My Journey into Mid Century

My Journey into Mid Century

                                                                                                                                  PC: reganscamera
Welcome on my Journey! ⭐️

So, why am I starting this blog? I’m really just a normal girl, born and raised in Phoenix Arizona who discovered that I had a huge passion for the 1950’s. The colors, the structured lines of the furniture, the fit and prints of the fashion, the unusual little kitsch trinkets and the architecture of Mid Century buildings. I didn’t always know that I had such a deep passion for the 1950’s until I had to take a pause in my life to really reflect on who I am. I wanted to start this blog so that I can share my love for the 1950’s decor and fashion and hopefully have you learn along with me what makes Mid Century so special. So, here is where my journey begins.

I’m a professional Ballet Dancer with Ballet Arizona. I’ve been in the company for 8 years now and joined when I was only 15 years old. When people ask me, “What made you get into ballet?”, my answer is always “Because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else!”.  I started ballet lessons at 2 years old and am still as passionate about it now as I was when I first started. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of hard work! Physically and emotionally. Most people don’t realize that ballet is 50% physical and 50% emotional. You have to be tough on the outside to be able to dance for long hours but also tough on the inside to fight the mental battles of sometimes not feeling good enough. Praise is not often given in the workplace because you can always strive for more. But, what most people don’t realize is that ballet is in fact a full time job. My biggest pet peeve is when people ask, “What do you do for a living?”. When I say, “I’m a professional Ballet Dancer!”, They answer, “Ohh so is that your side hobby?”

We start our day at 9am with a Ballet warm up class until 10:30am to get our muscles warm and ready for all of our rehearsals. Then, we start rehearsal at 10:45am until 4:30pm, 5 days a week. During show weeks, we work all 7 days, from 12:00pm until 10:00pm! And, to answer the question everyone is always wondering; yes, it does come with good health benefits. And yes, I will always be in the Nutcracker. 😉

Ballet has been what I’ve always known. Ive never had a second thought about what my career was going to be. That is until my scare in 2016 when I tore my labrum in my hip during a performance. I remember feeling a pop and instantly feeling as if my leg wasn’t connected to my hip anymore. But, I had never been injured before so I thought I would just rest it a few days and then I would be good to go. Well, a couple months in, still not being able to lift my leg, I realized that it was actually serious enough to see a doctor. I’ll never forget when I stepped foot into the doctor’s office and hearing, “You can never dance again.” WHAT!? I was only 20 years old! My career was supposed to. take me until my 40s! All I knew was ballet and the image of creating a new title, a new life for myself was terrifying. As I spent most of my time at Physical Therapy trying to believe I still had a future, I spent the rest of my time figuring out what else I was passionate about. As I laid on the couch icing my hip, I watched marathons of HGTV while dreaming about designing my dream home with my husband, Matt. I imagined a home that looked like a 1950’s time capsule, as if it hadn’t been touched since. And, I would fill it with all of my 1950s  treasures. I’ve always been passionate about antiques. When I was young and was given an allowance. After half of my allowance was given to charity, church and the bank, the other half was set aside to get whatever I wanted in an antique shop. My mom and I would browse for hours taking in the old musky smells and finding what new treasure I wanted to add to my collection. Snapping back to reality, I had no idea that after 4 months of rehab I would bounce back to Ballet stronger than ever. I knew I loved ballet but I had no idea how much until it was almost taken away. Since then, I’ve performed principle roles and am in the process of renovating my 1957 home with Matt 3 years later. Life is just crazy and unexpected like that. You go through so many twists and turns to really understand who you are and what you want for your life. My biggest lesson is, once you realize your passion, grasp it and don’t let it go. You were given that gift for a reason. So use it and keep on pushing even when you hit obstacles.

So, this is where my blog journey begins. Thanks for reading along so far with me and I hope we can keep riding this crazy ride of life together. 💕