2012

Well I have ignored you for far too long, little blog of mine. I will not be doing some post about 'New Years Resolutions' and all that jazz, but of things I want to accomplish, see, do, and such in this brand new shiny year I have!

2011 was a year of change for me. I know that it is such a human way to track your life within the boundaries of a year. I would judge the first six months of 2011 as some of the hardest I have been through. When you get older, grow up, discover that you have become an individual, life takes on new challenges and flows differently. Suddenly life was less about a collective whole, but a stirring pot of my own with friendships, people, relationship, and responsibilities that had come about from my own making. I felt lost within myself. After planning a wedding for over and year and a half, suddenly we had to postpone it. My heart ached and felt as though whatever it is was we were doing in life, I didn't want to do it anymore. Kasey and I had grown apart. It was horrible. I was just so tired. Emotionally, physically, mentally...twenty-three years old and ready to quit everything. I didn't know what I wanted, but I knew I wanted happiness. I didn't know what that meant, what I would need to do, or how to get there.

It only took one conversation , one statement to change every: "I don't know what I want, but I know I don't want this."

Two days later we came back together and knew what we wanted. We wanted a life together. A life of happiness, adventure, joy, travels, discoveries, failures, love, wonder, and anything else we could experience. But we knew we wanted to do it together. I knew I wanted to do it with him. From that moment on we have just soared. I literally feel like I have experienced so much life since July. As clique as it is, you only have one life to live. One grand adventure. You only get to do this once. You have to make the most of it. God gives you each breath without promise of another. What do you want to do with that? I want to live it!

In 2011 I got to travel every time we had the opportunity. Tasted amazing food at restaurants I had dreamed of eating at or ones we stumbled upon by accident. Watched beautiful films. Met my favorite band in person. Went to concerts. Married my best friend. Bought our first car. Moved into our first home. Cooked all time. Baked recipes of my own imagination. Read every book I could get my hands on. Cried and laughed and felt emotions with every part of my heart. Did I mention I married my best friend? Sorry, that part is just really awesome! I can't help but talk about it...a lot.

For 2012 I have such excitement. If the last five months have been so beautiful with life, I cannot begin to fathom what this new year will bring. There are a few things I have in mind for this year, in no particular order:

Travel as much as possible within and outside the state.

Open up my own Etsy store to sell my handmade crochet items.

Have a booth at the Morganton festival this summer.

Blog (almost) everyday and document my fashion through the year.

Meet Jen and Abby in Chicago.

Get a pet.

Make my youtube videos every week.

Learn to accept the past.

Enjoy the moment as it is happening.

Thrift (a lot).

Cook every chance I get and explore new recipes.

Bake, all the time.

The most important thing I want to accomplish this year is to have some sort of start to my bakery. If it be my business license, funds started, recipes written, or actually having the space picked out, I want to end this year with something started on it.

And all of it starts today, right now, this moment! With that being said I will now go start on an amazing pot of cilantro lime chili for me and my precious best friend (who also happens to be my husband) for dinner.

Wood Sorrel

Today was one of those days where as I sit here endlessly going through Tumblr posts, Doctor Who spoilers, Facebooking, and dream Etsy shopping, I just have this peaceful feeling about what today was.

I went to work, then put on my new dress and just decided today would be wonderful. And it was. We made ribs for dinner. Drove around in our new "baby." This baby being the closet thing we will get to an actual baby for a very long time. This baby is our new 2009 Toyota Yaris. It's Kasey and mine's first ever new car in our whole lives and it's ours. It was exciting, scary, exhilarating, and amazing all at the same time. We prayed and prayed over this car and we know that it is our blessing from God. No more pulling over and praying that the little green Honda will make it a couple of more miles before overheating and smoking. No more, "Do you hear that?" and knowing whatever horrible sound that it is will cost a hundreds of dollar that we do not have. We put the little Honda at the end of the road with $1500 on the window, and the pessimistic attidute of knowing we would have to sell it for scraps, only to have a gentlemen offer us $1400 in cash four hours later. Then there we were at Carmax putting down our hard earned saving on the little bluish silver bundle of joy.

It's amazing and perfect for us and no more, "Do you hear that sound?" We rode around today playing with all the buttons, hidden compartments, and enjoying the truth that it is ours. I want to name it Rory...or Arthur, but Kasey isn't so comfortable with the idea of it being a guy. But it's so darn cute!

Then we ate ribs, ran around the yard in the sun taking pictures, ate wood sorrel as suggested by my niece that it was safe and edible, and just enjoyed the day that was given to us. It was wonderful, I found myself enjoying life in a way I have felt detatched from for a long time now. I know it is the overworked, wedding postponed, emotional downpull of life that has been my daily life here lately.

But today...today was amazing.

A passion, a hobby, a way of life

Inspired by Julie & Julia and A New Dress A Day blog, I wanted to share some kind of passion of my own. I can't believe I haven't recognized it before now. My passion is thrifting. Triggered by my engagement to my future husband and the nesting craziness that has taken over me to buy things for our future home, thrifting has become daily for me. Blogging about my feelings on life is not something that excites me. I save all that for my yellow comp book that is always in my purse. No, I wanted to blog, share with the world something that bring light into me. I wanted to share something that I become so excited about that I begin to trip over my words. And that thing is thrifting.

A little history: Thrifting is something that has always been in my life. Starting with trips to the Goodwill with my grandma growing up. She would buy me vintage dresses for dress up and teacups to play with, I would love going through the isles and being able to see pieces from different times. They felt like treasures. When I got older I became very disillusioned with going to thrift stores. I didn't want old things, I wanted new things. "Shop for clothes at Salvation Army? You have got to be kidding me....I don't want to be seen shopping in a thrift store mom!" Blame it on hormones or the fact that at 16 you need to be shopping in a mall where a cotton tee shirt that has the store name plastered over the front in $40. But that's what is supposed to identify me! Growing up, no teenager wants to identify with having no money and buying things second hand. You believe that you need these pricey things to identify you. You need to know you are worth these new untouched things.

Ok so aside from all the angst, I have always been pulled torwards things of the past. I love Grease, Willy Wonka, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, That 70's Show, basically anything from time periods other than my own. I would watch Audrey Hepburn movies and desire her clothes, makeup, the way in which she spoke. I would look through old pictures of my parents from the 70's and wish I could have a brown and gold couch. I found beauty in the styles, clothing, furniture, kitchens, everything. Hitting my 20's I stopped merely desiring these style, I started to actually let myself be me. I started shopping at Goodwill and finding amazing vintage dresses, shoes, old vinyl records that I had always wanted, anything and everything that finally felt like me. It felt freeing to not care what others might think and just be myself. I wish I had known this truth earlier in life.

So now when I walk into a fantastic thrift store and find an old teacup I think, "I wonder who bought this? Did they drink tea out of it? Did someones husband, mother, grandma buy this for them as a wedding present? Did they love this teacup before it got lost? Hey it's a quarter!" It's the thrill of the history, it's the knowledge that someone else in this world once owned it, it's the environmentally friendly part of reusing something that would be thrown into a landfield for no good reason, and it's economically fantastic to spend less money for old things that I love rather than spend tons of money on new things that I don't even like. Why do I need new expensive things? I don't. I don't need to define myself by how amazingly new and expensive my possessions are. I just want to be the best Heather God made me to be. I don't even need thrifting to define me. All the thrift stores I shop at give their money to help those in my community that are in need. So I know that when I find a really great dress for $5 at Goodwill that that money is going to clothe a little girl who may not even have a second change of clothes. I know that if I find a juicer for $8 at Burke United Chirstian Ministries Thrift that my money is going to help purchase food for the soup kitchen to feed those who would otherwise go hungry in Burke County.

Not only does thrifting provide for myself it is a system that provides for others. Isn't that wonderful? A system where I can clothe and furnish myself and that directly does the exact same thing for someone else in need! Shouldn't that be the way things work?

Anyways I just hope that by sharing this part of myself it will inspire, being some form of entertainment to others, and just be a good outlet for my thrifting craziness.

What will I find today?!?