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Stephanie Kirkland

  • About
  • Artwork
    • Abstracts
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  • A few things that might surprise you about me? Iโ€™ve got three: .
1. I can quote a BUNCH of Julia Roberts movies by heart. ๐Ÿ˜Ž All the crying-laughing emojis for Erin Brockovich: "We had that water brought in special for you folks," and Maggie Carpenter after dying Ike's hair: "Mr. Graham, if you're looking for Elm Steet, it's that way." ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคฃ
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2. I'm a sucker for good Italian food. No matter where I'm traveling--and no matter what a place is known for--I go out of my way to find a good Italian restaurant. The best Iโ€™ve ever had? Lasagna from Bugatti in Coral Gables/Miami. They only serve it once a month, so get it when you can!
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3. I taught in a low-income school the year after I graduated from college. It was the hardest year of my life, but I constantly credit it for where I'm at today. Hop on my email list and I'll tell you more about it sometime. ๐Ÿ˜Š
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What about you? Whatโ€™s something I donโ€™t know about you that might surprise me?
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#painting #flowerpainting #flowerpaintings #floralpainting #floralpaintings #abstractflorals #abstractfloral #abstractfloralpainting #abstractfloralart #floralart
  • Do you feel the distance between us? You know, like we should be better friends by now?
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Iโ€™ll take the blame. Because I've only recently realized how we can use this platform to foster genuine connection.
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What I'm saying is...I want to be friends with you FOR REAL. The kind of friends who stay up well past midnight giggling, trading stories, and getting to know one another inside and out.
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So Iโ€™ll go first. I live somewhere. Not just on Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜Š
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Did you know I live in the same town where I attended college? Yep, good ol' Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It's the most amazing place! But I havenโ€™t always felt that way.
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I was worried about staying here after graduation because I thought there were other, better places to soak in life as a 20-something. Places with more restaurants. More people. More life.
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But then something happened. I moved away for a few years to those places I thought of as "better," and I quickly started missing the place I thought I didn't want. I realized this mid-size city is actually quite perfect.
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Now, I relish the fact that I can bebop between art galleries on Friday nights. That I can drive just a few hours to some of the best hiking destinations in the country. That I'm surrounded by thinkers and doers trying to make the world a better place--and inspiring me to do the same.
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Most importantly: food so good it nearly melts in your mouth. ๐Ÿ˜‹ But not so many choices or people that I'm plagued by indecision or traffic. It's a beautiful, life-giving place to be.
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What about you? Did you have any hesitations about living where you live? What kinds of places give you life? ๐Ÿ“ท: @mkc.photo
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#tuscaloosa #tuscaloosaal #tuscaloosaalabama #risingtidesociety #communityovercompetition #theartofslowliving #thehappynow #realsimple #abmlifeisbeautiful #seekthesimplicity #livethelittlethings #theeverygirl #cultivatewhatmatters #cultivatecommunity
  • My inspiration for the week.๐ŸŒน
  • This painting pretty much encompasses how I'm feeling today. Blue. Raw, emotion-filled blue.
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I found out yesterday that one of my college classmates is battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
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I've received similar news this year about other people I'm close to, but this news hit me particularly hard.
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We are the same age. We lived in the same dorm. We had the same friends. We saw each other almost every day.
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I've always admired this woman for her tenacity, independence, and grit. And my admiration has only grown since we graduated because of how driven she is to make a difference on things she cares about. (And oh, how deeply she cares.)
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I suppose my heart is heavy for a lot of reasons. It's heavy because I'm reminded of how deeply I care about this person (even though we don't keep in touch at all). Because this whole thing reminds me that good people aren't spared from bad things. Because the closeness and specificity of it all reminds me how easily this same story could be about me.
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Where do we go from here?
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Well, I think we take to heart the fact that our world could crash down on us at any moment. And when it does, I hope we can all say that we're living the life we truly want. If you were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, could you say that?
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To quote the Diamond Rio song, I also think we love a little stronger, dig a little deeper. We make a real effort to show people how much they really matter to us. We don't just wish and hope. We take action. We make time for what matters most. We leverage our uniquity and move through life in our own way, not just how others expect us to.
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Funnily enough, my immediate reaction of how I could help this friend was, "I could make her a painting."
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My next thought? "A PAINTING?! Are you kidding yourself, Stephanie? How the hell is a PAINTING going to make this any better?" (See how that self-doubt can creep in?)
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And then I remembered: It's the same thought I had nearly 10 years ago when a good friend's significant other died in a tragic car accident.
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And it wasn't just a thought...I actually made her a painting. It was... (1/2, continued in comments)
  • Travel makes my heart flutter like few other things do. (I dare say like NO other things, but I worry that's an exaggeration.)
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My heart literally races every time I start seriously contemplating going somewhere new, as well as any time I get anywhere close to booking a plane ticket. .
And when I finally book something, I start bouncing around the house like an 8-year-old on a sugar high. ๐Ÿ˜‚
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Where are we going next? Glacier National Park and Banff National Park via Calgary, Canada, thanks to some beautifully cheap flights found by my boys at @scottscheapflights.
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Glacier has been on my list for awhile now. I hear it's the most beautiful park in the west. I cannot wait to hike and paint these beautiful mountains!
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Give me recs if you've been! ๐Ÿ‘‡
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@glaciernps @visit.banff @glacier_national_park #glaciernationalpark #glaciernationalparkmontana #glaciernationalparkcanada #banff #banffnationalpark #banffcanada #banffalberta #wanderleurspark #finditliveit #findyourtruenorth #abmtravelbug #wanderlust #dametraveler #wanderer #womenwhohike #womenwhotravel #womenwhoexplore #makemoments #livelifeoutside #neverstopexploring #travelbug #liveauthentic #keepitwild
  • How did I spend this non-snow snow day? Painting flowers and dreaming of spring, of course!
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I'm releasing a collection of abstract florals in early February, just in time for you to treat yourself or a loved one for Valentine's Day. .
Make sure you're on my email list to get first dibs on these babies. Sign up via the link in my profile.

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