I know that my blog is supposed to be about fashion…and food. And I promise to give you a phenomenal outfit post tomorrow (think bold colors and pearls!) but for now, I want to share some thoughts from my very eye-opening travels to my husband’s home-country of Bosnia.

When Anel was 11, he left Vrbanja, the town that he had lived for his entire life, to come to America. After living through a horrific war and genocide against Muslims (his family is Muslim), his parents had the incredible opportunity to start anew in Queens, New York. From there, he has grown into an amazing, strong, kind, funny, smart man and I never really knew how different his life back home was until this trip.

Driving through the country, we saw so much destruction- houses that were bombed, bullet holes through the walls, and cemeteries full of hundreds of people that had been found in mass graves. We drove by concentration camps that his uncles survived and streets that had seen their share of tragedy. However, when you meet Bosnian people, you would have no idea. They are all so happy and kind and loving and generous. I’ve never met people who laugh more than Anel’s family. I never once, in our week there, saw anyone get stressed out or anxious or nervous about anything. It was all smiles and jokes and hugs.

Seeing how happy these people were when they live on almost nothing and have none of the luxuries that we have here made me rethink my priorities a lot. Why do I spend my time obsessing over a Celine purse when I could be spending my time enjoying my friends and family, and putting that money towards something that matters, like building up a country that can’t seem to drag itself out of a war 15 years ago?