Today I’m switching gears from the fashion and home update content so you can get to know a little bit more about me. Today I’m talking about my tattoos. I love tattoos. I love the artistry, the individuality and expression that they can convey. It is true what they say about tattoos being addicting. They do hurt, which seems contradictory to wanting to get more of them but I love them! My tattoo journey begins 10 years ago…
May 2010
My first tattoo was planned out in 2 days. I was on a girls vacation with 3 of my friends in Florida. It was on a whim that we decided to go get our first tattoos. We chose a lily flower and I do not remember why. To be completely honest this tattoo was more about just getting one than it was about what it was. I was dating a guy at the time who told me that I ‘couldn’t get a tattoo’. There are a lot of things wrong with that, I know and we broke up not long after that. First off, no one has the right to tell me what I can do with my body so I got this tattoo to prove a point, to be rebellious and to show him that I can do whatever I want to do. I do not regret it at all and it consistently reminds me that I have control… even if it is a crappy looking flower.
Since there were 4 of us, 2 of us got the flower on our left hips while the other 2 got it on the right. It’s a little larger than a quarter and I’m able to cover it up with a swimsuit if I want. I do not remember the tattoo parlor we went to but we didn’t need appts. We just walked in and got them.
March 2012
My second tattoo is in remembrance of my grandma. Every time I think of her I remember the way she would say my name when I was being annoying. She always made a smacking noice with her mouth before she said ‘Ashley!’ When she laughed really hard she would squeeze her eyes shut which always made me laugh. I miss her. Lung cancer took her from us in 2011. I drew up a tattoo to remember her. She loved birds. She had a bird named Petey and loved watching the feeders outside. She had the most annoying bird clock too, ugh hated that! The design I came up with was a swallow with the lung cancer ribbon as the tail. I wanted it in a place that I could see so I placed it on my foot. My sister has the same tattoo on her shoulder and my mom also has this one on her foot.
This tattoo was done at Blue Lotus on Odana Road in Madison, WI
August 2012
My third tattoo I got with my sister. We broke apart the words in the children’s book, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.” My sister has the first part, I have I’ll like you for always and my mom was supposed to get the last part. She still hasn’t done it. I love the book and I love the words. Even if my mom doesn’t have the last part, it still means a lot to me and reminds me of my family. We placed the tattoo on our ribs so when my sister and I stand next to each other, they touch.
This tattoo was done at Blue Lotus on Odana Road in Madison, WI
August 2016
My favorite and largest tattoo is my peacock feather. Around this time in my life I was really struggling with my self confidence… so naturally it was time to get another tattoo. I wanted something that represented how I was feeling. When I think if beauty what do I think of…. peacocks. How outwardly beautiful they are and the bigger and brighter they are, the more noticed they get. For this feather I wanted to strip all the color to symbolize inner beauty. Without the bright and bold colors it’s just another feather, right. I wanted this feather to be somewhere that I could see it, be close to my heart without literally being on my heart and to be large so on my inner left arm it went.
This tattoo was done at Ultimate Arts in Madison, WI
May 2018
My 5th tattoo I got with my friend. This was kind of a whim one as well but it has a lot of meaning to me. I drew up both of our tattoos. My arrow is on my right arm because I’m right handed… no other reasoning behind the placement other than that. It’s about 3 inches long. The upper portion of the arrow is black and white symbolizing me and Sean. There are 3 lines underneath for my dad, my mom and my sister and 3 dots along the arrow at 6, 13 and 15 for my wedding date. The initials J and T are in the feather at the end for my dogs; Jaida and T-Rex. As small as it is, it is packed with everything that means the most to me.
This tattoo was done at Ultimate Arts in Madison, WI
June 2019
I’m a very stressed person. I like to keep busy and be on the go which in turn creates a lot of pressure on myself and stress at trying to get so much done all the time. I wanted a constant reminder to slow down, breathe and calm down. I diffuse a lot of essential oils and it really does help me relax so I got a lavender plant tattooed on my wrist where I could always see it and be reminded to just relax. It’s about 2 inches long.
This tattoo was done at Isthmus Tattoo in downtown Madison, WI
Thank you so much for reading. Until next time,
