In The Wake

in

she told me that  was beautiful. 
a "different" beautiful.
"more" beautiful. 
over and over and over again.
and that she hated me for it.
in that sort of half-joking-but-not-really way that girls do sometimes so that they can get away with saying hurtful or deeply true things that they aren't brave enough to fully say. 
i'm not speaking of it now to brag about my beauty.
i know i am beautiful.
no i am not always secure and sure of that. but i have gotten to a place in my life where my worth isn't defined by that piece of me and i also know that truth without needing another's validation of it.

and so it's not that i am uncomfortable being told that i am beautiful. 

it's that i am uncomfortable with other women degrading their beauty in the wake of my own. 
 

iPhone Snaps | Fig Picking

in

It's no secret that I have quite a deep and over sentimental love for figs.
Seen here, here, here and here... 

Shortly after coming home from a long trip recently, I spent an hour or two of an afternoon fig picking, fig peeling and fig mashing for fig jam with two lovely ladies.
It was the perfect first thing to do after being on the road for a week.
A welcoming back.
A slowing down.
A this-is-home.

Friday Favorites || 15

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Discovering this local Richmond band

These beautiful thoughts on seasonality  

I kind of want this sandal making kit..

This song

The Exponential Benefits of Minimalism -- While I am not going as far to purge my closet of everything but two pairs of pants and three t-shirts, I have made a conscious effort over the past year to be more inttentional with my posessions and what I own. Even more so recently, letting go of things that don't "spark joy" as the famous konmari method touts, and that I don't use (or, in recent thought process, I couldn't see moving across the country with...) 
Favorite quote from the post: "The things we want only come once we create the space for them."

The concept of Sofar sounds really awesome to me. Hoping it comes to Richmond soon. What do you think about it?

This video of a story from a wooden boat builder.

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Unfinished Thoughts

in

a mish mash of unfinished thoughts, brought to you from my iphone notes app. 
because i am an overly-avid-jotter-downer of thoughts that i don't always get back around to finish...ing.


-it was fall. i remember because along with the grass i was lying on there were leaves. dry. brown. prickly.

-co 52 - decrease toe until 25 sts remain

-sex and love are important aspects of life but not the summation of it. what are other things like this?

-hold onto your sea salt skin

-"if i had climbing roses and a porch swing would everything fall into place"- a thing my friend said that i want to remember

-sometimes constraints bring to life creativity

-i have a little collection of non descript "unofficial" collections of poetry because other people's bleeding hearts just get to me so

-authority is not the right to rule. it's the responsibility to serve.

-the azure gloaming. touching your skin despite the layers.

-it's better to struggle with truth and how to apply it, than to apply lies perfectly.

- ephesians 2, 2 timothy 2

-consume what you want to create

Friday Favorites || 14

A photo posted by Leney (@agirlnamedleney) on

I feel like I blinked and this week went by. I have a lot of work to catch up on after being in Maine (more on that wonderful trip later...) but I am happy the weekend is here and I plan to spend some time with some people I've been missing. I've been traveling so much this summer and I need some quality time with some of my persons, know what I mean?
Here's a few favorites from this week.
I hope your weekend is a wonderful one friends. xo

Really really loved this post on The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Three Obstacles That Are Probably Keeping You From Purchasing Ethically Made Clothing

These thoughts on New York from my friend Laura

One of my favorite Etsy Shop's, Blackbird Tees, (and I'm not just sayin that cause I'm their model) is having a sale until the end of August! Go check it out here.

This photo series

This Is What Happens When You Quit Social Media For 40 Days - I wish I could do this. I suppose I could technically, but I feel like so much of my livelihood is connected to my business being present on social media. Would love to start some conversations about this one though. Do any of you fellow business owners have any thoughts on this?

This post on Bad Habits was an entertaining (and quite relatable) read for me
 


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Life In Balance

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So while perusing my blog drafts earlier this week, I came across this one from March of last year.... I'm not sure why I never got around to posting it but while the content is technically dated, I don't think the message is.
So, here you go.
Happy Sunday friends.
I hope you don't push those important things to the bottom of your lists.

"I think so often it's the things that we push to the bottom of our lists that should really be a lot closer to the top." -Siobahnn Watts

I felt as though this post written by the lovely Siobann over at Bless The Weather was just an expression of thoughts I've had myself over these last few months. 
I could try to sum it up more but really you should just go over and read it for yourself. 
Re prioritizing. Such a constant and ever changing thing.