We bought the building that will be Story Coffee House in the fall of 2020. It needed some love, but we had a vision for what it COULD be. So much progress has been made since we made that purchase. I entertained the idea of blogging about the process – outlining the steps, discussing our hardships, taking progress photos. I did a little of this on social. I shared behind the scenes photos every couple of weeks or so. But I didn’t have it in me to write about, simply because I was TIRED. I’m still tired. But as the days grow longer, I feel a little more energy and a little motivation to knock ..read more

I feel little to no motivation. I’m not sure if this is a result of juggling – my day job, freelance work, my husband opening a business, inching closer to opening my own business, extra-curricular committees, and still trying to have a social life – or the winter weather. My guess is it’s probably a decent mix of both. I’m the kind of person that loves loading up the calendar with things to do, and yet when it’s full, I voice regularly my desire to have a day to do nothing. This is one of those rare days I can actually do almost nothing, if I wish. I may or may not be needed at the brewery f ..read more

Here I am again, reminded of this blog and how little attention I’ve given it in the past year(s). I received an email letting me know my domain registration would automatically renew. I knew I would let it. There are too many memories stored here to let it go. But it also got me thinking of how much I would like to write about, for myself at the very least. Visiting Mt. Petit Jean for a wedding in fall of 2021. The past year has been nothing short of incredible. I’ve grown my role at my job and in that furthered my career. My husband and our dear friends opened their own business – the first ..read more

View from our soon-to-be coffee shop with new glass garage door. The last post I wrote, a couple weeks ago, was titled “Pressure.” I had begun to feel a slight pressure on my chest, like a weight was sitting on it. I believe this was/is a result of trying to do too much. Just as I was wondering what I should do about it, I became inspired. Anyone who knows me even sorta well knows Needtobreathe is my very favorite band. I find them inspiring for many reasons, but one is their incredibly well written lyrics. I have listened to their most recent album, Out of Body, many times. But a week or so a ..read more

When I was in college, towards the end there especially, I was juggling a lot: a student athlete, a TV show for the campus TV station, working a part-time job. One day I woke up and felt like my chest was a bit constricted. It wasn’t an intense feeling, but it was an ever-present one. It felt as if there was a weight on my chest – it pressed gently on my lungs with just enough force to make breathing come a little bit harder. Eventually, I decided it was anxiety. Trying to do too much was having a physical affect on my body. I never went and saw a doctor or anything, nor did I talk about it mu ..read more

The Schisler Building, what will one day be Story Coffee House. I intend to make a Part 2 for this post in a year or two – someone remind me. About a year ago we moved into our current home. The Brick House is an old one, restored in such a way that it both retains its character and yet holds a modern flair. This is the genius of my husband and his father, the pair that are also to blame for my newfound wonder of old buildings. I am in awe of structures built when people still seemed to care. These days there are too many mistakes with too many new structures to list – and I’m no expert so I w ..read more

I met Jackson at a marketing meeting while interning for Gearhead Outfitters. He was fresh off the Appalachian Trail and I was a college student soaking up my time working with an outdoor company. We set a time to meet out at Craighead Forest so I could shoot a video of him for an event explaining his upcoming trek on the Ozark Highlands Trail. He tripped over his words and cursed a lot. When Gearhead decided to open up an outlet store, I texted Jackson and practically begged him to hire me. By the time summer rolled around, he was Little Rock bound to manage a one of the two stores there. I ..read more

Though the past year has been full of personal successes, it has felt quite heavy. Heavy with the weight of emotion. I have been unable to put words down often and yet they churn inside of me constantly. My opinions and my feelings are constantly boiling and when they come out through my voice they seem messy, like overcooking rice that leaves a gross residue on the stove. I rarely write, but when I do, the feelings and the opinions seem more like cooking properly. There’s less of a mess as I form my words carefully and read over them to ensure they are cooked just right. So here I am, back o ..read more

I’ve got to get back to writing for myself. I wrote these words on a small notepad recently after the thought ran itself through my mind at least a dozen times. In the past year, writing has become my day job. I love it – managing content for a community magazine and telling stories of good news. But I also miss writing just to sort through my thoughts – the reason this blog exists, as a hobby, to write simply because I enjoy it. I love telling stories: those of other people, which I do during work hours amidst many other media responsibilities. But letting my own experiences, thoughts and fe ..read more

About a year ago my now fiancé and I moved back to Arkansas. Some dear friends of ours were also contemplating their move and Jackson walked us through a house his dad owns, a house gutted at the time, in case they were interested in buying it post-restoration. As we walked I fell in love. I have never felt about a house the way I felt about this house and I had seen some pretty amazing work from Jeb, Jackson’s dad, who has been restoring old homes for years. But this house wasn’t restored, it was a clean slate and I was in love with both its bones and the idea of what it COULD be. Our frien ..read more