blog love

I follow waaaay too many blogs. Or, I guess I should say that I follow way too many blogs for the amount of free time that I have. I would gladly read blogs all day, but I kind of have to get an education, so sadly it’s the blog-reading that suffers.

Out of all the blogs I follow, I have a select handful that I always make to take time to read when their new posts pop up on Bloglovin’. Here are some of my absolute favorites – inspiring blogs written by inspiring people! You better go check them out – you will not be disappointed! {Note: my NYC obsession is so, so obviously made manifest in this list…enjoy!}

Hey Natalie Jean – I’ve mentioned her a couple times here before, but her blog is pretty much wonderful. New York City + an adorable little boy + beautiful words = pure blog greatness.

Meg Fee – Meg is currently on a three-month-or-so blogging break, but you can still go explore her site and have an enjoyable time reading past posts. She also lives in New York City, and has a way of expressing things with words that hits it right on the nail, every single time.

Hannah Brencher – Again, more gorgeously crafted sentences and paragraphs that hit right to the core.

Humans of New York – Brandon Stanton walks around New York City all day with a camera and does a truly amazing job of capturing the life and personality of the people of New York.

In the Head of Al Fox – This has more of a religious slant, but I am always so inspired by Al’s words of encouragement and truth.

Love Taza | Rockstar Diaries – Another New York City blogger with adorable children, beautiful photos, and a lovely vibe about her entire blog.

That should be enough to give you all some stellar reading material for a few afternoons! I hope you all have a fabulous day!

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One more day left!

other places to find me (because making friends is fun, right?):

twitter >>> @tessabrynnk

bloglovin’ >>> life and loveliness

pinterest >>> tessa kohler

the delicious thing that is oatmeal

I. love. oatmeal. So much. I used to think it was on the gross side, but now that I learned how to make it right, I love it! Plain oatmeal is a little disgusting, but if you add the right things to it, it can taste utterly delicious.

Some of my favorite add-ins include peanut butter, coconut, chocolate chips, brown sugar, fruit, or sometimes granola. Those all taste pretty great, but my most favorite way to eat my oatmeal (which is also pretty much the least healthy way) is with a combination of three of those. {My apologies for the less-than-stellar camera quality.}

THE BEST OATMEAL YOU WILL EVER PARTAKE OF

Ingredients:

-1 bowl of oatmeal (you can use an oatmeal packet (either plain or brown sugar flavor works best), or make your own by microwaving 1/2 c. oats and about 3/4 c. milk or water together for about 1.5 minutes)

-chocolate chips (as many as your lovely heart desires…I usually toss in 1-2 handfuls or so…I never said this was supposed to be healthy…)

-coconut (again, as much as your lovely heart desires…I usually add about 1/4 c.)

-brown sugar (again, as much as your lovely heart desires…I put in 1-2 good spoonfuls)

Mix it up, savor the rich chocolatey-ness, and enjoy the satisfaction. You’re welcome.

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#blogeverydayinFEB is almost over…am I happy or sad about that?

other places to find me:

twitter >>> @tessabrynnk

bloglovin’ >>> life and loveliness

pinterest >>> tessa kohler

a letter to 16-year-old me

Fun times opening presents on my 16th birthday!

Dear Miss Tessa,

I don’t have a lot to say, because I think you’re actually doing a decent job of figuring things out at this point in your life, but here are some little tidbits…

-Always give people the benefit of the doubt. I promise, those second chances that you keep giving people always pay off in the end, despite how badly you just want to give up on them.

-Listen to promptings the first time they happen, instead of waiting until the very end to be smart.

-Be yourself. As much as you hear this, it is so, so important. What those kids in high school think of you doesn’t really matter in the long run. By the time the high school chapter of your life is coming to a close, most of the people in your class will become chill enough with each other that they are totally fine with you being who you really are.

-Life gets so much better than sophomore year of high school. Keep sticking it out – it’s worth it, I promise.

Best of wishes, and believe me when I say that some pretty amazing moments are in your future.

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This post was written as part of #blogeverydayinFEB. If you’re a blogger, feel free to join in for the last few days!

other places to find me (because making friends is fun, right?):

twitter >>> @tessabrynnk

bloglovin’ >>> life and loveliness

pinterest >>> tessa kohler

the joys of blogging

Blogging…ha, I feel like that’s all I do that is remotely interesting anymore…for some reason my social life has dwindled down to the bare minimum lately, and I’m about ready to turn into a crazy lady that talks to herself all the time and communes with the birds in the park. I’m pretty sure I’m about 78 percent there already. So yeah, while I’m spending this abnormal amount of time at home, I’m just blogging quietly away. And blogging is kind of like talking to yourself, right? So actually I’m probably at about 98 percent crazy lady…

Craziness aside, the past few weeks of blogging have been lovely. I’m feeling slightly worn down from it, which is why this post is late, and there have been times when working on a new layout has me about ready to pull my eyebrows out, but yes, it’s been lovely.

As a whole, the past few months that I’ve been blogging in this particular space have been filled with so many blessings. I’m so grateful to have this little corner to just write, write, write, and interact with people (because, you know, with my steadily dwindling social life, I need some contact with real people every once in a while). I have connected with some truly wonderful, talented people, and I am so grateful to anyone who has taken the time to leave a comment – I have been inspired and uplifted by the enlightened responses to many of my posts.

I’m also forever grateful to everyone that follow this blog, whether by email, or on Bloglovin’, or Twitter, or on WordPress. It may just seem like a simple click of a button, but it is a joyful thing indeed to know that someone out there believes in you enough, and enjoys your words enough to want to read them on a regular basis.

So yes, blogging has brought me joy. It has brought me friendship. It has brought me inspiration. And I sincerely hope that this blogging-thing has some sort of a future, whether it is big or small, just some sort of potential to become something great.

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#blogeverydayinFEB is almost over, but if you’re a blogger, feel free to join in!

other places to find me (because making friends is fun, right?):

twitter >>> @tessabrynnk

bloglovin’ >>> life and loveliness

pinterest >>> tessa kohler

a time for coping

Coping with the bad times is an art that will forever be imperfect. Sometimes life flies in with its swift broom and sweeps you right down before you know what’s happened to you. I believe that in times such as those, there is a moment to cry, and crumple, and look at the world from a lower position than you are used to. But I also believe that after that low moment, there is also a time and a place for a coping moment, a moment to be strong in the face of opposition.

I’m no expert at the art of coping, by any means, but I have found little tricks here and there along the way that make the hard moments considerably better.

When there is anxiety… I pray. And I write. I write around and around in circles, and by the time I’m done, the anxiety seems but a small piece of this overall wonderful experience of life. I search the pages of my well-loved set of scriptures for words of comfort and peace.

When there is stress… I run. I run aimlessly and slowly, without a goal of speed or a long distance. I drink in the fresh air, and somehow the stress seems to calm down. Not disappear, but at least calm down to the point where I don’t feel like crying buckets and giving up anymore.

I drink hot chocolate, sweet and rich. I sip it slowly and enjoy the experience of the warmth running down my throat, filling me and spreading that sensation of comfort throughout my body.

I treat myself to the little bits of happiness that are Netflix, and playing beautiful music, and writing. Disney classics and countless episodes of “Say Yes to the Dress” are my favorites on weekend late-nights. Revisiting old favorites by Bach and Schubert on the piano is my release. And writing my heart out, often about a completely unrelated topic, does the trick with this thing we call stress, too.

When there is fear… I pray some more. And I trust. This is the tricky one, because fear is just there. You can’t get rid of it by finishing an essay, or taking a bubble bath. Fear is often a bit more deep-rooted than anxiety, and much more deep-rooted than stress. This is where the trust comes in. I hate feeling out of control, but when there is fear, that is my time to step back and let life happen. What is meant to be will happen, and it’s my trust and unending belief that everything will work out that keeps me going.

How do you deal with stress / anxiety / fear?

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This post was written as part of #blogeverydayinFEB. If you’re a blogger, feel free to join in too!

other places to find me:

twitter >>> @tessabrynnk

bloglovin’ >>> life and loveliness

pinterest >>> tessa kohler

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