Lost Negatives

About a month or so ago, I was digging through some old photos when I found an abundance of film strips. You know the ones they used to give you when you got your photos printed? I looked at the negatives through the light and tried to recognize what I could from them. Some I had never seen before. Some I forgot ever existed. I decided to take them to a photo store to have them reprinted since I know they hadn't been touched for years (some of them over 20 years...there were photos of my birth in there! Yikes!) and I didn't want them just sitting in a box forever. 

Looking through those pictures after picking them up really gave me a mix of emotions. It was so exciting to remember some of the things I'd forgotten through time, but in that way I was really sad too. In those moments, I was back in Italy, and my brother and sister were little again, and we still had my favorite dogs. Everything about that time was rosy and perfect, which is one reason I hesitate to ever return to where I grew up. I don't want to ruin my memories of that time, because it was the happiest times of my life.

Here are some of my favorite prints.

Me, Jayme, and Joe, Easter 2000 (maybe?). Our mom liked to match us...

Joe and I. Yes, I was an ultra nerd. But I'm happy to say that my gap-toothed smile is no longer (as) gap-toothed.

My beautiful sister. She was adorable and girly, but had a horrible temper. If you pushed her to her breaking point, she'd leave the room, and then come back a completely different and terrifying child. I love her.

My original best friends. Love these babes.

Jayme and her blue cake teeth.

Don't know what the deal was with all these weird smiles.

View from the front of our house.

View from the back of the house. I miss those mountains so much.

Joe playing a game of some sort right after moving in.

I was a little bummed that some of these photos were so scratched, but it must have been the negatives. This was our kitchen.

First snow in our new house in Italy.

Misty and Lucy getting a taste of the snow.

Put Thoughtful Work Into the World: Go Blog Social Recap

Instagram faves from Sunday.

I attended my very first blog workshop with Go Blog Social this past Sunday, and let me tell you, it was incredibly inspiring! I learned so much that I really had to take a recovery day to reflect on everything. What a dream! 

I wanted to share with you all some of the biggest lessons I took away from the event and from the speakers themselves. Their wisdom really resonated with me in a lot of ways and changed my perspective on where I've been since I began blogging last year.
So, here are some of the most motivational lessons I received from the Go Blog Social Workshop.

Make yourself an expert. -Tobe Reed of Because It's Awesome

This resonated with me simply because I have so many interests, so I often struggle to stick with one thing. I worry sometimes that I'll end up being the 'jack of all trades' so to speak, when I'd much rather be very good with a handful of things. That being said, I don't think it's impossible to become in expert in many things, and when Tobe said this, it really set in that it's up to me to become an expert at what I love, that it is something I control. 

Own it. Own your crazy. // You do you. -Tobe Reed and Morgan & Carrie of Ampersand Design Studio

This was a recurring theme through the day. "You do you.", "Be real." "Be authentic. "Be genuine and unique." "Do what you want to see." "Own it." I think it's so easy in the blogging world to get caught up trying to please others and do what others want to see, that we forget that our own voice is what sets us apart and draws people in. This is something I've been dealing with a lot lately. I struggle to create content that I feel needs to be shared while also making sure that is something people actually want to read. But I think it helps to remember that if you believe you have something to offer the world, whether that be your perspective, a product or service, or whatever, then own it. Be proud.

Align yourself with what you want. // Stay positive. - Tobe Reed and Emily Reinhardt of The Object Enthusiast

One of my other struggles these days is learning how to stay positive when things in my personal life may not be. I really like the thought that Tobe put out there that said you must "align yourself with what you want." I interpreted her message as, rising to the occasion of what you want out of life, and I believe this works anywhere. If there is something you want, it won't happen overnight. It takes work and dedication, but before any of that, there must be an alignment or centering of yourself with that goal. You have to be ready in all the right ways before you can begin. This perspective really changed the way I look at my blog and where I want to go in my life. Things won't just happen on their own, and if you don't put yourself in a place that can handle the trials of working towards something, you will become burnt out or at the very least, you'll make it much harder on yourself.

Put good, thoughtful work into the world. -Emily Reinhardt

When Emily said this, it really hit me hard. This quote wasn't a direction or even advice, as she was just saying that it was something she thinks about with her work, but I absolutely think it is something everyone, especially myself, could use in their lives. I think there is a lot of garbage and negativity and just plain carelessness put out into the world, so the idea of aligning your view of your work or anything you do with whether or not it is thoughtful is so refreshing. I know this concept of being "intentional" is not new, in fact it is very popular right now, but it is something that I hadn't quite grasped until now. 

Don't worry about what is happening 'now'. Do the best you can and everything will evolve naturally. -Ampersand Studio

This wasn't a quote, it was more of a general feeling and thought I received from the lovely Ampersand Studio ladies. Their stories of failure were such an inspiration because it is something that's been going through my head these days. I often feel as though my success in blogging is based entirely off of how often I don't fail. But considering I fail quite a bit, I tend to feel not so good about myself and my direction and efforts. However, these girls really turned it around for me. So much so that after the event, I went over and spoke with Carrie and shared with her my frustrations about being twenty-two and really feeling pressured to make these early years "count". She was so gracious and uplifting. She assured me definitely that I was on the right path and that as long as I continue to learn and be better, it will be fine. And her big advice was to not wait so long to start like they did...

"If not now, when?" -Ampersand Studio

Which brings me to this beautiful quote. I've heard it before, but this was one of Carrie and Morgan's overall messages. Don't wait to begin! They reminded everyone that we only have one life to live and we waste it by not pursuing what we care about and what we want. So if not now, when?

Here are some awesome giveaways and goodie bag items we received! I really had such a wonderful time and I really look forward to the two-day conference in April. If you're in the Midwest and would like to attend the Go Blog Social Conference event, visit goblogsocial.com

Snow Day and Reflections

I apologize for not having written in a while. The truth is, I've been trying to take things slow and figure out what to do with...well, everything really. Sean (and some days, myself as well) is going through some really tough stuff right now, and it's been so terrible to see him struggle the way he is.

I've been told by many that your twenties are the best years of your life, and now that I've been in them for about three years, I can easily say that, no. They're not. Granted, I love where we live and the freedom of being a young adult, but the mind has a way of making all the physical things become nonsense and I have many days when all I want in the world is some kind of certainty or stability. I hate that everything is up in the air all the time, and Sean and I, having such high expectations of ourselves, are so pressured to feel like what we're doing right now is meaningful and worthwhile.

On top of that, it is a struggle to believe in ourselves and to know that we are making the right decisions for us now and for someday. 

Right now, the things that keep us sane and happy are days like last Wednesday. We had a random snow day and since Sean didn't have to work, we decided to head out in the storm and walk to Barnes and Noble on the Plaza to look at some books. I don't know how, but this has become a thing we do. Even if we don't leave there with anything, it's nice to choose a pile of things to look at and watch the snow fall while we drink our hot drink from Starbucks. Plus, the Plaza Barnes and Noble is so old and lovely looking on the inside, I always want to stay when it's time to go. 

Anyway, here are some photos of our walk. Now that it's 65 degrees out, it's funny to think that these pictures were just last week! Still, we've been enjoying the weather lately, despite how erratic it has been, and we hope you have too, wherever you are. 

KC Blogger Meetup!

I had a great time at the KC Bloggers Meetup last Friday! I just wanted share some of my favorite photos from the event!