GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // AUGUST 2, 2016

Gratitudes

For the last few years I’ve had this idea of getting my nose pierced. I was never overly into alternative piercings outside of my ears besides my belly button which I was obsessed with at 17. I’ve since let that go as a way to leave my teenage self behind and embrace my new adult self. But for some reason, the last couple of years I’ve envisioned myself with an adorable little gold piercing sitting on top of my nose and daydreaming about a rose gold hoop (sorry Mom + Grandma). With each daydream came immediate fear – fear of judgement. As someone who usually prides themselves on confidence and not caring about others opinions, I really struggled with this. This idea that 31 I’ve passed the opportunity to experiment with my style and look, that’s something that teenagers and 20 somethings have the luxury of doing, at the age of 30 you are too damn old to be doing stuff like this. While my friends are getting engaged, celebrating marriages and births I’m over here looking at 14kt gold nose jewelry on Amazon. So with a little distance from my usual everyday routine in the states, I was able to do some soul searching in Rome and I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t too old and I had every right to experiment. So last Wednesday I went to a local tattoo + peircing shop to embrace my inner 21 year old and get that peircing. It wasn’t painful in the slightest. My eye teared a little bit and I felt like I had to sneeze. The whole process from start to finish was maybe 15 seconds. There I was the proud new owner of a nose piercing, and in that instant all of the fear was gone and I felt proud. I should also note, getting pierced at shop where the dominant language isn’t English is an adventure on it’s own, but I loved it.

There is a brand new community that has been helping creatives connect and support each other this year that has taken off. The Rising Tide Society (RTS) has been so beneficial to my business by ways of education, encouragement and new friends. before heading to Rome I was able to put a message out on Facebook to let people know I was coming and that I’d love to meet for a coffee or to do a session in the city. I met this lovely girl Jacqueline for lunch in the city. It’s really amazing when you think about how small this world can be when you open up yourselves to new possibilities. There I was in a small pizzeria talking about all things Rome, her life in San Francisco and her new adventures here. That experience would have never happened without RTS. Tomorrow I’ll be up early for a sunrise session with her and her boyfriend. I’ll be anxious to share those images with y’all.

On Saturday, Ayla and I took a much needed day trip up to Florence. Both of us were working from home for the last 6 days and never really left her small apartment besides to grab a much needed espresso or dinner. Late Saturday morning we arrived in this beautiful and romantic city. Originally we thought we were going to hit all of the tourist spots, wait in the long lines and really soak up the sites – but soon after we arrived we felt called to a different type of day. We wanted a leisurely lunch, shopping and wanderings through the city. Florence is known for their leather and they have this outdoor market, I’d say similar to a flea market or craft show where vendors set up on either side of the street and you walk from tent to tent peeping the merchandise. I mentally prepared myself to purchase one leather bag as a gift for myself. I was ready. What I wasn’t ready for was falling in love with e v e r y t h i n g! I held strong until about half way through the market and then the purchasing frenzy began. It started with 5 scarves, 4 as gifts and one for myself – obvi. Then I bought myself this beautiful camel leather crossbody. From there I jumped to a day-trip bag for my Grandma Jean which then turned into me purchasing the same bag for myself – same color and all – twinsies. Let me also add two leather wallets one for my Dad and one for my Grandpa. I should be totally honest and say that I also bought a leather card holder because I didn’t want to hold my metro and subway cards in an old Express wallet anymore. I also purchased a keychain and a glass ring. I bought all of the things. I lost all control but I didn’t leave there with an ounce of buyers remorse.

I got word this week that another one of my engagement sessions will be featured! This week it’ll be featured on the local blog United With Love and in the next few weeks on a nationally known blog! As always it feels good to have my work appreciated and I’m even more thrilled for this couple and to be able to share celebrate the love even more.

My poor nails haven’t held up with the sunscreen I’ve needed to fight the bright, hot sun here. It seems like sunscreen always eats up my nail polish, leaving it dull and a little soft. Thankfully I change it every week so I don’t have to see how sad it looks. This week I’m finally transitioning back to a true summer pink. I talked about it a few months back on the blog and thought it was ideal to travel with as it’s bright and light at the same time. Mod About You, is taking a spin this week. I’ll be traveling again to a beach town toward the heel end of the boot of this country. It’ll be a much better fit than Never Have Too Mani Friends – a black cream – for the beach.

Breakthroughs

There was a lot of fear present in me this week and it finally drifted away yesterday. Traveling is exciting, exhilarating and many, many more things. It’s by far one of my favorite things to do, where I get struck with fear is the idea of doing it alone. Negative thoughts flow through me like a rushing stream: What if I get lost? How will I get help? What if something bad happens? How will I get home? I don’t speak the language. All of these thoughts are wildly pessimistic and detrimental to enjoying any trip. I forced myself to meet Jacqueline in the city. I didn’t have Ayla has my crutch to guide me through this unknown neighborhood and unfamiliar city. She gave me tips and thorough instructions but I still didn’t feel prepared. I left the apartment feeling apprehensive and scared. But I was able to do it. I was able to make my way from Ayla’s apartment into Rome and find the restaurant. I had built up so much fear around messing up, getting lost and not knowing where I was. On the way home, I got to thinking that had this had been Washington D.C. I would have had to do the same thing, hop on the metro and then navigate my way through a city that I barely know. I asked myself why it felt different, it felt different because I was in Italy. It’s the same process though,  find the train, hop on the train, ask for help when needed and keep it moving. I needed to conquer the fear in order to enjoy the experience. I did just that, I’ll be in and out of the city a few more times before I leave hoping to do a little tourist day by myself. How have you all conquered your fear in traveling alone?

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.