February 19, 2015

January Outtakes




The concept of a fresh start can be so empowering and crippling at the same time. To realize that we have the ability to change our lives at any given moment is so powerful. The weight of unexplored possibilities and hopeful dreams can almost be too much to bear. 2015 is well underway, and the newness of the new year has begun to wear off. What started as a blank canvas for all things awesome to happen has turned into a daunting hurdle to just get through. Suddenly, the remaining eleven months seem to be simultaneously too little and too much time. Too much time spent mindlessly toiling away at work, and too little time spent accomplishing our actual goals. The new year always brings about hopes for the future, and so with our ambitions higher than ever, just getting through the day, the week, the year isn't gonna cut it anymore. That'd be settling, and we choose to be better than that.




We've both been told that we may never be truly happy because we don't strive for mediocrity. We are constantly and restlessly looking to be better and do better. Our dreams are big and ever-growing, and we are urgently and desperately chasing them. We're prone to stretching ourselves too thin and to doing too many things. However, we have come to terms with our lifelong sentence of discontent, and with the fact that we may never achieve our capricious dreams. This lingering disgruntlement is our biggest weakness and our greatest strength. Too many nights in January were wasted away needlessly wallowing over bad days, wondering just how we were gonna make it to the weekend; but a life lived only on the weekends is not a life worth living. Now is the time when our resolve to change and grow (i.e. resolutions) begins to wane. But here's to going to the gym when we don't feel like it. Here's to resisting those cookies in the staff room. Here's to exploring the unknown, one adventure at a time. Here's to never settling with just getting through it. Here's to living not just on the weekends, but every single day. And here's to chasing the ever elusive uncertainty of success.

"Success is never owned; it is only rented. And the rent is due every day." -- Rory Vaden

30 comments:

  1. I love these shots! So crisp. And y'all are stylin' in your black and leather. :)

    Love the quote- SO TRUE. Gotta hustle.

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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  2. Your pictures are absolutely beautiful. 'Nuff said :)

    -Blaze Ann
    www.p31beauty.blogspot.com

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  3. Such lovely images- what a talented photographer you are!

    lovejoanna.com

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  4. Love the photos! It's about the journey not the destination. So we need to be celebrating the daily successes that we have accomplished daily that are the baby steps leading towards our big goals. Time is ticking away and since it's the most precious thing we have in life, let's cherish every moment we can. When we are open to receive the little gifts that the universe sends us at every moment, we have a lot to be grateful for and feel successful about.

    www.LUXESSED.com

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  5. I really like that apart from outfits you also shot places you visit and dishes you taste.
    Nice round up.
    x
    Stella from a A Shiny Place

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  6. Such great pictures! Love these.

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  7. you words are always so moving and uplifting, dear!! :D
    great snapshots this month! can't wait to see more every week! :D

    Animated Confessions

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  8. These are beautiful shots, I especially like the last one. I hope that this month sees you continue to stick to your resolutions and get closer to those goals you have set yourself :)

    Away From The Blue

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  9. You always have the best photos, I love the one with the light coming through the window
    xo
    www.laurajaneatelier.com

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  10. The pictures are stunning and your post is so inspiring Jasmine!
    Thanks for sharing your stunning writing skills!
    XO
    Jeanne
    http://fashionmusingsdiary.com

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  11. All of these pictures are absolutely incredible!!

    xxx
    Camilla
    http://avenuecamilla.com

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  12. Very cute! Hope you'll stop by for my latest post!
    www.LoveOlia.com

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  13. Beautiful photos and very inspired post. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting yesterday. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  14. I loved reading this post. Love your photos as well - great pictures!

    xoxo

    Kaley

    My Closet Life Blog

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  15. your photos are amazing, as always!

    :)
    vanessa
    grace-and-gratitude.blogspot.com

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  16. Beautiful photos. & love what you wrote, it is all so true!! Life can be crazy at times but never forget what makes you smile xx

    http://floralsandsmiles.blogspot.ca/
    twitter.com/floralandsmiles

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  17. Those are really nice photos!
    Specially love the couple style shot)

    Tanya
    www.stripesnvibes.com
    BlogLovin

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  18. This is a brilliant post overall, but I've just got to express my love for the incredible photo of the deep green leaf covered with water droplets - wow!!

    Gabrielle | A Glass Of Ice

    x

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  19. loving your photography skills!

    xx Sabrina | GYPSYTAN.CO
    IG: @gypsytan

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  20. Great words of inspiration, in the words of Nike, just do it. Love the outtakes as well! The third one down is particularly stunning :)

    Mili

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  21. Omg. Girl. Your photos are amazing! Truly talented :)

    Enclothed Cognition
    Instagram

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  22. OMG! Those are amazing photos! Seems like I just attended a photo exhibition!
    Really great photography skills!!!
    XOXO from Shanghai

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  23. Beautiful photos! I love how you captured the details of the city - really tells a story. xx Kat

    Love and Ace

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  24. Cool photos!
    Have a nice day lovely!
    xo from Italy,
    Sonia Verardo
    http://www.trenchcollection.com/

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  25. You are such a talented photographer!

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  26. That first photo is superb! Loving your January outtakes so much. And I'm kind of obsessed with the messages from this post. I am known to have big dreams but people (more so the generation before us) keep telling me to settle for mediocrity because I'll never be happy. It's a safer choice that I should make but I've only known that the bigger the risk, the bigger the rewards (potentially). Thank you for some motivation!

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