I love him and I love NY. ✨
And I love @haleyrynnringo@haleyrynnringophoto for being the real MVP and absolutely running with our vision for this shoot! She literally laid down on NYC sidewalks for some of these shots. If that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is. 🙌🏽
To have this time capsule of our engagement and our life in NYC is the sweetest gift. 💛
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#engagementphotos #engaged #photoshoot #weddinginspo #weddingphotography #engagementshoot #modernwedding #modernbride #love #engagementring #engagementinspo #bride #bridetobe #gottheshot #nycengagement #couple #biracialcouples #secondchanceromance #nyc #cityphotography #editorialphotography #engagement #brides #fiance #alexcitedaboutbooks
Of all the themes in all those books I read, second-chance romance is my favorite trope. 🥂✨💍
You’re the real MVP, @joeyswaaags . Almost a decade and a literal ocean apart just makes a better story. 💛✈️
Alternate caption: Everyone tag @michelleobama . 👀
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#engaged #proposal #bookwormproposal #alexcitedaboutbooks #michelleobama #bookstagram #booktok #nyc #nycbookworm #CopperBooks #nycproposal #proposalstory #proposalideas #Becoming #bookwormvibes #lovestory #romcom #secondchance #secondchanceromance #readerlife #booksinthewild #book #bookish #engagementring #pearcut #theclearcut #centralpark
Cheers to next year feeling more like this.🥂✨
First installment of our October remote-work-from-abroad experiment: Paris. What a dream, believe the hype! Take us back and fill us with butter. With haste. 🥲🥖🧈🙏🏽🙌🏽
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#travel #paris #eurotrip #remotework #dinklife #bookstagram #france #adventure #maincharacter #maincharactercollective
Best to ever do it AND a breast cancer survivor?! 🩷💅🏽🙌🏽 MOMMA DENISE IS THAT GIRL.
Our family has been through a lot this year, and I haven’t gotten all the way into it yet on socials. But as #breastcancerawareness month comes to a close this October, I want to share some joy and hope. This was a moment of celebration and overwhelming gratitude as my mom rang the bell in June to signify the end of radiation and kicking cancer’s ass! 🎉💪🏾 Praise God. NeNe is a trooper and kept an incredibly positive attitude throughout this ordeal, shocking no one who knows her. And yes, she was absolutely trying to do the most right after her surgery and we had to force her to rest. 🙄
There’s so much to say, but for now— thank you for your prayers and your love. We feel them! I asked mom what she’d tell the ladies out there and she said: “Know your body and follow up. Remember that I had a clear mammogram in December’23, felt a knot in April ‘24 (checked out and diagnosed as a cyst) and finally had surgery in April ‘25. I believe that had I not felt the knot that prior April, it might have been diagnosed as a cyst in January ‘25, putting me a year further down the road with possibly more dire consequences after an additional year of growth.” CHECK YOURSELF AND SAVE THE TATAS, QUEENS! WE NEED YOU HERE. 🙏🏽🩷
#breastcancersurvivor #breastcancer #savethetatas #breastcancerwarrior #breastcancermonth
Alex Hudgens has a presence that’s unforgettable. Her energy is electric, her confidence magnetic, and her brilliance contagious.
An Emmy-nominated journalist, host, and personal brand strategist, Alex has been a mentor and guiding force in my own journey. She has this incredible gift for taking the jumble in your head and turning it into clarity, confidence, and strategy — helping you see yourself the way the world already does.
Through her company, Main Character Collective, Alex helps high-achieving women, entrepreneurs, and creatives step into their fullest expression — building lives and personal brands that feel as good as they look.
At EVOLVE, Alex will take the stage to remind us that confidence isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you choose, embody, and lead with.
🎟 Join us November 21st at TD Terrace for a day that will reignite your confidence and your voice.
When they say it’s a ‘piece of cake’— THEY MEAN IT, Y’ALL. 🙌🏽🩷 @pieceofcakemoving made moving out of our beloved NYC home of 5 years feel stress-free, smooth, and even celebratory! 🎉
Ending this chapter and starting the next with so much joy. 🥂✨ We will definitely be using #PieceOfCake again in the future, and you should too— use my code ‘maincharacter’ for 10% off your local move or 5% off long-distance. CHEERS TO YOUR NEXT MAIN CHARACTER MOVE!
2 years of choosing each other, even when it's hard. 2 years of choosing our big, full, wholehearted life... even when it's scary. We chose courage, generosity, & adventure as our family values and I'll b'damned if we haven't been both unexpectedly challenged and unbelievably blessed in all 3 of those categories ever since. If we keep choosing them and each other-- I think we're onto something, @joeyswaaags . I love you. 🤍
Also love all y'all who were present at the best party ever (biased), and who chose one of those 3 values to hold us to. You're our favorite accountabilibuddies... and despite the arthritis that has since entered Crookshanks (iykyk), I would handwrite every single one of you a personal note again if it meant we got to run this day back. What a blast. Cheers to year 3! 🥂✨
A ✨roundup of delight✨ and helpful reminders from someone who needs them, too:
One can unexpectedly acquire a 7-foot-long zoodle from @traderjoes ! When I say WON’T HE DO IT, I mean God!! And also Trader Joe in this case!! This is the zest of life.
The little things, people. It’s really the little things. I am a kid in the candy store just walking the streets of NYC and noticing all of the glimmers. This is part of why I love my life. Highly recommend PAYING ATTENTION, 10/10. As my friend and fabulous author @scperot says, “Joy is serious business.”
You can stay educated and participatory in important moments, especially in real life, and still be offline-ish. 🙋🏽♀️ That regulated nervous system is the real boon.
May we be and look for the light. Boldly, gently, courageously! Despite it all, because of it all. 🤍
Mannnn am I bad at this sometimes. SO BAD!🤦🏽♀️
I don’t get community right, miss layup opportunities to be a good friend, fail at being there even when the person means the world to me. Anyone else? Despite your best intentions, you fall way short? Lord help us.
I’m not going to say ‘it’s the thought that counts’ because that’ll turn into a cop-out real quick. But I do think that it’s the continued attempts that count, the imperfect actions over time. The showing up as best you can, physically and emotionally— and apologizing when you don’t.
Friendship is full of forgiveness and just trying your best, together, if you’ve got good friends. I’m hoping for good friends for all of us. May we BE them as often as we possibly can. 🙏🏽💛
