Melissa, What HAPPENED?

2023 was tough. I’m sure the time will come when I can share more about some of the things that befell us in that year, but for now I figured I just needed to start somewhere and the rest will follow.

You may have noticed that my blog looks super weird with posts that are really outdated. That’s because in April of 2023 my entire blog was deleted. We were in the middle of a cross country move and by the time I realized it, the backup copy had been deleted as well. I started this blog in the summer of 2016 so that was almost 8 years of writing gone. So far I’ve only found one very old copy. I was pretty devastated, but there is a copy on the Wayback Machine so maybe I can recover some of it from there.

We went back to Virginia to renovate a home we had there and get it ready for sale. It had been rented for some time and when we got there- you guys…….!!. I’ll show you a few before and after photos. I did most of the work myself and y’all, it was A LOT of work! I’ll be writing more about that entire process and sharing more decor pics soon. There is actually a lot to share.

While we were in Virginia, my parents moved from the home we all grew up in. That brings it’s own bittersweet time, but I’m glad I could be there and could help out as needed while they settled into their beautiful new home. They really love it and it’s just perfect for them!

When we got the Virginia house done, we moved back to Colorado, back up into the mountains. This house is filled with natural light and the views are just amazing. I’ve been incredibly blessed by the serenity and calmness that this house gives me in spite of several pretty big issues that we are dealing with inside and out.

We had to say goodbye to our daughter and son in law as they were heading back to South Africa. They both work for our non profit there and are truly changing lives. We’re so proud of them but it’s hard to be so far apart and I’m sure some of you deal with this too.

We witnessed the dissolving of serious relationships and all the upheaval, heartache and finally.. healing that it brings.

We’ve combated serious injuries.

We’ve been the recipient of some very serious lying, cheating and stealing. It’s shocking the lengths that people will go to for money.

I’ve worked hard to kind of, “protect my peace” during this time. I love my country but I find the current state of things in the US positively toxic and if we’re not careful it can harden us in a way that I don’t want any part of. I’ve long been the kind of person that when I perceive a threat to my person or family, I get quiet and “circle the wagons”, lol.

It’s been a very long ,uphill battle mostly due to decisions made by others that were outside of our control. I’ve lived long enough to know that these things usually do right themselves eventually, but the road is long and the battle is hard.

Through all of this, I will tell you that this family of mine is made of steel. I’m so proud of my husband and our kids. Everyone helped everyone else. We’ve been especially kind to one another because we know how hard everyone is working right now. We’ve all stuck together. We’ve made changes to prioritize family time, where we can all share openly. We’ve prayed fervently for one another. For help, for healing, for justice and for direction.

Ours is a broken world, so hard times will come for us all. Laying solid ground work during the good times will be what enables us to stand. And stand we shall.

I’ll share more about all of this at a later time as I’m able. But a lot of you have messaged me and I really appreciate that. As for the blog, I’ll just “Begin again”. I look forward to talking with you about skincare, makeup, fashion, home decor and all the rest! I love learning from you ladies and I hope this will blog will rise from the ashes (too dramatic? 😂 ) even better than before!

Thank you so much for reading, for hanging out here, and for your friendship. I have a new facebook page if you’d like to follow/chat with me there and I’m very active on Pinterest.

Let me know if there is a particular subject you’d like to see me tackle. And If you need an ear, I’m here.