visiting Austin

I spent this past weekend with my newest friend Taylor and my oldest friend Audrey. We had such a good time! Weekend trips take you away for a little bit, the perfect amount of time to get away and look at new shops and eat good food. I had never been on 6th street and I maybe had my fill in one fell swoop. 

On Saturday we ate the best breakfast at Magnolia, wandered around South Congress and got extremely overheated. Fortunately, we found a cute little taco shop to cool off and drink an afternoon cerveza in! We spent Saturday night at a cool bar that had backyard games and skee-ball.

Sunday, I stopped in Georgetown to eat lunch with my grandparents - such cuties, such delicious foods. 

At a basic level, it was good timing and a good time. I love hanging out with Audrey in what I feel like is her "native" land. 

The following is my new life motto. I have 2 or 3 on a rotating basis, and this one is really speaking to me now.

Here's to hoping your week is simple and happy.

Chelsie

a roadtrip and a sunny morning

The inspiration behind this new blog came from the way I saw the sun coming into the parking garage this morning.
No, seriously, that's what happened.

The sun was coming through the smallest window, shining directly onto my (dirty) car and I thought, how wonderful that it manages to do that.

How wonderful that the sun can shine through a small window. And it hit me, that's what I need to do now. I need to shine, no matter the size of the window. And sometimes, shining means finding what speaks to you on every level, not just logical. So here's my blog that is going to showcase that side of me.

I realized that, while my other blog is filled with aspiration - it's very serious. It's goal oriented and fact-based. I also have bigger dreams, dreams that call at me from the deepest parts of my heart.
Things that seem silly, like a golden retriever, a wrap-around porch, dinner parties in a garden. Things that seem unachievable like a solid, steady love that doesn't seem too hard or too much. Things that seem familar, like a trip to a beach and a glass of wine with a friend.

So here, this will be....dreamy. This blog will see a variety of things. And by doing so, I hope that I can tap into the other part of what's important in life: being grateful for the things I have, being generous with the things I can give, being lofty with the things I can dream.

Elizabeth Gilbert, in Eat Pray Love, said these words that really speak to what I'm trying to do now:
"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.  You fight for it, you strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings. "

Time for a road trip,

Chelsie