Life

Tampa Blogger Ayana Lage - Sandra Morlet photography

On Turning 25

What’s that sense of dread slowly creeping in? Oh, just the reminder that I’m one year closer to 30. (I’M KIDDING.) If the post title didn’t give it away, today’s my 25th birthday. I’m writing this wrapped up in my favorite hoodie with some serious sinus problems, but I’m going to force myself to get dressed and moving soon. You only get one birthday a year, right?

Before I start partying hard, I want to spend some time reflecting on this year, what I’ve learned, and what I’m hoping for in the next 365 days. I’m a planner who loves envisioning the long-term, and it’s often unhealthy for me only because I punish myself for not reaching my goals. 25 was always a huge birthday in my eyes, and I just knew I’d be accomplished and successful by the time the milestone arrived. The funny thing is, I’ve got something that no accomplishment ever brought me: genuine happiness and the reminder that I am strong and full of life.

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My Husband And I Aren’t Soulmates, & Here’s Why That Makes Me Love Him More

If you haven’t spent much time on my Instagram, you may have missed it, so here it is again: I’m “shout it from the rooftops” in love with my husband, who I’ve known since I was 15 years old. But he’s not my soulmate. 

I know this reads like clickbait, but hear me out. When I was a little girl, I thought about how one day, I’d meet my Prince Charming and live happily ever after. That thought process was still around when I was dating — I’d endlessly wonder whether Vagner was “the one” or if I was supposed to keep looking.

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Why You Should Say Yes To A Wedding First Look

Happy Wednesday, everyone! (I’ve started feeling like this introduction is a bit of a copout, but I wish everyone Happy *insert day* so often that I can’t do anything else.) I hope you’re having a lovely week — the past few days have been a bit harder than expected for me, but so many of you have reached out to offer your prayers and given words of support. I don’t have the words for how much that means to me and my family, so thank you.

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This Is The First Thing To Do When Planning A Wedding

HAPPY WEDNESDAY! I’m normally not excited when we’re still so far from the weekend + I’m exhausted (caffeine for days, y’all) but this is the first post of my #WeddingWednesday series, and I’m pumped. I talk about marriage all the time, but I haven’t spent a ton of time talking about our actual wedding. It was featured on A Practical Wedding, and that’s probably the only time I’ve written about in-depth. But I polled my followers on my Instagram stories, and the verdict was that you guys want to hear more about wedding planning, so here we go!

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When You’re Black & Proud With A White Partner, Things Get Complicated

HAPPY WEDNESDAY! I’m normally not excited when we’re still so far from the weekend + I’m exhausted (caffeine for days, y’all) but this is the first post of my #WeddingWednesday series, and I’m pumped. I talk about marriage all the time, but I haven’t spent a ton of time talking about our actual wedding. It was featured on A Practical Wedding, and that’s probably the only time I’ve written about in-depth. But I polled my followers on my Instagram stories, and the verdict was that you guys want to hear more about wedding planning, so here we go!

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24 Things My Favorite Women Wish They Knew At 24

First of all, I have to apologize for the lighting + editing of this picture. It was taken in direct sunlight (literally my worst nightmare) but it’s the only picture I have of me with my mom, grandmother and great-grandmother, so it has to stay. Ok, so now that that’s out of the way —it’s only been five days since my last blog post, but it feels like an eternity! I’m still trying to post three times a week, but work/life/family makes that hard sometimes. But I’m so excited for today’s post that I can barely keep it in — I asked three generations of women in my family things they wish they would’ve known at 24, and the answers are all THE BEST. 

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