Bridal Shower Tea Party

Time is dwindling down and I can hardly believe that my wedding day is next week Saturday. Who would have thought my childhood dreams are finally coming true, in less than eleven days I will be a wife? Well, I always knew it would come true (someday). 

On September 4th, 2016, my Mom and Aunt Vicki threw a shower for me, a beautiful tea party bridal shower. It was more than I could have ever asked for, and I am so thankful for the friends and family that came to celebrate me. I am not used to being celebrated, in fact I become a bit shy about it. I better get used to it I suppose! Below I wanted to share a few photos from that beautiful day, please enjoy it! 

xoxo

All photos are done by my closest friend, Shana

Learning to Overcome Fear: Starting a Business

Photo by: Dominique Ashley

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

-Walt Disney

Learning how to overcome fear has been one of my greatest challenges as a twenty-something year old millennial living in America. My biggest dream has been to get my photography business off the ground, and each day I say, "Today's the day!" But before that "day" begins, I see nothing but failure! And like so many of us, I quickly retreat and dream of someday seeing it through.
One day I told myself that the only way I can fail is by never trying. But each day I come up with an excuse that prevents me from starting.

Maybe you can you relate to one of these?

 "It's too hard"

 "I'll try again tomorrow"

 "What if no one likes what I am doing...?

 "Is this really what I should be doing?"

"This will never work..."

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The way I see it is how can you expect people to believe in you if you cannot believe in yourself? I know I'm a darn good photographer, because I believe in my talent that God has given me. I just don't believe I can be successful doing it. So how am I overcoming it you ask? By constantly shooting and posting to my social media. I may not be very popular on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook but I am constantly posting content because one day a piece of my art will inspire someone. Your friends in real life and your friends on the Internet are great support systems to help you keep going. I never was worried about becoming well known, all I ever wanted was to make a difference through my work. Never forget why you started your business in the first place, that is our mission statement! Our words that navigate us through the turmoil of hard work and dedication. It is OK to stop and rest so long as you do not give up on your dream! 

When times get tough for me I follow three rules: Unplug, Walk in nature, and Travel

Unplug - When my brain becomes overwhelmed with too much clutter of self-doubt and noise I unplug. Unplugging is the best way to get away from social media and to get away from the anxiety of competition. I know we all want to be just like those that we idolize, but wishing to be like someone derails us from finding our true path. Stay focused!

Walk in nature- Walks in nature can help clear your mind, and rejuvenate your spirit. When was the last time you sat in nature and heard nothing but the birds chirping and the trees whisper in the breeze? Nature can also bring back your creativity in cases where there are creative blocks.

Travel- I know that when life gets a bit crazy from the same routine, here in my house we like to switch it up. For us we like to pack our bags for mini Disney getaways! Disney always takes away my self-doubt and I leave more inspired than I did arriving! Find your place of bliss if you are able to travel and see what it does for you!

My way of de-stressing isn't the same for everyone, but if you are having a creative block hopefully the rules I follow can help you as well! I would love to hear how you re-inspire yourself to keep going in the comments below! 

Bits & Pieces

Our weekend was jammed packed full of summer fun! Well, Justin perhaps wouldn't say the same since he had to go to his Unit on Saturday. But, today was definitely adventurous for us both with early starts for tea dates and story reading.

Below are some bits & pieces of all of the documented fun!

My cousin, Cellina, who is considered my twin (we exactly the same in many ways) is getting married next month! We showered her with so much love during her Bridal Shower! xoxo

Cellina with her Maid of Honor, Veronica (we love her)!

This girl loves her sangria! 

Dania Beach

My cute lil' nugget

A casual evening listening to old records...

A quick grocery trip;

On a whim after a brief meltdown, Justin took me to the old Cypress Natural Preserve to snap photos of nature and myself.

The nine year old in me had to participate in PokemonGo (this was a quick phase that fizzled out)

Coffee date with Justin

Around our home

We spotted an apple tree

milo & sarge

1/8 of my film cameras

Bedroom sunsets

my big boy

The weekend is now over and we wish it wasn't! We have been house hunting and dreaming up new dreams of our future careers and our future family. As wedding planning continues, we have only 68 days left, that's only two months and six days away! Time sure is flying by!

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading! Until next time!

Avoir,

Winds of Change

Every summer it seems to be the same! The winds change, and so does my mind about my career choice. This is absolutely normal to me, and to some it would seem quite frightening that I change from job to job. Why do I do this? I do this because I clearly haven't found what I love to do. I understand that all jobs suck and that we must "stick it out" but why? We only live on this Earth for so long, why must I spend eight hours of my day doing something I just do not find joy in?

Ever since I was eighteen I longed to become a photographer and open my own business. I wanted to make art for the rest of my life... and then I went through college. College wasn't really something for me, but I did it anyway because I knew it was important to have a degree as a back-up. After graduating I now understand how important it is to have a job, and a steady flow of income; especially since I am in the midst of planning my own wedding. 

How will I ever live my dreams while I am in need of a steady income? Well, I feel fortunate enough to have a fiance who supports and understands my own needs. We are complete opposites when it comes to the workforce. He is career oriented and goal driven. I am not saying I am not neither of these things, the difference would be that I am driven, but I am driven with fairytales in my head, and pixie dust at my feet. Clearly this is why I am marrying him, since he keeps me grounded. 

I have so many ideas of becoming an illustrator and creating beautiful cute pieces of art and selling them (my big time dream). My dream of becoming a photographer has seemed to have toned down as I have lost a lot of my confidence with it. With Instagram these days everyone with a camera is a photographer. A lot of people have a good eye for it, and take amazing shots, but that just hinders my own confidence with my work. It is terrible to compare, but there is no way to solve the photographer blues by comparison. Picking my camera back up has helped me with a lot of my own therapy to gaining that inner light back and faith in my abilities to capturing those moments. It's just the shaking off the thought of what is a "good photograph" because all photos are beautiful, it is the way we see the world. 

As I await on a certain phone call, I plan on just putting my plans into action and hope for the absolute best. I know that the bow must be pulled back all the way before launching into greatness.