Beauty is my passion, but not the superficial kind. I love what is real + simple + truly fulfilling, but it’s been a journey to get here.
Hi! I’m Ashley. Wife, girl mama, Jesus follower, hair stylist, + homemaker.
I thought I was healthy, until I wasn’t. You see, I looked fine on the outside, but on the inside, I felt anything but. Years of what I thought was healthy eating, coupled with the stress of building a business and endless days standing behind my salon chair, symptoms I could no longer ignore began to pile up.
Inflammation, fatigue, and brain fog began to feel like the norm instead of an occasional frustration. I would wake up every day feeling like I never slept only to look in the mirror to find my face beyond puffy like I had a little too much fun the night before.
I felt like a 40-year-old with dementia and found it was a struggle to stay awake no matter what I tried. For a while, I just thought this was the norm of getting older. But research made me realize these issues were small signals to greater problems in the future.
So I started digging into the root cause of my symptoms.
And let me tell you, once I began to open the door of why I was feeling so terrible, I could not shut out the reality of how toxic our beauty products and foods really are. I was dumbfounded by how misleading marketing really is. But, in the midst, I found two saving graces…
- ONE…I could make changes to what I put on and, in my body, to reverse the compounding symptoms and stop the minor health problems from turning into major ones down the road.
- Two...my newly formed relationship with Jesus could carry me through anything (and I mean anything) I will walk through in this life. He would not just sustain me but fulfill every piece of my heart like nothing else ever had.
So I started digging into the root cause of my symptoms.
And let me tell you, once I began to open the door of why I was feeling so terrible, I could not shut out the reality of how toxic our beauty products and foods really are. I was dumbfounded by how misleading marketing really is. But, in the midst, I found two saving graces…
- ONE…I could make changes to what I put on and, in my body, to reverse the compounding symptoms and stop the minor health problems from turning into major ones down the road.
- Two...my newly formed relationship with Jesus could carry me through anything (and I mean anything) I will walk through in this life. He would not just sustain me but fulfill every piece of my heart like nothing else ever had.
So needless to say, what holds my heart these days is just a little different than it used to be.
My greatest desire shifted from building a successful career to taking care of my sweet little family. My home + making it a healthy place is where my heart is. To be where my feet are + invest the best of me into our home, our health, and our faith.
While I still LOVE the beauty industry and enjoy my days working behind the chair, my priorities lie in the simple things like watching my daughter’s face light up as she greets me in the school pick up lane and sharing conversations about our days while we surround our kitchen island for a meal made with whole foods and a whole lot of heart.
Jesus
my hope
Wife + girl mom
my people
clean beauty
my passion
hiit workouts + cooking
my hobby
what i live by
The Bible’s wisdom,
Balance & grace,
Being authentic,
Simplicity + connection,
The now + not yet
what i Don’t
The World’s deception,
striving & perfection,
Anything fake or artifical
unattainable standards,
instant gratification
“She was beautiful, but not like those girls in magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
I think together what we are really searching for is what is real in this world. Real food, real products, real beauty, real purpose, and a real God that brings them all together for us.
My Why
Writing was never on my radar. Not even a thought in my mind. Not until God pricked my heart in 2020 when the world shut down and I looked at the ladies around me and felt a tug to give them just a little hope when they felt so uncertain. So I began with daily devotionals and encouragement to find joy no matter our circumstances.
Then life happened.
My family walked through a series of trials and losses over the next few years. Cancer, brain tumors, addiction, recovery, addiction again, autoimmune issues, loss and the list goes on. As I sat in my sister’s hospice room, I began to realize one thing. We were so different on the outside, but on the inside we were pretty much the same. Both hurting and broken covered up with a little extra blush and a smile.
Addiction and other health issues may have taken her life, but did not get the final say. God did as He took her home to finally find the peace we had prayed for her for so many years. I realized as I watched her slowly slip away, that so many of us women have this one thing in common…we are really good at walking around like we have it all together but on the inside are just cracked up souls searching for what will truly fulfill us.
One thing I know for certain, my sister’s life was not perfect, but she found that true source of fulfillment and needed God every day to carry her through. On the outside her life was a bit messy, but on the inside, her soul was beautiful.
So here we are today. A lot has changed over the past few years, but one thing remains the same. I am here to encourage you, mind, body, and soul. Because the three need to be in balance or you will never be.
So grab a cozy blanket and piping hot mug, and settle in for a few moments. Dive into each piece that will help make your soul feel just a little more complete.
Whether you pick a post about your hair or your home, all are designed with one thought in mind…to make you as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside.