Today’s tidbit: “It’s a new morning, which means a new beginning, a new struggle, and a new endeavor. We can overcome any challenge, and turn obstacles into stepping-stones.” 

It’s a new week AND a new month! Leaving behind June, I started July off with a run in the rain this morning… clearing my mind and starting the new day off right!

June was certainly a busy month, full of ups and downs… and of course change. As I mentioned in my reflection post about what’s been going on, 2013 has been a rough year so far! BUT the black cloud is finally fading away and the storm is running out of rain, as Gary Allen would say (I listened to this song a lot). I am so much stronger now.
Everything is finally setting me free and things are starting to line up. I know there is something more and I am looking forward to the rest of 2013 because I know it will be better, full of growth and new experiences.

So, why was June so busy?

June: Left TGD + Started freelance + Mary Kay consultant + House under contract + Pamela’s wedding + Crystal, Sam and Raeley’s photo shoot + New York + House sold + Offer on new house

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Today’s tidbit: “For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it.
When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” — Mary Kay Ash 

I couldn’t agree more with the quote above! Right now, a detour is exactly what I am doing. Instead of trying to
plan everything I am trying new things and seeing where it takes me.

As I mentioned in my last post, there have been a lot of big changes happening over the last few months! I am not looking at anything in a negative light any more, and instead realizing all of the new opportunities I have. One of the recent changes this month was deciding to join Mary Kay as a consultant.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions, so here it is:

How did it all start? One of the women, Sarah I know through horseback riding is a Mary Kay director. While I was
at GMU I helped her with office work as well as designed flyers and promoted events. This was the first time I really learned what Mary Kay was all about. I went to a few events and enjoyed hearing the different stories and trying the products. I always thought to myself though, “I like the products but being a consultant isn’t for me.”  So, the last few years I’ve been buying my products through Sarah but that’s really it.

Why now? Sarah is persistent and has been trying to get me to join her team and be a consultant. Originally, I called her the beginning of June wanting to order some product. I ended up telling her everything that’s been going on, and she ended up telling me how June is the biggest push month for Mary Kay and her unit is working towards the pink Cadillac. Joining now would not only help her, but it would allow me to get the products I was already going to buy 50% off. With all the other changes going on, I figured why not try it!

Sneak peek image:

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Today’s tidbit: “Every day is a new beginning, a new adventure, renewed hope and a chance to make changes in your life, but you must let go of yesterday, its the past you can’t go back, all you can do is go forward, so forget about yesterday, embrace today and envision tomorrow.” — Rashida Rowe

Change can be good. Change can be scary. Change can be exciting. Change can be liberating. Change allows for growth and new experiences… But what happens when there are all of a sudden so many big changes happening all at once everywhere you turn? For me, I became overwhelmed by all the uncertainty and it seemed to control me.
2013 has been the year for changes!

I haven’t been posting as regularly, but there has certainly been a lot going on! I am finally coming to terms with everything and able to reflect and share more now. I will be doing a separate blog post on some of these points in the near future, but for now you can see just how many big changes have been going on! With all the bad changes, as I saw them, there were good changes going on to help balance (be sure to click read more below).

February: Parents divorce + Mom moves
March: John moves
April: Getting the house ready to sell
May: 6 year anniversary + John’s graduation + David’s graduation + House for sale
June: Left TGD + Started freelance + Mary Kay consultant + House under contract + Pamela’s wedding

A lot happened all at once, which made it hard to deal with at times, but I had no control over it. You can dwell on it or move on and get ready for what comes next! I am ready to embrace the changes to create a new lifestyle… after all, every challenge becomes an opportunity!

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Today’s tidbit: “No city invites the heart to come to life as San Francisco does. Arrival in San Francisco is an experience in living.” — William Saroyan

My previous post captured family + farmers market experiences during my trip to San Francisco. I decided there was just too much to share in one post, so here is part 2 capturing the beautiful city and surroundings. As I mentioned before, it’s easy to fall in love with this city. Scroll through and you’ll see why!

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “San Francisco has only one drawback—’tis hard to leave” — Rudyard Kipling

Whenever I think of San Francisco this song pops in my head. Last weekend I was able to wake up here. I went to San Francisco with my boyfriend for 4 days (which wasn’t long enough) to celebrate our 6 year anniversary, along with visit family out there and more (exciting news in the works, stay tuned!). I have visited a few times but it was my boyfriends first time. Between the beaches, parks, diverse culture and neighborhoods, entertainment and performing arts, museums and sports it’s easy to fall in love with this city… not to mention the mild year-round climate and beautiful landscape! It really has something for everyone! If you haven’t already visited I highly recommend it.

Sneak peek image:

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Today’s tidbit: “With innovation and technology, seems we have forgotten to cherish the true beauty the world has to offer.” — A.C. Van Cherub

I think everyone has some sort of morning routine during the week, or at least tries to. A little over a year ago, in February, I joined a new gym with my roommate and started doing the 6am classes with her. I have never been a morning person (unless it involved a horse show) and used to think she was crazy. Once I finished the first few months though, I got into a healthy routine and actually enjoy doing the 6am classes now. Every morning there’s something different and it pushes you in new ways. It is a great way to start the day!

After the gym, I try to take Sammy on a long walk as well. It’s a great cool down for me and I know he enjoys saying hi to all his neighborhood friends. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny morning, and I happened to have my camera. It’s amazing how I can walk by somewhere and not notice the little things unless I am purposefully looking for something or have a camera. I think a lot of people are the same way, passing by life’s beauty everyday. I have been trying to get better about this and to really look around me, if that makes sense. Like the earlier post on Gerber daisies, I enjoyed doing a mini photo session capturing the beauty along our walk.

Speaking of routines, check out this list of 7 simple productivity tips you can apply today!

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Today’s tidbit: “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius

It’s now spring and who doesn’t love bold + bright colors? So, here’s another short blog post on color + beauty. Enjoy!

In case you couldn’t tell by now, I am a big fan of the little details and the small moments in life that make you stop for a few minutes and enjoy the beauty around you. Yesterday I received a delivery at work, which was a total surprise. It ended up being an absolutely gorgeous bouquet of 24 Gerbera Daisies (my favorite!) from my mom, who’s been living in NY since the divorce. The assortment of bright colors was fabulous. Random ‘just because’ flowers are always the best! To top it off, there was a unique light lime green vase included. During my lunch break I enjoyed doing a mini photo session capturing the beauty as I unwrapped each and put them in water.

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “Embracing diversity is one adventure after another, opening new paths of discovery that connect an understanding to caring, listening, and sharing with others who are different than ourselves.” — April Holland

The older I get, the more important I think it is to travel and embrace different cultures. We may not understand everything, but I think people should be open-minded and take in as much as they can! One of my biggest pet peeves is stereotypes and narrow-mindedness. I don’t see how anyone can generalize and stereotype a whole location or group of people, especially without knowing anything about it.

Sneak peek images:

I was in the perfect spot to catch this surprise of color getting dumped.

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Today’s tidbit: “Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
— Guillaume Apollinaire

Remember the gorgeous couple I posted engagement pictures of awhile back, Pamela and Sim? Well, their wedding is only a few months away now (June 15^th) and I can hardly believe it! After a few weeks of planning and coordinating with Pamela’s mom and sister, last Saturday everything came together in what turned out to be a beautiful bridal shower for Pamela. A family friend was nice enough to let us host the event at her huge, beautiful home out in Haymarket, VA. With (practically) floor to ceiling windows all you saw was the beautiful countryside surrounding you, which was just amazing during sunset! I hadn’t been out that way in a while, but one of the first barns I used to ride at in middle school was out there. It was a nice trip down memory lane as I drove to the house to help set up.

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.”
— Terri Guillemets 

I am ready for Spring to come, but apparently Mother Nature is getting one last (hopefully) snow storm in on the east coast! I am a warm, sunny weather girl, but I will admit that snow is beautiful and I enjoy the changes each season brings. It is snowing like crazy now in Alexandria, VA!

Sneak peek image: “When can we go play in the snow?”

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