written in a long time. It's been longer than I'd ever hoped. I had hoped that today's post could come as a celebratory one.   But instead, I'm writing with a heavy heart. I'm writing with a heart in a million pieces. Today so many innocent children were taken from the world too soon. They woke up like it was any other day. But unlike any other day, they will not return home safely. They were ripped from this world before they were able to really live. May angels lead them in to Heaven. They are in God's kingdom. And they are at peace. The prayers that need to be said are for the families of these innocent angels. The ones left behind. Because while these precious children's stories ended today, their parent's lives will continue on. They have to learn a new reality.   I was sitting at home thinking how it made me so sad that this happened. But then I realized I have my voice and I can make a difference. I'm calling on all of you to pray and only pray. Please don't make this political. I have my thoughts on guns and they would probably surprise you. But I won't share them with you all. Because I don't think that these perfect babies lives should be used to achieve some sort of political gain. I believe they should be remembered in a better light than that. The amount of gun control posts I have seen breaks my heart. That's not what this should be about. This day should be about remembering the lives of those who can't live anymore. They are home with Jesus and they are at peace. Pray for those who are left behind and pray for their peace.    I just finished reading a book called "The Fault in Our Stars". And this book was sad, but happy at the same time. That's how I believe this day should be. Be sad for those families. Be sad for the man who killed them. Be sad for the children who don't get to grow up. But be happy that they are in the hands of God. Be happy that you have the future they never get. Be happy that your children were not at that school this morning.
Be happy that you still have a chance to observe this world.   My favorite line from this book was  "Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed" I think this is something we need to take away from today. Be happy that you get to notice the beauty that surrounds you. The beauty that is life. The amazing things that lie around you. Be happy that you have your life and still get to notice the universe because it certainly wants to be seen. Say your prayers for these children and their families. Say your prayers for the Connecticut community that has to rebuild. Say all the prayers you can. But please take a moment to thank the universe and  God for all that you are and the wonderful  gift that is your life. I think the best way we can honor deaths like these, it to take advantage of our lives. To truly live and to love with all our hearts. Please don't take any moment for granted. Soak up all the greatness in your world and remember that in a moment it can all disappear just like it did for the sweet children in Connecticut.

Dear Blog,

I'm really sorry. I love this outlet in my life more than I probably should. But it's taught me more about myself than I ever thought it would.
And here I am, neglecting it every day. I've had so many great things happen in my life these past weeks that I haven't been writing. I mean, I haven't even told you that I'm vice president of my sorority yet.  What is becoming of us?  Does blogging not take a priority in my life anymore? 
What happens when my life gets too crazy to find the energy to write? What happens when my blog gets left behind? What happens when I miss out on my writing time? I don't like, blog. I don't like it at all.  

  In fact, I hate it.   I miss this place on the internet every day. But here's the deal, I'm busy. Aren't we all? And I'm stressed. I'm even going gray. I've already found 5 gray hairs..  It's an embarrassment at age 19. And blogging normal fixes all that stress for me. But these days, I can't find the energy. So my poor space on the internet just sits quietly and waits for me to get around to it.   I promise that soon I'll try harder. I promise that I'll start to make an effort. I've been making a ton of changes in my life these days and I can't wait to share them. I want my blog to grow. I want my life to be enriched because of my time spent here. And I really and truly think that it will. I think that I can make blogging a staple in my life that I won't be able to forget about. But for the next three weeks, I have to focus on getting through this semester. It has been a rough one. And once it's over, blog, you're coming back into my life.  As for now, just know that I miss you. And that I'm looking forward to spending more time with you.  

Last Weekend

Today I'm gonna do a recap. Of last weekend. So, I'm just a week late. It's not a big deal... Better late than never, right?
Last weekend, I finally got to use my birthday present from my friends. See, they bought me a ticket to visit them in Austin, TX. They all go to UT so it was the perfect gift since I got to see all of them at once. I flew out on Friday morning. Bright & early at 6:25.. But it was ok. It meant I got to spend more time there.
Friday, they showed me around ATX a little bit, and I hung out at their apartment. Then that night, we celebrated.

One of my best friends just got her American citizenship. So they threw a red, white, and blue party to celebrate.

It was so much fun. Everything was themed and it was so cute.  And apparently red, white, and blue, is an easy theme since every single guest was dressed up.
Saturday, we went to breakfast at this cute restaurant on the water.  And then we saw Pitch Perfect. 

Sunday, I had to leave.

It was sad since it was such a great weekend

 and I rarely get to see them anymore since I live so far away now,

but sometimes returning home is the best part of a vacation.

It's good to get back into the flow of your daily life after a great weekend with best friends.

Well, until my normal was messed up this week due to an ear infection..

It kicked my butt this week and I was basically knocked out for two days.

I am feeling much better now, but I am still not up to par. 

Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back at 100%. 

Now just to get on top of all the work I missed being sick.. 

Being in Austin last weekend made me realize something.

As much as I would love to go to school with all of my closest friends and be much closer to home,

I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Austin is a very cool place, but Lubbock feels more like home to me.

I see myself here and I love every moment of my life here.

I miss my friends dearly, but I know that my life is working out the way that it is supposed to.