The other day I was discussing with my friend Laura interesting places to photo shoot. She mentioned a pink motel near my neighborhood, and although I've lived here for three years I had no idea there even was such a thing close by. We immediately made plans to meet up and find the elusive pink motel. After wandering around the downtown area, taking photos for my College Fashionista article, Laura and I set out on our search. Sure enough, as soon as we drove closer to my house, there sat the pink motel. We explored the retro place, and Laura snapped these photos - huge thank you for being my photographer for that part of the day!

Because the motel had such an old fashioned look, I styled a modern take on a dated style with high waist shorts and strappy details. Oftentimes, things of the past resurface, whether it's style or old feelings. We're so quick to jump on it, I think because it brings up a sense of nostalgia of a time that we don't want to let go of quite yet. We end up clinging tightly to the idea of the past, the thought that if we just keep it around long enough things won't have to change. But do you see the harm in this? We're so caught up in what once was that we forget to look forward to what is to come. What if better things are ahead, but we're hindering our own selves by not moving on? How do we know that this isn't the very reason we feel stuck?


Today I propose that we quit allowing the things of the past to define our present and future situations. No more do I long to be held captive by the feelings of absence or anxiety. I want to define my own future without any say of the former sentiments. Each coming moment has the ability to be something vastly different from what we have once felt or experienced. We have in us the potential to alter each of our lives into something unlike what we believed was resolute, unchanging. We hold our feelings and experiences in our own hands. What do you say we do something different this time?

I recently received this skincare scrub sample in the mail from a sweet new friend, Amanda Smith, who works with Rodan + Fields. This is a micro-dermabrasion paste, or as I call it, an exfoliating scrub. It has a sweet, almost citrus kind of smell and feels light but hard enough to gently scrub my face clean. After washing it off, my face felt unbelievably smooth and refreshed, as it the scrub cleared up all of the makeup, oil, and imperfections. I have tried other exfoliating scrubs before, but this particular one bypasses them all!

Amanda is incredibly passionate about this company and greatly encourages community. I had heard about Rodan + Fields previously but never gave it too much thought. Amanda wanted to ensure that I knew the significant impact that this company has made on her life, not only through its high-quality products but with the connections she makes through it. She works with a team of loving, Christ-like people who support one another and build each other up. 

Community is essential in anyone's life, especially that of a believer. We need one another for fellowship and support. I definitely understand Amanda's sincerity about her enthusiasm for this aspect of her work. When we have other like-minded people involved in our lives, we become stronger, more loving people all around. Recently, I have been attending the college group at church to connect with other believers and further grow my faith. Though it has helped, I seem to have mistaken my initial reasoning for joining the group. If I don't stay around and talk to people, I tend to feel rather down on myself, as if I failed on a mission of some sort. As a result, I end up constantly reminding myself that it's okay if I only talked to one person or left shortly after it ended. Community is a great thing, until we place so much emphasis on it that we lose sight of the reason we wanted it in the first place. I intended to attend group functions with people my age, not just to make friends or connections, but to delve deeper into my faith in God which ultimately affects who I am as a person. My main mission in life is to have a firm relationship with God and allow my life to reflect that for others to see and want more for themselves as well. 

Meeting friends like Amanda is truly a special opportunity, as it opens doors to try new things - like this skincare scrub - and allows for the encounter of a community of loving, thoughtful people. One difference of those who work with Rodan + Fields I have found is that they care not only about their products but about the people that they come across, whether on social media or in real life. 
You can order this same skincare scrub here and look into Amanda's site here.
Amanda can be contacted at acnitcher@gmail.com for product questions or inquiries on how to get involved in the company! 

It's  a day that some people dread and others await eagerly. Me? I'm a bit in the middle on the so-called holiday. For one part, I am a total pink fanatic, as this outfit lends proof. I gravitate to anything in a pink shade, as though its some sort of magnet.

Aside from Valentine's Day being an excuse to wear all pink all the time, I love the concept that there is a day all about love. But I think we as a people might have mixed things up along the way in terms of what "love" is. Every post I come across from bloggers or influencers is all about "self-love" and why it's "the most important relationship you could ever have." I have a difficult time with this statement, though. Sure it's essential to take care of yourself, but I don't think it should be our greatest concern when it comes to love. It says in Mark 12:30-31, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."

Nowhere does it say to love yourself above others or to place more value on your personal relationship over your relationship with others and more importantly with God.  We must first love the Lord our God. And not some wishy washy love. It's not saying to people "of course I'm a Christian" and living otherwise. It's really investing in your relationship with your creator and savior, getting to know who He is, and giving up your heart to allow better change to come. Your life should be living proof of the love we share with our God, further extending into your relationships with others. When we have that firm foundation of love with Jesus, we hold so much love inside of us that we can't help but lend it to those around us. And so we love others as ourselves. 

I can't stress enough how crucial it is to not follow the world's standards of love, but rather to take note of how the Bible tells us to love. Then we can rest in the knowledge that we are made whole in love, and our relationships can be connected to a solid, unbreakable foundation.




I could talk all day about what real love means, but if I'm being completely raw here, I seem to have built a wall of bitter feelings towards love over the years. I don't know if it's a result of seeing many relationships around me collapse or watching those that I've cared about walk away. But somewhere along lines I've begun to believe that there might not be such a thing as a soul mate kind of love. There's just so many questions. How do you know it's the one? What if you meet someone later that is actually who you're supposed to be with and you made a colossal mistake? What if they decide you're not what they want? What happens if they leave?

It's a tough thing, love is. It's frightening and complicated... but there's this faint glimmer of hope that maybe with the right person, it won't be that way. The questions won't matter and possibly won't even be there anymore. It could be the opposite of what this world has made it into. And maybe for that reason, this day isn't as miserable as it could be for a single person such as myself. Because even if I haven't yet found that kind of love, I still have the love of my God and those around me that I am thankful for.

I know that for many this is a lonely, difficult day. All of your surroundings - the couples, the hearts, the word "love" displayed everywhere - just remind you of what you don't have, or maybe of what you lost. But hope can be found in knowing that you are loved. You are loved by the one who made you and sent his son to die for you just so that you could be with him again one day. It's a love greater than any we could find on this earth with another person. Of course it's nice to have a physical companion, but take heart in knowing that despite your current relationship status, you still have a love to celebrate on this Valentine's Day.