A couple weeks ago on our way back from Durham, North Carolina, we stopped in Asheville, North Carolina to have lunch. Have any of you been to Asheville before? It's a cute, quirky, very mountainous town and it holds one very special restaurant... Posana Café.

We found out about it while looking for gluten free options in Asheville (something I always have to do before going just about anywhere to make sure I'll be able to eat), and found out that Posana Café is 100% gluten free! Sandwiches, salads, pastries... everything is completely gluten-free.

I felt like I was walking into a dream. Since being diagnosed with Celiac a few years ago, I've never once been able to just order anything I'd like off a menu. If I'm lucky, I get a special gluten-free menu with limited options... but most often, I just have to play it really safe with a simple salad. But here, I could choose anything!

The interesting thing is that on their menu, they don't advertise that they're gluten free. Maybe they fear it would turn away people who don't know what gluten is. Whatever the reason, we had such an awesome experience there and are looking for reasons to go back. :) Just thought my gluten-free friends should know!

All I need.

Today is one for the books.
And if it's been quiet around here... well, here's why.
By the time I lay my head on my pillow tonight, I will have worked a total of 14 hours in two different hospitals.

It started with a clinical that I co-led (I know, what?!) for 8 hours, which began at 6:30am. I'm now in my 4-hour break, and I'll go back for what was supposed to be a 12 hour night shift in the NICU. But I asked for grace. Grace for it to only be 6 hours. And they were kind.

My Etsy shop has been so, so busy with new convos coming in at least 10 times a day. So busy that I've contemplated closing it down for the next month just to catch up (i.e. I have at least 80 purses to sew that have already been paid for... and that doesn't mix well with 14-hour days). I know it's stressful being a bride. I've been there. But to get several messages every day saying, "Just checking in to see how the bags are going!" stresses me out beyond belief. I'm a people pleaser through and through, and though I'm not even late delivering the bags, the fact that they could be disappointed in me makes me lose sleep.

I had a professor who once said, "Sometimes you just need to ask for a little grace." It stuck with me. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm in need of a whole lot of grace. Grace from God, first of all, because I am so not perfect. I get frustrated and overwhelmed and impatient and discontent at this over-the-top busy time in my life where people are pulling at me from every single direction. I need grace from you, too. "You" being everyone around me who is in my life. Maybe that comes in the form of a little less pulling, and accepting when I have to say "no" one more time. Maybe it comes in the form of praying for me... I would appreciate that more than you know.

Here's the thing, too. Sometimes "grace" comes with perspective. I need the perspective that wow, I am healthy and able enough to work 14 hours in one day. I feel gifted as a future nurse and am able to minister to people in their deepest times of need. What a privilege. And on top of it, I have been given a gift to design and sew purses that people enjoy, so much that they are in high demand. And not to even mention that I have a husband and family whom "supportive" does not even begin to describe. They are amazing.

I think these things as I remember one of my classmates who was in a near-fatal accident yesterday, who was supposed to graduate in May right alongside me and the 97 others, and may never wake up. I think of his sweet wife. I think of the patients I spent the last 8 hours with whose bodies are riddled with cancer and disease. And I must think, "Thank you, God." In these overwhelming-beyond-what-I-can-take moments, gratitude is really all I need.

GIVEAWAY!

In May, it will be one whole year since I sewed my first bag ever. And because Brighter Day has been life changing-ly good this year, I think it calls for a celebration.

You think so too?

Here's the deal.
I am giving away 5 bridesmaid clutches of your choice with personalizations as a "thank you" for an awesome year.

If you or a friend or your roommate or someone you met on the street is getting married in June or after, you're welcome to enter! (Or if you'd just like 5 clutches and are not getting married... that's ok too!)

Here's what you'll receive:
5 of any bag in my shop - you can customize the colors and add the personalizations. This is more than a $200 value!

Here's how to enter:
Go to the shop: Brighter Day, and find which style of bag you might choose if you win, and leave a comment saying which style is your favorite.

For extra chances to win, leave a comment for each of the following:
- Make Brighter Day one of your favorites on Etsy and leave a comment letting me know.
- Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment. (If you're already a follower, just let me know.)
- Pin something from the shop on Pinterest and leave a comment.
- If you buy something from Brighter Day (anything!), you get 5 extra entries (just comment for each one).

Sound good?
I'll choose a number using the random number generator and will let you know the winner on Monday, March 26.

Ready...

Set...

GO! :)

Good luck!

Inspired.

We're home now.
And it feels so, so good.
Traveling is, by far, one of our sweetest joys in life - but to be home after a long trip might just top the feeling. The comfort here just doesn't compare.

It's rainy and warm and muggy today, and it's nice to get back into the swing of things - especially considering that the "swing of things" only includes nursing school for 7 more weeks. 7 more weeks! I could not be more relieved about that. (Anyone can get through 7 weeks, right?!)

On the tail end of our trip last week, we swung through Durham, North Carolina to visit Shawn's brother and sister-in-law, Erik & Shannon. Our visit with them was too short (as it always is), but the morning we left we had a chance to stop by Shannon's art studio.

Let me just say... Shawn and I both come from amazingly talented, artistic, creative families.
Shawn's parents are musicians. My parents are musicians. Shawn's brother is a graphic designer and web developer. My sister plays piano, writes songs, and sings. And Shannon - our sister-in-law - is an artist. A real artist. An artist with her own studio.

We left inspired. Her space is so uniquely her, and I can only imagine it sparks a million ideas as she walks through the door. 

To learn more about Shannon's art, visit her website here: Shannon Newby

And to purchase, visit her Etsy shop here: Newby Art

Charleston.

"Charming" doesn't even do it justice. Charleston has captivated us. From the pastel-colored houses, to the rich history, to the hospitable people, to the waterfront that's nearly always within walking distance... we adore this city.

In many ways, Charleston feels much more European than it feels American. There are no 5-lane interstates in sight, no skyscrapers, no cookie-cutter homes or massive apartment complexes that you'd find in many American cities and outlying areas. Instead, there is cobblestone. There are gas lamps lining the streets. There are skinny roads. And there is walking. That might just be our favorite part: the walking.


"Vacation" for Shawn and Whitney means as much exploring as possible, and that always involves coffee shops and restaurants. We're not much for laying by a pool reading a book. (I wish we were, sometimes.) Charleston has been the perfect mix of relaxing and invigorating.

And if we weren't enough in love with it, the restaurants have been incredibly accommodating to my gluten-free diet (gluten-free menus abound!) and when we stood in Battery Park overlooking the water as the sun set, a group of dolphins rose to the water's surface just feet from us. Incredible.

I will say, I expected it to be warmer - and it's entirely my fault. I should've looked at the weather. It's been chilly and windy, and while I love being outside, freezing wind is not my favorite (to say the least). It's still been sunny, though, and just as beautiful as can be.

We have eaten two super fancy dinners so far, the first at Slightly North of Broad and the second at Magnolia's. Both had extensive gluten-free menus and we ate like kings. So delicious.

We've also discovered two perfect coffee shops... Hope and Union and Black Tap. Highly recommend both (though I think Black Tap was our favorite).

Oh, and did I mention we're only a couple hours from our dear friend Ilene? We got to see her on our way up from Hilton Head for the first time in two and a half years. Such a sweet time. We love her.