Champagne Tales

I fell in love with these two characters, Ada and Mateo, as I started writing this story two years ago. I may have been quiet from posting publicly, but I haven't stopped writing. I will never stop writing until my last breath on this earth.  Forgetting Paris, is a story about staggered love - two friends' messy journey through adulthood. Join me and dive into this beautiful story that I will slowly unfold. Cheers. Present Day: Ada     I had sworn off smoking a year ago. My ex-boyfriend used to smoke, and I found myself slipping into the habit more and more throughout what I liked to call my spiraling out of control breakup. Even after all this time had passed, I still frequently found myself walking past a small crowd of smokers - outside a restaurant, inside an airport in the designated smoking area, in front of a hotel - I would catch myself looking for a glimpse of him. None of my other friends or other exes smoked. Not one. Only my Nick had. My wild, selfish, art l...

During a time when the entire world is not encouraged to travel - one of my favorite things in this sweet life, I have felt myself dreaming. Nostalgic dreaming back to some of the trips I've taken in my past. Stories that I've written down and never shared with the world. This is from October 14, 2016 after my first trip to Saudi Arabia. Cheers. I find myself in the London Heathrow airport, for another long layover. My eyes are slightly burning with exhaustion, my empty glass of champagne was just carefully taken away from my table, and I wish more than anything I could take a shower. Yet, somehow I’m feeling refreshed and inspired.  My hands can’t stop typing and working as I sit here at my computer looking at all of the planes sitting on the tarmac. I’m reminded of the restlessness spirit God instilled in me, to travel the world, meet new faces and places, and make the world a better place. I’m also reminded of the irony of how I continue to find myself traveling t...

Sometimes you prep for the worst, and even though your mind is ready, your heart will never be. Your heart misses a beat when the unexpected news is shared that sends you into a whirlwind of emotions. But more than anything else, your heart is sad. Sad to hear this news, as a tear slowly drifts down your cold dry face. Your hand is numb from the wintry weather as you hold the phone to your ear, but you don’t even care because you’re clinging onto the words on the other end of the phone. It was news we had prepped ourselves for in September when my husband accepted his new position, but a reality we denied ever coming true. His work hours for two months will make it rare for our paths to cross. 17:00 - 1:30 working hours, with Monday and Tuesdays off. It couldn’t be more opposite of my schedule. Wednesday - Friday, I truly won’t see him, except for if we go out to lunch. It’s a whole different world we are about to face. My heart aches for our missed time together and is sa...

A huge thanks to Harness Magazine for publishing this article I am so proud and humbled to share. https://www.harnessmagazine.com/secret-sauce-three-lessons-marriage/ “I never want to get married.” These are the words I whispered only to myself as a little girl. The words I told myself as I left church as a teenager hearing a pastor utter phrases like, “a woman needs to be submissive to a man.” The words I told myself as I applied to graduate school, deciding I wanted to dive head first into my career and dreamt to be a successful girl boss one day. I told myself I didn’t want to get married as I looked to my own family and realized that children have never been something I dreamt of. And let me tell you quite frankly, I was very wrong. I look back on the little girl I was, and I am proud of how brave I was then. The courage was buried deep inside of me for years with words I never spoke out loud until a drunken evening in college with a childhood friend. We were standing i...

S ince my career began, I’ve forced myself to disconnect on every vacation I take. No email. No phone calls. Minimal text messaging. Minimal social media. How can I resist posting an Instagram photo from time to time? Other than that – I try to completely check out. But I’ve always given everyone a fair warning, usually starting weeks in advance. Usually I say something like, ‘When I’m out, I will not be checking email. So don’t try and find me. Let me know what you need this week.’ It feels like a very un-American thing to do. Completely disconnecting. But it’s a lesson I learned early in my career – to embrace the 10 days of vacation I get each year and truly unplug and recharge. Work hard play hard.  I’ve never been faced with what has happened the past 9 days. For the past 9 days, I have been without a cell phone. Completely 100% unreachable via cell phone or text message. I left my phone in Chicago from a fabulous wedding weekend, and couldn’t get it back until tomorrow...

I had a dream. Years ago, as I sat in a trivial English class with no windows in the entire room of my high-school, and I was instructed to write myself a letter for where I would be in 10 years. It was thoughtless work at the time. Mundane. However, I went through with the assignment and wrote myself the letter. Almost a year ago I was home in Chicago and stumbled across the letter and could not resist the temptation to open it.  Inside were the dreams of a 16 year old with dreams of adventure and love. Two words that make my heart sing in this world 10 years later. I sit here on this stormy night in Mexico City, watching and listening to the thunder outside, as rain pours above my head while sitting at the hotel bar sipping a Malbec wine. Comforts of home swim in my head with each sip of my favorite wine. I smile as I look up to the dark sky. The rain pounds above me on the window above, and I realize the 16 year old Kelly would be proud of me. As a culture, we tend to list...