Category Archives: Real Talk

Five Years

Posted on by

2

rachelandjamesEP158

Five years ago today I piled up my car, said teary goodbyes to my best friends, and began the long road trip from Los Angeles to Dallas. I was moving to Texas for my job at Touch A Life and though I was totally daunted by the transition and anxious about what lay ahead (I had only been to Dallas a handful of times, and I knew hardly anyone besides my coworkers), I knew that taking this step would allow me to live out the plan that God had set out for my life. And now, looking back, I see how vivid and rich that plan was, and I truly can’t imagine my life any other way. By moving to Dallas, I furthered my career, came into my own as a woman, and, most importantly, met my husband and made some of the very best friends in the world, establishing community that I truly could never live without, regardless of where I live.

Of course, I know that September 11th marks a very sad time in our country’s history, and I’ve been thinking about and praying for those affected by the terrorist attacks continually throughout the day; nothing could ever change or trivialize what this day means to us as American citizens. But as far as my personal journey goes, September 11th has come to mean something else, something about trust and hope and promise. I’m reminded to live every day with intentionality, following in the path that God has laid out before me. I’m reminded to never take a single second of this sweet life for granted and to trust that everything, indeed, can be redeemed and made beautiful in His time.

Photo via Heather Hawkins from our engagement photo shoot last year – click on the link to check out more photos from that fun session!

Mondays

Posted on by

4

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Even if you love your job (like I do) and even if you consciously attempt to express and practice gratitude at every chance you get (like I do), Mondays can still be shrouded with a cloud of gloom. Weekends are just so delicious, after all, making the Mondays that follow them a little hard to swallow.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I was inspired by Camille Styles’s post about looking forward to Mondays instead of dreading them, so I tried item #1 on her list: schedule a lunch date at a fantastic spot with a darling friend. I woke up so excited to spend time with Heather and catch up over a midday meal at CBD Provisions. After some meetings, calls, and e-mails, I headed to the Joule Hotel, the chic spot that houses both CBD and Weekend Coffee, the latter of which, as you know, I have been dying to try. I was a bit early so I popped into the coffee shop for some journaling and a cappuccino (which was the best I’ve had in a very long while – so creamy and delicious), enjoying the beautiful space and the tasty caffeinated beverage (pictured above on that super cool wooden tray, which, of course, now I want). I moved along to CBD to meet Heather and her adorable baby boy, Finn, for lunch, and we caught up over spicy quinoa bowls, which were unbelievably good. The entire adventure was the perfect midday treat, and the whole experience – spending time with a great friend, exploring a new place, enjoying delicious goodies – gave me such a great boost, motivating me to accomplish my tasks for the rest of the day, a goal that can be tough every afternoon but especially on Mondays. I’m thinking that this kind of special event could become a permanent fixture in my game plan for Mondays to come…

Balance

Posted on by

2

f4309ef76c4a18eac8fe0bcb29118c8a

Is it just me or has this summer been absolutely flying by? Life feels so fast-paced these days, and in many ways, that’s a great thing. Work is stimulating and fulfilling, and our social calendar is filled to the brim with dinners with friends and church commitments and family visits and weekend trips and volunteer work, all beautiful things that I really and truly could not live without. I relish having a full calendar with lots of fun activities on it, and I can never return home from a trip without starting to plan the next one. This is who I am, someone who embraces (and craves!) the fullness and richness of a schedule filled with diverse, meaningful work, events, relationships, and travel opportunities.

But sometimes this fast-paced speed isn’t all that great, mostly because I find myself overlooking the tiny joys that are inherent in each and every day. I had to get some vaccinations recently for my upcoming trip to Ghana (since this will be my 12th visit to West Africa, some of my shots were outdated) and when I called my nurse after my appointment to clarify a few things, she gently mentioned that we had discussed those items during my visit to the doctor’s office. I cannot, for the life of me, remember that conversation. Of course it’s possible that we didn’t have the chat that she referenced (maybe she told another patient?), but this information came on the coattails of me ending up at the bank without the check I needed to deposit, at the grocery store without my list of goodies to purchase, and several other instances that forced me to wonder if maybe I’m moving a bit too fast. Not only am I overlooking some things in my life that need to be checked off of my to-do list (which comes as a shock to such a detail-oriented person), but I am also not taking the time to soak up the little things that I am grateful for because I don’t have the capacity to take all of them in.

I want to redirect my focus, allowing me to fully appreciate every single moment of this beautiful life. That means not checking my e-mail while engaged in a conversation with someone I love, enjoying a relaxing pose during my yoga class instead of contemplating my to-do list, and savoring my lunch at work away from my computer, amongst other things. This means practicing gratitude for the tiny joys in life, the things that can be easily overlooked, things like cuddling with Callie, reading a great book, or feeling the sun on my face.

Ultimately, this is about balance, about celebrating the sweetness that is the proverbial full plate (which includes copious amounts of interesting work assignments, beautiful time with family and friends, delicious food, and the exploration of new places) and savoring the peacefulness in the little moments (those nearly imperceptible things that are so easy to miss if you’re hustling and bustling a bit too much). This is about finding the sacred space in between busy and bored that is equal parts fulfilling and restful.

Image via wifeefiw.tumblr.com

 

Girlfriends & Pie

Posted on by

1

20140709-160911-58151891.jpg

Last night Kyla, Laura, Emily, and I got together for dinner. We enjoyed salads and pizza at Eno’s, a pretty little restaurant in the Bishop Arts District, and afterwards we meandered over to one of my favorite spots, Emporium Pies, for dessert. As we lingered over coffee and pie, I looked around the table and felt myself on the verge of a having a moment – you know, one of those sweet beats in time where you just revel in the gratitude you have for your life, your community, your people.

I’ve known Emily for ten years – we met at Pepperdine University and God has woven a beautiful story throughout both of our lives that have led us to this moment, the one where we both live in Dallas, Texas. Laura and Kyla are kindred spirits who you already know if you’ve read my blog for the last several years – they were my first real pals in this city and they have proven to be the very best friends in the whole entire world. Through connections and get togethers and parties and gatherings, they’ve come to know and love Emily, and vice versa. I love watching the world get smaller like that, sitting by while friends of yours develop relationships in their own right, ones that started because of you but are certainly sustained outside of you.

So I was reflecting on these things, watching as our lives simultaneously change and expand and grow (with the addition of marriages and new jobs and babies and relationships) while also staying a little bit the same. I love that feeling, and I love this season that we’re in, the one that allows us to stay out on a Tuesday night, savoring coffee and pie, friendship and time together.

 

A Portrait of Forgiveness

Posted on by

2

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Nancy Borowick, a dear friend of the Touch A Life Foundation (and me!), is currently at our Care Center in Ghana, West Africa. Prior to heading up to the facility to spend time with the children and shoot some gorgeous images of the property, she stayed in Accra, Ghana’s capital, where we have several teenage girls living communally and learning trades. Many of the girls are becoming seamstresses while one is learning to be a chef and Forgive, pictured above, is learning to be a hairdresser. I have known Forgive and the other girls since they were young, so this photo that Nancy sent me of her was particularly striking – she’s so beautiful, isn’t she? She’s really growing up.

Gosh, how I love this girl’s name: Forgive. I am so bad at offering forgiveness and grace, but Forgive tangibly reminds me of the power inherent in forgiving others and giving grace to those who need it (myself included). Forgive, like the other children in Touch A Life’s care, was exploited at the hands of an adult who stripped her of her identity and worth. In spite of the darkness she has lived through, Forgive is a light in her community and in the world. She is a hard worker who is determined to grow into a woman who can make a difference in her lifetime – and I know she can do it. She inspires me, and I hope that today Forgive inspires you, too.

Wedding Weekend Reflections

Posted on by

2

IMG_9759

I know, I know, you’re probably wondering why I’m still rambling on and on about our wedding festivities. Frankly, I think I’m still living on cloud nine. Being married is such a blessing and as the photos and videos continue to roll in, I get to relive our special day over and over again. I just can’t help myself, really – everything was so perfect that it needs to be documented and shared.

One thing I especially loved about our wedding weekend was that everyone got to spend so much quality time together. Though our wedding wasn’t until Sunday, I headed down to Austin on Wednesday to be with my parents and brother for a few days before everyone else arrived. We had so much fun eating delicious meals (at places like Hopdoddy, Bufalina, and La Condesa), exploring the city, and resting and relaxing together. If you’re getting married soon and you have the luxury of taking a few extra days off, I would highly encourage you to spend some down time with your family – it created such an irreplaceable memory for me.

Since Austin is only three hours from Dallas, it didn’t strike me as a typical destination wedding, but at its core, it was – not one person on our guest list was from Austin, making it a destination for literally everyone. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many of our wedding guests had never been to Austin and wanted to carve out time during our wedding weekend to have fun in the city – I loved that it could serve as an opportunity for a new experience for them. Because of that, people arrived early and stayed late, making plenty of time for my whole family to catch up with loved ones who had traveled to join us for our special day. Nothing felt rushed or condensed – we got to laugh and talk and enjoy one another for as long as we liked.

My two favorite memories, aside from the wedding, of course, took place on Saturday afternoon after our rehearsal lunch and on Sunday morning on the big day itself. On Saturday, everyone was free to rest and relax after we rehearsed and had a great home-cooked lunch together. Organically, everyone (including friends who we love but weren’t members of the wedding party) congregated at the courtyard bar at my beloved Hotel San José. We sipped on delicious cocktails, munched on cheese & hummus platters, and had the absolute best time being all together. At one point, I looked around and felt myself getting emotional (for the zillionth time that weekend) – everyone I loved, from all different walks of life, was in the same place at the same time. It was so surreal. I wanted time to stand still so I could soak it all in. Erin Pommer snuck away to our courtyard suite so she could capture a group photo from the balcony, and she probably doesn’t realize what a gift that picture would be to me – it is truly one of my most favorite images from the whole weekend. As the evening progressed, my bridesmaids, Mom, and I made our way upstairs to order pizza, drink wine, and have a slumber party. Throw an impromptu ice cream run (adorned in our gorgeous hotel robes, of course) into the mix and you’ve got yourself the most fantastic conclusion to a perfect day.

The next morning, my brother and I went for our daily run, which is really the best way to start any day. When we got back to the hotel, we found nearly the entire wedding party (minus James, of course – we didn’t want to see each other until I walked down the aisle!), several of our relatives, and tons of friends from our hometown of Wheaton having breakfast and enjoying the beautiful morning weather at Jo’s Coffee. Once again, organically, people had congregated at a fun spot in town, ending up all together to mingle and eat and relax. While I had listed Jo’s on our wedding website as a place to go, it still amazed me that so many people were there all at the same time. I love the fact that Austin is big enough to offer so many things to do while still being small enough to allow you to run into people you know wherever you go. I had the best time snacking on breakfast burritos, drinking green juice & coffee, and chatting with so many of my favorite people before I got ready to become Mrs. Brown. In fact, I was having so much fun that I was a little late for my hair appointment – oops. Patrick was at Jo’s that morning, too, shooting so much great footage of everyone having a blast together. I love that that footage was showcased in our wedding video – it is so special for me to have that morning captured on film.

Reflecting on these memories just reminds me of how grateful I am for community, and also of how consciously I need to continue pursuing it for the rest of my days. Community is life-giving to me – making memories with people I love is sustaining and soul-filling in a way I can’t really describe. I’m so thankful for the incredible people that walk with me through life’s ups and downs. I could go on and on about them and our memories and experiences but I think I’ll stop here, pausing for one more moment to give a slow clap for the most perfect wedding weekend of all time…

The Beginning

Posted on by

6

Welcome to Coffee & Tacos, a fresh new space where I plan to record my musings about connecting with others through some of my very favorite things – food, travel, faith, and community. Surely lots of other topics will crop up here and there, but for now, that’s the gist. If you’ve followed me over here from Through Painted Deserts, a thousand thanks. I promise to leave my old site up forever and ever (probably more for my benefit than yours – it’s like an online scrapbook that I cherish so very much) so you can always refer back to it. But I’m entering a new season in my life and after giving the idea some serious thought, I decided to enter into a new blog domain, too.

I chose to switch to Coffee & Tacos, this new blog home, when I began preparing for my name change a few weeks ago. My husband, James, and I got married on April 13th (more on that perfect day soon!) and I started thinking about changing my website to reflect my new name (Rachel Brown). That thought process launched me into a rabbit hole of dreaming new dreams about writing and creating and growing and stretching, and I really began considering what it might look like to give myself a more grown-up platform, a more solid place from which to write. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely loved using Tumblr for my blog (I did so for four years, after all!). And I don’t plan to monetize this space, to become a professional blogger, to quit my day job in pursuit of this creative outlet – those are all great things, but they are not for me. Simply put, blogging has just become such a beautiful way for me to record my thoughts, prayers, hopes, dreams, memories, travels, trials, and victories, and I felt that if I wanted my space to be able to continue to grow and change and progress with me into this new season of adulthood and love and life, it deserved a new place to do so. I wanted it to have a proverbial facelift, as it were.

So why the name Coffee & Tacos, then? Very arbitrarily, for literally no reason that I can recall other than the fact that I absolutely love few things more than a fantastic cup of coffee and a supremely delicious taco (even better when they’re paired together), I named the desktop folder in which I organize my writing projects “Coffee & Tacos.” Seriously, I don’t know why. I don’t even remember doing it, honestly. I guess I thought the name was creative or catchy or distinct, a way to set my writing projects apart from my work documents and personal files. But the title stuck, and I began to lovingly categorize all of my posts and pieces (for the likes of Darling Magazine, Bungalow Magazine, and, of course, Through Painted Deserts) in my Coffee & Tacos folder, which began to grow and flourish as I continued to write.

And, somehow, inevitably I suppose, I fell in love with the name. Maybe it’s because I’m so drawn to the concept of cultivating community around the table, of engaging with others while sharing good food and drinks and honest discussion, of finding God and truth and vulnerability and happiness while rooted firmly in a chair surrounded by loved ones and full plates. Or maybe it’s because I found myself gravitating towards other great blogs that had unique names, especially those that were food-related in some capacity. Or maybe it’s because, simply, I really do love coffee and tacos so dang much (if pressed, I’d say that Good 2 Go Taco is my favorite spot in Dallas for both) that I wanted to name my blog after them. My instinct is that it’s the former, that I care so much about loving others by feeding them and opening our home to them that I wanted this blog to have the same effect – that, maybe, you’ll decide that this is a place where you can be loved and fed (or, at the very least, entertained and inspired).

Bear with me as I adjust to this new format – I considered waiting until I had mastered this new site to start posting but that just seemed silly. The writing is the most important part after all, right? So if things change or break or look funny, hold tight – I hope to get the hang of this soon.

Now – stay awhile, won’t you?