Author: Elaina M. Avalos

Writer. Dream Chaser. Choosing to live a wildly beautiful life. Love pine trees, dogs, Jesus, & wine.

You Mean Well But Aim Low

Published on by Elaina M. AvalosLeave a comment

This video (premiered today) just makes me love Gracie even more. I feel like I wrote this song.

My favorite lines from this change every time I listen to the album. But here’s the favs today:

“you mean well but aim low
And I’ll make it known like I’m getting paid”

“(You were the best but you were the worst)
(As sick as it sounds, I loved you first)
I wanna speak in code
(I was a dick, it is what it is)
(A habit to kick, the age-old curse)
Hope that I don’t, won’t make it about me
(I tend to laugh whenever I’m sad)
(I stare at the crash, it actually works)
I love you, I’m sorry”
– Lyrics by Gracie Abrams & Aaron Dessner

What if you give me one minute?

Published on by Elaina M. AvalosLeave a comment

“Watch this be the wrong thing
Classic
God, I’m jumping in the deep end
It’s more fun to swim in
Heard the risk is drownin’, but I’m gonna take it
I’m gonna take it”
Songwriters: Audrey Hobert & Gracie Abrams

What if you give me one minute? And then all the rest of them?

If I told you how much I think about you, would you believe me? If I told you I need to feel my hand in yours, for just a minute – just give me one minute, would you give it to me?

Never mind.

One minute wouldn’t be enough.

Don’t give me one minute – unless I can have as many as possible.

I’d just ask for more and more of you. I’d ask for your quiet moments, your joys, your storms, and everything in between. I’d ask for the mundane, the chores, the highest highs and the passion. I’d return the favor. I’m at my absolute worst right now. If you stay, even then, I’d never stop reaching for you. I’ve seen you petulant. I’m still reaching for you.

If I handled you like I wanted to, we’d be caught in love and in bedsheets, and every moment of the weirdness and beauty of life. What if life was fair and I always got what I wanted? I’d have you. You’d be here – next to me. We’d be recovering from the day, together – as the night settles in around us. Would I ever grow complacent with feeling the rise and fall of your chest, if you were next to me? My guess is no. I’m certain I’d never forget how it feels to turn around and catch you watching me. I’d fight to keep us there, even when reality sets in, and it’s easier to choose separate corners and bruised egos.

You are laced through the lines of my poems – in the inspiration that stirs. When you read my words, you see us as clearly as I do, don’t you? What if I handled you like I wanted to? What if we moved in tandem everywhere? What if you give me one minute? And then all the rest of them?

Hygge Lifestyle

Published on by Elaina M. Avalos1 Comment

📷: Photo by Alena Zadorozhnaya

Hygge is my favorite concept. I am working at a more hygge lifestyle. If you haven’t heard of it, the basics are:

*It’s a Danish idea and word. It’s tough to say. It is pronounced as “hooga”.
*Hygge is a cozy quality that makes a person feel content and comfortable.
*From the Danes themselves, they define hygge as being “about taking time away from the daily rush to be together with people you care about – or even by yourself – to relax and enjoy life’s quieter pleasures.”

There could be many ways to define hygge for you. While there does tend to be some concepts that seem to be shared with those of us who are working toward a more hygge lifestyle, it can also be a very personal idea. There are those who might feel as though spooky Halloween movies are hygge. There are others who might find that is not hygge in the least. What is comforting, relaxing, and helps you “enjoy life’s quieter pleasures” may not be the same for someone else.

I am working at cultivating a more hygge lifestyle. Some of the ways I am working on that include:

  1. Decorating with softer light and adding “fairy lights” or white string lights, that are used throughout the year (not just during the holiday season).
  2. When searching for something to watch or listen to, more often than not, I’m gravitating toward television shows, podcasts, movies, etc., that create that feeling (or remind me of it). An example of a super hygge movie for me is You’ve Got Mail. When I need a break from the world, I am re-watching Newhart on Amazon Prime.
  3. Fresh flowers, plants, and thoughtful displays of beautiful things (beautiful to me) in my home. This one is interesting because Danish homes may have a more minimalistic aesthetic. I am not minimalistic in the least. But I still think what I love to have around me is hygge.
  4. Working at remembering the delight and joy around me.
  5. Letting lovely *art like this one, below . . . inspire me and remind me of the kind of lovely environment I want to be in and around.

This is a short list and not definitive. But I wanted to share a few examples as I work toward resetting my clock – back to a time in my life where living a hygge lifestyle was my life more than it wasn’t.

Have you heard of hygge and if so, what are some ways you try to practice a hygge lifestyle?

*I don’t know who created this art. I’ve done a reverse image search and can’t seem to find the origin. I originally found it, here. More than happy to give credit to the artist if I find them.