Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder..Right?!?

Hello beauties!! Wowzers has it been so long since my last post!! I guess you can chalk it up to sheer laziness, and my wonderous mind. There is honestly no one to blame expect myself! How's life?! What have you all been up to?! Since I've been gone for so long I thought I'd recap the last couple of weeks and share what I've been up to. Grab a snack and maybe a beverage, its a long one! Here we gooooo....

 Dallas turned two on October 5th as naturally, as a loving mom would we threw a mini party! When I adopted Dallas I was given a packet of information and every page had a different birth date that ranged from the 3rd to the 8th of October, I decided to create my own day for him and we celebrated with party hats and peanut butter banana cupcakes!! They were super yummy and the peanut butter frosting kept him occupied for a looonnggggg time :)

 I couldn't leave my parents dog, C.J., out of the party, he's a little grump but joined in on the birthday hat fun! Getting it off of him was the bigger task! 

 

Dallas was all tuckered out after his party of fun...okay maybe slightly annoyed by the hat on his head and was ready to be a normal dog again.   

 

I was blessed with another niece and get to be Auntie to this sweet princess! She was born on September 16th, 2015 and weighed in at only 6lbs 4oz. When I held her in my arms I felt both fear and love rush over me, fearful even the slightest move would break her and overwhelming amounts of love for both her and her strong, brave momma! I'm such a lucky Auntie! 

This not so little pudgy man is Bully (Hi Bully!!!). He was so curious as to who I was and wanted to just sit by my feet all night...oh and pass gas. Thanks Bully...NOT! I would've rather had the baby need her diaper changed the amount of times Bully let one go. 

 

 

 The end of September had an exciting and unexpected surprise. I'm not sure if you saw back in Dallas's birthday snaps a random arm but about a week before I met an amazing person who has taken my hand and warmed my heart in ways I never thought possible. His name is Tommy and he makes my days brighter and takes my moments of hesitation and fear and turns them into memories. The picture below was taken on a random day trip to the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts where we spent the day laughing and spent quality time with the goober! (these guys are such best buds now, it's adorable and makes me so jealous) The Quabbin had amazing views but the only view I was focused on was the two of them <3  

Dallas and I shared the front seat and he loved peeking out the window as much as I did!  

We saw Jake Owen who put on such a great show and was such a humble human being. At one point in the show he pulled fans from the crowd and had them up on stage with him at Tiki bars. One of the fans happened to be a young boy who was with his father, attending his first concert. Which made me think back to the first concert I ever attended, that I just so happen to have attended with my father also- Britney Spears. My poor father!! I can only recall a lot of young girls screaming so by the end of that night he must have needed an aspirin or two!

 

The next set of pictures were taken midway through October when Tommy took me on a weekend getaway up in New Hampshire. The beauty of the foliage was unforgettable! These pictures are not filtered and do not do the sights enough justice! 

I loved this sign that we saw at a shop in the center of town!! I missed Dallas so much while we were gone that I think I've earned the title of crazy dog mom! Lucky for me he was with his grammy and grampa being spoiled!   

These photos were taken at a cute breakfast spot that we stumbled upon Saturday morning and Tommy fell in love with the venison sausage so much that we revisited again Sunday morning! Ironically we sat in the same seat both times!!  

 This was a small railroad museum that we visited after breakfast on Saturday. At one point in the weekend we talked about how the people had a different attitude in New Hampshire than what we are used to back home. They all had much more of a laid back approach and smiled at you. We didn't feel judged like we would back home. 

Oh, and I have to share....at breakfast I saw a female sitting with a companion who was rocking a scrunchy! Yes... A SCRUNCHY! I was so envious and then stopped and thought, hey why can't I wear scrunchies too?!? Who is stopping me?? NO ONE!! Next stop..scrunchy town!

Our plans to drive up Mount Washington were quickly crushed when we learned that it was snowing on the mountain and they had shut down the path both days we were there. BUMMER! Although I'm sure my fear of heights would have kicked in at some point on the way up so maybe it was a blessing! Instead we chose to drive the Kancamagus Highway...which we couldn't pronounce so listening to the many nicknames we had for it broke out in laughter and smiles often. The stretch of road had so many awesome vantage points and foliage stops. It was an absolutely breathtaking drive that I will never forget.  

The photo below is of a part of Mount Washington. This was taken at the base and let me tell you it was FREEEEEEZZINNGGGG. I think I had every section of my body covered at one point and my eyes were still watering from the blustery winds! 

The picture below was taken at the North Conway House of Jerky. We had to stop there before we left so that Tommy could grab some jerky of course! They had every type of jerky possible and in the end he chose Kangaroo...yes Kangaroo!! I couldn't gather the courage to try it.   

 I had an Auntie night that I rarely get to have and spent time with these two cuties together. I snapped the picture just in time for a little brother, big sister moment. Yes, that is her hair in his hands.  

Two weeks ago we were gifted with tickets to see Darius Rucker and let me tell you, what a night! We danced and sang our butts off, it was so much fun! The two opening acts were amazing and then to see Darius give such a laid back, hometown feeling performance was goose bump worthy. He puts so much emotion and story behind his music the performance made us feel as if we were sitting down before him like little kids with our legs crossed Indian style learning lifes' lessons.   

The day after the concert was bath day for Dallas and this is post bath where as you can see he was less than enthused to take pictures! Ps- this is our first "family" selfie and I think it came out amazing! 

 

Later that day we visited a local farmers market to pick up some pumpkins to carve but we weren't too impressed by the selection so we visited the turkeys in the back, picked up a couple pickles and headed home :)  

 If you made it this far in the post then...THANK YOU! I know it was a really really reallyyyy long one but I was cramming all that has happened in a month into one post! I'll try and post more often so I don't share posts like this often and get to choose more pictures (it was super hard narrowing which shots to share and which I'll share later in another post). Anyways, I hope you all have a super great Tuesday and I will talk to you guys again soon! I promise!! :)

xoxo,

Miss Michelle Eva

A Silent Voice

Hello loves! Wow, it has been some time since I sat down and wrote to you all! Feels like I'm getting on a bicycle after not riding for several years. Unfortunately I haven't completely unpacked all of my belongings and I'm sort of at the point where I'm content with leaving part of my life in a box. I am actively working on building my next path and it will include moving to a home for Dallas and I; until then I will leave the remaining boxed. Have you ever felt that way? Its almost like I know where I currently am is a temporary fix to a permanent situation. 

Anyways, I was surfing the web { do people still say that??? Or am I really showing my age after celebrating another year last Monday?!?!?} yesterday and came across this unique campaign aimed at sharing the creators vision of giving a silent help signal for individuals suffering from domestic abuse. Often times the abused feel they are unable to speak to anyone about what they are enduring because they fear their abuser will know or harm them for reaching out. The Black Dot Campaign was created as an idea of how to help those individuals who cannot speak up. 

{photo posted on twitter page of Black Dot Campaign creator}

Although the "black dot" concept has not been used in training professionals who specialize in helping domestic abuse victims, it has already reached 4.8 million people creating awareness and allowing survivors to share their stories. The concept is that a victim places a black dot on their palm allowing that to be their silent way of asking for help. If it is safe for you to get them help, contact the authorities and do so. We must always remember how vulnerable these individuals are and that any intervention should be done by a professional.

This campaign really hit home to me and I wanted to share my story with you after getting wonderful feedback from my previous post. So many people reached out to me and shared their experiences as well as their support of my courage for being so open. It was the first post that I felt I had finally accomplished what I had created this blog to do. My past is full of experiences that have made me stronger and today's post was definitely a turning point in my life. About four years ago I met a man who was going to change my life, for the worst. He was the definition of a sleazy salesman that could sell you a winter coat in the middle of the desert. He was a self centered individual who lived life thinking that every soul he came across owed him something. At the time I was caught up in helping (remember my last post?) him and showing him how I could make everything better, that I didn't see how toxic of a person he was. He literally could do no wrong in my eyes even though he hadn't shown he could do any right. I let friendships, family relationships and even professional relationships suffer throughout the two years we dated. (Just writing that makes me emotional because even though I was lucky enough to be able to piece back certain relations, others are gone forever.) Somewhere within the two years the relationship took a turn for the worst and he became verbally abusive. I do not claim to be professionally educated on verbal abuse, I can only share with you my story. It is extremely important to be aware that abuse can come in many forms whether it be verbal, mental or physical. Each type of abuse can create an everlasting affect on someone and should not be tolerated in any form. One is not more acceptable than the other- abuse in any form is flat out WRONG. For me, the abuse was verbal/mental. My abuser would belittle me and call me names. Then after doing so he would tell me he loved me and that he wished we didn't have to argue. The "arguments" were him telling me he was right and that I should see things the way he saw them. I can still remember the very last one we ever had that broke me. The words he spoke will forever be branded into my memory like an internal tattoo. There was a time I was so broken and had expressed to him my loss of self and extreme sorrow. His response, my abuser, the man who supposedly "loved me" was "It's okay, you don't need to be here much longer anyways". It wasn't until I reached out for professional assistance did I realize what was going on. It was in that moment sitting with a complete stranger that my experience was heard, validated and a path for recovery was paved. I was given a book called The Verbally Abusive Relationship by Patricia Evans, that opened up my eyes to all of the little things that at the time I was calling signs of "love" instead of validating them as signs of abuse. I am blessed that my abuser was someone that I could walk away from and that I can stand up to today. I was blessed to be able to overcome the abuse and to have been able to reach out for help, since I know many are not in the position to do so. I guess that is why this campaign hits so close to home for me. I want every man and woman to feel the respect and happiness I feel for myself every day, because they deserve it. They don't deserve to have someone abuse them, show them negativity and bring them down. I hope that my experience will give someone else the strength to leave a negative situation in result of a positive life that is full of endless possibilites. 

Please join me on social media and support this campaign. Draw a black dot on your palm, snap a quick picture and hashtag it using #blackdotcampaign .  If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you have already seen my shot, but if not head on over and follow me!

{photo from my Instagram account}

Sending you all tons of peace, love and happiness! 

Until next time loves!!

Miss Michelle Eva

Overcoming Obstacles

Hello dears! As you all know I have been super busy for the last couple of weeks moving and putting a new routine into place. All the while constantly thinking about my blog and how I feel like I've lost the ability to make time for a post or two. I've contemplated how open I should be with my followers regarding my personal life and it all comes back to the reason why I started this blog in the first place. I wanted my website to be an outlet for people like myself who love fashion, design, and beauty; but I also wanted it to inspire individuals to dig deep down within themselves and learn who they are and where they see themselves going. 

So if I'm expecting you to relate to me, I feel like opening up to you all will only make that so much easier. We are all human, we all go through ups and downs and experience life lessons in different ways. I know it's cliche but everything we go through in life truly molds the person who we become. Furthermore, the person who we "become" is never finalized until we take our last breaths. With that being said I want you to know that I believe strength comes from weakness, that we gain knowledge from situations that are unforeseen and that we always have the ability to learn more even when we think we know it all. I share my beliefs with you so that you may find comfort in your own obstacles and also relate to where I am in the present. 

As you know I am in my young twenties and have shared with you the general overview of my "world". Well, this "world" of mine abruptly changed one afternoon after a serious discussion with the person I fell in love with. It was time for reality, it was time for truths. In the discussion it was mentioned that we were on different paths, which at the time struck me through the heart. I think mainly because our society is shown the traditional path as: school, date, settle down, get married, have children, raise those children, grow old and then life takes it natural end that I didn't realize that there were different paths. Ever since I was a young child I could not wait to get married and have children. I'm not sure why I saw the role of "mother" as such a critical point to reach in such a small amount of time, but I did. I say "did" in the past tense because the discussion we had changed my view on the path I had chosen to take. Thus far into my life, I have gravitated towards focusing on the people I date, pleasing them and wanting to make their lives the best they could be. Did you hear anything wrong with my last statement? If you say to yourself: no; its okay, I was there too. Thinking in that manner isn't wrong, its selfless. Who wouldn't want someone to put them before anyone or anything else? How satisfying would it feel to know that someone loves and cares for you that much? I think that having that mind set is okay- but not now. Stay with me, I'm going to make sense shortly! Promise! So here I am. This young woman who is focused on this young man and how I can make him happy, how I can be the best thing for him so that he would never want to go. But where am I in this whole equation? Who is keeping me happy? Who is pleasing me? See, thats the lesson and that is why I say the mindset I had isn't necessarily wrong or bad; it's just not useful at this time. My focus should be on myself; on being happy and figuring out what it is that makes me happy. Being a mother will happen in one way or another at some point in my life. Whether it is giving advice to a helpless youth, adopting or even being blessed to birth my own child; my opportunity to share my knowledge will be available and I want it to be valuable and full of experience. 

Understanding and accepting the drastic change in my "world" is a sign of growth and maturity. While I may have my days where I get upset at how things between Dave and I ended, I take a breath and realize the endless possibilities that lie ahead of me. I think of where I've been and who I am becoming and slowly but surely grow this amazing love for myself. It's the craziest feeling! I am finally giving myself the spotlight and acknowledging that I am becoming so strong, stronger than I had been giving myself credit for. I never knew how important this feeling was until now and I hope that each and every one of you is able to experience this. I hope you are able to say " I love who I am.  Today, and everyday." I know that so many of us lack the confidence to love ourselves and I want you to understand how much more positive your day would be if you put the obstacle weighing you down in the trash and left it there! Take the precious moments needed throughout your day to make yourself feel good. Whether its wearing your favorite lipstick, indulging in your favorite snack, taking that shameless selfie :) or changing up your style (like i did! hairstyle that is!), just do it! You're worth it! We all are! Life will continue, regardless if you choose to pick up the pieces and readjust or dwell in the broken glass around you. We all need a good spring cleaning every now and again! 

I hope you all connect to this post and hear where my words are coming from. It is scary sharing my personal life with you all but sometimes the best thing you can do is step outside of your comfort zone...and I'm so there! Join me!

Until next time loves! {and I promise promise promise it will be soon}

Miss Michelle Eva

XOXO

Golden Opportunities

Wellll hellloooooo there loves!! { and the crowd goes wild } Ahhhh!!! I'm making my way back into the blog world with a H-U-G-E announcement! For those of you would have not followed Dallas and I have been busy moving and transitioning into our new life with parental assistance :)  {(I think that is about as classy as I can make moving back home with parents appear verbally)} Yes you can totally steal that if you'd like..pinkies up! So because he and I are moving back home it allows for me to take the time to follow some of my passions. Get ready to see tons of posts, pics and inspirational talks! Wooohooo, uh huh uh huh alright alright alright...party over here whoot whoot...party over 

{music cuts out} 

{cough} 

{crickets} 

Yeah....so....my big announcement is I have also decided randomly one morning to follow my passion for the fashion design world and take a dive into the world of sales, marketing and selling for an absolutely adorable company called chloe+isabel. The story behind the company is something that is so inspiring and I encourage you to take a moment to read it here. My favorite words of Chantel Waterbury, CEO and founder of chloe+isabel are " My mission was, and remains to this day, to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs through social retail." She speaks in a way that touches everyone and is providing me with the knowledge I need to be successful in this as well as my future endeavors. I am incredibly excited and honored to have been chosen by the company to represent them! Another reason why I chose to become a merchandiser for chloe+isabel is because they have an array of diverse collections that are perfect for any woman or man of any age. I cannot wait to show you the items that I have recently purchased and style them for you! They are absolutely fabulous! 

Here are just a few pictures I took of my first shipment after unboxing: 

{Merchant Tote}

{ Shop this item here }

{ Shop this item here }

Tonight we just released our August Mini Collection, "Make It Personal", filled with tons of pieces that celebrate you! I sat on the web chat with the thought in my head of I have to that, ooo and that, oh and that too, oh my goodness I can't live without that either! There are so many cute pieces that I know you are all going to love so head on over to my boutique and get to shopping!! 

This month is a super exciting month for me because it is my start to something new and something I have a passion for! I cannot wait to host my first pop up and share laughs, smiles and create memories with women and men alike! If you are interested in hosting a pop up whether it be you're in the area or you would like to host online contact me here or feel free to message me privately here or here. So many ways to get in touch with me! 

Thank you all for letting me share my exciting news and I cautiously urge you to take a look at our newest collection - I know you'll love it and won't be able to resist spending as much as me! Can't wait to receive my package and show you all!

Until next time loves...and I promise it won't be as long of a wait as it has been! Pinky!

Miss Michelle Eva

XOXO

Versatile Elegance

Happy Tuesday loves! How was everyones' weekend?!? If you follow me on Instagram {if you haven't started yet, now is an okay time to!! I won't judge you..promise! :) } you saw I spent part of my weekend at the beach and oh my gosh was it super relaxing. I can't pinpoint the one thing that makes the beach such an enjoyable place for me but I can say that adding family into the trip certainly made it incredible! Getting away from all the craziness and stress in my life was helpful but at the same time it certainly doesn't make it disappear. I am still super stressed about moving and the time is getting closer and closer so I'm trying to get as many posts up before then to keep you guys from feeling neglected! I cannot believe my life is going to be in boxes...again! {and I know it won't be the last time... insert sigh *here*}

Todays look is super chic and incredibly comfortable! I often look to how I can style pieces around my work environment and this dress was something that fit the criteria. While the price tag isn't the lowest {I'm a girl on a budget} I saw all of the ways I could wear this and get great use out of it. Oh, and yes you guys heard me right this piece is a dress, but here I wore it as a shirt. The dress buttons all the way down to the calf area and can be worn that way. The last way I thought to wear it was as a "cardigan" type style. See?! So versatile!

{ Dress: Forever21, craving this one}

{ Hat: Target (old) similar option here and craving this one for fall }

{ Jeans: Old Navy }

{ loooooveee this open part of the back :)  }

{ Shoes: Target }

Hope you guys enjoyed!! Until next time loves!! XOXO

Miss Michelle Eva