Real talk, life has been tough lately.

Don’t get me wrong, this def isn’t a pity party. I’m going to be justttt fine. I’m just smack dab in the middle of a season of change and with that comes a lot of unrest.

Truthfully, I’ve never minded social media being a highlight reel. In fact, I like being able to celebrate a lot of the great things about our lives and memories. I also appreciate when people can show up and be real about the ups and downs of life. So here I am keeping it real.

So many of us struggle in silence or only talk about the hard times we’ve gone through AFTER we’ve overcome them. We put on these fronts day to day that everything is peachy only later to expose that wasn’t actually the case. And listen, I get why people do it.

When you say “tough times” people run away from those conversations. It can be uncomfortable and It’s a lot easier to talk about struggles when they are past tense. When you’re on the other side and you’ve had time to reflect on those teachable moments or let your wounds heal.

Here’s the thing though, going through tough times isn’t a weakness, it’s real life, and I think there’s a lot of power in speaking up while you are mid-storm. When you don’t have all of the answers but keep showing up anyways. When you’re going through those messy chapters taking things a day at a time.

Those are the times you’re tested.
Those are the times you are pushed to make changes.
Those are the times you grow.

Maybe it’s not as eloquent or approachable to talk about, but when it comes to life I want to acknowledge ALL of it. My highest highs, painful lows and everything in between. Because you’ll only ever know my full story when you can read all of the chapters.

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Halloween this year may have been different, but it’s our favorite holiday so we weren’t going to let it stop us from dressing up! In case you missed it, I also did a post on our house decor too so you know we’re serious about Halloween over here.

Feather Shawl: Amazon | Black Gloves: Similar | Mask: Spirit Halloween | Dog Shark Costume: Similar

This year I kept things pretty simple and dressed up as a crow. The first reason being… 2020, and crows are notoriously creepy and the second… because our house is in the flight path of crows and every night we have hundreds fly over. Back to that creepy factor! I have to say that totally freaked me out when we first moved before I realized it happened pretty much every night. Usually I’m a big DIYer when it comes to Halloween but this year I just bought a few items to complete my costume to keep it easy.

Body Suit: Similar | Prop mic: Amazon | Goofy nose: Amazon | Dog Ears: Similar

Evan on the other hand, went a little further than I did. He also LOVES Halloween and always dresses up for work too. This year he dressed up as Powerline from The Goofy Movie! For his, he bought this ridiculous bodysuit and then we created an iron-on logo with my Cricut.

Then for Benji’s first Halloween, he dressed up as a Baby Benj Shark! I can’t say he loved taking pics for me but he didn’t mind the costume too much!

Then I saved the cutest for last… Little Squish as a little skeleton! It was also his first Halloween and he definitely won the cuteness award!

I hope you guys had a great Halloween too!

19 years have gone by and yet I will always remember this day. I was in 7th grade and stumbled into my mom’s room to watch TV before school when I saw the news. At the time, the east coast felt really far away, but the gravity and fear that came along with what had happened wasn’t lost on me.

When I moved to New York City nearly a decade later those feelings took on a whole new meaning. It was more than a national tragedy our country had faced, it was personal to those closest to me. They didn’t watch the terror play out on the news, they lived it. They lost friends. They lost family. They walked the streets of the city not knowing what was coming next and those experiences would change them from that day forward. While I’ll never truly be able to feel the same pain, seeing how the anniversaries affected the city year after year, watching the readings of the names, and visiting the memorials are experiences that will stay with me forever. 

Today I want to remember each and every one of the nearly 3,000 lives who we lost that day in the attacks. I want to remember all of the first responders who didn’t think twice about putting their lives on the line to help others and everyone who did their best at the hospitals. I want to remember everyone who was injured and those who have lived with long-term health effects ever since. And I want to send my love to all of those who lost someone they loved that day and let them know we will not forget them. 

There is no comparison to the tragedy that took place that day, but the heaviness the country is feeling right now feels faintly familiar. There has been so much loss, destruction and unease. So today I also want to remember what happened in our country after September 11th. How in one of America’s darkest times we were able to set our differences aside and come together and how the city and country was able to rise again. #NeverForget.