Four years ago this coming August, Richard and I got married in North Carolina, in a city called Asheville. We spent a beautiful week there and fell in love with the land, culture, and atmosphere. When we had the chance to hand deliver our customers item, get to revisit the state where we got married, and explore a new town there, we could not say no. Off we went to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Cedar Falls Park was our first stop inside Chapel Hill. We spent the morning exploring the trails. The air was warm and there was a light misting falling down, the sensation created a great atmosphere throughout the woods for both the plant life and animal life. The birds chirping, squirrels running around everywhere and the greenery surrounding us no matter where we went. It was hard not to be inspired to mediate and get into our practice of yoga. This back bend was a little straining on my lower back but it feels great to be able to say I engaged my core, and used the tree to allow myself to held the position.
There is something magical about the North Carolina woods. As the sun rose high above the trees the glow created a beautiful back drop that allowed the green to seem even brighter. The overall feel was very whimsical, Richard and I got lost wandering through all the beauty. Captured by the noises of nature and the peacefulness of the quietness of man. No cars, no talking, no cell phones, no noise but nature itself. You become grounded and more aware of your internal spirit when you allow yourself to be in your truest form, one with nature. The serenity of it started this trip off in a very positive way.
A blast from the past! A very close childhood friend of mine and I got to spend time together after not seeing each other for 17 years. It was such a lovely time. When the soul bonds with another, years and miles can interfere, but the bond never breaks. It was refreshing to be near someone who is very much alike myself. She brought us to this wonderful botanical garden, featured in the photo above. This outdoor oasis of a park, nature preserve, and educational center is breathe-taking. If you're ever in the neighborhood, go visit to experience beauty, education, and relaxation all in one atmosphere. Here is their website: http://ncbg.unc.edu/. We stayed so long we got locked in for a few minutes and had to get help to get us out. Catching up after all these years was amazing and the rain held back long enough for us to enjoy all the outdoor beauty as our setting!
Day two started off with our main event of the trip. We met our customer and got to hand her the reclaimed litter box, the beauty featured in the above photo. The experience of complete customer satisfaction is what we strive for at Simple by Lacey. I've worked in customer service jobs my entire life and so has Richard. We worked in jobs solving customer issues of all categories and during my nursing assistant years, I helped patients solve issues from walking to better organization for reach access and everything in-between. Now in our own company and just as a moral in life, we strive to do whats right for our customers and care more about quality over quantity. What a wonderful women we met and have stayed in touch with since. She will be sending a updated photo of the litter box in her new condo in North Topsail, North Carolina. Once I receive this photo I will be posting to our Instagram @SimplebyLacey. Bringing people together and making connections is a huge benefit we get with our company and we love it. Growing our brand has been such a wonderful experience thus far and its just going to get better. The next stages are right around the corner and we are so excited!
The last two days of our trip was held in Richmond, Virginia to attend the Dominion Energy Riverrock festival. It is the nations premier outdoor sports and music festival. We met our two close friends there. Richard and his best friend ride BMX. This festival had competitions for a large arrangement of sports including BMX. Due to rain the competitions were called off, so we took the day to explore the nature surrounding James River.
Surrounding the river are gorgeous bridges that allow you to see all of James River and explore the full river with ease. The trees, rocks, and nature surrounding the river were beautiful, each one more interesting then the last. Look at the resilience in the tree featured in the above photo. The water has washed away all the soil yet the tree and it's roots are strong enough to withstand the constant battle of the water flow beating against it.
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” -Maya Angelou.
Recovery from injury is slow and tedious, you have to be persistent but it is accomplishable. Richard is a example in this photo. He suffered from a bad wrist injury that prevented him from holding handstands for a few months. This handstand was the first one that he felt strong and in control again. He was able to hold it for a solid minute and had no pain after. Stretching, ice, and never giving up is a simple equation that always works to lead to success no matter where your starting point is. Handstands help align the spine and bring a calm to you from being upside down. It helps his body feel better and allows him to mediate. This is a great accomplishment, he is excited to get back into doing them on a daily basis.
I could not help but take the shape and blend with this awesome scenery. The rocks that make up this bridge and archery show the history and enhance the whimsical feel. From the moss covering the rocks and the bottom of the tress, the vines climbing upward using the rock wall, and the gentle brook running through the tunnel the scene is picturesque. Even though the rain seemed to ruin the festival we all had a wonderful time, never let a little rain stop you from having a good day. We changed plans but it ended up being the perfect plan.
Even amongst all of this beauty I still was taken back by how much plastic was drifting with the river. Richard and I have much improvement to go but we hope to encourage more people to join this fight to save our planet. One time use plastic should be the first concern to tackle, that type of plastic is adding up the quickest and is mostly used just for convenience. In most cases spending upfront money for longterm use products like a reusable glass or steel drink ware will save you money in the long run. Adding up all the money you spend in paper and plastic products for on the go drinks, you can help yourself save a lot. That is one way we help to use less plastic, we always use a recycled glass bottle and refill it with our Pur water filter that is attached directly to our sink. Every step towards plastic free counts! Another way to force yourself to realize how much plastic your using is by putting out a bag just for plastic; every tiny piece of plastic you get rid of, place inside this bag for the recycling bin. You can see how fast it fills up and in general where your plastic is coming from. Richard and I are focusing on buying food products that come plastic free as this is our largest category where we end up collecting plastic from. Ultimately we want to be zero waste, while on this journey we will be posting major accomplishments towards this goal. To stay updated check on here and on our Instagram.
We had a wonderful trip and met really awesome people. We are excited for our next trip big or small, any chance to be in nature and exploring a new place is worth the time to us! We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and the positivity continues for the rest of the week! Contact us for Father's day custom items and custom home decor and furniture pieces for all occasions via:
simplebylacey@gmail.com or
etsy.com/shop/simplebylacey
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