Not A Coffee Enthusiast

Tawny Smith April 13, 2018

Fun fact; when I was little, I constantly was getting sick, catching colds left and right and it always would turn into sinus infections. (I think it's because I was a sheltered homeschooled child with a weak immune system) so my parents ended up taking me to a naturopath. I took a little blood test to find out what I was allergic to, turns out I'm allergic to basically everything on some level (I still eat all of it though cause who actually wants to give up gluten? No one. The answer is no one.) One allergy that I actually do stay away from though is coffee. I know I know, all of you coffee enthusiast are just in total despair for me right now. But I really don't actually feel like I'm missing out on much.

Every now and then, I will allow myself to have a cup of coffee but it often comes at the expense of a migraine and nausea. So thank gawwwd I love tea and hot chocolate so much. But when we checked out this little coffee shop in Seattle, I had to get the full experience. Slate Coffee Roasters is definitely not your typical coffee shop. It has drinks that I've never even heard of. Kelsey ordered some cool green drink that was actually quite yummy, and I ordered this little 3 part setup of what basically makes up a drink but they keep it separated so that you can really enjoy each individual flavor. It was actually pretty cool! So for those of you who are major coffee enthusiasts and are tired of your daily dose of Starbucks... this little spot is worth the visit.

Click HERE to shop this dress, it's currently on sale!

Photos x Kelsey Marie Photo

Ferry Ride

Tawny Smith April 7, 2018

I was pretty young the first time I went on a ferry ride. I remember my sisters and I looking over the side of the boat and seeing jelly fish floating around. Our parents even got us these shark gummies to eat to enhance the experience. Something so simple yet so exciting for a child. I think I often take living in the PNW for granted. I like the rain, to an extent, but I hate being cold. So naturally, I am usually pretty miserable living here. But every now and then, I realize how beautiful my home is.

I was driving home yesterday evening, it was sunny and peaceful, true Spring weather. The clear sky allowed me to see Mt. Rainier in all her glory. Moments like that, make me realize how blessed I am. Sure Washington is wet and rainy 87% of the time, but we have the mountains, the ocean, the greenery, the city. Basically the full package. It's easy to wish you could just leave or move somewhere. I think drastic changes in life make us feel like we're progressing, whereas when we stay where we are, even if we're doing the things we love with the people we love, we can start to feel complacent.

I've really struggled with this lately. But I've come to realize that if I am surrounded by the people I care about, and I'm doing the kind of work that makes my soul happy, why am I in such a rush to try and move or leave or get to the next phase of life? Don't get me wrong, complacency isn't a good thing, but you don't have to make some big life change to continue your growth. It's good to have some roots. I know someday I'll look back on this time of my life and wish that I would have slowed down. I'll wish that I would have loved myself more, inside and out, and I'll wish that I would have lived in the moment more than trying to plan my whole future out.

Whenever I start overthinking things and freak out, (and try to plan my whole life out even though it most likely won't end up exactly as planned cause who's life ever does...) my boyfriend likes to say, "We'll let future Hobie and Tawny worry about that" and even though it drives me insane when he says that, I think he could be onto something. So for now, all of the things that I let get to me, like the how's and when's and where's and why's, we'll let future Tawny worry about that. I have to let present Tawny live in the moment before it passes.

Click HERE to shop these fun overalls, they're on sale!

Photos x Kelsey Marie Photo

That's What Your 20's Are For

Tawny Smith February 5, 2018

One of my favorite shows is Sex in the City, (I'm watching it right now actually...) The reason why I say that is cause I totally felt like Carrie during this shoot in the intro of each show when she's running around the streets of Manhattan with the little catchy theme song playing.

Sex in the City is funny, entertaining, and can be a bit graphic. But it also has some scenes that have created memorable quotes, one of my favorites is... "Enjoy yourself…that’s what your 20’s are for. Your 30’s are to learn the lessons. Your 40’s are to pay for the drinks." And boy, am I trying to enjoy myself. Just a heads up, this blog post is going to lean more on the personal side, which I usually save my personal posts for my editorial shoots/blog posts, but this topic just fits the bill.

I've been told on numerous occasions that I have an old soul, I enjoy making friends with old people at random places, and my Facebook age test told me I was 46... So, I'm a weird 21-year-old, but I like it. With that though, I have this constant desire to accelerate my life. I worry that I am doing nothing with my life and am just wasting it away. I'm worried that I'll miss what God has planned for me, and I'll look back on my life and be disappointed in myself and be sad that my life didn't turn out how I pictured it would. Ha that got dark, but these are seriously some of my greatest fears and I know there are plenty of you out there that fear the same things as me; but no one wants to admit it, because we are all obsessed with making it look like we totally have our lives together. #livingmybestlife!

It's funny cause one of my closest friends, who is also in her early 20's, is feeling the same way. Her and I both feel like something in our life is missing, or we aren't doing enough. But what I have come to realize, is that I have become very restless. I had a little meltdown moment in the car with my boyfriend and I just word vommited all of my emotions about this onto him. He slapped me with some truth though that's for sure. First off... he had to remind me I'm only 21 and that I am doing pretty darn good for that age. He also reminded me that we all have a process, and whether I like it or not, this season that I am in is an important part of the process. There are things to learn, and experiences to grow from. I've decided to put an end to my restlessness... it is SO EASY to say "Oh ya I trust God, he's got me" but if we fully did trust Him, then we wouldn't be so stressed about life all the time! So, I am making a whole hearted effort, to replace the restlessness with peace, faith, and contentment.

I honestly wasn't planning on sharing any of this, I don't really like to get this personal on my blog cause its supposed to be about happy things like fashion! But once I started typing I couldn't stop. So maybe someone else needed to hear this too. Don't let the fear of the future get in the way of you enjoying the now. Be content in your season, but not so content that you become stagnant. Just remember; none of us have it all together, it's not a competition, and if you do your part and trust your process, God makes it work out in the end.

And for those of you who ignore what I write, I hope you like the pictures : )