Theo The Dragon

Happy Halloween! 

Okay, if I’m Being totally honest October completely kicked my ass. Like in a major way. We completed our seventh room renovation, Theo is very close to walking so that means I can’t walk away from him for even a second. After hours and hours of that I’m beyond exhausted. He’s also teething so that doesn’t help. I had the worst cold ever and Contemporary Photography has been completely swamped to boot (last wedding this weekend). So all of that has me just so tired. 

I started this as an Instagram post but it got a little long so I made it into a blog post instead. My little Theo Shane is a dragon this Halloween! I wanted to tell my story behind this: 

My love for dragons dates far further back than Game of Thrones (even though I love GOT... probably because of the dragons?). Not only is my Chinese Zodiac a dragon but bonus the Kilgore Family Crest is also a dragon, and when I was little I was the owner and founder of “The Reptile Club”. Me and my friends would go down to a little pond by my house (Terabithia) and catch tadpoles and other activities of that nature. I loved my scaley friends, I even had a pet snake (Mr. Scaley) that my Mom and I caught.

Dragons had always been a fascination for me. I loved reading about them and seeing shows with them in it. When I was pregnant with Theo my best friend Crystal and I always called Theo a dragon long before we knew the gender. Mostly because of what I wanted to eat or how I was feeling we always said “ that little dragon...”. Needless to say there was no question as to what he would be for his first Halloween. I mean I was only a few weeks pregnant picturing my little baby dressed as a dragon. Of course we had to bring the now traumatized dogs into it to make three dragons and here I am in my very rightful place as The Mother of Dragons.   

Perla Blue was 100% humiliated. Donatella is very much used to this behavior from her parents.

I hope everyone has a great (and safe) Halloween! 

Sauntering Into The Next Decade...

I'm all about being real and I would be completely full of shit if I told you I wasn't freaked out to leave my twenties. It's just that they were SO GOOD. So good I could tear up. I'll spare you that. I spent this entire decade with my beyond words amazing Husband. We got married, traveled a ton, made the best memories, started and grew our photography company, bought our forever home, and welcomed Theo Shane. I keep hearing your thirties are your best years so I look forward to what they bring.

In honor of thirty, staying true to my list making, I'm sharing five things that I've learned in my twenties and five resolutions that I'm taking with me into the next decade.

Live and Learn

Roll with the punches.

Anything worth doing is worth over doing.

Live every day with an open mind.

Always remember little ones are watching you. Be a good role model. You never know who you are inspiring. 

You have to be you and not care what others think. You're you for a reason. And if you don't like you then no one else with either. 

I Resolve to...

Drop anything that I don't love, that doesn't make my soul happy, or brings me negative energy. 

Be a good Mom and human.

Focus on being graceful, not "perfect".

Not be so hard on myself.

To constantly learn new things and be as worldly as possible.

Life Enhancments

Happy Monday!

I like to consider myself a pretty organized person and have always been pretty obsessed with trying to maintain as stressfree a day as possible. In my opinon, that starts as soon as you wake up. If you start your day with a clear head then your day is more likely to be smooth sailing from there. I wanted to share with you some things I do every day before I go to bed and before I actually "start" my day. 

My first thought in the morning: COFFEE. Having the coffee maker set up to brew before I even get downstairs makes my morning so much smoother. One less thing I have to do. But before coffee, water. I know you've heard it before but it's important for your body to have water before coffee so when I set up the coffee the night before I also have my lemon water ready for the microwave in the morning (I don't have time for the kettle).

Side note, there are so many benefits of drinking lemon water in the a.m.

• Detoxes
• Great for your skin (antioxidants, vitamin C) 
• Builds up your immunity...Its flu season!
• Enhances digestion

Clean the kitchen before bed no matter how tired you are. This one is huge! Not only does it help me sleep better knowing that I don't have a mess waiting for me but it is also amazing to wake up and cook breakfast in a clean kitchen. 

Now I know you may not have a roomba but let me tell you it is life changing!! One of the best investments you could make. I was skeptical at first but just the same as the kitchen, running the roomba when you go to bed and waking up with clean floors is fantastic. Especially with my husky Perla Blue and her never ending fur that is everywhere.  

Have an idea of what's for dinner the next day. Doing this like some of the other things leaves room in my head for other things. Sundays are all about food. I always try to grocery shop, meal prep, and get ideas for dinners for the week. When I go to sleep knowing what I'm making for dinner the next day gives me a sense of feeling like I at least have it together a little.  

How do I know these things work? Because of all the times when I do literally none of this and feel like an absolute hot mess who's ready to pull her hair out. Ha! Don't do any of these? Try just one and see how it improves your day and night.

Enjoy your day, I hope it moves along swiftly!