Follow My New Collaborative Blog

Now I know that I've been MIA on this blog, but I hope that you will all check out my latest project with my twin sister, Kelcy.  It's a collaborative fashion, design, food, music, media, & worldly inspiration blog.  

It's called BKC².

Follow our blog & Twitter and please tell your friends!  We will be posting daily!

Let me know what you think :)

life is what you make it

"This life is what you make it.  No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth.  But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up.

Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway.  But just remember; some come, some go.  The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends.  Don't let go of them.  Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world.  

As for lovers, they come and go too.  And babe, I hate to say it, most of them, actually pretty much all of them, are going to break your heart.  But you can't give up because if you give up, you'll never find your soul mate.  You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything.

Just because you fail once doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.  Keep trying, hold on, and always always always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie?  

So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about."

--Marilyn Monroe

i pray you

I stole this from the lovely Kristen...check out her blog.
 Not only is she smart, beautiful, and my friend, but she inspires me <3

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"I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.  

I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.  

I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.  

I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest joys in life may appear bigger.  

I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.  

I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.  

I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye."

"me" day

If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed that all I've been talking about is the rain.  It's so different from Arizona.  In Arizona, the rain stops.  In Milan? It's been non-stop for probably 48 hours.  And according to weather.com, nothing is changing until Thursday.  

Even though I wanted to be a bum in bed ALL day, I ventured out in the rain to do a little shopping.  On the way home, I decided to treat myself to a french manicure.  My nails look so clean now, and it feels great!!  

P.S. I miss my iPhone!! Can't wait to be able to use it as a phone and not just as a wi-fi "computer"

Sometimes it's important to just have a day for yourself.  It's a time to reflect on your past, but also to plan for the future.  

I'll leave you with two quotes that I've been liking recently:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." 

--Steve Jobs

"Sometimes you need to step outside, clear your head, and remind yourself of who you are and where you want to be."

life lessons

Life is short.

break the rules.

forgive quickly,

kiss slowly,

love truly,

laugh uncontrollably,

and never regret anything that made you smile.

it's never too late

"For what it's worth: it's never to late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be.

There's no time limit, stop whenever you want.

You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing.

We can make the best or the worst of it.

I hope you make the best of it.

And I hope you see things that startle you.

I hope you feel things you never felt before.

I hope you meet people with a different point of view.

I hope you live a life you're proud of.

If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

--Benjamin Button, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

somewhere out there

"A guy out there was meant to be the love of your life, your best friend, your soul mate, the one you can tell your dreams to.

He'll brush the hair out of your eyes.

Send you flowers when you least expect it.

He'll stare at you during the movies, even though he paid $8 to see it.

He'll call to say goodnight or just because he is missing you.

He'll look in your eyes and tell you, "you're the most beautiful girl in the world."

And for the first time in your life, you'll believe it."

--Nicholas Sparks

it's the little things

I totally feel like I've been neglecting my blog.  Twitter has kind of taken over my "social media" life...add me @brookeiam.  It's kind of ridiculous actually.  Tumblr's another addicting one.  It's just so easy.  Therefore, I'm making a vow to myself and to my followers to blog more.  Wow...I almost put a hashtag (#) before "blog", like I would have done on twitter.   This is terribly amazing, haha.

I just don't know what to write on my blog anymore! So to get back in the swing of things, here is a beautiful quote that I reblogged on my tumblr (brookeiam.tumblr.com).

"Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference, not change the world exactly, but the bit around you.  Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully, and well, experience new things.  Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance."

--David Nichols (From: "One Day")

that someone

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around.

You tell them things that you've never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. 

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. 

When something wonderful happens, you can't wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement.  

They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. 

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. 

There is never any pressure, jealousy, or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around.

You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.  

The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song, or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever.

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it's like being young again. 

Colors seem brighter and more brilliant.  Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn't exist at all.

A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day's work and always brings a smile to your face. 

In their presence, there's no need for continuous conversation, but you find you're quite content in just having them nearby.

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you.

You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do.  

Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind, or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there's a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible.

You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that's so real it scares you.

You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. 

Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. 

Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."

{via}

--Bob Marley

time

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"Know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change.  

But pretty soon, everything's different." 

--Bill Watterson

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"For everything there is a season, and a time for very purpose under heaven: 

a time to be born, and a time to die;

 a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

 a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

a time to weep, and a time to laugh; 

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; 

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

 a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 

a time to rend, and a time to sew; 

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

a time to love, and a time to hate;

 a time for war and a time for peace."
--Ecclesiastes 3:2

plato's so wise

You know those new "memorable status updates" that keep popping up on the side of Facebook??  Well, thanks to that whole thing, I found a quote that Kelcy posted months ago.  

It's by that Plato guy...the famous philosopher?  Anyway, it's beautiful.

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"According to Greek Mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces.  Fearing their power, Zeus split them in two separate parts condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves."

the painted veil

Has anyone ever seen "The Painted Veil" with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton?  I hadn't even heard of it until I went searching for the origin of a quote I found on tumblr.  

"Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublirai"

or, in English,

"I've loved you for a long time, never will I forget you."

It's a beautiful song lyric, in a beautiful language.  Just imagine hearing those words coming from the voice of the person you love.  

flip a coin

"When faced with two choices, simply toss a toin.

It works not because it settles the question for you, 

but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air,

you suddenly know what you are hoping for."

I hope everyone's been having a good week.  It's midterm season for me, but Spring Break is next week!! :)

some stories

As much as we can plan and hope for what is to come in the future,

anything can happen...anytime. 

That's why it's important to learn to adapt to ambiguity,

and we make it delicious by being excited and intrigued by it.

know and then knew

"It's sad when people you know become people you knew.

When you can walk right past someone like they were never a big part of your life.

How you used to be able to talk for hours and how now,

You can barely even look at them."

I think we all picture one, two, three, maybe four or more people that this applies to just in the time it takes to read the words.  I realized how many people in my life this applies to the other day when I was looking through all of my old facebook pictures [which I like to do when I'm bored...even though there are like a thousand of them].

But at the same time, even though it's sad, imagine where you would be if they were still a big part of your life.  Would you be the same person you are today? Would you be better? Worse? Would you have met the people that make you happiest in the present?  Change is good.  But there are those people who slip away and you wonder what your life would be like if they hadn't.

bucket list

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." --James Dean

I have a mac and clicked on my "stickies" that I haven't looked at in awhile.  I came across a bucket list that I had written way back when myspace was still popular and facebook was just beginning.  I've been lucky to be able to click a few things off my bucket list in the past four or so years.

See a shooting star

Go skydiving  (twice!!)

Go bungy jumping  (also twice!!)

Go zorbing

Study abroad in Italy

Fall in love

Learn to snowboard

Learn to surf

Eurotrip with friends

Be fluent in Italian, French, and Spanish

Crowd surf at an epic concert

Have a song written about/for me

Compete in the Amazing Race with Kelcy

Own a convertible

Go dancing in South America

Jet ski in Cabo

my friend gabi and her cousin
photographed by moi haha

Swim in the Mediterranean

Go to a concert in Europe

Horseback ride in a green meadow

Get flowers delivered to me

Tequila shots in Mexico with Kelcy (we've never been to Mexico together!)

Go clubbing in Barcelona and Paris

Party on a yacht

Cannonball from a houseboat

What's on your bucket list?!

miracle

"There are only two ways to live your life.

One is though nothing is a miracle.

 The other is as if everything is."

catch the wind

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover" --Mark Twain



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"We cannot direct the winds, but we can adjust our sails."

change your world

It's as simple as that.  You and your thoughts/actions are the creators of your future.

shopping surprises

I wonder what these smell like?

So I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love right now, and I just came across this quote that I really liked:

"I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I eat and read and study.  I can choose how I"m going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life--whether I will see them as curses or opportunities...I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others.  And most of all, I can choose my thoughts."

Also...Kelcy and I went shopping today.  She came out with these super cute True Religions and then another pair of jeans.  I couldn't find anything...but I did find these two books for $5!  And it's kind of weird because I just wrote down The Time Traveler's Wife on my "To Read" list this morning, and then I find it in a little second hand shop today!  

Look how ridiculously excited I am...

May I also say that I am very excited to read both of these books because I love both of the movies...and we all know that books are even better than movies.  A Walk to Remember is one of my all time favorites.  I remember the first time I watched it, I woke up the next morning and just felt different.  In a good way.  As far as The Time Traveler's Wife goes, I balled my eyes out.  And not just during the movie.  And not for a few minutes after the credits rolled.  I cried for the next couple of hours.  Even halfway through the funny movie we watched to take my mind off of it.  I have no idea why it affected me so much, so stay tuned to see how the book takes a toll on my emotions.