The Girl Cave

Eeeek! Guys, I am so totally happy to finally share all of these photos with you :) I know some of you have seen the amazing feature that the sweet Jen put together over at Made By Girl. But I too wanted to share the beautiful photos Jenna McKenzie took because I have loved 'em to pieces since the moment I got them back. Looking back on all of my Girl Cave progress posts from the past few months (which you can find here, here and here) it seems like I've really talked this space up; so I am hoping that these photos fill your expectations and more. And I hope all you chicks out there find the inspiration to morph a space in your home, into the perfect cave for you. Thank you so much, Jen! Big hugs. And Jenna, you're a rockstar. Xo

Like I mentioned over at Made By Girl, I've since traded out the blue nailhead chair for two purple-gray armless versions (which are pretty rad), and flip flopped the furniture in my office to better accommodate clients and guests. But I have to say I just love that blue chair and thought it was an awesome purchase for $299 (HomeGoods). It currently sits in our bedroom. The silver lamp base is from Ikea and the white lampshade is from Target. The zebra carpet which has quickly become one of my most favorite details in the room, is from Overstock and was a deal at $180. And remember those white acrylic chairs I told you all that I hated? Well I bought the carpet once I returned the chairs. The white waste basket was $9 from HomeGoods and is used to house my wrapping paper and ribbon. It's a fun little detail that adds a little colour to the room.

My desk is the Josephine desk from World Market, and was on sale for $170 when I bought it back in February. It has a few chips and scratches on it now from bumping it into things during our move, but I adore it because it looks like a cross between West Elm's Parsons Desk (which I wanted so badly but couldn't justify buying) and a desk I loved over at Crate and Barrel. The drawer doesn't open nearly far enough but I love my desk and hope to use it for at least the new few years. My silver cake stands are from Target and my gold rimmed blue tumblers are from a vintage shop downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The white book case is from Ikea (and is such a versatile piece). The white rhino head was a birthday present from my husband for my 25th birthday; remember how badly I wanted this guy? He's from Z Gallerie, and my turquoise geometric print dress is from Lulus. The silver gymnast statue was a birthday gift from my sweet Mum, when I was growing up.

I just love having that pink wall. It's totally my fave thing in our apartment (I don't remember the colour but it's a Martha hue). My gray desk chair is from World Market and is actually a dining room chair. It was on sale for $100. The pink cake stands are from Marshalls. The white bowl is vintage, as are the sea foam green wall hooks. The Mrs hanger is from LilaFrances on etsy and is from our wedding. The green floral print and pink Greek key pillows were hand sewn by me and the white pillow is a ring bearer pillow from Hobby Lobby. The pink flower stud earrings are from Forever 21 (Christina, I know you asked :) and the milk glass vases are vintage etsy. My curtains are from Target and are clipped back to the wall because they are too long. And I'm too lazy to sew 'em. And they're clipped to the wall with thumbtacks. That's how I roll, people.

Be jealous of my peonies. Sometimes I find myself staring intently at them for long periods of time. And you can be a little jealous of my vintage teal tea cart too. I love that it doesn't really match anything in the entire room; except my blue tumblers. One day I'll use the cart and the tumblers to start a really cool mini bar but until then it houses my craft supplies. And it's pretty to look at.

Keep Calm and Hey Gorg On, blogettes. I don't care what everyone seems to say these days about these posters becoming cliche. I love my custom Keep Calm print; it was custom framed at Hobby Lobby. The silver frame on the white shelf is a vintage find and the canvas of the bouquet is from my first Inspiration Shoot and the one that Style Me Pretty featured on Valentines Day. My floral dress is from Forever 21 and the wire letter "R" is Anthropologie. Gray cardigan from Express.

And because everyone loves a good Before and After...

One more just for kicks:

And proof that Girl Cave's make you really happy. See?

Oh and because this little guy works overtime to keep me company all day and night, I had to include some him in here too!

Hugs, everyone!

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Confetti Dreams

I've always had dreams of blowing pretty hued confetti into the air. So yesterday I finally did. And it was glorious. I can now promise you that nothing compares to the magic of watching itty bitty pieces of fun float so slowly into the blue sky. More to come from the lovely Jenna McKenzie who captured my girl cave and yours truly yesterday afternoon. I am one happy girl xo

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My Office Redo {Part 3}

I have a confession for you guys. My office also known as Hey Gorg Headquarters (ha!) is pretty much done. Meaning I have an awesome new girl cave space to hang out in, do work in and if need be, have meetings with my brides in. I am currently waiting on a few more details to perfect the look and a custom framing order to come in but I have to say it's the cutest space in our entire apartment. I feel so at peace in my office and just love what the room represents to me. The cave will be getting her photos taken (yeah I referred to it as 'her') the first week of June so by the end of next month I should have some official photos to share with you. Here I thought I'd share the last little bit of progress I've made without giving away too much!

A few weeks ago Andrew tried to help me hang a white IKEA shelf on my pink wall. I really wanted the wall directly behind my desk to have a shelf and pretty print on it. However, due to how ghetto our apartment truly is, we found the wall bowed really deeply in the middle making it impossible to fasten the shelf onto the wall. So after I sulked for about two point five minutes I decided the shelf could call the gray wall home. See? Isn't my husband such a diligent girl cave helper outter?

So while husband worked on hanging the shelf, I got to work on unwrapping my newest office purchase; my two knock off acrylic cradle chairs from Overstock. I was pretty stoked to get these in the mail and couldn't wait to put them together. In my head they seemed like the perfect addition to my girl cave, providing a little bit of retro in an otherwise very feminine and soft space. They were $200.00 for the set and I thought they'd be great because I could clean them easily and if they needed to be moved, they were easy enough to put somewhere else.

But once they were set up, I wasn't really feeling them. They were too white against the rest of my furniture. And too plastic. And I hated how you could see through the base of them to where plugs and other things I would rather remain hidden would be (I am a cord snob and do my best to always hide them whenever I can). So while husband played with Yurchenko like a good Dad, I sat and tried super duper hard to make myself like these chairs because after all, they took a good hour to put together and no one likes having to return big purchases like this. I actually sat for about an hour stewing over my decision.

But I didn't like em. And couldn't make myself like em. So I rearranged the room. Switched the desk and lamp. Moved the bookcase. And tried to make the chairs work. I sat in the corner of the room trying to visualize everything together but yet again I was completely stumped on what to do; nothing seemed to work and nothing felt completely right. I didn't know where my tea cart would go now and I would still have the problem of my lamp cord being visible through the wire base of the chairs. My problem was starting to look like it wasn't a matter of where the chairs would go but rather, if the chairs should stay.

So any guesses what I did next? :) Can't wait for the big reveal so soon!

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Spring Sweet, Holland Michigan {Sneak Peak}

This was pretty much the best day ever. About a week ago I received an email from Jen, the beauty who will be modeling in my next editorial shoot in June. Turns out she's a rad photographer. And she just happened to be looking for a brunette to pose for some photos because her friend was getting ready to open her new flower market and boutique. And well I have brown hair. And luckily pretty much love any opportunity to hang out with sweet chicks in adorable frocks and cute accessories. So off I went and am I ever glad I did. Did I mention this was pretty much the best day ever? There we all are above wearing dresses from the store Spring Sweet, so lovingly named after the store owner herself, Spring. Next week Tuesday the store will officially open and thank goodness I'm only 30 minutes away. I'm telling you guys this place is a little slice of perfection. Here are a few more photos from our shoot...

The orange dress I wore is actually backless, comes in a turquoise hue and is so super fantastic; I can't wait to show you more photos. We all wore rings and bracelets from the store too. And that sweet little girl above is Gemma. She belongs to the hot Mama is the beige dress with the perfectly wavvy blonde hair. You know the one whose legs are as long as my entire body :) And I could go on and on about the store, the girls, the fun we had but that would defeat the purpose of a sneak peak! How fun is this photo of us five? 

In the meantime check out this piece on Spring and her store from the Holland Sentinel. You can find a little bit more about what you'll find at the boutique as well as where it's located. And if you're anywhere near downtown Holland, Michigan be sure to pop in and say hello! You'll be glad you did :) Be back soon with more from our day out xo

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My Office Redo {Part 2}

Happy Monday everyone. As promised here it is; Part 2 of my office redo efforts (you can catch Part 1 over here). And I've been getting in the ridiculous habit of calling my office the Hey Gorgeous Events headquarters that how much I'm digging this project so far. Yup, almost all 200 square feet of my space is given such a fancy name in my books. How in the world did I become ever so lame? Sigh. Anyway read on and see if you can spot the few changes and additions that have been made. A little I Spy if you will. It'll be fun.

I know what you're thinking though. "But Rhi, not much has changed since your last office redo post!" and to be fair, you're right. Not a whole lot has. I am however trying to keep things somewhat a surprise since I am hoping to have a photog come over to snap some photos of my new space and me in that new space for the new changes I have stored over here. Muahaha. I'm so sneaky sneaky right? Once everything is in place and cleaned up I just know my little office will be equal parts cozy, inspirational and representative of me and my business - three things that were uber important to me before setting out on this revamp endeavor. The walls are 95% finished and the pink wall behind my desk is so adorable and even more perfect that I could have ever imagined. On Sunday, Apb's mom came over to help me fix up the creases where the ceiling meets the walls and I did my best to set up my new book case, put together my new lamp base, and get things organized and in order. So far it is starting to look like something. Something to call my own. And check out that new vintage blue tea cart. I am obsessed with it. And love where it currently sits. Can't wait to show you all the little details!

Don't be too taken aback now by how good I look when I paint.

Some of the things I still need to get are chairs (or one chair) for a sitting area, a small side table, my rhino head from Z Gallerie, a lamp shade for my new lamp, some photos framed for the pink wall, a shelf hung on the pink wall, one last chunk of wall painted (the wall behind the door you can see in the above photo to the left), a mirror for my walk in closest, a trash bucket, and perhaps a carpet for over in my sitting area. Any recommendations for a cheap place to buy pretty chairs or a cheap rug? Do you think a rug would be too busy?

What do you guys think so far? Be honest :) Xo

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My Office Redo {Part 1}

This my friends, is a little awkward. Showing you photos of our little unfurnished, undecorated and rather dingy apartment that is. I feel sort of naked and the photos? Well they just ain't pretty. And I just said ain't. Ew, Rhi. Ew. I gave a little shout out on Twitter asking you guys if you wanted some progress pictures of my attempts to make my first office serve as an inspirational work space and the results sort of blew me away; seems you guys wanna watch this little baby morph into something pretty just as much as I do. Let's go!

This doozie of a room is my office. It's supposed to be the 'master' bedroom in our 1,000 square foot apartment but the layout is tres crappy. There's a bathroom door in one wall which you can see above, an entry door on another, a closet door on a third (where I am standing to take the above photo) and a window on the fourth wall which is off to the right. Our large queen size bed would have had to go under the window had we of decided to make it our master. No thanks. Also, the 'spare' bedroom has bay windows. Which Apb and I love having in our bedroom. So the master has become my girl cave. Three cheers for girl caves everywhere!

Now let me inform you a little on the joys of renting (as if you didn't know). I can't wallpaper anything (sad face), the carpet breaks my heart with it's ugliness (this girl wants hardwood) the doors are dark nasty faux wood (I despise them) and the list goes on. I do realize things could be way worse but I have a weakness for pretty surroundings. So this little project to spruce up my space has become a task of clever design and thinking a bit outside the box; two important qualities of any successful stylist, no? First up: we have the paint. And the painter I hired on contract. Aka my husband. I picked a Martha Stewart gray called Nimbus Cloud for three walls and a Behr pink called First Waltz for the accent wall behind my desk. P.S. I'm not normally as messy as the photo shows. Promise.

The door to my closest directly above, I am hoping to remove and replace with something a bit more neutral like perhaps a curtain or even nothing at all since my closest is fairly organized and my wardrobe is in my opinion a mixture of fun patterns and colours. The desk and chair are both from World Market and my milk glass vase filled with fresh tullies is vintage. And yes indeed that is a pile of approximately 23 Hershey Kisses wrappers from the deliciousness I ate today. Thanks for noticing my chocolate addiction.

Like mentioned above behind me will be my pink accent wall. I picked the wall colours to match my branding and because well, I love em and they continually leave me happy and inspired. Behind me will be a white shelf on the pink wall, filled with various sized frames and canvases of the shoots and weddings I have done. In the corner where you see my husband painting, will be my client area with a seating section, throw rug, side table and cubed IKEA bookcase (I don't care what you say they are affordable and great for organizing tons of your stuff). I have a fun collection of cake stands I am hoping to show off too and a few other quirky plans for making this office pretty cozy so stay tuned for more progress posts! Thoughts so far? Xo

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Moving {Again}

Just a note to let everyone know I'll be back Monday. I am spending the next four days moving our entire apartment and lives back to Michigan where Apb has started a new job. I really despise moving and am a total procrastinator when it comes to getting things packed up so you can imagine how much work needs to be done around here. At least I'll be making the four hour trip this afternoon to drop off a car load full of things. Sigh. Hurry up Monday, I just want to feel settled! Have a wonderful weekend everyone :) XO

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How'd You Get Where You Are Now?

I've recently been getting a ton of emails from my sweet readers wondering if I can share my advice on breaking into the industry, starting a blog and.or starting and managing a wedding-related business. Girls who love weddings, chicks who dig decor, people who obsess over the prettiest shade of pink as I do, they all wanna know how I ended up where I am now. And I can't help but reread their messages over and over again until the lines get a little blurry because I am first of all completely honoured and blown away that people look to me for this kind of advice (honestly, I am 100% flattered), and secondly, when I look at "where I am now" and try to define that pinpointed place, all I see is a desk thrown against the wall in a 900 square foot partially packed-up apartment, my pet kitty sitting by my side and more big dreams any person my size could fit in their head. On a daily basis, I feel so little in this big big world.

I didn't wake up one day and say "I'm going to be a wedding blogger and style weddings." Instead I made some risky decisions and instilled a ton of faith in myself to believe that where I am now is essential to getting where I want to be say tomorrow, next month or five years from now. Each day I wake up with a purpose to do something, one thing, any thing, small or large, that'll get me one step closer to where I think I belong. For too long I was after something that didn't feel like me but rather felt like something that was expected; for years I ran in circles living my life like I was the only person in the world waking up each day, without a purpose or plan. Too many times I played the role of people pleaser, only to forget myself. It wasn't until I got over these made up expectations that I was able to focus on me, my pursuit of self fulfillment and was able to start living the life I had imagined as being ideal for me. 

It's not my purpose or goal to be the best blogger, biggest wedding planner or the most savvy stylist in the industry. I didn't start on my journey thinking this would be a way to make great money; if that was the case you'd find me in med school (yeah right). This blog, my business, my goals, purpose and impact on others are incredibly important and meaningful parts of my life that continually motivate me to be better, to keep swimming, to never stop believing that even the loftiest of dreams are capable of morphing from where you are now-ness to where you want to end up in the future. And that's precisely how you get to where you're going regardless of the past.

What I do know is I believe in hard work, sacrifices, and trusting your instincts and heart. I believe in creating goals, big goals, goals that other's would scoff at but goals that make you feel like like your on top of the world (which is one of the reasons I've never shared my goals with anyone. They are so delicate and near to my heart). I'm still so new to this journey and day by day learn how to go about things the best way possible, but this is my crazy, beautiful life and when I look around at my "now", pet kitty, small apartment and all, I can't help but feel completely at peace with my life. And for that I am one exponentially grateful and entirely happy chick.

Above photo of the sky. On our wedding day immediately after our indoor ceremony. Thanks to the fabulous Amanda Wilcher.

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Pep Talk Tuesday {The Role of a Wife}

"Being married is hard work isn't it?" I get asked this a lot and it never ceases to amaze me how taken aback I am by such a statement. A lovely twitter user today sent me a tweet about what the hardest part about being a wife is and for her it's the expectation of women trying to fit into some traditional role of wife. She told me she wasn't aware that some people think it's a role to be played and for me she hit the nail on the head. Societal expectations of what it means for us chicks to become a 'wife' has me feeling a little fired up.

In the months leading up to our wedding I was really looking forward to graciously accepting this new wife role. I was eager to throw on a pretty apron and get into the kitchen using only the finest of Bed, Bath and Beyond products, stopping at nothing to please my hard working husband like we're we something straight from the set of a 1980's sitcom. It was the ring on my finger, the commitment my husband would be making to me, the perks of being married; these things which all signified that I was worthy enough to be given such a role and so as not to take advantage of such a privilege I wold need to do my very best to oblige by these set standards.

I was raised by parents who placed a lot of emphasis on love, respect, individuality, hard work, sacrifice, success and happiness. Never was I sat down either at home or in a place of worship to be told that being a wife meant you had duties and responsibilities you were expected to adhere to. Any connotation of the wife role that I have, were personally shaped and created strictly out of the things I have witnessed, read, seen or heard rather than what I have been taught. And for me being a wife, means being an important half to the team that Andrew and I have become. We are first and foremost a team, meaning we work together to bring out the best in one another and we work together to create a happy, fulfilling and prosperous life for ourselves as professional individuals and ourselves together as friends, lovers and partners. We love one another equally, so we do what we can to live and support one another the exact same way.

Husband comes home from work many times, and I look up from my computer only to find myself saying sorry a bazillion times because, I haven't fixed dinner, I forgot to make the bed and me? Well I myself look like a hot mess because I've been staring at my inbox since 9:00 am. On nights when I'm frivolously typing away trying to play catch up at my desk and my husband is pushing the vacuum around my work station, I cringe a little bit because I think I've failed at my role. And he's working overtime to fill in the holes.

But you know what, being married really is hard work. I'm only seven months deep into this new relationship status and I know things can be hard or messy or tough or confrontational. We're trying to figure out where we're going to live next, if we can afford a new couch and if we'll ever decide we want to have kids. At worst, we fight, we cry, we disagree. But last time I checked, I remember those five years I spent as my husbands friend, girlfriend, and fiance before becoming his wife were also really hard. And the same things that are hard now during my journey as a wife, were just as tough when I was a girlfriend or a fiance or even, gasp, when I was single (i.e. my studies, my health, my finances, my relationships, my image of myself, and so forth. Remember high school? Just finding an acceptable outfit everyday was hard work). Being a wife doesn't define my existence or my purpose in life so naturally there are other things I encounter in my life that are "hard work". Deciding whose role it is to cook dinner and kill the spiders shouldn't be a toughie.

What's your definition of the whole wife role issue?

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On Chocolate Cookies and Patience

It was 8:00 pm tonight when I decided to tackle a Martha Stewart chocolate crinkle cookie recipe. One that by the looks of it, would take over three hours to assemble and bake thanks to the lengthy chill time. Three hours? I didn't have that kind of time, let alone the ingredients needed for these cookies. Yet off I went to the grocery store only to find myself thirty minutes later standing in our little kitchen, proudly sporting my new frilly apron, delightfully soaking in the whirling noises of our new stand mixer. Just days before you had made the.most.delicious chocolate chip cookies and even I had admitted that they were in fact the best I had ever tasted. But on this night I wanted to prove you wrong. Because I want to be good at something. No let me correct myself; I wanted to be better at baking cookies than you and I wanted my cookies to taste better than yours.

Yet something went terribly wrong. When I noticed the dough wasn't really doughie (I know, I totally just made that word up) and I peered into the sink to find it held one too many pieces of broken egg shells I knew I messed up. Maybe I was too anxious to really make these cookies the best. Better than yours. But I knew it and hated that I had indeed used one too many eggs. I stomped into the living room where you were working on your paper. With undoughie chocolate batter smeared on my cheek, and a sticky, batter-covered spatula in hand, I said a bad word. And I couldn't help it but the tears came streaming down my cheeks, hot and sticky. I turned on my heels and ran quickly to the washroom. Was I really this distraught over one extra egg? You laughed. I couldn't be serious you asked. Oh but I was. That one extra egg? I was so serious about it it wasn't even funny. I sat on our toilet seat and cried. You talked sweetly and quietly to me through the crack in the door. Told me it would be OK, after all it was only cookie dough. You threw out the undoughie batter when I didn't have the heart to. You put your paper - the one due at midnight - on hold to go out and get more bittersweet chocolate for me. Just so I could tackle a Martha Stewart chocolate crinkle cookie recipe - that would take over three hours to assemble and bake thanks to the lengthy chill time - for the second time in one night. 

The dough is still chilling in the fridge. And when I wake up in the morning I will probably forget about it sitting there because those melt in your mouth chocolate crinkle cookies really don't mean much anymore. Instead your unwavering support, ability to hold me up when I feel like falling down and patience in even the most trivial of times is what makes waking up to you, my husband, the best baker in the world, so beautiful. Thank you Apb for loving me through both the better and the worst and for making sure I crack open two, not three eggs into the batter.

And because your such a babe and a great sport, one of my fave photos of you :)

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24

I believe in a hug and kiss at the end of every text message.

I believe in pink.

I believe that high heels make everything OK.

I believe in hugs. Lots and lots of hugs.

I believe in playing a song over and over too many times just to learn the lyrics.

I believe in being strong. In seeing through tears when it seems things can't get any worse.

I believe that girls who are themselves are the prettiest.

I believe love absolutely exists in its purest forms.

I believe that the best of yet to come.

I believe in laughter. In laughing at yourself.

I believe those who take photos of themselves have more fun. And the pictures to prove it.

I believe in blowing out the candles on your birthday cake, every.single.year.

Happy Birthday to me!

And just in case I forget what it takes to laugh at myself, here I am in my 24-year-old glory.

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Nan

What I remember most is your "Hi Dollies," the way you'd stand at the top of the stairs when I would stop by for a visit. Your face always lit up to see me; my heart would grow four sizes bigger when I would see you. Sometimes you would have a pie in the oven. Or something ready for me to eat. The house was always impeccably clean. As if you knew I was coming over. You always knew. You were smart like that. I remember when I was younger. And sleepovers at your house were the highlight of my week. I loved playing princesses in your gowns with Rachel. I always got the pink gown. She had the purple. We'd run around the house hoping you'd forget our fast approaching bed times. We felt so elegant and regal, yet we were so young and innocent. If you could see us now.

I remember when you first got sick too. You were so stubborn you you refused to go to the doctor. We begged and begged and you said you were fine. But we all knew. When you first lost your hair, the cancer society gave you some wigs to wear. And you placed them so nicely in the closest because there was no way you weren't going to rock some gorgeous scarf around your new fuzzy short do'. You didn't need any wig. You were perfect the way you were. I remember you couldn't make it to my last college meet you were so ill. That day I landed a perfect 10 on vault. And I knew you were watching over me. I pictured your face lighting up when Grandpa called to tell you the news. My heart grew four sizes bigger just picturing your reaction. For 20 years you were my biggest cheerleader, saving every result book, picture and newspaper clipping. You made me feel like a winner in even the worst of times.

You were so brave, Nan. Braver than I could ever be. Even at the McNally house. When you wasted away to skin and bones, with just a few stray hairs on your head, you still had time to smile. You smiled while you napped. You smiled when anyone came to visit, even though you were so sick. You smiled when we opened your room door to let the May birds songs drift in. You smiled the biggest three days before you left for Heaven, when Grandpa took you for a drive to McDonalds for an ice cream. How you had the strength to go amazes me. But then again you amazed me all the time.

When I think of you now, I get a funny pain in my palm. This tingly feeling that signals the onset of tears. And the tears make me realize how now that you're gone, I've lost my best friend. Sometimes I pick up the phone to call you, to hear your voice. But you won't pick up. Unless I call to the big house upstairs. I know you'll answer me then. And then we could talk. I could tell you about the wedding progress Andy and I have made, and how I am very much enjoying my internship at the magazine. You could tell me about your walks downtown and your garden. You'd maybe talk about how Rachel is doing, or the damn birds outside your kitchen window. And it would be like old times, just you and I.

You used to always whip out a tube of lipstick when we were together. "Put a little colour on your lips," you'd say. And if I was lucky you'd dab some on my cheeks as blush. You weren't a fancy lady. A no fuss kind of gal. But you loved your lip colour. And you were so beautiful. Thanks Nan for watching over me everyday for the past two years. For reminding me that the simple things in life make the journey worth it. For teaching me about grace, forgiveness, selflessness, and charm. And for always loving me for who I am. It's not good bye, it's until we meet again. I love you.

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