In light of the horrific domestic terrorism that took place in Las Vegas yesterday, everything I had planned for the blog seems completely trivial and inappropriate. The act is being called one of the countries biggest mass shootings in history and I cannot begin to fathom all of the ways that the people affected (both directly and indirectly) are suffering. I'm so devastated for the injured and the families of those who lost their lives in last night's tragedy and my heart is so incredibly fatigued from waking up to terrible news so often recently. How is this where the human race is at? With all of our advanced knowledge and technology? Why are we not doing a better job of preventing this kind of senselessness?

While I know we must continue to trudge forward, today feels like a day for mourning and I'm not sure that I have it in me to proceed business-as-usual. If nothing else, I pray that this event has opened everyone's eyes and created a call to action. We must take a stand and vote for gun control. We must protect the lives of our loved ones. We must de-stigmatize mental health and self care. This cannot continue to happen. People like Stephen Paddock cannot continue to slip through the cracks, have access to dangerous weapons and then be billed in the media as a "country music lover who lived a quiet life before the massacre". We need to look terrorism in the face and call it by its name.

Though we may feel powerless today, there are ways in which we can help Las Vegas:

Call your reps and demand a stricter gun control policy. These types of atrocities will keep happening until policy changes.
Donate money to the Red Cross or organizations local to Las Vegas.
& If you're in the area, donate blood.

As always, I am here for conversation and eager to hear your thoughts. How can we move forward? How can I help? What do you think about everything happening in our country?

Hey hey! The weekend snuck up on us quickly this time around, didn't it? I have big plans to do a little beach lounging and explore a neighboring island today (maybe there's even a travel post in it for this space) but I've also spent a few extra hours in bed browsing my favorite sites and barreling through most of Parenthood. It's all about balance, right? The extra downtime this weekend led me to stumble upon some things and I thought it would be fun to share. Here's to a little Sunday reading!

Tres Americain launched this week and I'm already loving it!
The perfect little home renovation that's a little outside of my usual style... Studio McGee always nails it
Broad City is back and I couldn't be more excited! The season is on episode two and so far, we're WAY into it.
"how to talk to kids about white privilege"
An appalled graphic designer shows Girls Life Magazine what their cover should look like
Sabrina The Teenage Witch is coming back and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Will it be the same without Melissa Joan Hart?! What about Salem?
How to help the victims of hurricane Maria
An interesting read about why we still need courtroom artists
& these amazing desktop / iphone backgrounds by my favorites The Glitter Guide x Natalie Catalina

Well hey there! These little updates seem like they're few and far between these days, don't they? Did I set goals for August? I'm not even sure. To say it's been a whirlwind lately would be putting it mildly but that's what it feels like around here... a big swirl of activities and downtime and adjustment and ideas.  I thought a little check-in post with a few life updates and my goals for September would be a good way to catch up so here goes nothing:

Island life is magical but it leaves a lot to be desired and to be completely honest, I've been in pretty rough shape lately. There's something about having the option to get out of town or having a whole city of distractions ripped away that really does a number on a girl and her psyche. Ainsworth was off-island for more than a week and is headed back in a couple of days to spend some overnights working on a project. Spending so much time alone with my thoughts has made me focus in on the not-so-pleasant parts of the tropical life like the fact that we failed to receive veggies last week and pretty much developed scurvy coupled with things like being homesick for my family andmissing out the convenience of stateside living. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome here too but the negatives have taken up residence in the forefront of my mind for the time being. I'm sure that'll wax and wane the longer we live the expat life.

Exciting things are on the horizon too! Did I tell you I'm going back to school? It's taken me way longer than I would have liked (eight years and whole six year old girl longer) but I'm finally signing up for some courses and will be pursuing a Liberal Arts degree online. I'm really looking forward to having somewhere else to pour all of my energy into (especially since there's not a ton to do here) but the thought of being a student in my late twenties is also kind of terrifying. I'm off to find the cutest planner and hopefully conquer the whole scenario... wish me luck!

Aside from school, I've picked up the work load at Ritual Bride and it's starting to take shape into something that I really love. Wedding and bridal content never seemed like the right fit for this space and I'm ecstatic to have somewhere for all of the pretties to live. If you're getting married sometime soon (or just love the world of weddings like I do), head over to that site or follow along with @ritualbride and stay a while.

p.s. I'm also gearing up to become a contributor at one of my favorite sites... stay tuned!

As far as goals for the new month / season go, I'm trying to keep them very approachable and totally achievable. The short list looks like this:

- As our two year wedding anniversary approaches, channel more time and energy into making our marriage the most loving it can be and weather this big transition together gracefully.
- Adequately prepare for a new adventure and head back to school.
- Work on adjusting to island life a bit more and get comfortable in the new normal. This means "saying yes" to more Friday morning coffees and trips to the beach. How good is that The Everygirl image up top?
- & Put more effort into creating content.

What is your month shaping up to be? Have you made a list of goals?