Friday, January 30, 2015

It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done

I'm sitting in a coffeeshop in a little historic downtown about fifteen minutes from my house. It's one of my favorite places to go when I need to dream, work, read, or get away. I always wonder what everyone is up to in coffeeshops as they sip on their tea and Americanos. There are so many stories to be told here, so many people from so many different places. Today I sit at a table, on a bench that's unfortunately not very comfortable; it keeps squeaking every time I move. But here I am with my vanilla latte, only a couple sips left in my glass. 

I dream today my biggest dreams. As I sit here, I think about how much pressure I put on myself to be living out these dreams NOW. I want to shoot destination weddings SO bad, I want to travel the world, I want to move to Hawaii or California... My dreams are big and they're not dreams that happen overnight. But I think about how just like God gave us a choice to follow him, he gives us a choice on what to do with our lives. So often I think, "Oh but I don't know if this is what God wants. I should probably wait until everything falls perfectly in my lap and then I'll know it's meant to happen." I worry I'm going to make the "wrong choice" or do the "wrong thing." Over the last year I have thought about that a lot. I don't know if I'm correct in thinking this but I think that God wants us to follow our hearts. He wants us to live out the dreams we have. But he wants us to follow him in the process. God will make it clear whether he wants something or not and if he doesn't, he'll shut the door. If you're following him closely, you'll know when the door is open or closed. But God can use you wherever you are. 

I fear that if I moved to California it would take me years to get my business going and that I'd have to work another job that wouldn't allow me the time to shoot. I worry I'd run out of money or waste money that I'd end up needing on something more important. I worry I wouldn't make friends or that I'd end up being unhappy. My worries about being happy actually keep me from being happy. I listened to an Invisibilia podcast the other day and they talked about fear, about a woman in this world who cannot fear. Yes, there are about 400 people in the world who cannot fear. Unfortunately she is more susceptible to danger BUT she lives her life the way I wish I could. She experiences more than the average person because her brain isn't telling her to stay away from things or not to do things. 

We're born with fear but it's how you manage your fear that allows you to truly live -- or not live. I don't know what 2015 holds. I barely know what tomorrow holds. But I do know that nothing is impossible with God and God cares about my dreams. Does this mean I'm going to move to California or Hawaii tomorrow? No, unfortunately not. My life doesn't point that direction right now with my schedule for 2015. But does this mean I'm giving up on my dream to travel all year or move to California or Hawaii? No. 

I think the moral of the story is that you should dream and if you can, act on those dreams! My biggest fear is that I'll be 30 years old looking back at now wishing I had done more while I was young. Your dreams are achievable and I challenge you to go after them. You might fail but at least if you do, you'll know that's just part of your story. "It always seems impossible until it's done." -Nelson Mandela


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Eating Healthier

So I'm not a food blogger but I just spent three weeks in Alabama for work where my meals were paid for, which means I went out for almost every meal. It was delicious but if you give me a menu for three weeks, even though there might be salads on the menu, I usually don't choose them. When I came home I just felt so unhealthy. I'm not the type of girl who eats salads at every meal or refuses ice cream because I want to be skinny. I just love food. Haha. BUT for the first time I came home and really wanted a salad. My poor body wanted veggies! So I turned to my favorite salad, which is mixed greens, feta, sunflower seeds, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It's so simple and SO good! It takes a while for me to get tired of it, which is always a plus. Haha. So for those of you who are looking to eat healthier but aren't good cooks and want something quick, this is for you!


Monday, January 19, 2015

Playlist VIII

I have so many playlists to share! This is an older one from back in the summer. Every time I share one of my playlists I LOL at my music selection. I listen to just about everything and usually my playlists are a bunch of random genres thrown together so if you enjoy my interesting compilations, here you go! Click here to open in Spotify.


Monday, January 12, 2015

Nicole + Daniel | Early Mountain Vineyards: Charlottesville, Virginia Wedding Photographer

I loved Nicole and Daniel's wedding! These two are so precious and it was very obvious on their day that they are so in love. This was my first time shooting at Early Mountain and I adore it! There are so many amazing venues in Charlottesville and this is one of them! These two had such a beautiful day, full of awesome clouds and a beautiful sunset!



































Second shot with Sera Petras.