Month: January 2019

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  It felt like we were living in the Arctic at times here with the snow and wind gusts we got, but man if I don’t love how pretty things look after it snows.  Snow definitely qualifies as a must have for winter, to help make this dreary season somewhat enjoyable and at least nice to look at! Continue reading “MONDAY MUST HAVES” →

Happy Wednesday friends!  I had planned a wellness post of sorts for today, but I’m pushing that to Friday because I did a thing, and got super inspired to get on here and share some of what I got out of it, with you!

If you don’t know by now, I, like the rest of the world, am obsessed with Rachel Hollis.  If you don’t know her, she is the author of Girl Wash Your Face, and if you haven’t read it you are missing out.  Like, you are actually missing out on hard hitting, tell it to you straight, wisdom.  This girl is a game changer.  She is real and tells it to you like a good friend, who’s known you for years, and doesn’t sugar coat to spare your feelings, does.  On a recent podcast of hers she explained how she came about her style of teaching from the mere fact that too many people out there are cheerleaders, whereas she is more of a coach.   Don’t get me wrong cheerleaders are great! They pump us up, encourage us, and give us all the positivity.  We need cheerleaders in our life no doubt.  But in order for us (me) to really put go after and achieve my goals, I (we) need pushed!  I need help getting there.  I need direction.  I need someone yelling at me from the sidelines (well gently yelling….she doesn’t actually yell), but you get my point.  Athletes have a set of skills and talents, but they win championships, and titles, and Olympic medals because those skills and talents are brought out of them, and are put to best use, by a coach.

So when Rachel Hollis announced she was offering life and business coaching…..I laced up my cleats, taped up my ankles, put on the uniform, and I joined that team!

What’s Your Word?

So getting to the topic of this post….yesterday we had our first coaching session, and part of this first class was having us really plan out our year ahead.  Looking at who we want to be, what goals we want to achieve, and so on for 2019.  Friends, this is the kick in the butt I needed, because I can plan and plan and plan in my head, but actually following through with that plan rarely happens.  One of the things she had us do was something I know lots of people have already done at the start of the new year, and that’s to come up with your word.  What one word do you want to guide you throughout the year?  Eric thought I was crazy when I mentioned this, but it’s actually something I’ve discovered more and more people doing.  It serves as a guideline, or reminder of sorts to stay the course with your goals.

Originally, my word was intentional.  I felt so all over the place in 2018 and like I did a lot of things willy nilly and without much intention.  And while I still want to be more intentional throughout the year, I have to come clean……that word wasn’t enough.  It didn’t stick with me day in and out.  It didn’t apply to the majority of my life.  So after doing one of Rachel’s exercises yesterday and thinking about who exactly I want to be in 2019, and what I want the best version of myself to look like, I decided to change my word.  My new word is:

Committed

I thought long and hard about this because I wanted a good word!  It’s like your name!  You have it all year (unless you change it like I did with my first one), and it is to encompass a whole lot of things you have planned for yourself.  I looked up synonyms to it to see if I could get anything a little more snazzy, but I kept coming back to this one.  So I committed, to committed (okay and it allows me to make jokes??  I like it already!).

I chose committed because when I wrote down all the things I want to do and be in 2019 I realized that I can do it.  I can be successful with my plans, but I have to be committed.  Not only committed to the goals and aspirations, but committed to the process.  If I want to cook meals every night of the week for my family, I have to commit to meal planning and grocery shopping, and making the meals.  If I want to spend more time playing with Leyton during the day I have to commit to putting the phone down when he’s playing and I’m scrolling social media.  If I want to get back to pre-baby shape, I have to commit to working out at least three times a week, eating healthy meals, and drinking enough water.  So you see my point.  I have to commit every.single.day.  And I’m not naive.  I know that I’m probably just currently on a high from Rachel’s teaching.  I know I will lose motivation, and have days when I’m tired, or lazy, or hungry for cinnamon rolls.  I know me.  I know life.  It won’t come easy all 365 days.  But that’s why I have my word.  To remind myself, when I want to take the easy way out, or slack off, or leave the house a mess, or not follow my schedule, that I COMMITTED!  I signed up for the team.  I went through tryouts. I came to play.

Do you have a word for 2019?  I’d love to hear what other words people are using.  Have a great Wednesday friends!  See you back here Friday.

Jill

 

Happy weekend friends!  I should have been saying happy Friday, as this post was planned for then, but if you saw my Instagram yesterday then you know that life happened (ie: we all got sick) and time got away from me.  So rather than not post at all, I decided to extend it a day.

Now, what I really want to say is….we made it!  We made it through Leyton’s first year!  I can’t believe that year has already come and gone.  As I was looking through pictures to put in this post, I have so many emotions. Obviously sad that, that tiny little peanut isn’t that little anymore.  Excited for how much he’s grown and all he is doing now, and how much fun personality he has.  Nostalgic just remembering those earlier days and how brand new everything was.  And just awe at this whole experience.  We love that little guy so much, and just can’t wait to see all the changes to come as he gets bigger. Continue reading “1 YEAR UPDATE!” →

Hi friends!  Today I’m linking up with Mix and Match Mama and A Little Bit of Everything Blog to bring you a new series that we will be doing the second Wednesday of every month, called Let’s Look!  Each month we will look at something new.  For today, and the very first one of these, we are looking at…..the coziest spot in our house!

Before we get to that, if you want to link up with us or follow along, here is a list of what we will cover each month….

Okay, so let’s get to it!  I must say it took me a second to decide what I deemed the coziest spot in our house, because I love a cozy home and try my hardest to make many areas feel cozy.  I find the living room to be cozy during the day, the basement at night or weekend when hanging out with Eric, and even my office has it’s cozy moments.  But when I really thought about it I decided that while all those spaces have their cozy moments, the coziest spot in my house is hands down….my bed!

You just can’t beat being in a pair of pajamas, with a warm cup or coffee, some oils diffusing, and a good book!  Now, these days the opportunity to lay in bed, reading and relaxing does not present itself often, but man should I find time to do this more because it is amazing!  I don’t know about you, but I love slow mornings reading and drinking coffee with some orange or tangerine essential oil in the diffuser to help wake me up.  And, now that it’s winter, it gets harder and harder to get out of bed, am I right?

So aside from a good, comfy bed with lots of pillows, and comfy bedding, here are some other things I feel make for a cozy environment!

MY TOP 10 COZY MUST HAVES:

1. A good cup or coffee, tea, or some hot beverage.  Or at night, a glass of wine can be plenty cozy.
2. A good book!  I’m currently reading (interchanging) Emily Ley’s books Grace, Not Perfection and A Simplified Life.
3. A good devotional.  I have to start my mornings with some time with God and lately I have been doing that with devotionals.  The one I’m reading and loving currently is Embraced by Lysa TerKeurst.
4. A good set of pajamas.  I love the pajama sets from Nordstrom and these joggers from Aerie.  The sleepwear from J.Crew Factory is also super cozy.
5. Comfortable Slippers.  I love the slippers from Old Navy.  Always super cute and comfortable but they don’t break the bank.  I wear slippers hard so I hate spending a ton on them, and these satisfy every time.
6. Essential Oils.  In the past I would have said a candle was a must for creating a cozy environment, but you guys, if you haven’t heard me say it a million times already, candles are so toxic and harmful!  So instead, I diffuse essential oils to get that cozy scent.  And best part….my diffuser has various light settings, including a candle flicker mode, so I don’t lose that ambiance that comes from a lit candle.  The other option that I have around my home are the battery powered, fake candles.  I love love love those, but when I want a scent I reach for my oils.
7. A good show or movie.  When I’m being cozy in the morning I tend to have quiet time and read or browse stuff online, but nighttime is a different story.  At night I love to cozy up on the couch with the lights dim, oils diffusing, preferably a glass of wine in hand, and a good show or movie on the TV.  My current favorites are Below Deck, New Amsterdam, Top Chef, Dirty John, and my latest find….Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix.
8. A super soft blanket.  You’ve probably heard me say it before but the throws from TJMAXX are out of this world comfortable!  And you can’t beat the price!  Nordstrom also has super soft, cozy ones.  You can shop them here.  Some are pricey (but worth it) and others are under $30.  I also love and massive, heavy down comforter.
9. Pillows!  I’m a total pillow junky.  Eric is soooo over the amount of pillows I have accumulated in this house, but something about them is just so cozy and inviting and necessary to be comfortable and/or to feel totally engulfed in your bed.
10. A quiet, phone free space. I know I said above that in the mornings I like to read or look at the internet, which is true, but at night or in the mornings when I’m really needing to zen out I like to put the phone away for a while and just be present in the cozy moment.  I think shutting off from the world, for a little while is good for everyone.  It allows us to regain our thoughts, spend time on other things without the social distraction, and just be for a while.  I’m not always great at doing it, but when I can manage to put the phone down for a while, it is a little more freeing and relaxing.

So that’s my favorite cozy space in my home, and how I do cozy around here.  Next month we are looking at our favorite reads and oh man am I excited for that one!!  See you back here Friday!