Nashville

06.11.18

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.

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.

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.

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.

06.08.18

30A Beach Days

It’s almost summer time! Which means it’s the perfect time for a road trip….especially to the beach! We recently went down to Florida for a little Memorial day getaway and had such a good time. I had so much fun in fact that I’m sharing with you some of our favorite things we did while on the 30A stretch of the pan handle!

The Donut Hole

I have a few favorite things about the donut hole, beginning with the laid back vibe and centering around red velvet donuts for $1.35. It’s the perfect way to begin a beach day and if you happen to be dining alone you can usually skip the line and sit right at the bar! Order the “diet plate”, it’s more than you need but it’s worth it!

Dogs after 4pm

This is something I was so excited to find out about. After 4pm, on some of the beaches, you can bring your pup! Audrey is almost always with me and I was so excited that she was going to be able to go to the beach with us! She had a great time and loved all the attention from passersby.

Seaside

A trip to the beach wouldn’t be complete without a stroll through the beach towns! We love Seaside because of the vintage airstream food trailers and also because we found this great little taco stop that was so good! Seaside also has this open air market just off the beach with tiny little booths. These booths don’t have hardly any of the typical tourist items that are overtly branded with the location, it’s more of a curated collection of beach inspired items. You can usually find something special that will perfectly mark the memory of your trip.

A Room With a View

Find a rooftop bar with a view of the ocean! We found one in Rosemary, but there are several along 30A to try! It’s really just about the experience and in my book a rooftop ocean view is the perfect way to enjoy an afternoon!

05.03.18

Travel Skincare: 5 Favorites

I’ve recently changed my focus. I’m now into skincare. But not just any skincare, travel skincare! Or TRAVEL FRIENDLY I should say. I was focused on makeup and finding the greenest and most pure (for makeup). Now however, thanks to newly becoming a low-key FANGIRL of The Skinny Confidential, I’m into ALL kinds of skincare. I have always been very good at having a morning and evening routine comprised of a clean face and then a great moisturizer or serum. Now though, I have a wedding coming up (MY OWN) and I want the most dewy, fresh, well rested, looking skin I can achieve!

However, I have some particular needs because of how much I travel. So I’m going to share with you my new favorite 5 travel skincare items!

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

I bought this because it said “sleeping mask” and who hasn’t woken up with dry lips before…ESPECIALLY IN A HOTEL. After the decision to purchase I found out that Laneige is one of those “cult beauty” products that people just love. It’s not hard to see why, because it just does so much for your lips! You have to be religious about using it every night, but I swear my lips are fuller. It’s also a god send to carry on the plane with you because it’s like a moisture locking barrier that insulates your lips!

Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream

This night cream combined with my nightly serum has made the texture of my skin so soft. The story behind the Drunk Elephant brand is fun too and has to do with ingredients. You can read that here. I also love how hygienic the dispensing of this product is. You press down on the top and it squeezes out, instead of having to stick your fingers into the jar.

Avene

I just bought this a few days ago and I’m already loving it. It’s a french skincare product so of course it’s fabulous, but it literally melts makeup away. WATERPROOF EYELINER? buh bye. I don’t LOVE the smell, it smells very clean, but I can get past that for how well it does it’s job.

Suntegrity 5-in-1 Natural Moisturising Face Sunscreen

I have the full body sunscreen of this as well and I just adore both. Traditional sunscreen has MULTIPLE ingredient that are considered toxic, and this product was designed to be as green and pure as possible. It’s also tinted so it’s a great light foundation!

Glow Recipe Watermelon Pink Juice

THIS SMELLS SO GOOD. If you like watermelons, which I do. But it also is such a great daily moisturizer! I put it on in the morning before all my makeup and it hydrates my skin, smells amazing, and helps my makeup sit even better on my skin. I also love the design of this product, it’s beautiful to have sitting out on your vanity.

If you enjoyed this travel skincare guide Into The Gloss has a similar guide you can find here!

Those are the five products I’m loving and have been taking with me on all my travels lately. What skincare secrets do you have?! Share with me in the comments!

04.24.18

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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