Drinking the Kool-Aid

Taking risks in life is scary. 
What if you fail?  What if your plan doesn't work out?  What if success doesn't look the way you'd hoped? What if your heart gets broken?  What if?  It's scary stuff.

But you know what is even scarier?  Settling.
Settling for a career you hate just because it pays wells.  Settling for a guy that doesn't give you that melted chocolate chip cookie feeling.  Settling for a life that doesn't live up to your standard of awesome.

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Because here's the thing, your life isn't going to wait for you.  It just keeps on going, whether you've got your shit figured out or not.  So dream, but don't just keep dreaming- DO!  Do the things you've always wanted. Take the risks.  Fail. Dust yourself off and try again.  Imagine the life you want, then figure out how you're going to get it!

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You are the designer of your life.
You chose the people, the places, the careers, the things, the feelings. Why not design a life you love?  It might take time.  It might mean making sacrifices in the short term.  It might mean taking some risks.  It might mean you have some setbacks.  But it also might mean you build the life you've always wanted. A life that upholds your definition of awesome! This is your life and it's only going to be as great as you make it!

Get these beautiful prints HERE

Every moment holds opportunity.  Seize it! Focus. Fight for it. Love the journey.

Just like the man wandering the streets in Pretty Woman, today I ask you, "What's your dream?"

This pep talk brought to you by countless hours of motivational podcasts and way too many inspirational Pinterest quotes.

I Blog So Hard

Yesterday's post unceremoniously marked a big blogging milestone for me, my 300th post.

Back around post 250 I had thought about doing a big giveaway to mark the occasion. But time didn't slow down and 300 came and went. Sorry kids, maybe for $350?

T-Shirt: IWYP By: Whitney Ellen, Jacket: Express, Skinny Jeans: Old Navy, Booties: Kohl's, Necklaces: Express and vintage, Sunglasses: ummm?, Bracelets: Agate Shop, Lia Sophia, and vintage. Earrings: New York & Company.

I know I'm not a consistent blogger like so many of my peers, but I'm proud of the fact I have kept this little space alive for 301 posts. I "blog so hard"! My little baby is growing and thriving! Maybe now I can should try getting a plant?

Anyway, today I am stepping a bit out of my comfort zone and doing a style post, all thanks to my new Blog So Hard shirt from IWYP By: Whitney Ellen.  I'm obsessed with it!  So obsessed that I already placed my order for IWYP's December Shirt!  Seriously, it's so comfy and cute!

So that's what a style post looks like when taken with your IPhone. Just in case you were wondering...

If you want to get in on this months #OOTD  shirt from IWYP By: Whitney Ellen, don't delay!  Whitney only takes orders for 2 weeks and this shirt will no longer be available after December 24th at Midnight!

Envious Of Fashion Bloggers

I love fashion, but as I've mentioned before, I'm not a fashion blogger.  I've always wanted to be a fashionista.  Seriously.  I spend way more time that I should ever admit to pinning outfits and ripping paged from magazines for inspiration.

Inspiration that I rarely use.

Why? Well for one, when it comes to getting dressed in the morning, I tend to opt for 30 minutes of extra sleep over figuring out the perfect outfit/hair/accessories/makeup combo.  Also, my wardrobe tends to err on the side of inexpensive and plain. Oh and of course, there is the issue of not wanting to stand out, but I am working on that one.

So today I thought I might tribute some of my favorite fashion bloggers, their perfect hair, flawless skin, genius ensembles, fabulous shoes, to-die-for accessories and their knowing grins.

I mean does Cara of Cara Loren not have the most gorgeous hair on the planet?  She's also got fabulous style!

 I love a girl that will rock a tutu!  Corilynn has this incredible classic style and a shop with many of the fab pieces from her blog!

Bethann of Bethanimal print has an incredible way of melding dressy and casual to create one chic look after another.  

If you looked up glamorous, you might find Julia of the aptly named Gal Meets Glam.  Chic, timeless and absolutely fabulous!

Kristal is from my home state of Arizona and named her blog Sincerely Arizona accordingly.  Another gal with envy worthy hair and feminine fabulous style!

What I love about Courtney from What Courtney Wore is that she is adventurous!  She combines feminine with edge and makes it looks so easy.  Oh, and now she has a TV show on Bravo too!

Katie from Running on Happiness has been one of my favorite style bloggers for a long time.  She has a surprising feminine style and a knack for pulling an outfit together in a way so creative it seems simple.

So, why the tribute? Well, let's just say you might see a style post around these parts very soon inspired by my new IWYP By: Whitney Ellen shirt.  Have you guys checked out her monthly designs?  So stinking cute!  And who doesn't love a slightly sassy t-shirt?

There is still time to order this month's #OOTD shirt if you head over to I Wore Yoga Pants! I already ordered mine- we could be twinsies!!

Dating in the Social Media Age: The Beginning

I stood near the bar with a group of friends, surveying the crowd.  I'd never been to this bar before, but I liked the atmosphere. The night was young and anything was possible.  Then above the low rumble of the crowd noise I heard, "But I don't want to be the only one who is engaged". Immediately my beer found it's way to my lips and I caught the eye of two of my single friends having the exact same reaction.  We gave each other "that look" and headed straight to the bar where one of them said, "I've got this round".  

I began wondering why the three of us, making our way hastily towards 30 were single.  All of us have steady careers, we're social and always have fun things planned, we're straightforward, but nice and we all have good hair.  What could the problem be?  Why does dating seem to get more and more complicated, even though we are becoming more and more self aware, successful and refined?

As we joined back into our literal circle of friends, I couldn't help but look around the bar at all the seemingly eligible bachelors.  Most of whom were just talking to one another, within their own circle of friends.  I didn't see many men making a move for women unless they arrived with her.  In fact, outside of the pods of preexisting friendships, I didn't see much interaction at all.  More people were looking at their phones than at strangers (with the exception of one brave soul who was tearing up the dance floor with any woman that said yes, including myself- but I'll come back to that later).  

It seemed, in my short survey of the young adult dating scene that most of us were relying on our digital persona to do the dating for us.  In an age where you meet more people online than in person, SnapChat can be used as a form of flirtation and sexting actually exists, one worries that we are missing out on the excitement of verbal and in person communication.  Do we rely on technology too much when it comes to dating?  Is texting, chatting, messaging, profile matching, Instagram stalking, Facebook searching, SnapChatting and Tindering ruining the authenticity of dating?  Are we programming ourselves to judge a profile over a person? The truth is, I don't know, but maybe my IPhone and I are what's really standing in the way of meeting the right guy.

So, in order to help myself become more familiar with dating both online and otherwise and gain a little more insight on the topic, I have been reading and watching everything I can- oh and putting the things I've learned to use, when the opportunity arises.  In light of this current and personally relevant topic, I thought I would start a little blog series. Welcome to Dating in the Social Media Age.  

Have some thoughts on the topic?  I'd love to hear from you! 

Life Lately: Fun vs. Stress

Stress.  It creeps up when you're not expecting it sometimes.  It shows up disguised as tension at work, added responsibilities at home, financial troubles, holiday chaos and arguments.  I have been living the last few months relatively and blissfully stress-free.  Until today.  For some reason, today, shit hit the fan.

Everything fell apart all at once and today I'm having a hard time putting on rose colored glasses and feeling confident that it will all be okay.  So in an effort to not dwell on the stress knots slowly building in my back, I thought I would do a little recap of all the stress-free fun I've been having lately!

I did one of those color runs!  It was pretty fun, although I must admit, I didn't run the whole thing.  I still maintain I am not a runner.  I want to be, I really do, but I just don't think it is my destiny.  No matter, I like any excuse to put on a tutu.

Like I mentioned here, I've got some "cool shit" in the works.  Want to do some cool shit of your own?  I highly recommend reading this baby!  It made the idea of being an entrepreneur less scary by sharing real experience.  

I spent some time with my favorite munchkins.  They always make me laugh with their shenanigans. 

I celebrated Black Friday by going back to my natural hair color or almost black and getting my hair cut.  For the last few years I have played with cuts and colors, but this seems to be my old favorite.  I look like myself and I like it.  

I met a member of the Sons of Anarchy cast and decided it was time I check out the series,  it's been two weeks and thanks to Netflix, I'm halfway into season three.  Can you say obsession?

On my drive to and from Arizona, I really noticed how gorgeous the state is.  I've never appreciated the beauty of desert landscaping until I wasn't surrounded by it every day.  

I met up with all my favorite crafters to share food, wine and craftiness.  We made these wreaths together.  I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out, except now I want to make more. #crafterprobems.

When life is getting stressful, what do you do to decompress? Let me in on your de-stress secrets!

Ramblings...

Sometimes when my head is full of ideas and plans and big dreams- things I can't share,  I find myself avoiding my blog because both in life and here, I tend to be an open book.  With my "big plans" taking up so much space in my head, it's been hard for the last week to find much to write about.  I know I know, who likes secrets?  No one!  But alas, I must keep this a secret until I get things in motion.

In truth, I've never liked having secrets.  I don't mind keeping other peoples secrets safe, but I prefer not to have secrets of my own.  I suppose that doesn't make me terribly mysterious.  I think it stems from being a terrible liar- which is why I've never been good at poker.  For me, transparency has always been the best policy.

So that was a long way of saying all my thoughts are focused on something else and thus I have nothing to write about lately.  I've also spent the last week back in Arizona, which has kept me pretty busy.  Which makes me such an inconsistent blogger.  Maybe someday I will learn that while content is king, consistency is queen.

I don't really know where I was going with this post, but here it is none the less.  Have a beautiful day loves!

A Morning Walk For Alzheimer's

Today, I participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer's.  It was bittersweet.  I hate that this disease hits not just close to home, but is actually in my home- my grandparents home.  The home I was raised in.

That's my grandparents and me in Montana

A big part of why I am moving back to Arizona (Surprise!  I'm moving back Arizona!) is to be a bigger part of my grandmothers life.  You see, she has Alzheimer's and it seems like her bad days are rapidly outnumbering her good days.  My grandfather, bless his heart, is trying to cope with the fallout that comes with this viciously cruel disease.

I didn't want to believe it at first.  For at least two years, I lived in denial.  I said "no way" when friends said it may be Alzheimer's that was making her irrational and paranoid.  I said, "impossible" when people told me that some Alzheimer's patients lose their words and this inability to communicate sensibly wasn't just from a bump on the head suffered years prior.  But it was hard to deny after countless tests were done and a neurologist concluded she has all the signs of Alzheimer's Disease.

At first, it was easier to stay away.  I selfishly kept my phone calls short and my visits few.  I didn't know how to deal with her this way.  I didn't know how to rationalize her irrational behavior.  So I just didn't.  But on my last visit home, I saw the toll her disease has taken on my grandfather. I saw the way that it has worn him down. I saw the emptiness in her eyes as she searched for words that would convey something, anything.  I saw the frustration, the fear and the anger that she doesn't know how to express most days.  I saw the anger fear and frustration he feels he can't express.  And I knew I couldn't be so far away anymore.

Luckily, I work for a great organization that is allowing me to work remotely.  Luckily, my grandmother knows who I am and is mostly happy to see me. And luckily, I am at a place in my life that I have the flexibility to be where I need to be. So I'm moving back.  I'll be able to do a job I enjoy while also finding a way to enjoy as much good time as I can with my grandmother, a woman who spent quite a few years putting up with me.

Life has a way of teaching you lessons and helping you grow.  And boy, is this going to force me to grow. I'm going to learn a new level of patience, forgiveness and selflessness.  I'm going to learn how to deal with losing someone one bit at a time.

Thinking about how lost she must get in her own mind sometimes makes me sad.  But knowing that hopefully I can be the brightness in her day gives me hope that this is the right decision, both for me and my family.

Alzheimer's Association's Walk to End Alzheimer's at Angel Stadium

So like I said, today I participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer's.  If you would like to make a contribution towards not just my fundraising goal, but also towards research, care, support and the hope of a future without Alzheimers, please donate HERE.