“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” -Buddha

Well hello there. Nice to meet you.

My husband has been pushing me to start my own blog for I don’t even know how long now. I’m pretty sure the only people who are actually going to read this are him and my parents, but on the off-chance you’re not one of the above, welcome to my lifestyle blog! I’m still transitioning to adulthood (I’m convinced being 23 years old is far more awkward than being a teenager), and I’m discovering all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things that come with that. I’m renting my own house for the first time and learning how to decorate it like an adult (but on a budget), so I’ll post a little about that and possibly some DIY projects. I’m discovering how difficult it is to dress professionally while maintaining my own style and not aging myself ten years (also on a budget), and I’m pretty proud of the style I’m developing. I get really excited about sharing affordable and fashionable pieces and how I style them. I’ve finally learned how to do my own hair and makeup in a way that I hope I won’t look back on in ten years and cringe. I’m also learning to cook like an adult (you mean I can’t just eat out every day?). I love finding healthy, easy, delicious recipes and trying new things. So, you get the point: it’s a lifestyle blog and I’m pretty much going to post about anything and everything that inspires me. Hopefully, it will inspire you too (and make it easier when someone asks me where I bought something or for a recipe.. voila! Here it is!).

A little background:

You can check out my “About” page, but I recently graduated from college, got married, started a new career, and moved 300 miles away from the city I grew up in. All in the course of a year. I’m just now able to stop and breathe and process everything. “Breathe deeply often” is a phrase that has so much meaning to me and continues to develop new meaning to me. In fact, it’s literally tattooed on my collarbone as a reminder. It reminds me daily to stop sweating the small stuff, breathe, and look at the big picture. Find the beauty, find the silver lining. Things are never as bad as they seemed a few minutes ago if you take deep breaths and broaden your perspective. So that’s where my title comes from. It’s sort of my mantra.

I’m a Texas native, a little bit country, a little bit hippie, but I also love big cities and traveling in general. My husband and I have goals to see as much of the world as possible while we’re still young (and ideally before we have children). I got my degree in mass communication with a minor in writing, but as I started my career I realized I want to do something in social work. This time last year I swore up and down I wouldn’t even consider graduate school and now here I am, considering going back to school to get my masters in social work. (I should probably stop saying things like “I’ll never do this or that” because I’ve discovered God has a sense of humor and I keep eating my own words.)

Some current random obsessions/things you’ll probably see me post about: 

Wide open spaces, lace, teacups, gardening, pugs, trees, tattoos, skincare, organic everything, smoothies, loose leaf tea, winged eyeliner, loose curls, books, gold jewelry, wine, rosy cheeks and lip stains, clean white sheets, cuddling with my cat, teal nail polish, coffee, photography, marriage, my new initials, beaches, cruise ships, New York City, soy candles, Austin, baking, floral prints, vinyl, Toms, frozen mango, playing board games with my husband, traveling on a budget, Trader Joes, yogurt, denim, Amy Schumer, sweet tea, Lauren Conrad, Keurig, Mindy Kaling, jogging, Instagram, healthy eating, lemons, Target, HGTV.

If you’re not my mom or my husband, hopefully you have a better understanding of who I am now. If any of the above things interest you and you’ve actually read this whole post, let’s be friends?!