Red Velvet Shop: Springfield, MO

The main reason we drove 14 hours to Missouri was for one and only one reason: This shop. Some may find it crazy that we drove that amount, took the time off of work, and spent a good chunk of change, just so we could see this place. I firmly believe that it was all worth it. Totally worth it. 

I have dreams of one day opening up my own shop, much like this one in many ways. I needed a road trip away from the office and daily life for even just a little while. A fire has been lit once again inside of me. My dreams are big. They are scary at times. They are financially overwhelming most of the time. But, being able to see someone else that I don't even really know living out their dreams is greatly encouraging. It's trips like this and experiences like these that keep me awake at night. It has been so long since I have felt the urge to not shut my eyes at my early bedtime and dream with my eyes and my heart wide open. I will see the end of my office days. I will see the molding and shaping of things inside of me. It must happen. I cannot silence them now. 

I purchased the most amazing dress. I wore it today actually. It fits perfectly. An outfit post is definitely in the future. 

I don't really know what the future holds but I know I shouldn't quit preparing and dreaming. Visiting this shop changed so many things in me. 

Lists for Clarity

Don't get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. Walk away, try something new. There is a season for wilderness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This is a season about becoming. Don't lose yourself at happy hour, but don't lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. 

 Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal. Ask yourself some good questions like, Am I proud of the life I'm living? What have I tried this month? What have I learned about God this year? What parts of my childhood faith am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep with me for this leg of the journey? Do the people I'm spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that's keeping me from moving forward?

From Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way 

Shauna Neiquist 

write a book. buy some house plants. have a massive garage sale. go to a farmer's market. walk to the grocery store. use natural cleaning products. revisit 26 things list. learn to mow the lawn. shop at thrift stores more often. cook dinner more. paint some walls. make curtains. bake bread. hang out with more women. plant garden. plants for porch. get out of debt. art and music room. actually follow my business dreams. new diet/gym 3 times a week. christmas cards this year. write more music. make jewelry. crockpot meals. work through sewing classes. create a business plan. etc. etc. etc. 

On this road trip, my mind was full of details. Lists. Dreams. As simple or as complicated as some of these are, putting them to paper brought so much clarity. There is much to do. 

Thoughts on Driving

Last week, we hit the road. No work for an entire week and the only thing in front of us were farms, the promise of BBQ from little hole in the wall places, and the realization that we didn't really have anything pulling us back to work. Paradise. 

I love road trips. I love the time that I get to think, to sort out all of things sitting dormant inside of me, and to dream about the details and future that I only get to grasp every once in a while when life slows down a bit and the office life isn't dragging me down. I was counting down to this trip for weeks, months. The countdown began somewhere around 80 days to go or so. I needed a vacation. We needed a vacation. 

We had one plan in mind: to visit this shop, where vintage dreams come true and where my creativity seemed to have a fire lit underneath it. 

Driving somewhere we've never been forces me to find some clarity. I wrote lists upon lists. Inspiration hit me like a freight train. After the last few months, I needed creativity to pulse through my veins once again. I needed to not sit at a desk for countless hours a day, all the while allowing my dreams to sit quietly next to me. 

This book challenged me to my core. 

It rained nearly most of our trip but I didn't mind. Rain has been a massive force in my life. It has washed me clean, metaphorically and literally, for many years when I lived in the northwest. It is the sign of creativity, a sort of nostalgic sigh of the life I once had and the life I now am blessed enough to live.