Stevie Jewel

Talk To Yourself

How you talk to yourself matters.  The words you use matter.
The other day we were at a drive through coffee shop and we ordered, “Could I have a tea with honey, no milk”, and the woman working there said, “Got it! But for future reference, if you don’t want milk don’t say milk at all, because all we here is “milk” and you’ll end up with milk in your tea”.
Talk To Yourself Talk To Yourself
I realized she was right of course.  But it also made me think about the language we use.  You can say, “I don’t feel sad” or you can say, “I feel happy”.  They have similar meanings, but one has a positive connotations and the other a negative connotation.  Why does this matter?  Because the specific words you use affect the way you feel and affect your actions.  If you want to make a change in your life you have to start by changing the way to you talk; to yourself, to your family, to the world.
Talk To Yourself Talk To Yourself Talk To Yourself
You can do this in all sorts of ways and it’s simple to start and easy to get the hang of.  Before you make a statement think about the words; are they positive or negative? It’s really that simple.
At first you might feel silly, or as though it doesn’t really matter what words you use.  I promise you, it does matter.  Slowly overtime you will change your thinking to focus on the positive before you think of the negative.
Talk To Yourself Talk To Yourself Talk To Yourself
I once heard someone say that a small change in the direction at the beginning of a journey, even by five degrees, will completely change the entire outcome of where you end up.  Changing the words you use is exactly like that.  It’s such a small change but then impacts are huge; it’s a butterfly effect.
Talk To Yourself
What’s something you can change the language on from negative to positive and make a small change in your life starting today?

Time To Empower

There’s something I’ve been contemplating for the last few months.  Empower.
What does being EMPOWERED look like? What does it mean?  Last week we all heard the news that Kate Spade took her own life.  Then we heard the same news about Anthony Bourdain.  These people were professionally SUCCESSFUL and had, what looked from the outside, to be GOOD LIVES.   Then we all see the tweets, the instagrams, the notes of concern, consideration, condolence.  We have public conversations about being there for people, or watching for the signs.
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But then, time SOFTENS the shock, and life dictates that we continue to carry on.  Not to be CALLOUS or to show indifference but because that’s what must be done, we must carry on. Whether it’s a school shooting, a suicide, depression, lack of confidence, or something else that makes anyone feel unworthy of their own LOVE AND RESPECT, we try to help each other, but when the pain doesn’t present itself obviously we sometimes miss it.
I’ve DECIDED that I’m not going to feel ineffective against these things any longer.  I’m going to actively seek to EMPOWER people to recognize their own worth and potential.  I started to feel a SHIFT in this direction recently when working on my EP because I didn’t want to sing songs that would do anything but make people feel WORTHY AND POWERFUL. I wanted to empower people and to lift them up by making them feel and RECOGNIZE they had inner strength.
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I have known that place of powerlessness in the past and once I realized those feelings I promised myself from that moment on that I would never let my inner power be anything but UNBRIDLED, CHANNELED, and FREE.  So, I’m not sure what this will look like as I move forward, I’m guessing it’s going to be reflected in blogposts, my MUSIC, in interviews, and in other mediums as well.  But I know that I am done seeing people suffer needlessly when I can DO SOMETHING, however small, about it.  We all have every tool within us to discover SELF love, self POWER, and self HEALING, it just needs to be uncovered.
To be honest, even writing this and before posting it, I was thinking, “WHO AM I to say these things?” But then I realized who am I NOT TO? What if it helps ONE person? Because I’ve been thinking these things for a long time, and it’s time to try and INTENTIONALLY help others with these words.  I am not going to let self-doubt hold me back from anything, and you shouldn’t let it hold you back.
empower empower empower
Going forward I hope that I can offer you some INSPIRATION and PEACE; to know that I will be here to empower you with words, songs and music, stories, and good vibes that I’m sending to you always.

Oak Alley Plantation

I just got back from a trip to New Orleans.  I’ve been once before, and this time there were two things I really wanted to see, one being a beautiful old plantation home, and our morning at Oak Alley Plantation was born.Oak AlleyOak AlleyOak Alley

We drove about an hour outside of New Orleans into what just looked like farms.  Until all of sudden the architecture began to change.  There were two extreme juxtapositions of architecture; very big beautiful grand homes, and then little shacks that you could practically see through.  As we came around a turn we found the driveway of Oak Alley. It actually runs along side the famous Oak Alley, and I was so busy looking for the turn I missed the view from the road!
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Once we passed the ticket gates I could see why so many people visit here, the “big house” as the call it, is beautiful even from a distance.

But just on the other side of the view is where the slaves lived. It really tugs at your heart when you think about the conditions of the people living on this land and how there were totally opposites lives existing in the same space at the same time.
Oak Alley
The “big house” is what is called an Antebellum style home, and you can just picture women in big ball gowns walking through the home.  It has undergone several renovations, but the original beauty of the home is preserved.
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The most beautiful part of the entire Oak Alley Plantation experience would have to be the magnificent oak trees that line the iconic front drive.  It’s just unbelievable how grand, and healthy, those trees are.  There was also a little armadillo who lived in the massive root system of the trees! He came out to see us for just a moment.
Oak Alley
All in all I absolutely recommend the trip out to Oak Alley Plantation.  The team that runs the plantation does an excellent job of allowing you to appreciate the beauty.  They also educating you on what life was like for both the groups that lived on Oak Alley.   The white slave owners of the time and the slaves who lived vastly different experiences from the slave owners.

Old School Style Brunch

I’m sitting in the DC airport, but I’m thinking about the the brunch I had in Nashville recently.  It was at The Old School Farm northwest of Nashville.

We had just left church and wanted to try something new and interesting when I remembered somebody telling me about the goat yoga they had done at The Old School before having brunch there.Old School

Old School

So naturally my inquisitive self had to check it out.  The Old School is a farm-to-table on a micro scale.  So instead of being a “farm to table” restaurant, they are a FARM with a restaurant.  Meaning they source most of what they serve from their own gardens or chicken coop (for eggs).  What they can’t source from themselves they get from about 5 other farms close by.

What I love about any farm to table restaurant is how GOOD and PURE the food tastes.

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At the old school they also made the coffee cream butter for the bread basket we got!  Somehow farm fresh eggs just taste so good when compared with typical grocery store eggs.  It’s like the hens are happy with their lifestyle and that’s reflected in their eggs! We had the mushroom and ricotta omelette and the baker’s basket.  Both were so good, but the bakers basket was a piéce de résistance!  Each bakery treat was so good but we especially LOVED the coffee cake.
Old School Old School Old School
We were sat in the room that used to be the lunchroom, cafeteria, and auditorium so we got to listen to a jazz quartet while brunching. It felt very 1920s. Which felt very fabulous.  Overall I loved the atmosphere, the mixture of corner booths, roundtables, high tops, and more intimate tables.  The whole experience was so enjoyable, and I’m definitely adding this to my “take people who visit Nashville here” list.

Brand New Fire

I wrote this song, working title “Fire” or “Fire In Me”  about two days before my recent show.  Then I decided to add it to my set! I’m not sure what I was thinking, except I just really loved the message.  The whole song came to me in about 15 minutes, and I’m happy to share it with you, especially when it’s so new!  Tell me if this song speaks to you and if you think I should finish it for my next project/album!

 

Ailsa Craig, where in the world?!

We drove past farms and through a community called, “Punkey Doodles Corner” and made our way to Ailsa Craig.

We pulled into the cutest little town and stopped at the Crown and Turtle for a preshow bite to eat.  Then we went over to the venue and did a sound check and met Cameron Arts, the opening act.  The theatre was an original theatre with INCREDIBLE acoustics in their town hall which has so many beautiful historic details.
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I played my radio singles, The Phoenix Story, and some brand new songs!  It was so exciting to hear the Ailsa Craig audience’s reaction to my newest songs that I’ve never played at a show before.  I love it when I play acoustic shows because I get to do some really fun things with the songs. Sing a little different and play around on the guitar more. Things I don’t get to do when I’m doing a full band show.
Ailsa Craig
The audience was so attentive and I loved that so many people had already heard of me or my music and were waiting for certain songs to be played in the set!  As a music fan myself I love that part about going to a show; the anticipation of waiting for your favorite song to be played and hearing the opening notes!
Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craig Ailsa Craig
Playing in these beautiful theatres, that I’ve had the chance to play in for the past year, has been such an honor. Ailsa Craig’s theatre was beautiful, just like the others I’ve played recently.I love that people are excited to come out and listen to my radio singles but also my new stuff.  It’s so exciting to watch the audience grow each time we come back. To hear and see that people are enjoying the show enough to bring friends with them!

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