GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS 08.06.19

Gratitudes
Another week with travel included, and I can feel it.

I was back in D.C. on Wednesday to head to the Italian Embassy to help Ayla + Francesco get their paperwork in order for their upcoming wedding. I was sort of excited because I had never been inside of an embassy before. I got to drive down Embassy Row and look at all of the cool houses and buildings from foreign nations. I sort of had this idea that it would be grand inside, maybe that’s because the only events I’ve ever heard happening at the embassies are those balls or galas. I got a smidge dressed up and brought my passport to basically proclaim that Ayla was single, American citizen and with her own free will ready to marry Francesco. It wasn’t nearly as grand as I imagined, we were in what looked like an old holding room with classroom seats, but together with 3 other witnesses we got them all ready to go with their paperwork.

Thursday was a clean-up and organization day, all of my laundry was washed, dried and put away while I made a packing list and finished editing.

Friday morning I was up and out of the house by 5am so that I could head to NYC to see Ayla’s final dress fitting at the famous Kleinfeld’s. I didn’t really know what to expect inside of the store, I’ve seen Say Yes To The Dress, I don’t know how many times, but with television you never actually know what is real and what isn’t. This store was HUGE. I’m talking multiple floors with thousands of dresses. Large groups of girls and women huddled together waiting for their appointment. The entrance reminded me a little of a hotel reception, with an area to check in with a large waiting room. Girls were dressed up! I’m talking heels, dresses, full face of make-up. It was very obvious this place was special. I’m assuming they were filming because there were spaces that were restricted. It was really thoughtfully organized and probably the biggest selection of dresses I’ve ever seen. Ayla’s dress was lovely and very much her style + personality. I won’t give away any details because I’ll be sharing their sneak peeks soon enough.

After the dress fitting we grabbed a coffee and cookie in the city and headed back to NJ to stay with her parents for the evening. Again, I worked editing a wedding while Ayla and family worked on the timeline and seating chart. I had two back to back client phone calls with 2020 couples, I am so freaking excited for the upcoming year!!! It’s going to be my best one yet!

Saturday morning we had errands to run and a quick stop at CVS yielded a haul with a new lasting lip stain and eye liner from a young man in the make-up department that had the most flawless foundation application I’ve ever seen. I’ve been testing out the lip stain and so far I’m impressed. I’m trying to incorporate more lipstick on wedding days but it always rub off on my clothes or my hands and face.

Saturday evening Ayla and I headed back to D.C. so I could wake up one state away from home. Sunday was all about work, I finished and delivered a wedding and worked on a social media campaign before we snuggled in the afternoon to watch The Hack, a Netflix documentary that was VERY eye opening.

We rounded out the weekend with Ayla + Francesco’s engagement session around their neighborhood which was near Union Market! We had so much fun at golden hour walking together to explore behind the building, down side streets and finding a rooftop with an incredible view. I’ll be sharing those soon!

Monday I was back to work at home in the morning and ran errands in the afternoon. I started a new book from Reese Witherspoon’s book club, Hello Sunshine, called Something in the Water. So far I haven’t been able to put it down!

Nail color for this week is You’ve Got Nata On Me, from OPI’s Lisbon Collection. Fitting considering I am still feeling lovestruck with that country! I snagged this last week at TJMaxx – basically my favorite place. This summer time peach is a nice neutral cream polish.

Breakthroughs
Prioritizing friendships I think was a big theme for me this week. Ayla and I have been basically the best of friends since 2007. We met back in 2003, but didn’t really connect and grow close until about 4 years later. Our friendship has always been separated by distance, with Ayla living in Manhattan, Rome and now D.C, while I’ve always been in Virginia.

Somehow we’ve always made each other, our friendship and relationship a continued priority. That doesn’t necessarily mean we speak/text every single day, have a standing brunch date, or even Facetime. More so, we connect when each of us needs too. We show up when it’s important and honestly, isn’t that the point?

I’ve attended countless bridal showers, baby showers, engagement parties, weddings, sip n’ sees, housewarming parties, graduations and promotion parties for friends over the years. And the older we get the harder it is to stay connected; new friendships, relationships, jobs, moves, seasons and ages.

We’ve all felt the effects of faded friendships, and lack of support and joy from those you thought were still close. That’s life I suppose.

I think the 4 hour car ride on Friday morning, paired with the coffee and going to Ayla’s final dress fitting really hit me in the feels. I’m appreciative of the length of our friendship, our effort to continue to prioritize each other, and our personal growth.

As always, thanks for reading! xo.