A Weekend in the Mountains...

We headed up to North Carolina on October 10th for Nick's cousin Ashleigh's wedding. The weather was perfect, the firepit was blazing, and the wedding was beautiful. We had a great time!

My ringbearer and groomsman

Going on a hayride!

Corn maze scavenger hunt!

Best. Food. Ever.

Leap 'o Faith...

I have waited for this day for exactly 8 years, 4 months and one day. Today is the day that I bid farewell to the confines of corporate America and venture out into the great unknown. This could either be the very best decision that I’ve made, or the worst (scratch that; the perm that I got for my 6th grade school picture will always be the worst). But what I do I know is that being comfortable doesn’t necessarily equate to being happy. So here I go, taking the proverbial ‘leap of faith’ that really feels more like jumping off a high dive, head first, into a pool that may or may not have water.

 

After what seems like a lifetime of hoping, wishing, dreaming and saving, today I can finally say that I am going to be doing what I love for a living. In January of 2014, I will be opening my very own performing and visual arts studio, Studio Seven Center for Creative Studies! I have been a dancer and performing artist nearly my whole life. I never imagined that I could possibly make a career out of it, until I met Nick, who has encouraged me since the day we met to have my own studio. About two years ago, after more prodding from my mom, I decided that I was going to do it. I didn't know when, and I definitely didn't know how. But I began preparing, mentally and financially. I kept notebooks in my car, in my purse, in my phone...any time I got an idea for a class, a studio design, or even a song, I wrote it down. I knew the day would come...so in September, when my company announced they were doing layoffs, and taking volunteers, I raised my hand. It took one month until I found out if my hand-raising would be accepted; on October 7th, it was. I have never felt so liberated and so terrified all at once! But it's here, it's happening, and it's mine.