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Carley Nelson

@carleyc_az

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📷 Travel diaries
🌵 At home in the desert
🏠 Occasionally attempting DIY projects
📍 Phoenix, AZ

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35 was the year of learning. 🤍

I learned to listen to my intuition, and the more I trusted her, the louder she got. I gave attention to the parts of me that had been waiting a long time to be seen and held. There was heartbreak. There were hard lessons. There was so much letting go. And somewhere in the middle of it all, I started trusting that every bit of it was meant to happen. Everything I’ve walked through has been leading me exactly where I need to be.

This year I quietly started laying the foundation for the life I truly want. 36, I’m ready to build on it. ✨

And to my people… this birthday hit me in the best way. 🥹 For so long I didn’t know how to ask to be celebrated with. You didn’t make me ask. You showed up, poured love into me, and made me feel so deeply seen and cherished.

I’ll carry that with me for a long time.

Thank you for loving me so well ❣️

I’m walking into 36 trusting myself in a way I never have before, and that might be the greatest gift this year gave me. 🥂🍂

📸The sweetest carousal with all my favorite humans and my favorite September memories ❣️

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A dreamy day in the desert #ArizonaHike #AZHike #Hiking

@carleyc_az 📸

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Living slow. Cherishing quiet moments. Cultivating peace. Leaning into curiosity each day. Merry Christmas! ❤️🎄✨ 2026 is just around the corner.

Photo @carleyc_az

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A little August and September photo 🗞️ and reflection on turning 35

Thirty-five came with a tenderness I didn’t expect.

It hit me harder than other birthdays not because I’m afraid of getting older, but because I found myself thinking, I really thought I’d be somewhere different by now.

But when I slow down and look around, I see a life that feels full even if it doesn’t look like the picture I once imagined.

I have friends who feel like home, a body that carries me through adventures, work that gives me purpose, a space that holds my peace, and people who’ve walked into my life this year and reminded me how much love still exists in the world.

I’m still growing. Still figuring things out. Still chasing dreams that mean something to me. But I’m learning not to rush anymore not to let scarcity or timelines make me believe I’m behind. What’s meant for me will unfold when it’s meant to, and I trust that now in a way I never used to.

Maybe 35 isn’t about having it all figured out.
Maybe it’s about looking around at the life you’ve built imperfect, evolving, honest and realizing you’re finally proud of the person you’ve become. 🤍

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March was so sweet to me 🌼

It reminded me how healing it is to be surrounded by people who truly see you.

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship, the quiet, consistent kind that holds you through both the chaos and the calm. The kind that feels like home.

This month, I felt myself reaching out more, showing up more fully, and letting myself be loved in ways I used to resist. I’ve been more intentional about pouring into the people I love, and I’ve felt them meet me there, pouring right back.

I said yes to spontaneity, leaned into laughter, and let myself feel joy without bracing for it to leave. I caught pieces of myself I hadn’t felt in a while. The playful parts, the brave parts, the soft parts.

Connection, real, grounding connection, has a way of bringing us back to life when we forget how to find our way 💛

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April was good to me 🌸

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Back in June I found a beautiful bathroom renovation on the internet (swipe for it). My Dad, Mom, and I set out to recreate it. The bulk of it took just under a week to complete (I still have some base moulding that needs to be done). Thank you @carleyc_az for your inspiration and mom and dad for your help! Kitchen is next!
#bathroomrenovation
#bathroomremodel
#blackhexagontile
#diy

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This afternoon I’ve been spending time with memories of this backpacking trip.

April 2021. Tanner trail - Escalante trail - confluence if the Colorado and the little Colorado rivers, Grand Canyon.

Cold-from-below-the-dam river on my skin, mildly smashed charcuterie flavored with canyon salts, warm dust blowing over my face in the night, soft travertine sediment caked on my arms as I do my best to become a part of the river, song of gratitude sung in accompaniment with the breeze as we walk along.

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Havasupai Campground at Havasu Creek
Supai, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
📷 credits
1. John Burcham @burchamphoto
2. Carley Nelson @carleyc_az
3. Brian Fontanella @brianfont
4. Unknown

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Inspiração detalhes em madeira natural via: @carleyc_az
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#instadecoração #inspiration #inspiração #decoração #decoração #dekoration #homedecor #interiordesign #designerdeinterior #eudesignerdeinteriores #beautiful #ideias

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“Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold your life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time.” - Hannah Arendt | 📷 by @carleyc_az with @kendallanncurry | Featured pack from the Daylite Series #ospreypacks

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