Hi friends! 

So I know that personal moodboards can be seen as unnecessary, a waste of time and even sometimes a little bougie, but I sincerely enjoy making them because I'm super big on visuals that can inspire you to keep going. Who doesn't love to curate a board of images and words that reflect what you want in your life for a period of time or for forever?! This girl is all for it and so I wanted to share what I put together for another dumpster fire of a year - 2021. I like to think it's me developing my "brand" and conveys what my current mood is. I decided to focus on one magazine this time around, so all the images and text are from the Winter 2021 edition of "Artful Living", which is based here in Minnesota and is essentially a luxe "moodboard" for a boutique lifestyle. It was serendipitous, as it arrived right when I wanted to make something and so I dove in and found some great inspiration.

When you're flipping through your visual source, the magic begins to happen. For me, I start to visualize what I want the board to encompass for an entire month or a full year and pull things out immediately when I see them. Turn on some music to really get the creative energy going and then start cutting up exactly what you want, which then turns into figuring out the exact layout. The overall mood for this one was "to being alive and thriving" so I had to turn on this song to really get the ~vibes~ going. Eventually I really got into it and the overall layout began to take form, with many a revision here and there, but it only took me about an hour to really be satisfied with the end result. It's by no means perfect but I feel like that sums up what I expect this year to be like.

Dream.

Creativity.

Living. 

The Great Escape

Dwell in Beauty. 

I find this so relaxing to do and I highly recommend putting together your own. It gets you to put things in perspective and there's some clarity in that for me. So tell me! What does your moodboard look like?

Finding joy or happiness right now is something I cherish with every fiber of my being because, look, it's really hard to want to appreciate anything positive in the current state we're in every single day. I don't know about you. but the minute I get up in the morning I find myself going through a barrage of endless scrolling to make sure I'm updated on what has happened in the last 24 hours. A constant wheel of emotions take over; anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, desperation, and my day is off to just a great start! I think I do this because I'm trying to find a glimpse of some type of hope that things will change for the better and maybe, just maybe, this particular day won't end on a bad note. Luckily, I have found a few things here and there that have made living in quarantine bearable and have made me feel slightly less alone than I was this time last year, you know when I was also unemployed. Everyone is going through this and we're all trying to survive and be human beings during such a odd and uncomfortable time. So for anyone who is feeling the same way, please know you're not alone and that I hope you're finding something that can make you smile.

All of that being said, I'm not sure what makes today different than any other (maybe it's the fact that it's September and there is a cool breeze in the air) but I've found a fleeting sense of normalcy in coming back to this blog and writing about how I'm feeling. Today, I wanted to share with you five random things that have brought me joy over the past several months. Please enjoy and let me know what has made you feel this tender emotion. 

1. floral getaway: Quarantine has brought about the desire to start a small business. A new revelation that I've never thought I could be remotely interested in, mostly because I've always thought I wouldn't be smart enough to start one, but it has piqued my curiosity as I've been obsessed with learning about flowers and reveling in thoughts of growing (and dying), being planted with roots and other various analogies. THE PLAN: open a flower business that is a brick and mortar here in the Twin Cities, with an added bonus of a traveling truck that goes to street events and other various parties where flowers might be needed. THE GOAL: to start working on this once I'm out of debt and have a solid income, as well as possibly having a partner. Hopefully within 2-3 years, so wish me luck!

2. serendipitous project: What an absolute treasure of a find back in June when everyone was showcasing Black-owned businesses. I came across Serendipitous Project, founded by the lovely Sydney Ziems, and it's very quickly become one of my favorite jewelry brands. It's so aesthetically pleasing, romantic and you can tell there is a lot of love put into the content that is produced. The brand also just came out with a F/W '20 collection inspired by Versailles and I'm definitely eying these gorgeous 'Chateaux' Earrings! 

3. mostra di moda resort: The absence of fashion shows has definitely been prevalent for me the past few months as I regularly enjoy 'reporting' on my favorite looks that go down the runway. However, Vogue has been great and uploaded quite a few collections for Resort 2021. Christian Dior is always a must-see and this season was very special as Chiuri "spotlighted the region’s native crafts and craftspeople." This finale dress made my jaw drop!

4. roseway island: Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been my saving grace for quarantine. I've logged about 300 hours on this game and I have absolutely no regrets. It has been so much fun being able to create something that is my own and to take my mind off of everything. The creativity flows and I can't wait to see what the fall updates bring to the table. Anyone else playing?

5. ask tough questions: We're Not Really Strangers has some really thought provoking prompts to ask yourself and others. It's been a source of inspiration to sit back and dig deeper into how to talk to yourself, how you see yourself and how to be yourself with others. Truly appreciate this being around and to read others responses in their comment sections. Feel free to answer the question above for me and I'll do the same for you!

1. "If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." - Ronald Dahl
2. "Creativity is intelligence having fun." - Albert Einstein
3. "I don't think sadness is always devastating. It can be quite uplifting and joyful as well. Sometimes you have to allow yourself to be sad in order to move forward." - Adele
4. "I don't dress to be stared at. I dress for myself." - Iris Apfel
5. "For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over." - F. Scott Fitzgerald