Get ready for a gal with serious style! Julie is amazing. I am happy to say, I know many members of Julie's amazing family. I first met her mom, Sallie, when I did my internship year at the church where Sallie works. Then I got to meet other members of the family, too! Julie has a TRULY HILARIOUS and inspirational sister, Jennifer. She also has awesome cousins and aunts and uncles and a host of other great relatives, too. Check out her blog post on creating a "do it yourself" wedding dress. WOW!
Julie - thanks for sharing your thoughts on life and fashion with us this week; I'm thankful to know you and your whole family, too!
Thoughts from Julie....
When you reach a difficult time in your life, your first thought is “life is so unfair.” You feel like a victim. You feel less than. You feel like you are supposed to be standing someplace else.
A few years ago, I stood someplace else. Five years after moving to Nashville, Tennessee I suddenly became a victim. My house was broken into. My home, my sanctuary, was violated. Adding insult to injury, my long-term relationship was falling apart and I just couldn't bear repeating the eight-to-five, go-to-work-for-someone-else-you-don't-even-like routine another day.
In the shower one particular morning, I didn't have the strength to wash my hair. Such mundane tasks are too much to endure when you are a victim.
On my way into work that same morning, I caught a glimpse of myself in my car's rear view mirror. A piece of my unwashed hair was falling out of my hair clip. I didn’t even recognize myself in that mirror. I hadn't in over a year.
Crossing the street in front of my office building, that stubborn piece of hair fell again. Instantly inside my head: “Ughhh! My life is such a mess that I don’t even have a bobby pin in my purse to clip this stupid piece of hair. I always have a bobby pin in my purse. I’m always so prepared. I’m always on top of things. I need a bobby pin to clip this stupid, stubborn piece of hair. My hair is a mess, my life is a mess!”
At that exact second, I glanced down on the sidewalk in front of me and saw… a bobby pin. Sure enough. There it was. A shiny, new, black bobby pin. Lying on the sidewalk. Right there, right when I needed one.
Even more weird is that I actually heard the bobby pin speak.
“Shut up, Julie.”
And just like that, the universe put me back in my place. I was standing right where I was supposed to be standing in that moment, in that exact millisecond of time.
I instantly felt embarrassed for losing sight of the big picture.
That "big picture" I couldn't see as I picked the bobby pin up off the sidewalk was this:
Just a few short months later, the same broken relationship would be fully restored and I'd follow the love of my life 2,000 miles across the country to Portland, Oregon. I would quickly land an office job at a video production company, and few short months after that, I would move to freelance working out on video shoots styling hair, makeup, and wardrobe for clients like HP and Nike.
Life is giving you exactly what you need at any given second. It's our choice to see it any other way. A different job, a different relationship, a different home could be just a few months away.
Meanwhile, who do you see when you look in the mirror? Are you going through life as a victim, or are you choosing to live as a prisoner of hope?
Today I look in my mirror and see a happily married woman wearing feather hair extensions and bright yellow nail polish (see all of my current fashion obsessions, below).
Unless I'm working from my home office… where pajamas and "un-bobby-pinned" hair are completely acceptable.
A few of Julie's style obsessions:
Check out Julie's awesome blog!
Julie Farnsworth is a freelance graphic designer and video production stylist based in Portland, Oregon.
custom resume design work: http://www.vermillion-design.com/
style boards: http://www.pinterest.com/vermillion
Yay!
ReplyDeletep.s. I need my stylist little sister to hook me up with some feather extensions.
AGREED! I also need feather extensions. So cute! Julie - where did you get them?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etsy.com/shop/zeezoes
ReplyDeletefyi the feather extensions last up to two months and can be curled/flat ironed and washed with your regular shampooing!
you can buy these dyed rooster feathers on clips, or you can purchase from a site like etsy (above) and have them "weaved" into your hair by your stylist.
--julie
www.vermillion-design.com