Today, we met with the kindest, most knowledgeable Today, we met with the kindest, most knowledgeable doctor to discuss my MRI scans and my upcoming surgery. He spent over 50 minutes showing us my scans, answering our questions, and making sure we had all the information and options to make the best decision for us. Leading up to this appointment, I was nervous and so so sad. Going to see this doctor made the news of my MRI real and scheduling a hysterectomy creates a finality to our journey to get pregnant ourselves. I kept wondering if I was jumping the gun too soon - and that maybe I was giving up too easily on getting pregnant. But then we saw the images from my MRI today - and saw just how large the adenomyoma is. We heard a second doctor tell us that it was in operable. We talked about how I have been bed ridden almost every day for a month due to severe pain and how this has completely wrecked my health and my quality of life. We validated my experiences and discussed my wish for a life that doesn’t revolve around my uterus. And so we have decided to move forward with a hysterectomy so that I can focus on getting healthy again. So I can live my life again. And even though this was an impossibly hard decision to make and even though this isn’t where we thought our infertility journey would lead us - I feel a sense of peace that this is the right step towards healing the wounds the last four years of infertility has left us with. There is still so much to grieve. Still so much process. But I still have so much to live for - and my uterus may have stolen my fertility but I will not let it steal my life. #infertility #infertilityawareness #infertilitysucks #adenomyosis #hysterectomy #miscarriage #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcsisters #ttcsupport
Last night, @halecentretheatre treated me and my b Last night, @halecentretheatre treated me and my brother and sister to a showing of Guys and Dolls. Not only was the show fantastic and the cast extremely talented, but I had the best time with my siblings and loved being able to escape the stress and heaviness that I’ve been feeling over the last few weeks. I do not take my relationships with my three younger siblings for granted. I’m so extremely lucky to be so close to them and grateful to have them to lean on. We laughed until we cried, we sang along, and we recounted the memories of our middle school doing this play years ago. Moments of joy. I’m clinging to them and they carry me through. 10/10 recommend checking out Guys and Dolls if you need an escape from life for a few hours. It’s seriously so well done. #gifted #heytherechelsie #myvibrantlife #halecentretheatre #guysanddolls #utahtheatre #momentsofjoy #thingstodoinutah #utahunique
Sometimes you gotta bleed to know That you’re a Sometimes you gotta bleed to know That you’re alive and have a soul ❤️‍🩹 #heytherechelsie #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcaftermiscarriage #infertilityawareness #infertilitywarrior #twentyonepilotslyrics #miscarriageawareness #infertilityjourney
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for Your m Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for Your messages, your love, your texts, and your sweet gifts. We are humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we’ve received and words cannot begin to describe how much it has helped us feel not so alone. I know I haven’t gotten back to everyone yet, but know that we’ve seen and read every message. We’re still processing the life-changing, devastating news we received last week, but we’re doing our best to find pockets of peace and moments of joy. We’re clinging to each other and to our families (both of our parents, by some tender mercy, already had plans to fly out for this weekend.) We’re doing our best to smile between our tears. I can’t say it’s okay yet, but I can say we will rise to meet this challenge, together. #heytherechelsie #myvibrantlife #balloonfestival #freedomfest #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcaftermiscarriage #infertilityawareness #infertilitysucks #infertilitysupport #infertilitywarrior
MRI results / Infertility update. Not the news we MRI results / Infertility update. Not the news we wanted - but we’re all in this together now. Here’s what the MRI showed, and what our next steps are. #infertility #infertilityawareness #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcaftermiscarriage #adenomyosis #infertilitysucks #infertilitywarrior
These sunset watercolor nails with a hint of rose These sunset watercolor nails with a hint of rose gold foil deserve a permanent spot on my feed - @polkadottedbysyd always makes my nail dreams come true. And yes, these are my REAL nails! No acrylics, no gel tips, nothing! Syd has carefully cared for my hands for two years now and has helped me grow strong, healthy nails that can handle car seat buckles, tricky wrappers, and everything in between. Grateful for pretty nails and everything these hands do for me. #watercolornails #sunsetnails #utahnails #utahnailtech #gelnails #summernails2021 #handpaintednailart #nailtrends #boycottboringnails #nailedit #polkadottedbysyd #nailsoftoday #nailclub #nailgame #nailgram

Hey There, Chelsie

About Hey There, Chelsie

Hey There, Chelsie - A Salt Lake City Based Style and Beauty Blog

Hey there, I’m Chelsie!

“Hi Chelsie, I stumbled across your blog through my Pinterest feed, and I felt compelled to instantly tell you how much relief/comfort it brought me with every post I read. I’m almost certain I won’t be the first to tell you this, but I feel blessed by your sharing of life before, during, and after cancer. I also love that cancer is not the total center of your blog, which gives me hope that my life won’t be centered on it, too. You see, I was diagnosed with high-risk AML leukemia exactly 5 weeks after my 18th birthday. I know that’s a bit older than 15, but I totally relate to the whole “missing out” thoughts since I was so close to going to college. And of course, I’m also terrified of being “Abby who got leukemia” once I get there. Thank you for being an inspiration to me that there can be a vibrant life after some stupid disease, even if you weren’t really trying to be inspirational through those posts. I think I’ve covered all I needed to express to you. Thank you again, and give your dear Rosie an extra scratch behind the ears for me!”

That was the start of it all. A message from a pediatric cancer survivor who had stumbled across one of my blog posts back in the beginning. Someone who was in the throws of a fight, and who needed someone to prove to her that there was hope at the end of the road. That her battle would soon be in the past and that it didn’t need to weigh her down after. Someone who needed a sister, a friend, a “been there, done that” type of gal in her life to help her navigate the waters of being a survivor and finding the courage to live a bold, second chance life.

After a year-long battle with pediatric cancer and several reconstructive surgeries that left my leg deformed and weak, I struggled for years to overcome the emotional and physical scars it left me with. I am learning daily how to break free of cancer’s shadow by finding the courage to love myself and my body and this beautiful mess that is my life.

So here I am, sharing everything I wish I had known and everything I am learning in my journey as a survivor and my pursuit of living a vibrant life.

My goal here isn’t to sway you towards living a vain and selfish life. My goal is to share real, down-to-earth, helpful content that is transparent in sharing both the struggles and wins of being a survivor. It’s to inspire, encourage and motivate you to take control of your life by finding peace with yourself and filling it with things you love. Above all else, I want you to know you are stronger than your scars, that it’s OKAY to love yourself and to be proud of the things you have overcome. It’s OKAY to want to wear makeup, it’s OKAY to wear clothes you love, and it’s OKAY to take time to feel good in your skin.

Living a vibrant life can mean many things and is multi-faceted, so I strive to share as many aspects as possible, however, I mainly focus on fashion, beauty, travel, and self-improvement. I’ve learned that having a beautiful life starts with me - how I feel about myself, how I present myself, and how I work to improve myself. My goal is to reduce the overwhelm you might feel when you walk into a beauty store, wanting to buy a new beauty product to help you feel sassy and confident. I want to help you find clothes you feel confident in, despite your scars, but also show you how to stretch your closet to get the most out of your budget. I want to show you a variety of ways you can enjoy what the world has to offer, even if you have a physical disability like me. I strive to ensure that my social media outlets and blog are a direct representation of my personality and beliefs. I am not afraid to put my sassy pants on and stand up for what I believe in and stand firmly against the portrayal of online perfection - because a vibrant life is still messy at times.

At the beginning of 2018, I decided I was ready to take the next step in living a vibrant life for ME and declared it the #yearofme! I started the #yearofme FB community for women of all walks of life to join together, share resources, and encourage each other to work towards their personal goals of achieving a vibrant life.

Where to next?

If you’re a brand looking to work together, click here!

If you’re looking for something to read, click here!

 

P.S. - Want to shoot me an email?

Also, let’s connect beyond the blog! Feel free to say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and/or Pinterest and please use the #myvibrantlife hashtag to connect with the HTC community!

Today, we met with the kindest, most knowledgeable Today, we met with the kindest, most knowledgeable doctor to discuss my MRI scans and my upcoming surgery. He spent over 50 minutes showing us my scans, answering our questions, and making sure we had all the information and options to make the best decision for us. Leading up to this appointment, I was nervous and so so sad. Going to see this doctor made the news of my MRI real and scheduling a hysterectomy creates a finality to our journey to get pregnant ourselves. I kept wondering if I was jumping the gun too soon - and that maybe I was giving up too easily on getting pregnant. But then we saw the images from my MRI today - and saw just how large the adenomyoma is. We heard a second doctor tell us that it was in operable. We talked about how I have been bed ridden almost every day for a month due to severe pain and how this has completely wrecked my health and my quality of life. We validated my experiences and discussed my wish for a life that doesn’t revolve around my uterus. And so we have decided to move forward with a hysterectomy so that I can focus on getting healthy again. So I can live my life again. And even though this was an impossibly hard decision to make and even though this isn’t where we thought our infertility journey would lead us - I feel a sense of peace that this is the right step towards healing the wounds the last four years of infertility has left us with. There is still so much to grieve. Still so much process. But I still have so much to live for - and my uterus may have stolen my fertility but I will not let it steal my life. #infertility #infertilityawareness #infertilitysucks #adenomyosis #hysterectomy #miscarriage #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcsisters #ttcsupport
Last night, @halecentretheatre treated me and my b Last night, @halecentretheatre treated me and my brother and sister to a showing of Guys and Dolls. Not only was the show fantastic and the cast extremely talented, but I had the best time with my siblings and loved being able to escape the stress and heaviness that I’ve been feeling over the last few weeks. I do not take my relationships with my three younger siblings for granted. I’m so extremely lucky to be so close to them and grateful to have them to lean on. We laughed until we cried, we sang along, and we recounted the memories of our middle school doing this play years ago. Moments of joy. I’m clinging to them and they carry me through. 10/10 recommend checking out Guys and Dolls if you need an escape from life for a few hours. It’s seriously so well done. #gifted #heytherechelsie #myvibrantlife #halecentretheatre #guysanddolls #utahtheatre #momentsofjoy #thingstodoinutah #utahunique
Sometimes you gotta bleed to know That you’re a Sometimes you gotta bleed to know That you’re alive and have a soul ❤️‍🩹 #heytherechelsie #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcaftermiscarriage #infertilityawareness #infertilitywarrior #twentyonepilotslyrics #miscarriageawareness #infertilityjourney
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for Your m Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for Your messages, your love, your texts, and your sweet gifts. We are humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we’ve received and words cannot begin to describe how much it has helped us feel not so alone. I know I haven’t gotten back to everyone yet, but know that we’ve seen and read every message. We’re still processing the life-changing, devastating news we received last week, but we’re doing our best to find pockets of peace and moments of joy. We’re clinging to each other and to our families (both of our parents, by some tender mercy, already had plans to fly out for this weekend.) We’re doing our best to smile between our tears. I can’t say it’s okay yet, but I can say we will rise to meet this challenge, together. #heytherechelsie #myvibrantlife #balloonfestival #freedomfest #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcaftermiscarriage #infertilityawareness #infertilitysucks #infertilitysupport #infertilitywarrior
MRI results / Infertility update. Not the news we MRI results / Infertility update. Not the news we wanted - but we’re all in this together now. Here’s what the MRI showed, and what our next steps are. #infertility #infertilityawareness #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcaftermiscarriage #adenomyosis #infertilitysucks #infertilitywarrior
These sunset watercolor nails with a hint of rose These sunset watercolor nails with a hint of rose gold foil deserve a permanent spot on my feed - @polkadottedbysyd always makes my nail dreams come true. And yes, these are my REAL nails! No acrylics, no gel tips, nothing! Syd has carefully cared for my hands for two years now and has helped me grow strong, healthy nails that can handle car seat buckles, tricky wrappers, and everything in between. Grateful for pretty nails and everything these hands do for me. #watercolornails #sunsetnails #utahnails #utahnailtech #gelnails #summernails2021 #handpaintednailart #nailtrends #boycottboringnails #nailedit #polkadottedbysyd #nailsoftoday #nailclub #nailgame #nailgram