Today, you're 31, and one month (and one day) old. The last thirty-ish days of the year are normally dripping with some reluctant anticipation of Christmas without mom and Mimi, but this year was different. Finally, the decorating and baking and hosting commenced without much of the once-familiar and overwhelming heaviness of being the last lady in line of a generation that has passed on. The...

(Disclaimer: this was written post-consumption of three glasses of Bota box's redvolution, whilst in the air from BNA to DAL last night...) Four years ago to the day, I was on a flight home to Nashville after sitting at my mom's bedside for a week and a half, watching her die. She was hardly recognizable anymore, face stony and expressionless, her lower legs amputated two and a half years prior,...

// from one of my lovely birthday dinners, surrounded by my best girlfriends.  le sel, november 2016.// A few years ago, I began a tradition of documenting the highlights of what I'd gleaned from this little life of mine. Some of them are lighter and silly, while others are lessons sometimes learned through such struggle that they force themselves into the intricate weave of who I...

I'm all about a side hustle. I've always been wired that way. In college? I worked retail, in a craft store, was a lifeguard and taught swim lessons, worked for the yearbook and for two local newspapers (albeit not all at once, though there was overlap here and there). I just have entirely too many interests and thoughts going to kick back and trudge through a 9-5 only. Exhibit A: I've been on...

It just sounds so much older than "thirty." Officially in your thirties now. I woke up actually feeling older on my birthday (Thanksgiving day) for the first time, maybe ever. It wasn't a feeling of dread or apprehension--if anything, it was a glowing testament to how abundantly full of transition and growth this past year was, which the part of me who is perpetually striving for more, better,...

//via.// loving ::: my abundantly full, color-coded calendar. the fog draped over the pond outside my balcony on these 40-degree mornings. movie nights. hilarious snaps of my nephew doing baby thangs. finally wearing boots with my skinnies. listening ::: Anderson East's Delilah. Lake Street Dive's Side Pony. Sarah Hyland's cover of the Chainsmokers' "Closer." SWOON. oh, and Kacey Musgraves's...

Fifty-five days sit between today and 2017. That's seven Sundays until Christmas Day, eight before a new year is sparked. Everyone seems to plow through this last stretch of the year at a feverish pace, but it's always been my favorite to try to savor... my birthday and Thanksgiving, and all things Christmas are reason enough to slow down and breathe it all in, but there's more to it than...

On my sporadic nights in, clad in beloved yoga pants, I can be found with my laptop aglow, Maizie flanking one side, Netflix providing the welcomed background noise amidst the soft rattle of my keyboard strokes. Occasionally, whatever show I've mindlessly clicked my way through ends up being gripping enough to capture my unbridled attention... and somehow I've managed to hit the viewing jackpot...

I began this series a few months back in an effort to document all of the big highlights and little moments worth remembering since my last birthday. I'm so guilty of reflecting back at the end of the week, at the end of another month, and feeling a tinge of disappointment--like I didn't do quite enough with the time I've been given. I still struggle with the "busy" factor--I dive headfirst...

My musical education was fostered very early on. While my mom favored '90s country and the Eagles, my dad inundated us with the very best of classic rock, incorporating the steering wheel and dashboard of his F250 (lovingly known as Ol' Blue) as his percussion elements, head-banging along the drive from point A to point B, offering us performances unrivaled by anyone who'd ever graced the...

A couple times a year, usually in early spring and early fall, I begin sensing this insatiable itch. A slow-rolling anxiety for a shift. It sneaks in subtly, and my constant breakneck pace overpowers it just enough that I blindly dismiss it as a need for something else: another project or maybe a haircut or to delve into a plan to get distracted. But when I strip away the mental nonsense, take...

It's been a hot minute since I shared the tried and true tunes that I can't get enough of... summer trudges on, and these are the songs I've played to death (in the shower, working out, at my desk, in the car) and haven't gotten sick of yet. Enjoy!!  listen now! ...

//via.// Happy weekend!! Another summertime weekend looming ahead, praise Jesus. We're solidifying Labor Day plans and looking to fall already, and it's a little jarring, isn't it? Here's a little of what's been going on with me: I've really tried to up my correspondence game. The thoughtfulness of a handwritten note is unrivaled by much--anyone can spend 30 seconds on an email, right? But...

Hello, hello, hello! Summertime, man. And all at once, 2016 is half over. I'm in the throes of planning and doing all of the things (baby shower! independence day feast! etsy store! book draft! show after show! travel, travel, travel!) and wanted to pause for a breather to catch up on my little corner of the internet. I'm (finally) perfectly okay with just checking in when I want to, versus stomaching...