Hi there! I hope y’all are having a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and the rosé is flowin’.
I’ve been playing with this post for a while. Getting personal on Brooke du jour has always been somewhat difficult territory for me. It is very easy for me to come up with cute quips about my extensive striped shirt collection, but I want to delve a little deeper in this post. Back in January, I decided to fearlessly pursue what sets my heart on fire and move back to LA to be with my family and focus on Brooke du jour. In this post, I promised to always do my best with this blog and produce content from a place of integrity and love. In order to stay true to that statement, I feel like it’s time for an honest life update.
75% of the time I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. Kind of like I’m on a long, windy road trip but f*ck I don’t have service on my phone so Google Maps isn’t working and I’m dangerously close to veering off a cliff.
But that’s being 25, right?
Right?
I am learning. I am growing. I am grateful. I tend to remind myself of that several times a day. Developing my own business has been crazy and challenging, but I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing right now and I trust this path.
I feel like I’m falling in love with LA all over again and seeing it through totally different eyes than I did as a teenager. I have been on a mission to try as many fun new restaurants as my stomach will allow, and I’ve been lucky to do that with new friends. I miss my Dallas friends. I really miss them and what we cultivated over 6 + years of friendship. I miss impromptu margarita nights that are now planned phone calls to catch up on each other’s lives. As an introverted person, it hasn’t exactly been my favorite thing to randomly DM girls on Instagram and ask them out on friend dates lol! But it has been working, and I’m excited about taking on LA with a new group of girlfriends *insert dancing twin emoji
I think it was extra hard for me to totally throw myself into a new life in LA, because a huge piece of my heart was still in Dallas. I felt like I had one foot pressing the gas and the other pressing the brake not sure what direction to dive into. Recently, my Dallas boyfriend and I decided to end our relationship. I don’t want to say too much about this, because while I am trying to be an open book on Brooke du jour, I’m sure my ex would prefer if we didn’t discuss his personal life on the Internet. I will say that I am very sad about this change. The first few weeks were kind of a blur of Doritos, Real Housewives marathons, wine, anger, disappointment, etc. But I ran out of Doritos and had to make a choice- What’s next? How will I channel this energy and create something positive?
I choose joy.
I choose to obsess over what is in front of me.
I choose to evolve under the California sun.
Based on past relationships ending, I know this process comes in waves. It’s all fun and games, you think you’re totally fine and then out of nowhere the good, the bad and the ugly smacks you in the face. The good- coming across a cute photo booth picture that reminds you of a sweet memory. The bad- finding his old T-shirt you used to sleep in and wondering if you’re destined to sleep alone for the rest of your life. The ugly– running into him and his new girlfriend at what used to be your favorite restaurant and you really wish a giant sinkhole would appear and just swallow you up so you wouldn’t have to talk to him and his cute new girlfriend who you are supposed to hate but you want to ask her where she got her adorable pink shorts…
Waves, right?
Anyways, my point with this post was to let y’all know where I’m at beyond the pretty Instagram filters and all that carefully curated BS. Please know you can always do the same with me. What’s on your mind? What kind of realness do you want to see on Brooke du jour?
I keep coming back to this quote, “The one thing you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can. The moment that you feel that just possibly you are walking down the street naked… that’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.” – Neil Gaiman
Thanks for reading, badass babes.
Xx,
Brooke
Outfit: J.Crew top (on sale for $20 with code: SWEET), Levi’s jeans
Accessories: Apolis tote (similar), Target sandals, BP aviators
You seriously sing to my soul and I love you tons!! Proud of you for always being a badass no matter what life throws at you. Truly an inspiration to us all <3
Author
LOVE YOU TONS! I can’t wait to visit you and have a hot cheeto sushi roll in Houston! xx
Love you so much!! Miss you here in Dallas, but so proud of you!!
Author
Thank you, Em! Love you so much! So excited to see you so soooooon!
SO so so so proud of you, Brooke! I feel like I relate to sooo many things in this post. (Including the relationship situation. Sending you a BIG hug!!!) I love that you took a leap of faith and are seeing such growth from it. Keep growing! And come back to visit soon!! 🙂
Xo,
Kate
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Kate, you are such a gem! Thank you so much for your sweetness and kindness : ) I will be in Dallas in a few weeks and would love to see you! I will text you! xx
Yay I am really glad you opened up in this post, honestly things that I can tell are written from the heart are my favourite things to read anyways ! You should be able to get to know someone through their writing and this post was perfect ! Also, love all of the gorgeous flowers, ugh so pretty !
XOXO
Jess
http://jessprainstyle.com
Stay strong Brooke! I seriously love the quote you included! More Soul Cycle girl dates for us to come!!
xx, Jillian
http://rhymeandreason-jillian.com
Aww Brooke I LOVED this post. You’re a beautiful writer and I can totally relate to EVERYTHING you mentioned about the waves that come with a breakup. And LOL to the “wanting to ask her where she got her pink shorts” tidbit…that is too funny and SO TRUE. First off, I am sending so much positive juju to you during this tough time – I know how painful it can be. The good news: You’re beautiful, ambitious, smart, SO kind and incredibly resilient. One of my favorite quotes at the moment is: “Grieve. So that you can be free to feel something else.” Couldn’t agree more – it will set you free. Sending love from Austin! (Ps. Come visit!!) XOXO, Olivia
Beautiful photos, the flower market looks amazing! Love the distressed denim with the stripes, so cute!
Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
Such a well written, authentic, and appropriate post Brooke! I am so happy you are back in LA and we met, so proud of you moving forward in the most respectful way and I say FOR REAL to the dorito/housewive blur haha! We are all human, thanks for sharing a piece of realness!! Can’t wait to see what’s next.
xoxo
-M