biting the bullet

I have officially started my blog! I say officially because I've created an account a few times but then gotten sidetracked and well, needless to say never posted anything.

A few of my friends who have unique hobbies and/or have moved to unique places have started blogs. I don't think my hobbies are too incredibly fascinating and I haven't moved recently, but I do have interests in writing about things I love! I've decided to dive in because I do want to write about three things I'm passionate about: clothing and charities and cuisine aka fashion and philanthropies and food aka vogue and volunteering and veggies! My interests also include travel and fitness...so those topics may be thrown in too!

I have always been a clothes horse. From a young age, I always thought if I was going to have to have to get up each day (I used to loathe getting up, I was a Good Lord It's Morning person, thankfully now I am a Good Morning Lord person.), then by golly I'd better have something to immediately look forward to...and that was picking out outfits! I love mixing and matching, coordinating what colors and textures look and feel best. I will admit that it's not so much the items themselves, as the chase to find them! I enjoy discovering unique finds in boutiques...especially when the finds are on sale! Traveling does provide great opportunities to come upon these magnificent items. I just think life's too short to wear drab things! And plus, not everything is a splurge! My most favorite pieces have been things that were ghastly cheap. For example, an anthropologie skirt for $20, what?! they MUST have left off another zero!

Don't be fooled into thinking that a love for food is the same as a love for cooking. What I mean here is other people's cooking, as in restaurants and what family/friends make for me to eat. I honestly could be a food critic. If I had one true addiction, it would be eating out. My all-time favorite restaurant is a hole-in-the-wall called Rotiers located in West End Nashville. If you haven't eaten their cheeseburgers on french bread, then you haven't lived. I will add (so I don't look completely lazy) that I do cook a few things veryveryvery well (throwing humility out the window here): deviled eggs, banana pudding, and spinach dip w/hawaiian bread. But observe that none of these dishes involve an oven. If it involves the oven, then it doesn't involve me. Just yesterday I was looking for the perfect place to store my sweaters for the winter (bulky was the overarching word here) and it suddenly dawned on me- "that drawer that opens up with two shelves that someone mistakenly inserted in that wall in my kitchen will be PERFECT for these J.Crew woolly mammoth pests that invade my closets every fall!". I have hope though that this blatant disregard for the kitchen will subside. My Memaw was one of the top 10 homemakers in kentucky a few decades ago, so I'm praying there's some gene I'll inherit that will make me a decent cook...eventually.

My passion is even more intense for charity work. I believe every person can make a difference. As cheesy as that sounds, it is so true. Just like finding your niche with exercising (I like yoga, others like tennis), you must find the capacity in which you want to serve others. I have a strong desire to serve in these areas: cancer, muscular dystrophy, and the elderly. I think dedicated service is usually linked to a personal experience with that area, and I am no exception. I had a blood disorder when I was 5 that mimmicked leukemia. Though my battle was only a few weeks, I remember the feeling of being pricked by a needle every hour and having bruises for no reason. This had led to a desire to be a part of the search for a cure for cancer. My neighbor battled muscular dystrophy all of his life and flew to heaven to meet the good Lord two years ago. I am joyful to know he is in a place where he can walk freely, without those heavy braces on his legs. Now I am passionate about stem cell research because I strongly believe this is how we can cure muscular dystrophy and I hope one day those with charcot marie tooth disease will experience what it feels like to run. I am very passionate (almost to the point of being too emotional) about elderly care. I met a lady three years ago, a 96 year old ball of fashionable energy, and I knew I had met my kindred spirit. She became my best friend and although I've had many close friends, she was my favorite. "I love your high heels, so I know we're going to be great friends!"...this is what she said the day we met, and she was right. She passed away but I want to continue to be an advocate for the elderly. Every person has stories like these. So think of who has left an imprint on your heart...and then go out and continue their fight!

Til next time...