Tuesday Tunes: Mix No. 10

This playlist is best played after rainfall on the road to your new beginning ++

song list
1. Half Moon - Blind Pilot

2. Pompeii - Bastille

3. Planes Like Vultures - Le Loup

4. Werewolf - CocoRosie

5. Never Let Me Go - Florence + The Machine

6. Now I'm All Messed Up - Tegan and Sara

7. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

8. Love Love Love - Avalanche City

9. 1961 - The Fray

10. In The Sea - Ingrid Michaelson

I have decided to change up Tuesday Tunes a little bit. Each week I will feature my "Top Ten" songs of the week that may have inspired an action or supported an emotion. I hope these songs will find their way into your week :) Enjoy!

Listen on: 8tracks

Shift In The Right Direction

There is something calming and chaotic about the sea. Its immense 

and vast character terrorizes me with its mystery. What lies beneath the sea? 

But the true question always surfaces -

What lies ahead of me?

Even with the sea's restlessness, it remedies my unquiet mind.
The sea, like the future is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

++

This week I needed some healing.

I needed to re-evaluate, find clarity, surround myself with people who believe in me

and see the opportunity of one massive door closing.

It is a new beginning, not an ending.

After this hiatus, I feel a lot better about the shift in direction my life is taking me.

I will never have all the right answers or make all the "right" decisions but that is not what life is

composed off. Life is not a carefully calculated series of perfect events right after one another.

You must make mistakes, struggle, feel lost, question everything and be spontaneous.

The only mistakes you make are the ones you don't learn from.

Here is to the beauty within all the chaos.

Inspiration with Renee of Wild Roses

I’ve been trying to pair up with sweet Melissa to do some guest posting for ages, so when we finally were able to talk and schedule a time I was clap my hands happy. Then she said write a post about what inspires you and I thought, well crap. Why is that question always so hard? So I thought about what gives me that take-your-breath-away feeling. What makes me believe in all the things I dream of doing and makes my brain work a little quicker. A little wittier. The things that are once in a lifetime, these things can't be repeated you see. You can't bottle up the same inspiring moments to use again and again. They must be savored and remembered until you stumble across another. And another.

 

1. I suppose what has inspired me my entire life is words. A well timed sentiment from my fiancé, short lovely poems, sentences carefully crafted to bring out an image or emotion, song lyrics. They all make me dream of bigger things. I planned to be a writer when I was young, and it still may happen. But blogging is a decent outlet for now. F. Scott Fitzgerald and EE Cummings are my favorites. 

2. The second, and I just wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t add it, is my faith. The gracefulness of God and His love keep me going everyday. It gives me peace about my future and excitement over what I’ll be able to do in my life. “Because God is graceful, I am brave.” 

3. Beautiful typography is probably my most recent inspiration piece. Who knew the perfect combinations of fonts and placement could make such a difference? I think this all ties in with my mom being an interior designer. I’ve been raised to look for beauty and uniqueness my entire life. It’s just showing up in different ways in me. 

 4. Which brings me to fashion. Well style really. I am a fashion/life blogger afterall. For me style and fashion are life typography, the right accessories and mix of pattern and color create something distinctive and entirely you. And lets just be honest for a moment. Nothing is “new” anymore. Creativity is just how you reinvent and combine the things that have already been done. So don’t be scared! Wear whatever you want and push yourself every now any then! Gold leggings are back for goodness sake!

 

I’ll leave it at four for now, I am a woman of many inspirations apparently. Thanks again to Melissa for inviting me to guest post! There’s nothing better that real life blogger friends! One day I’ll meet you in New York Melissa, Brooklyn maybe?

Thank you Renee for stopping by The 25th Hour and sharing your inspirations! I would absolutely meet you in NYC, you fashionista! I hope everyone has enjoyed her, "What Inspires You?" guest post during my not-so-planned blog hiatus. I have unintentionally unplugged for the past few days, but will be back to a regular schedule tomorrow after I sort through some things.

Hope these inspirations cheered up some middle of the week blues! Happy Wednesday friends.
Be sure to check out her blog, Twitter and Instagram!

I know what you're thinking. What in the world?

This is me trying to model.

This is me acting a fool.

This is me highly entertained by my discomfort of being in front of the camera.

Enjoy this random gif and happy Friday!

Oh, and if you haven't peeked at my newly launched portfolio website, please stop by!

Portfolio Website Launch!

*drumroll*

After some frustrating and self-conscious days, I am excited to launch my portfolio website! Just like my creative journey, it is always a work in progress, but instead of trying to "perfect" every little detail on this website and be scared, I have finally opened up this heavy door. If you would like to take a peek at my personal + professional creative journey, you can now add www.melissa-vega.com to your bookmarks!

You can find all sorts of photography and design on the blog and services I offer including blog design, branding, logo and anything design-related you can think of! I am officially accepting new clients for blog designs, so be sure to roam around the site. If our styles collide, I'd love to work with you.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive throughout this journey.
Just remember, this is just the beginning!
I can't wait what for what is in store + the bright future.

Some Changes + A Portfolio Website

It has been a little quiet around here because I have been trying to put together my portfolio and create a stable, organized online presence. Talk about frustrating, exciting, scary, vulnerable and downright tedious. In the midst of putting together my portfolio website, I am also trying to reorganize my blog. I feel like it has been a little chaotic and all over the place, so I want to develop this blog a little more clearly and create a stable schedule.

Here's to new changes around the blog and to a portfolio website!
More details to come!

Friday Means Ice Cream

I actually had this ice cream last Saturday in Durham, but ice cream is a good idea of day of the week, especially when it is homemade! I visited The Parlour last week. It is a cute mini school bus food truck that open up a brick-and-mortar shop in Downtown Durham that offers some of the best flavors including my favorite, Salted Butter Caramel.

If you're in downtown Durham, go visit them at 117 Market St, or cross your fingers they show up at food truck rodeos/community events. I wish you all could lick your screens to get a taste of this ice cream, but sadly we don't have that kind of technology...yet.

Mmmmm... I can't stop staring at that ice cream...dripping down that waffle cone...

Find me at Third Floor Studios today!

The lovely Kimberly of Third Floor Design Studio has invited me to guest post today! Check out what I am loving from West Elm lately and how your space can inspire your creative spirit :)

Getting Inspired By: Third Floor Design Studio

Hi friends! Kim here from Third Floor Design Studio - a blog about interior design + all things creative.

As an interior designer I get the question, "how can I give my room a facelift without breaking the bank?!" a lot! Well, you see, design is in the details. The smallest changes can transform a space. I recently started a new series on the blog that solves this very problem + it gives you a chance to show off the changes you've made!

introducing >>>

I would LOVE to see you hop on over, say hello, and join in on the challenge! 

And a big thanks to the incredibly talented Melissa for having me today! 

___________________________________________

Kimberly is such an inspiring and creative spirit! Her talents don't just stop at interior design, but fall into photography and graphic design. Be sure to check out her blog to join the challenge or stay inspired :) Thank you for stopping by!

Megan gets her braces off

So... my beautiful little sister got her braces off! Wahoo! After three years of braces, brackets breaking, rubber bands, no popcorn (well, kind of), and food uncomfortably getting stuck in her teeth, she is free! Getting your braces off are like some sort of rite of passage for growing out of your teenage stage into early adulthood. And if you've never had braces, well, lucky you! (I suffered the same fate in high school.)

I, of course, took advantage of this photo opportunity and made her model for me while I tried my new photo editing tools + practice some portrait shots. She's a trooper ;) We even took a trip to the beach for the sand shots! Okay, we used a volleyball court, but same thing right?

First off comes the braces, then comes college & then comes everyone thinking she's the older one.

They just grow up too fast!

+

Dearest Friends,

Fridays mean:

sleeping in on Saturdays
Sunday brunch
quality time with loved ones
a break
travel
adventure
reflection

So SMILE, because it is Friday and that is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Side note: This is my first attempt at making gifs! A phone call to a friend, Google and some random button pressing, I think it turned out pretty okay. I am excited where this new revelation with take me design-wise!

rock & shop market: this saturday

Poster by The Crawl Space Press

"The Rock & Shop Market is a hip shopping event that features over 75 juried emerging artisans & makers from the Southeast and beyond. These artisans sell their wares alongside bands, djs and food trucks. The market, started in 2004, attracts thousands of shoppers per event, and was the first event of its kind in the Triangle area."

It is as if all my three favorite things are coming together on the best day of the week... Saturday! I try my best to support local artisans, eat at food trucks and be around live music so Rock & Shop is pretty much my version of heaven. If you are in the area, I urge you to go to this event! This is my first year going, but just from all the photos, word of mouth and its mission, I know that this is one event I surely do not want to miss! This Saturday head on over to the Durham Armory... you know where to find me.

Here is a little glimpse of some artisans that be there.

Do you remember my interview with Hannah of Another Feather? She will be there, too!

Be sure the check out their Facebook Event for all the updates and Facebook page.
Hope to see you all there! I will of course be taking photos of the event + blogging about it, I can catch you up if you have to miss it ;)

recent work: one of five blog design

I had the opportunity of working with the lovely Lauren, the blogger behind One Of Five. She was looking for a new blog design to match the changes she has made on and offline. I couldn't have been more honored she asked me to be a part of it! Lauren blogs about the beautiful things in her everyday life. She is also going to Bath, England this summer so you want to definitely follow her along for the ride.

Our design inspirations included using the colors oatmeal + black with a pretty, sophisticated and easy to navigate blog design. We of course used Pinterest to collect our creative thoughts.

As I put together the rest of my blog design online portfolio, you can email me at m.ashleyvega(at)gmail(dot)com for all design inquiries! I am officially taking new clients!

Tuesday Tunes | Boy Series II

image source

Boy Series is back with the second edition! While Taylor Swift writes songs, I make playlists.

Each playlist represents each "crush". As silly as it is we all have either written a poem, a journal entry, write quotes, or anything else to describe how we felt. This is my version.

Here is the second mix// See the rest of the collection here.
01 | Mexico - Jump Little Children
02 | Better Together - Jack Johnson
03 | Do You Remember - Jack Johnson
04 | California - Rogue Wave
05 | Right Me Up - State Radio
06 | Thrash Unreal - Against Me!
07 | Never Say Never - The Fray
08 | Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk
09 | Take It From Me - The Weepies
10 | California - Rufus Wainwright
11 | We Were Made For Each Other - Jack's Mannequin
12 | You Are The Only One I Love - JayMay
13 | Cue The Sun! - Daphne Loves Derby
14 | Stolen - Dashboard Confessional
15 | Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy

Listen on: 8tracks

My Yellow Hat

I have been meaning to blog about this staple item during the Winter season. I introduce to you, my yellow hat, knitted by the talented Leney of A Girl Named Leney. I recently featured on her my Featured Artist and Shop Owner so if you like what you see, get there know her there! (You can purchase your own here!)

This yellow hat is the perfect addition to your wardrobe to rid the Winter blues. It kept the mountain girl in me alive and not my mention kept me super warm! Sometimes I just wear it around my house, just because I can. My hat and I have already had so many adventures together and have travelled to Boone and Boston just to name a few.

In other news, I am diligently working to release my portfolio website and graphic design/photography services! I am learning the art of balance and working from home, so thank you for your kind patience and support. I hope you all have a happy and productive Monday!

See the rest of this photo shoot here.