GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // JANUARY 24, 2017

Gratitudes

The universe has a mysterious way of presenting you with exactly what you need when you need with. With the departure of my boyfriend I’ve been staying optimistic but being a bit of a extrovert I thrive on the energy of other people. Working from home is amazing, but I’m 100% by myself on a daily basis besides the animals, which I’ve started talking to a lot more than I did before. On Friday, I got a text from one of my college girlfriends that she was officially back from deployment in Iraq and was in desperate need of some girl time – and so was I. On Saturday I met her for what was probably the worst manicure + pedicure experience I’ve had but our conversations and her laughter totally outweighed my nicked nails. Together we went to Coastal Flats and enjoyed a pre-dinner mango martini and a lovely surf + turf dinner. I left feeling full and not just because we also had an appetizer and dessert, it was my soul… it was full.

Additionally, I was trying to be proactive in not being alone so I placed a few calls and ended up landing an interview at a local winery. Years ago I took on a part-time job pouring wine and loved every minute of it. It was where I got my wine experience, expanded my immature palette and enjoyed many conversations with strangers. I’ll be doing the same thing again during this slow season, so if you and your friends are looking for a fun day out come by and see me at Chrysalis at the Ag District in Aldie.

Sunday my family gathered to surprise my baby sister for her birthday. For each birthday, the birthday girl gets to pick her favorite homemade meal, mine always toggles between tacos + chicken casserole, where as Kensey’s is always salad. Together the family put together a build your own Caesar salad bar with grilled chicken, shrimp and the most yummy homemade salad dressing. All sisters and their husbands/fiances were present as well as my parents as we sat around and honored Kensey.

Every once in a while I treat myself to a mani/pedi date with a friend. I usually prefer to paint my nails myself because it’s therapeutic and is “me” time. This week though was different as you read above, so I take these trips to the nail salon to experiment with colors I don’t own on my toes and keep colors I do have on my nails for those annoying chips. My nails this week are painted with the deep Lincoln Park After Dark. It was the color that sparked my branding transformation last year. I almost always match my nails and toes, it just feels right for me. This time thought I went outside my comfort zone and painted my toes a Merry Midnight. It’s a purple with champagne + blue glitter.

Breakthroughs

I’m currently circling around one with breakdowns, but I’m going to give it another week to marinate and I’ll share fully next week.

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.