inspiration

This was my plan.

Now in my late twenties, it is a distant dream. I like my job. I've already fallen in love. And round-trip plane tickets are now bought for vacation. Do I wish I could go back, be irresponsible, and fulfill these dreams? Sometimes. Adult life isn’t exactly living up to my expectations. I thought I’d cross certain milestones by this point, achieve more, and become content with my surroundings. But who am I kidding, that’s not me.

I was never much of a planner, but always a dreamer.

Thought Invoking Thursday #2

Life-altering moments. Must they occur before we are able to see the error of our ways, a wakeup call pointing out gaps of time wasted, or that we have possibly been taking a loved one for granted- who no longer wishes to fill the role of complacency for you?

A very good friend of mine recently found himself in this position. A moment had come and gone in his life leaving his world chaotic and unfamiliar. How had this happened? 

What could he do to fix it? There was no easy answer. It was much more complicated now and the simple phrase, “I can change” would no longer fix it. What were his options? Accept the situation, learn from it and move on, or fight harder than hell for what he wanted. Refusing to settle for the hand he was dealt or playing the role of the static character, he persisted on. “I can change” quickly turned into “watch me change.” Actions speak louder than words in my book. Girls are used to hearing the empty promises, exposing themselves to vulnerability, only to get slapped in the face with hurt and angst in the end.

**Digression: Why do girls love romantic comedies so much? Aside from the typically hot, shirtless guys casted, those men put themselves, their ego, their pride on the line; they risk everything to show, not tell the women how they feel. Are woman suckers for believing into the big romantic gestures/hype of those movies? Not at all, many women are suckers for not requiring it from their men in reality.

Back to this friend of mine, he figured it all out. In the past few months, I have had the privilege of listening and really hearing him evolve into the man he wants to be, the man he knows that she deserves. He put himself on the line to prove to the only girl he will ever want that she is everything to him, and he will do whatever it takes to prove that to her. Regardless of the outcome, I could not be more proud of my friend.

So my point is this, don’t let it come to the life-altering moment before you take note that there is a problem. Don’t be left heart-broken and in disbelief. Take control of the situation before it becomes unfixable. How do you know if this applies to you? Answer the following:

-Take a look back at the last 5 years of your life. What do you see? What has changed? 

-How much have you accomplished, and grown as an individual, as a couple?

-Are you happy with the present picture in your mind? If so, congrats!! It’s a very gratifying feeling.

-If not, what are you going to do to change it?

Rug Bag

I found myself adventuring into unknown territory yet again this week. This has clearly been a summer of firsts for me, everything from gardening, to homemade jam, and now taking on the task of purse making! There are two reasons why this whole purse thing started: first, I have not been able to find a purse worth paying for since Christmas, hence why I am still carrying my ‘Elf bag’ as my dad calls it. (I have to clarify that the purse only earned that name because of its vintage green color, and my father, well he is quite the character.) My other inspiration for making a purse came from my fashionista friend Kelli’s great find. She came home from a vacation with the most unique, jaw-dropping bag I had ever seen. It turned out that it was from a local retailer with a boutique in Savannah and by the looks of it, I could never afford it anyways. I thought I had given up on the idea until I found myself strictly looking for that particular bag each time I went shopping, knowing full well I was not going to find it! Yes, I sound obsessive and I’ll admit that it is definitely a flaw of mine when it comes to fashion. Not long ago Kelli’s amazing find made another appearance and stirred the pot all over again. So this time instead of pining over a purse I will likely never be able to buy, I decided to make my own.

It is definitely not a replica of the original purse; my skill set is not nearly that advanced to tackle such a project. In this case, I took a few of the qualities I liked and applied them to a different style purse to meet my needs, and again skill set! The result, I could not be happier J .  I am becoming addicted to the feeling of creating something beautiful and conquering new goals, even if they are short-term, I’m proud to have them again.

**Overwhelming demand for my new bag has provoked me to sell these in my Ashley Nicolle etsy shop. I'm planning on buying more materials this weekend with different colors!

Quarter-life Crisis

It was not until recently that I let myself become inspired by anything with a hint of creativity. Even my passion for photography had taken a backseat (or had been locked up in the trunk) for the more important things going on in my life. Things such as work, school, family, and finally noticing that I wasn’t getting any younger posted up at the local bar with a cold one. (My parents should be so proud.)

I spent a lot of time reflecting after hitting my quarter-life crisis, or life's mandatory rest stop, and I will admit that there was just cause for the meltdown I incurred. I didn’t enjoy any of the aforementioned tasks that took up the majority of my life. I was growing up and figured that slamming the snooze button daily at 5:30, and dreading the upcoming events of the day were expected in adulthood. I was succumbing to a lifestyle of cookie-cutter corporate types with white picket fences meant for masking their true pain; when, in reality the whole idea made me nauseous. A reoccurring thought continued to eat away at the once spontaneous, adventurous, independent me- When was the exact moment I sold out? I gave up everything I wanted out of life, for what? Cash, pity, guilt, the list could go on and on.

So, I fixed it; changed the mind-numbing routine of what I called life and decided to pursue multiple things I love. After all, life should be enjoyable, not tolerable.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that everyone drop all responsibilities and obligations in order to selfishly pursue any and everything out there (although the thought has crossed my mind on occasion). What I am suggesting is to take the necessary steps to improving your life based on your own standards, not the standards of the masses, the media, reality TV...

Our chubby 'Chippy' dining on stale circus peanuts. Inspiration can be found anywhere.