November 2025 Gratitude🍂

November seemed a lot calmer than October, but things are changing just as the leaves did.

November was a good month and I’m excited to practice more mindfulness in scheduling, peacefulness and achieving my goals.

Lunch back at one of our favorite places in Hilton Head
Dinner with our best friends
A much-needed girl dinner
Piedmont dog park
Viagra Boys!!!
The best way to wake up
A new routine in La Mezcla class
A beautiful sunset with Alex and Linley
Exploring Folly Island and Charleston for the first time
Linley had the best time on National Hiking Day!
More dog park fun
Being so close to nature
A pup cup from Uncle Jesse
A fun weekend with Linley and the Alex’s
Adopt don’t shop!!! And donate this holiday season!
Raindrops
Lin got another pup cup!
My two favorite guys
Linley’s version of being a sous chef!
Thankful for Miss Ellie
Hiking Stone Mountain again
Afternoons as a family
Lin being cute and sweet as ever
Yet another dog park day!
My goofy husband
Another metal show with Justin

Tybee Island fun

I hadn’t been to Tybee Island until the first weekend of November, and I already can’t wait to return! Alex, Linley, Courtney, Chris and I rode with Captain Seth on a charter boat through the marsh and sea of Tybee Island. It was nothing what we expected, but it was absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t be happier with the experience.

As mentioned, we first rode through the marsh in our tiny boat. Seth went fast and it was such a rush! The water was only three feet deep, and was a delta where all the rivers fed into the ocean sea. Our boat actually got stuck at one point, but Alex and I knew Seth would get us out of the mess. Afterward, he went faster again and I was smiling from ear to ear! Seth took us to a sand bar that basically felt like a private beach, and we enjoyed some stretching and running around as we watched the sun begin to set and the birds begin to flock.

Although Courtney and Chris were with us this time, and although Alex was there and we’ve been to the beach as a family before, I couldn’t help but think of all the sunrises that Linley and I experienced during our year in Chicago. I took him every single morning, and it honestly saved my life. I didn’t have many friends there, I’d lost my job and was going through a divorce at the same time. Our sunrises together taught me that I could start anew, and Linley had been my loyal sidekick through all of it. It’s always hard to look back on the past without dwelling on it, and it makes me appreciate the moments we have together now more than ever.

After our fun on the sandbar/private beach, just when I thought our experience couldn’t get any better, it did. We were going fast in the ocean when Seth decided to stop suddenly. As we came to a stop, we saw a family of dolphins approach our boat! I’ve never seen dolphins before and I couldn’t believe my eyes; I started tearing up, Alex started filming and Linley was whining away haha. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and it took my breath away.

Being with my two favorite fellas, two of my close friends and someone who led us to that moment was truly an unforgettable experience. We watched the moon and rode fast again once the dolphins let us be.

The last part of our ride back to the dock was equally as breathtaking as I saw the most beautiful sunset, which reminded me of a safari. I’ve seen sunsets in a few different countries and continents, but there was something really special about this one.

I didn’t get a horizontal picture of the sunset or photos of the constellations in the sky at night, but I’ll never forget any of it.

Until next time. 🫶

Media taken Saturday, November 1 on Tybee Island, Georgia. 🌅

October 2025 Gratitude

October was a month of some serious ups and a few downs, but all-in-all, November has some big shoes to fill. 😉

A lovely dinner with great friends
Getting Linley’s nose print tattooed on us
Linley’s third annual Splish Splash Doggie Bash
Lin bein’ goofy and cuddly
A great French metal show
Burgers after Edgar Allan Poe shenanigans
A family hike on the Appalachian Trail
Atlanta Pride!
Goofin’ around with my birthday twin
…like I said: goofin’ around!
Justin’s and my third annual birthday celebration
Seeing a friend from dance class at another friend’s wedding
The best wedding date around
Chris Distefano live
Lin is a Georgia voter!
Sumo and Sushi event
A lovely weekend with my parents
Finally dressing up with my mom again
An interesting show
Checking out Savannah bars with the boys
Lin being a ghost for the third year in a row!

Finding community & growing strong friendships

This past Friday, Alex and I had dinner with two other couples: one who Alex has known since college, and the other who we met at the college couple’s wedding last May.

The dinner we had brought me so much joy and I had so many great epiphanies from our time together:

  • I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself to find “my own friends” in Atlanta, when really, the community I’ve met through Alex has accepted me more than my own family ever has.
  • This friend group is the microcosm of who Alex and I are: people who bring others together. Alex met Christina and Tyler in college, then we met Jordan and Rachel at their wedding because I struck up a conversation with them… and look at us now!
  • Just because my friends from ten years ago may not be in my life anymore, doesn’t mean that I will never have those sorts of friendships again. In fact, some of the friends I’ve made in the past two-ish years have been the healthiest, most supportive and fun friendships of my life yet.
  • You’re allowed to change and grow and value different qualities from your friendships now than you did before.
  • Making friends and finding community is hard – especially if you move and when you grow up – but finding the diamonds in the rough is SO incredibly worth it.

The rest of our weekend was wonderful too, except for Sunday evening. I’d reconnected with a friend who is going through a hard time, and used me as a “punching bag” this past year because of it. She’d admitted that she was angry and jealous of me and that’s part of why she treated me as she did. But truth be told: I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to trust her the same way ever again.

My relationship OCD wants to fixate on that conversation instead of all the good that happened this weekend and week, including our fulfilling triple-double-date, hanging out with our buddy Matt, taking Linley to his third-annual Splish Splash Doggie Bash, and having a great conversation (and hugs!) with my bestie Grace last night.

I couldn’t be more grateful for my friends who make me feel at home, and I’m not going to let one bad apple ruin my weekend or night’s sleep again…

…the leaves are changing, and so am I. 🙂✨

Media taken Friday, October 3 – Wednesday, October 8 in Atlanta, Georgia. 🍂

September 2025 Gratitude

I decided I’m going to make a new blog page about all our Tracey Trio adventures from July onward. It’s been a couples months of healing, facing hard truths and resilience. That said, it’s been wonderful to heal, laugh and love with Alex and Linley by my side.

Our summer adventures were so much fun and I can’t wait for more together!

A weekday dinner with Grace
Our second Wet Nose Wednesday game!
Linley getting his kennel cough taken care of at the vet
Finally “shooting the Hooch!”
A nice dinner out
Standing on a paddleboard for the first time ever
All smiles with this guy!
Celebrating Lin’s Gotcha Day!
Alex pointing out a full moon outside our place
All of Lin’s cuddles and quirks
Appreciating a sunset like I appreciate sunrises
A game with good friends
Back to our original selves
A belated Gotcha Day celebration on the Pooch Pontoon and private beach!
My first Shaky Knees, and our matching JVB shirts
Alex’s first camping trip
Linley laying on the toys Alex got him for our wedding day 🥹
Seeing the otters at my second Aqua Vino event
Lin being goofy as always
Days with my two favorite guys
Seeing Pancake and Donut in the office yesterday
Alex and Lin being silly

Gratitude in Heaviness

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my time in Michigan and how it wasn’t the weekend I was hoping it would be. I’ve been feeling misunderstood and unheard in my career, in my friend groups, and in my family. I’ve been pushing myself to write because I truly haven’t felt like it in a while, but I know it’s good for me to get my feelings out of my head.

I’m extremely grateful for Alex, who has continued to try new things with me, explore new places with me and has encouraged me to do what I love most. The friends I’ve made through him feel like family and I’m forever grateful to them and him for that.

Even when times are uncertain and things feel rocky, there are people who care about you and love you. I need to remind myself of that, too.

August 2025 Gratitude

Last month was wild with a wave of hardship with friends, an unexpected-yet-sensible OCD diagnosis and questioning my career path. However, all that said, August was wonderful and also full of adventure, quality time and great memories!

I’m not ready for fall, but I am ready for an equally exciting September ahead… 💛

Revisiting one of our favorite bars!
Checking out a new distillery for us
Celebrating our second “dateiversary!”
Laughing at an old family joke
All the snuggles with Lin while watching trash TV
Not a “goodbye,” but a “see you later” 🥹
Drinks at our nearby hotel bar (we spent our wedding night here actually!)
Hiking with our aunt, uncle and their pups!
Linley meeting his cousins
Visiting two former teammates-turned-friends
Getting closer with an old friend 🫶
Family dinner!
Some encouragement before a new friend date
Doing one of our favorite things together
Hittin’ a new trail
Joining our first Meetup group!
Visiting a new lake in one of our favorite places
Watching my guys watch the sunrise together 🤗
Whitewater rafting together
Our first baseball game just us two
Our first family Wet Nose Wednesday game!
Alex and Linley spending the weekend together!

Early morning thoughts // overcoming verbal abuse

My ex-husband and ex-best friend lashed out at me a few years ago. I was told that I was shallow for wanting to make new friends (while maintaining long-term and long-distance friendships, too). I was told that I would never be happy, would never be around better people than them, and would never live the life I want to live. Their words hurt so deeply because I’d thought the verbal abuse started and stopped at my extended family, not my chosen one…

At times, I wonder if their verbal abuse is true: that because I always want more and to better myself, that I’m “greedy” or “shallow” or “ungrateful” or “dramatic” (all words they’ve called me at one point).

As my friendships change and I decide what new adventure I need to take myself on in life, I have to actively choose not to believe my ex-husband and ex-best friend. It hurts that I hurt both of them unintentionally, but I certainly didn’t deserve that type of treatment. If I ever question my worth in friendships, community, career, family… I have to let go of their words and voices telling me that I deserve to be questioning myself.

I still have so much work to do, but I’m trying, and that’s more than I could’ve said a few years ago. Oh, if only the art of letting go were easier… 💛

June & July 2025 Gratitude✨

I used to write monthly gratitude posts a couple years ago, and I’m bringing them back! 💁🏻‍♀️

People I’m especially grateful for:

  • Alex and Linley, of course
  • My two long distance besties, Bethany and Carolyn
  • My therapist, Erin
  • Gainer and TyTy (aka: the fam!)
  • Friends we don’t see that often but have recently (Paulina, Matt, Christina, Tyler, Jordan and Rachel!)
  • My teammates at work
  • Friends from previous jobs who I’m still close with (Carolina, Emily, Janessa, Ola!)

Moments I’m especially grateful for:

More outdoor time with Linley!
Fun nights out and trying new things with Gainer!
Hanging out with neighbors-turned-friends!
Alex and Linley having a bro-day hiking!
Quality time with Karen and Andrew!
Trying new things in familiar places!
Exploring a new dog beach!
Linley making new friends (like Buddy!)
Taking Linley to work with me, just like the good ole days!
Lazy weekend days!
Giving Linley another bath together!
Little notes from Alex!
Watching Ellie again!
Being goofy with one of my best friends, Evelyn!
More fun times with Grace!

Cheers to a new month full of new adventures and memories! 🤗

There’s something about disposable cameras…

March was our best month yet! Our best friends got married in one of our favorite places, we were married at one of our favorite places, and we had the honeymoon roadtrip of a lifetime as a trio. Although more photos of all that will come, I wanted to share the disposable camera photos our friends and family took during our reception. I immediately knew having these out would be a hit, and what a great idea it was! I look forward to seeing more photos soon, but here’s what we have so far…

Maddie and Quinten, our officiant (on my right)
The one and only Sahil!
Ariel and Alex!
Our venue and second home
Cousins Catherine and Reagan
Our signature drinks
Mom and Linley, our bestest ring bearer
Our lovely bartenders, Justin and Kyle!
Jesse!!!
My lovely best friend, Carolina✨
Wait, there were three Matt’s?!
Our lovely photographer, Trizzie!
Uncle Ray… haha
Reagan, Alex Matlock and cousin Jason
Dancing as newlyweds
Oh boy… haha
One happy bride
One hammered groom… haha

Photos taken Saturday, March 8, 2025 at Bantam Pub in Atlanta, GA.

Frustration turned into fondness // It’s all about perspective

I had to upgrade to the WordPress business plan, and I was pissed about it. But then I realized after all the time I was trying to spend cleaning out my storage to meet the 13 GB limit, “Wow, what a blessing that I’ve written and photographed and filmed and traveled this much!” So now I’m happy again 🙂

Back to journaling about and sharing photos from recent travels tomorrow! For tonight, relaxation… and wine…

Celebrating six months in Atlanta!

Yesterday was my six month anniversary of living in Atlanta, Georgia — and all I can say is that I’m in awe of my life now. I dreamed of this happiness as a young child and haven’t felt this good for this long… ever. The love Alex and I share, the relationship I have with Alex’s family, his friends who have welcomed me and the friends I’ve met since moving here are all beyond my wildest dreams. With happy tears in my eyes, I can tell you this is the best life I’m living for myself — and young me would be very proud.

Photos taken September 2023 – March 9, 2024.