Outfits of the Day #ootd
I love to put together outfits. I find something calming and exciting in the process. And if I think I look good, I tend to feel great! Hopefully, you can find some inspiration here for feeling amazing in your own body.
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Cleaning Up My Makeup Mess with Joligrace
People often say to me in real life and in blog comments, “I don’t know how you do it all with two young kids at home, running a blog with daily posting, managing social media, nurturing both virtual and real life relationships and friendships, and keeping your house in order.” Well, let me make this clear, I don’t do it all. My husband does a ton to keep the house in order. Much more than I do, in fact. If it weren’t for his efforts at home, our house would be completely overrun and buried in kid stuff! He does not, and will not, however, maintain my own personal mess!…
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The Truth About Random Acts of Kindness & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #80
I found this definition of random acts of kindness on Wikipedia, “A random act of kindness is a nonpremeditated, inconsistent action designed to offer kindness towards the outside world.” According to an analysis of this phrase and its origins, the original construction of random acts of kindness implied a level of anonymity which seems to have been lost in the current generation. A generation which has formed various groups throughout the world dedicated to sharing acts of random kindness. But anonymous or not, the world can use such acts of kindness even if they stray from the original concept of nonpremeditated and inconsistent. Premeditating and planning acts of kindness even…
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The Benefits of Boredom
When boredom sets in, most people tend to complain about it, especially children. My God, do the children complain. In a society that seeks constant stimulation, that old feeling of ennui can be quite unpleasant. We have all felt bored in our lives. Those times when nothing seems to engage you. You cannot find anything to do with yourself that is adequately interesting. A sense of dullness and tediousness seems to take over the days. It can be an unwelcome feeling indeed. And if you remain in a state of boredom for too long, it can often lead to feelings of depression or sadness. Because our minds need to be…
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When a Bad Dream Reminds You & Link Up On the Edge #101
Have you ever had a really bad dream that startles you awake and shakes you right down to your core? It’s as if you can feel your soul shiver and you can’t erase the images that flashed through your mind. Even after you have (thankfully) awaken from the dreadful reflection that your subconscious decided it was going to deliver to you. It’s dark. It’s creepy. It elicits feelings of dread that you thought you had conquered a lifetime ago. Yet, there they are again. Those old feelings that you believed you had laid to rest. Prominently displayed in your mind’s eye. Seemingly urging you to process all of those long…
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Frustration is Fruitless & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #79
When I woke up this morning to get this post written for publication in a less than a timely manner, I quickly discovered that my Wi-Fi was not working. Like not at all. After implementing all the basic troubleshooting techniques to no avail, I did a quick search on my phone to discover that Spectrum, my internet provider, was experiencing outages throughout their entire service zone of 25 states. Okay, then. That’s what I get for procrastinating. While the service outage is clearly not my fault, the putting off getting my work done in a timely manner is entirely my fault. So getting frustrated and angry at Spectrum and their…
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The Great Underwear Debacle: Chasing the Perfect Panties
Last week, I was having a conversation with a friend…a conversation about underwear. *There will be no pictures of underwear or me in my underwear in this post…just the insane musings of a twisted up girl wearing yet another kimono and some ill-fitting underwear. The conversation began with me complaining about the price of underwear and how my children hate to wear underwear. To be clear, I insist that my kids wear underwear to school. But on the weekends and during summer vacation, it is not a fight worth fighting. I figure when they are teenagers, it’s not going to much matter what I say. If they choose not to…
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It’s the 100th Link Up On the Edge
Just over 2 years ago, on June 16, 2016, I hosted my very first Link Up On the Edge. I didn’t even introduce it or anything, I just kind of threw it in at the end of the post as if I had been doing it forever! I was still using a selfie stick in my back yard for many of my photos back then. Not that my photography has improved much…I am still just using my iPhone camera, but I have graduated to a remote and tripod and have ventured out of my back yard…right on to my front porch for these photos that my husband took standing inside…
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Learning to Spot Energy Thieves
A dear friend warned me not too long ago about energy thieves. She explained to me that I have the type of positive energy that draws people toward me. I suppose it is true…I am upbeat and happy and almost always beaming with the joys of life. I have met other people who are like this and it is definitely contagious. It makes you want to be around them. They make you feel good simply by being in the presence of their good energy. When I meet people like this, it absolutely boosts my mood. I have to admit that it is an extraordinary compliment that my friend has classified…
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Inspired by Fashion Fairy Dust & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #78
I know. I know. Another kimono. But I have to tell you a story. You already know that my favorite summer outfit formula is a kimono and jean shorts. But I bet you didn’t know that this outfit combination paired with booties has been inspired by my dear friend Debbie of Fashion Fairy Dust. About a week and a half ago, she shared this amazing kimono outfit with booties on Instagram. Now I have seen shorts and booties styled together before and I always love it, but Debbie’s vibe is so my jam that I literally gasped with delight when I saw this outfit. And it stuck in my head…
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The Art of Delayed Gratification
For my entire life until I had kids, I was a voracious reader. I found such solace and escape and inspiration and motivation in reading books on a variety of different topics. I have always loved books on philosophy, psychology, religion, and self-help. My favorite genre of fiction has forever been 17th through 19th century British literature but also any type of historical fiction from most cultures. I have also always been a fan of the classics, you know, the books we were “forced” to read in grade school. I loved them all. But then I had kids and it seemed that I never had time to read for my…
