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 Friday friends! Another week in the books and I am ready for the weekend! We are supposed to get more snow here and I don’t know about you but when it gets cold outside I like to warmup inside with a good, cozy bath! This led to today’s post because I wanted to share with you my recently discovered clean bath time routine, that not only smells great (if you make it like I do), but is super beneficial to your body too! Anyone guess what it is yet?? I’m talking a good ole fashioned Epsom salt bath, but with a little boujee added to it, for some Jill Comes Clean approved flair. Continue reading “MY CLEAN BATH ROUTINE”
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:
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!
Happy Monday friends! Typically, today would be a Monday Must Haves but since it is New Years Eve I thought I’d do a little year in review of 2018 instead because wow what a year it was!
Let me first just say that this was THE best year of my life because our sweet little Leyton was born. I can’t wait for all the years ahead with him, God willing, and look forward to watching him grow. He turns 1 in just a few days and I can’t even believe it! I have learned so much about myself (and about babies) in this past year and I feel truly blessed to have had such a wonderful 2018. So without further ado let’s take a look back at the highlights of the past year! Continue reading “2018 YEAR IN REVIEW”
Hi friends! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying the last few days of 2018! Eric, Leyton and I spent Christmas at my parents place in Pennsylvania where I grew up and are heading back to Cincinnati today. Today also happens to be Eric’s birthday and since we are spending it traveling we decided to do a little overnight trip Wednesday night (and have a little kid free get away) to Hershey since it’s less than an hour away from my parent’s house. Continue reading “MINI VACAY TO HERSHEY, PA”
Merry Christmas Eve!! I decided to say Merry Christmas to everyone today since I typically post on Monday’s and because tomorrow I’ll be spending the day with family and trying to take a break from social media :).
As you know I typically do a Monday Must Haves post, but this week I’m just writing to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy, safe holiday. The older I get the less and less it feels like Christmas and I’m not sure why. Maybe we grow up and lose some of that Christmas magic we had as kids, or maybe the day to day hustle and bustle just makes it all feel like another day. I get it, but it’s still a little sad. Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I hate when it doesn’t always feel like it. I tell Eric that maybe it’s because there’s no snow (I looove me a white Christmas) but he thinks I’m crazy for wanting snow, ever. So my wish is that we all get at least a few moments that still feel like Christmas. Whether it’s when we are with family or friends, or when we watch a certain Christmas movie or hear a certain song. And may we all take time to just be present, remember the true reason for the season, and enjoy this time.
I was going to share our Christmas card but have had trouble uploading it so here are some pictures from our card this year. Merry Christmas Eve and have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow!
photocred: johannabrunphotography
Happy middle of the week friends! It’s What’s Up Wednesday! Typically we do this the last Wednesday of every month but with next week being Christmas we decided to bump it up a week. What’s Up Wednesday is where other bloggers and I link up with Mix and Match Mama, The Larson Lingo, and Sheaffer Told Me To and we answer these questions…..
Happy Monday friends! We are officially one week out from Christmas Eve! I for one, am still doing a lot of last minute shopping, and really a lot of praying that everything gets here before Christmas. We did Christmas with Eric’s family this weekend and had a great time. It’s just crazy that it is already here and gone. It all goes so fast. Anyways, two of my Monday Must Haves came from our gift exchange, and I love them so much I can’t wait to share them! There are also a few other things here that would be great gift ideas if you are still on the hunt! Okay, let’s just dive right in!
