Lauren

She Likes Beer, I Like Wine

She orders drafts with names I can’t pronounce,

I swirl my glass and make ridiculous amounts

Of comments like, “Hints of cherry… maybe oak?”

She takes one sip and says, “Tastes fine.” No joke.

She loves loud bars with neon beer signs,

I like soft jazz and overpriced wines.

She wears old sneakers, dances out of beat,

I’m checking if the cabernet pairs with the meat.

She wants pretzels salty enough to raise the dead,

I’m building charcuterie boards instead.

She’ll crack open cans while watching the game,

I light a candle and know each grape by name.

She laughs too loud at the parts not funny,

Calls me dramatic when I say “notes of honey.”

I plan out evenings, she wings every part,

But somehow her chaos fits next to my heart.

She likes dive bars with dollar beer nights,

I like quiet dinners and city lights.

She rolls her eyes when I say “aged to perfection,”

Then grabs my hand with zero hesitation.

And maybe that’s love — not choosing the same,

Not needing two people perfectly framed.

Just finding someone who walks differently beside you,

Yet somehow makes the whole wild world feel right too.

So here’s to her beer and my stubborn wine,

To her rough edges fitting softly with mine.

Different in taste, in rhythm, in view —

America’s greatest treasure isn’t a monument or a mountain range — it’s the quiet, stubborn belief that every person has a spark worth protecting.

Here, I have the freedom to reinvent myself, to dream without permission, to speak without fear, to walk my own road even when it twists and climbs. No other country carries that same mix of grit, hope, and wild possibility.

You make me smile when ever I think of you which as you know is often xx

She orders drafts with names I can’t pronounce,

I swirl my glass and make ridiculous amounts

Of comments like, “Hints of cherry… maybe oak?”

She takes one sip and says, “Tastes fine.” No joke.

She loves loud bars with neon beer signs,

I like soft jazz and overpriced wines.

She wears old sneakers, dances out of beat,

I’m checking if the cabernet pairs with the meat.

She wants pretzels salty enough to raise the dead,

I’m building charcuterie boards instead.

She’ll crack open cans while watching the game,

I light a candle and know each grape by name.

She laughs too loud at the parts not funny,

Calls me dramatic when I say “notes of honey.”

I plan out evenings, she wings every part,

But somehow her chaos fits next to my heart.

She likes dive bars with dollar beer nights,

I like quiet dinners and city lights.

She rolls her eyes when I say “aged to perfection,”

Then grabs my hand with zero hesitation.

And maybe that’s love — not choosing the same,

Not needing two people perfectly framed.

Just finding someone who walks differently beside you,

Yet somehow makes the whole wild world feel right too.

So here’s to her beer and my stubborn wine,

To her rough edges fitting softly with mine.

Different in taste, in rhythm, in view —

Some friends are laughter in the middle of the night,

The ones who make the hard days somehow feel light.

Some are the quiet kind, steady and true,

The ones who sit beside you when you don’t know what to do.

Some are completely silly,

Turning small moments into memories worth keeping.

Laughing too loud, joking too long,

Yet somehow becoming the reason you stay strong.

Some friends love with words,

Always knowing exactly what to say.

Others love in silence,

Just showing up and never walking away.

Some drift in like sunshine,

Brightening places that once felt gray.

Some hold your heart together

On the days it starts to fray.

Every friend brings something different,

A piece no one else could replace.

A lesson, a laugh, a shoulder,

A familiar and comforting face.

Messy, funny, honest, and real.

And when you look back through your life,

Through the joy and all the scars,

You realize the people beside you

Were some of the greatest gifts by far.

Some silly, some loving,

But all important in the way they help us heal.

She had two blogs some time ago.

@myvelvetpussy

@myvetvet96

The world was gray, a heavy shroud,

Beneath a dark and lonely cloud.

When Hannah passed, the silence grew,

And every breath felt sharp and new.

The ache was deep, a constant sting,

I couldn’t find the heart to sing,

A hollow space where joy had been,

Lost in a storm I couldn't win.

But then the sun began to break,

A gentle hand for me to take.

Across the path where shadows fell,

Came a light that broke the spell.

For Grace arrived with eyes so bright,

To guide me through the darkest night,

A soul so kind, so sweet and true,

She brought the gold back to the blue.

It feels so good to breathe the air,

To find a laugh I thought wasn't there.

The weight has lifted, the spirit's free,

Since her sweet magic rescued me.

Now every morning starts so bright,

Instead of chasing back the night,

I wake and feel a steady glow,

With a smile I’m proud to show.

She’s wonderful in every way,

The reason for my peace today.

Her beauty isn't just a grace,

But warmth that lights her lovely face.

Through every laugh and tender word,

A brand new melody is heard.

The hurt has faded, soft and still,

A long, heavy year without Hannah’s smile… without her jokes that could light up even the hardest days.

And still—we go on.

Not because it’s easy, but because we carry her with us in everything we do. In the laughter that finds its way back. In the quiet moments where we feel her most. In the strength we didn’t know we had.

Team Hannah has stood strong.

Still here.

Still holding each other through the hurt.

Because love like hers doesn’t fade.

It stays. It echoes. It binds us together.

We will never forget.

There was a time

when darkness settled in my bones,

not loud, not wild—

just heavy enough to stay.

Days blurred into shadows,

and even the light

felt like it passed me by.

Sorrow lingered like a habit,

pulling up a chair beside me,

whispering things

I almost believed.

And then—

no warning, no grand design—

just a cup of coffee.

And you.

Steam curled between us,

but I barely noticed—

not when your smile

felt warmer than anything in my hands.

You sat across from me,

yet somehow closer than anyone

had been in a long time.

There was something in your presence—

soft, unspoken,

the kind of quiet

that makes the world fall away.

You didn’t chase the darkness out,

you simply outshined it.

And somewhere between

your eyes meeting mine

and the way you said my name,

something in me gave in—

not to the past,

but to the possibility of light.

The weight I carried

began to loosen,

as if your laughter

knew exactly where to reach.

Sorrow slipped away unnoticed,

making room for something new—

for joy that felt like warmth

spreading slowly through my chest,

like sunlight I could finally hold.

And my life—

it didn’t change all at once.

But it began there,

in that quiet moment,

over a cup of coffee,

with your smile lingering,

your presence wrapped around me,

and the undeniable feeling

that somehow,

without even trying,

May calm light gather softly around your resting place, a quiet strength unfolding with its warm and steady grace.

May each new dawn bring courage, may each small breath bring peace, and may your heart find comfort as the heavy worries ease.

You’re held in love unbroken, in every whispered prayer, in every thought that lifts you, in every moment shared.

In a world that shifts like sand and sea, your steady light stays close to me. Through whispered doubts or days that shine, your laughter lifts this heart of mine.

We walk through storms, we dance through calm, your presence always feels like balm. No grand display, no need for show just trust that deepens as we grow.

You’re the quiet truth when life feels loud, the open sky behind each cloud. A chosen bond, a gentle art the kind of love that shapes the heart.

So here’s to us, through thick and thin, to every loss and every win. For friendship’s love is strong and true, and life is brighter shared with you.

When does it get easier — or does it? People say it will, like it’s a law of nature, like gravity or sunrise. But some days you wonder if they’re remembering wrong.

Maybe “easier” isn’t a finish line. Maybe it’s a moment — small, almost shy — that slips into your life when you’re too tired to notice.

A morning when you wake up and the heaviness is still there, but it doesn’t pin you down. A night when the thoughts still come, but they don’t shout as loudly. A choice that used to break you that now only bends you.

Maybe it gets easier the way winter becomes spring — slowly, stubbornly, one degree at a time. You don’t feel the shift until one day you step outside and realize you aren’t bracing anymore.

Maybe the real question isn’t does it get easier, but will I keep going long enough to meet the version of me for whom it already has?

I’m putting away the busy tonight, 

folding it neat, tucking it tight, 

letting the rush of the day take flight 

as I step into gentler light.

The lists can sleep in their paper beds, 

the worries can wander out of my head, 

the clock can tick on its path instead— 

I’m choosing calmness here instead. 

I smooth the creases in my breath, 

slow the pace that’s raced to death, 

find the quiet the world forgets, 

a peace untouched by shoulds or debts. 

The world keeps spinning loud and fast, 

chasing futures, outrunning past, 

but I’ve found a stillness built to last, 

a moment free from “move” and “must.” 

I trade the noise for a softer sound, 

the hum of evening settling down, 

the gentle hush that wraps around 

like dusk descending on a town. 

I let the undone be what it is, 

not every task deserves a quiz, 

not every hour must prove it lives— 

tonight, I give myself the gift of “is.” 

So here I rest in the quiet’s grace, 

a slower heart, a spacious place, 

the busy folded without a trace, 

I fled beneath a California sky, where sunshine burned but couldn’t dry the tears I hid, the life I knew, the weight of all I’d struggled through.

I packed my dreams, my quiet pain, and crossed the states through wind and rain. Each mile I drove, I felt release— a slow unbinding into peace.

Boston met me with its chill, brick-lined streets and winter’s will. But in that cold, I found my flame— a place to learn, rebuild my name.

College halls became my start, a softer home to heal my heart. And in that world of books and light, you stepped in, steady, warm, and bright.

You saw the strength beneath my scars, held my story like a jar of fragile glass, yet treated kind— proof love could soothe a battered mind.

I left the coast to save my soul, to stitch my life back into whole. And in that journey from the pain, I found a love that felt like rain— gentle, honest, falling true. I found my future when I found you.

Spring drifts in gently on rose‑colored air, Brushing the world with a tender repair. It lingers like someone who’s trying to say I’ve waited for you through the coldest of days.

The blossoms lean close as if hoping to see The spark in your smile meant only for me. And every breeze carries a secret so sweet— A promise that love wakes the moment we meet.

The sunlight grows softer, as though it can tell That hearts thaw the quickest where warm glances dwell. Even the robins seem bold in their tune, Singing of evenings that melt into June.

I love to write but shut it down for a long time. It is time to put it back out there. Feel free to comment or even request maybe a subject. I will do my best to accommodate you.