When the evening hours close-in, I find my mind wanders towards lonely thoughts of missing Ryan. His new position leaves us with little time together, but has definitely deepened my love and appreciation of the man he is and all he does for me. A favorite quote, from a favorite movie, reminds me that our life together is just beginning and it's the imperfections that bind us ever closer. I am a very lucky woman, today (Valentine's Day) and everyday I am with him. - b.

He can still surprise me. After almost 5 years of marriage my sweet husband has developed a knack of sweeping me off my feet when I least expect it. It's not always the extravagant (like a love note) it's more often than not the mundane- doing the dishes after I've had a long day, waking up early to take the dog out, making the 2nd pot of coffee before I even notice we're out. He gets me. 

I wake up every day grateful for his love and fall asleep confident he'll be there beside me through it all. With this note he wrote a little bit more of our love story and we have a lifetime to finish it. - b.

A love of words is something I've been cultivating. I've gathered 5 of my (current) favorites to share with you in hopes that maybe you'll be inspired to share yours too!

1 | Striking- The mysterious older sister to beautiful; striking is more complex, confident, and sensual. It conjures up the exotic. It captures the imagination. If we could all be so lucky to be as remarkably perfect as this word.

2 | Disseminate- Not a word you frequently find in your early 20-somethings vocabulary, disseminate has quickly become one of my favorite career-girl words. It makes a presentation on the importance of distributing the latest manual on [fill in the blank] sound so much less dull. Not to mention how much more authoritative you sound.

3 | Pique- Like jekyll & hyde, pique has two distinctly different sides. A word for the curious, it arouses our imaginations and perks our ears in conversation. Conversely our irrational and emotional selves can just as easily be wounded by our own pride. 

4 | Acumen- Culturally we're all too quick to celebrate the surface, and superficial. Isn't it about time for us to work of developing greater depth of understanding and discernment, particularly in the areas/topics we're interested in? Think how much we could accomplish if we honed our skills to make quicker decisions and better judgements. 

5 | Cultivate- Such a rich and meaningful word. I hope that when I look back on my life I will be able to say that I never stopped improving, acquiring, and developing. A cultivated life is a happy life.

What are some of your favorite words? Give me a shout out on Pinterest or Instagram. - b.