Simple as that.

$5 thrifted frame.
$1.29 ivory lace (from Hobby Lobby)
&, a hot glue gun.

{wait a few minutes for it to dry & then start applying your jewelry.}

Favorite piece of art so far this year, &, it only took about 10 minutes to make.

.curls.

Already written pages.

He let college define him.
He let it mold him & change him.
In 5 years when you're standing in your cap & gown getting ready to graduate college, who will be standing beside you?  Who will you be by then?
I know these are questions yet to be answered, because things change. You can't even begin to imagine where you will be in 5 years. But, take this moment to really, truly look into the future & imagine who you want to be standing beside you. Where you want your future to lead you. The steps you're taking right now, my dearest, are leading you to that place.

Don't let this world change you.

I believed in you. That first day of college as we were moving you into your dorm, I saw your future being written before you that day. I saw the spark in your eye that described adventure. A new place, new people. Everything was new to you. It was your story just beginning to be told. You were on the first page to a really good book. I was excited about this story. The adventures & obstacles that were going to be unraveling in this book, it was exciting & nerve racking all at the same time. I didn't know where that left us. But, all I could really do was.....trust.
I had to trust you. 

In the beginning I did, fully.
Then it got harder as the weeks past & I saw our Summer romance dwindling.
I saw myself just being another character in your book, instead of one of the main leads.

I remember the longs nights of missing my boyfriend & tears flowing from my eyes & not really knowing why they were. I guess it's kind of the part when you're reading a really good book & you feel yourself captivated by the characters & you just begin to feel their pain & sorrow, but not really knowing why...until you reach the end of the chapter or much less, the end of the book. You see yourself being them, or putting yourself in their shoes.

This time though, I was that girl.
Instead of just being able to close the book when you've felt enough pain for the character for one night, I was living it. I wasn't able to put the book back on the shelf & continue on with my life, because this was my life.
I was her.

I saw the pages unraveling day by day. I saw myself holding onto something that was already lost.
I didn't know the boy in the pictures anymore.
I knew the face. I had grown accustomed to the face.
But, I didn't know the boy behind the face.
You know when you're reading the book & you imagine what the character looks like in your head, but then when you see the real deal, it's completely different & you're a bit disappointed? That's what was happening to me.

I knew this boy like the back of my hand. We had a three year journey together, before this book ever began. But, to me, it felt like they had switched characters on me & tried to lead me to believe they were the same boy.
I tried to lead myself to believe it for awhile, but it's like the saying goes--
'you can't teach an old dog new tricks.' --there was no fooling me.
This wasn't the boy I knew. This wasn't the boy I once loved.

He's gone. Will he ever return? Well, that's yet to be determined...

You know when you finish reading a book & find yourself daydreaming about where the characters went after the last page was read? Well, maybe someday you'll see part two in a bookstore.

Sometimes you have to get to the last page before you desire to run back to the place where the first page was ever written.

As for me, I'm starting my own book. New place, new people, same me, just a different zip code.

"I never want there to come a time that I've changed so much that I don't recognize the person in the mirror looking back at me." 

.Curls.

Art splattered walls.

{My new beginning.
My leap of Faith.
A journey yet to be told.
Me, jumping fearlessly into the unknown.
Seeking exquisite beauty.
Longing for the beauty within.
I AM made for something bigger than this state I'm in right now.
Saying goodbye to the past. finally releasing myself.
Holding out for a hero.
messy hair & big bows--expresses me.
I will not change for anyone other than myself.
I will not let a boy define who I am anymore.
I will seek out beauty in the craziest of ways.
I will continue to write.
My writings express what my mouth cannot speak, sometimes.
My walls will be my masterpiece.
They will be the place where my world makes sense.
The place where my story begins to unfold.
My safe haven.}

.messiness.

Craftiness.

My feelings come through my works of art. & my writings. I was given that ability to express myself in that way & I shall never take that for granted.
Today, my day consisted of watching Army Wives & making crafty little pieces of art in my room. &&, as I'm writing to you all right now snow is beginning to fall outside my window. All I need is some Hot Chocolate & a nice cozy blanket & it shall be a lovely day.

I hope everyone is staying warm & bundling up with their loved ones.
loves to all.

I write.

    {I was once told by someone that I didn't need to write about their life so much, that they weren't that interesting to write about.
It's not the fact that I'm writing about YOU, it's more so for me. I am a Writer. I put my thoughts to paper, often. So, if you enter my life, you are officially a character in my book. Someone that I will write about daily, & see your name pop up in my written words. Not particularly because I want to, but because you were a part of my journey in a moment in time. You are a part of my story.}


Grace.

Snap shots.

*A groovy green color record player was given to me for Christmas.

*my lovely family. We will only begin to expand in numbers from here on out.

*my cat sniffing my record player, she still doesn't know how she feels about it.

*vinyls & flats. A lovely part of my world.

*a good outfit makes a day 100% better.

*thrifted dress, $10.

*sisters. I have no idea what I would do without them.

*my little bean on Christmas Eve.

*i went out on a limb & wore suspenders on Christmas Eve, I embraced it.

2013.

This is my time.
My journey will begin this year. Not that I haven't had a journey up until this point, but since I was 4 years old my journey lingered in this small town. I had the comfort of home, the safety of knowing that my daddy was just down the hall ready to protect his family with a baseball bat. I had a safe place to lay my head every night. I've had a pretty good life, now it's time for me to venture out on my own & find a life of my own. To know what it feels like to pay bills & have a ton of responsibilities. --not saying this is going to be fun, but I need it. I need to grow up.

Are you all ready for my big news?
Okay, here it goes!
Beginning in September of THIS year, I will be calling Nashville my home.
Finally.
I made a decision & I am quite pleased with my decision.
{cosmetology school} <-- I'm quite ready for this adventure that is about to take place in my life.

There have been many people that have told me they didn't think cosmetology school was right for me or that it wasn't the next step I needed to take, but I truly feel like this is my place to stand. This is the place I will be calling home.
The place I will begin leaving footprints on. The place that I may or may not find love at. {even if I don't, I shall be more than happy, because I'm content with my Daddy God for the time being.}
This is what I feel most passionate about. I know that some people may not think that hair & beauty is a big deal, but it is a desire of mine. & I think that the way God is going to use me in this business is going to blow some people away. That's why I'm believing.

My journey is still 8 months out, so until then I will continue cleaning & earning money. But, I am focusing my heart & mind on all the incredible things that will take place if I just let God take the pen to my story.

I just finished spending the weekend with my sisters in Nashville, what a beauty.
I'm ready the call that place my home.
I'm ready to wake up every morning & do something I LOVE.

Grace.