Frisco

The Silver Lining of Slowing Down

two kids and their dad in an inflatable pool in their backyard

Where I grew up, we didn’t have neighborhood pools or county festivals. We had gravel and dirt roads. In fact, it was such a small town we didn’t even have a chain restaurant until my senior year of high school. I’ll never forget the line that wrapped around the building on the eve of their opening, everyone just waiting for a taste of the elusive Appleby’s.

But there are some benefits to a slower space and pace, and one is that it breeds imagination. I’m probably as creative as I am because I spent a lot of time alone, telling my own stories from a wood deck or a fig tree.

I started my life in a small town and somehow ended up in Frisco, the “fastest growing city in America.” Things here are easier, more accessible. We have shopping and dining and events galore. Yesterday, I saw a robot on my …

This brisk autumn air in Texas is bringing me all the feels for my very favorite time of year. It reminds me of this moment in Central Park last fall when my sisters and I were celebrating my mom’s 70th birthday in NYC. Nearly the same moment we stepped into the park my eyes locked in on to this golden beauty and my heart lept. (and a ridiculous photoshoot ensued) I can’t fully explain the love I have for this season.

Fall is everything to me.

The changing colors of the trees. Warm sweaters, fluffy blankets, crackling fires, and steaming mugs of anything warming my cold fingers all make my heart feel comfortable and calm. The top is off the jeep for the foreseeable future. There’s a Simmered Cider candle poured in a copper mug sitting on my kitchen countertop. In this very moment, I can feel a long, slow exhale …

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It’s been a few days (maybe a whole week!) since we met here on the blog. I’m citing the image above from Vanessa Corral, of all the lovely ladies from our Confident Spring Style Fashion show, as the evidence of my “hall pass”. (kidding, not kidding) Pulling off a fashion show at that level, as one of our regularly scheduled events was, in every way, more than we could actually handle. It was a wild, hair-brained idea on my part. Just picture me as Thanos, saying “I am inevitable!” and snapping his fingers. . . if you saw Endgame, you know what happened next. (If not, you’re not missing much. #boys)

Of course, I do not think for one second that I am inevitable.

But this time, I had this wonderful vision, that would typically take a team three to four times the size of ours, eight months to a year …

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Y’all, I’m dying that I’m posting this picture of myself here, but I needed to catch your attention with the excitement of the surprise of the full model lineup reveal for our upcoming “Confident Spring Style GNO”. So I looked back at all the videos I made the day we revealed the new venue for this event at 5 Stonebriar Way because that day was so full of fun, and mystery and surprise. I knew I’d be able to find myself making some ridiculous face that would express the excitement I’m feeling today about beginning to announce our model lineup. I started to play part 3 of the venue reveal Voila’!

That was easy.

Apparently I make A LOT of ridiculous faces when I’m sharing something I’m excited about, and you know what? There’s no shame in that. I have a lot to be excited about right now and you do too! …

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This year on vacation, I was determined to do something we’ve never done before. There is a place they call Bioluminescent Bay or “Bio Bay” where you visit by boat or kayak for a “Bioluminescence Tour”. I’ve seen bioluminescence while diving at night, but always heard that if you really want to experience it, this tour is the way to go.

We finally did it and it was truly awe-inspiring.

We took a boat over to the other side of the island where we met out guide and the rest of our tour group just as the sun was setting. We got our little lights and instructions, boarded our two-man kayaks and pushed out into the water. It was at times eery, to be kayaking in the still dark waters under the light of the moon, following only the little green light of our guide. Then moments later it was equally hilarious, as …

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One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to swim with the stingrays. We literally do it every summer and it never gets old. In the “wild” they flock to this particular sand bar of their own free will, because they know the visiting tourists are bringing breakfast (squid). They want breakfast. But we’ve learned from the guides over the years, that they like to be cuddled too. It takes practice to learn how to scoop them up and hold them just under the water so they can still breathe, while rocking gently with the waves, and rubbing their soft white underside.

If you do it right, they will stay there with you, and it’s absolutely magical.

Each year, I try to wrangle one for myself and each year I fail. I’ll get it partially right, but then I’ll come up too fast or hold on in the wrong spot. …

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Let the rest simmer

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Come back from vacation

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