by Joey | Oct 19, 2015 | Throwback
I hit Target the other day (are you even surprised?) and saw that the Airwick fall scents were on sale for $4.99 (two inserts and a plug in). I didn’t even think twice, boop boop boop, in to my basket went three different packs, thank you very much.
When I got home, J and I were in a hurry to pop out for a much overdue date night (thanks to my sweet bosses who insisted they treat us to dinner one night this weekend) but while the hubs took the pup outside, I ran around the house switching the warmers out. And then I forgot all about it.
We walked over to Tupelo Honey (I’m still in awe of the fact that we live somewhere that we can walk to date night. I think living in Buies Creek has scarred me for life). It was absolute bliss. It’d been entirely too long since we’d purposely gone on a date. We put the phones away, shared a bottle of wine, ate incredible food (I had the maple glazed salmon which oh my gosh yes yum!) and chatted about all things life. Our walk back home was almost freezing. I loved it.
We raced upstairs, and when I opened the door to our apartment, fall smacked me in the face! Bliss!
Since the weather and our apartment were reflecting the wonderful season of fall, I was inspired to rock a casual fall makeup look on Sunday! Bring on all the golden shadows and berry lips!!
Fall is here, friends!!
by Joey | Oct 16, 2015 | Throwback
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This week flew by, right? Or is that just me? I swear I operated on practically no sleep (I’m sure my husband is rolling his eyes out there somewhere) for the first half of the week. Which would probably explain why being in bed by 8:50 earlier this week caused me to over sleep the next morning. Why does that happen? The more sleep you get, the more sleep you need. Go figure.
I’m still settling into my new groove, trying to follow my own rules. I’ll admit that I don’t quite have it down yet, and I did have some work to finish up a couple nights this week. But I am starting to get a handle on things. I felt exponentially less overwhelmed all week, so I guess we’ll call it a win.
A few things I learned this week:
I need to get better at giving myself grace. Lindsay’s post partners really well with my overwhelmed post from earlier this week, and really resonated with me.
How to remove denim stains from my purse. Alanna shared her secret, and you won’t believe it! I saved one of my beloved Coach bags with this tip mere minutes after reading her post!
That I desperately want to travel to Australia. Kristen’s 9 Reasons to Visit Australia (and reasons not to) just solidified that fact.
That I need to hire Sara Kate to come dress me. Her outfit post from the other day left me sa-wooooooooning.
The good, the bad & the ugly of Paleo. Kait stripped it all down and told the honest truth about her adventure with the Paleo diet.
I’m doing my best to allow myself some grace this weekend, so I’ve worked my tail off trying to set Saturday up as a do nothing day. What are your plans for the weekend? What were some of YOUR favorite posts from this week?
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by Joey | Oct 15, 2015 | Throwback
Running a business + working full time means that I don’t have time to be lazy, uninspired, or to procrastinate. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but the other side of that coin is to just come to a full stop, ignoring all responsibility. Let’s not let that happen, okay?
Your space matters. Where do you get a majority of your work done? Is it where you’re meant to get work done? See, for me, I have an office, but I was doing most of my work at the kitchen bar on on the couch. Inspiration and productivity came to a full stop whenever I was in my office. I couldn’t figure it out since I practically lived in my office in Buies Creek. Then it dawned on me. My desk was facing a wall. Talk about feeling closed in. I did some rearranging and boom! Productivity returns!
Cut out distractions. I work from home the first half of every day. It’s such a blessing but only if I actually utilize the time I have. While I do a pretty great job not falling into the Netflix trap (Netflix is for getting ready and evenings only), my phone has become my #1 nemesis. I have a hard time not answering phone calls when someone I love calls me. I read every text that comes through. I’m tempted to scroll instagram, which only opens a whole new can of worms. So when I sit down at my desk, I turn my phone to airplane mode. I crank out so much work just taking away the option to be distracted by my phone. It works wonders, people!
Hold yourself accountable. Besides being distracted by my phone, I was falling even further behind because what would happen is I’d read every message that came through, reply mentally, then forget all about it. I turned read receipts back on in iMessage. While everyone hates read receipts, it encourages me to only look at a text when I have the time to reply. It’s also eliminated my desire to run to my phone when it pings (after work-from-home-hours, of course).
Plan ahead. I plan what my workday should look like from the night before, putting the most important tasks at the top. Knowing exactly what I need to work on when I wake up each morning takes making any decisions out of the equation. Eliminating that decision eliminates the desire to procrastinate. I find that I procrastinate the most when I can’t decide what to do next. I go a step further and schedule the time that I’ll complete each project. iCal and the Simplified Planner come in super duper handy for this.
I think we all have it in us to be productive and successful, we just have to find the recipe that works for us! I’m constantly experimenting, trying to find the perfect solution to every time-wasting problem. What are some of your tips and tricks for being super productive?
Have a productive Thursday, friends!
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by Joey | Oct 14, 2015 | Throwback
For a while now, I’ve wanted brave tattooed in teeny tiny script on the underside of my wrist. The act itself would take tremendous courage because it would openly go against my upbringing. Never mind the fact that I already have a tattoo. But that’s my little secret, hidden away.
I’ve been consumed with fear lately. Chasing dreams is a synonym for taking risks. Everything feels so fragile, scary. But in true Joey fashion, I analyzed the feeling. I was tired of walking around with this knot in my throat, terrified constantly. And in order to combat it, I needed to find the root.
For weeks I assumed it was the fear of failure. But it wasn’t until I purged every worry, every thought, every dream down on to paper that I realized I had it wrong. I’m not afraid of failing. I’m afraid of the success.
As crazy as that sounds, hear me out. If I fail, what’s the worst case scenario? I keep the life I have now. And while I’m busy chasing dreams, I’m doing okay. I have a great job, a hard working husband, a cozy apartment and wonderful friends. Things are hard, but they are good.
But if I throw myself into all these creative projects floating around in my head, and I find success? Things would change. I’d be the boss. I’d assume a new role of responsibility. I’d once again be redefining myself; my world.
When you’re faced with a risk, people tell you to ask yourself what the worst case scenario is. But what do you do when the worst case scenario is actually the best case?
We get comfortable. Not lazy, necessarily, but we stick with what feels easy. I think back to my first few weeks at Western. When I got my acceptance, I knew without a doubt that I’d transfer to Appalachian after my first year. But that first week, I questioned myself. Well maybe I can just stay here. It would have been okay to stay there. There was nothing wrong with staying there. But it wasn’t what I wanted. But transferring meant I’d have to work my ass off and become vulnerable to another rejection.
It would have been easier to stay.
But for the first time in my life, I was brave. I put myself first, and I worked harder than I ever had before. And when the success came, my life changed. It was terrifying, rewarding, and everything I’d hoped it’d be.
I’m not brave, but I know I can be.
I didn’t think about failing when I started Blush. I didn’t think about failing when I set out to publish the book. I just did it because it was what I wanted. I didn’t let the thoughts in.
Sometimes you have to just ask yourself what you want.
Close your eyes.
Don’t think.
Just jump.
brave.
by Joey | Oct 13, 2015 | Throwback
I don’t read the back of books. I either dive in blind, based on author loyalty, or based on recommendations from friends (blog and IRL). Because of that, I’m not going to summarize these books for you, I’ll simply share my thoughts. I’m not so great at summarizing without giving it all away, anyway. You’re welcome.
Before I Fall Lauren Oliver (audiobook). I’ve been hearing about this book for ages. And the premise of it sounded ultra intriguing. I was absolutely hooked the first several chapters, and then it lost me. The concept is that the main character basically lives her last day before she dies over and over, each time with a differing outcome. A few times probably would have been okay, but midway through I just got bored to tears. Pass.
Confess Colleen Hoover. How she came out with a new book without me realizing it is beyond me. Usually blogland explodes with each release. I’ll admit, ever since Ugly Love, I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth. I loved Colleen Hoover and have been a devout fan up until that point. The subject matter and the way it was approached in that particular book was sincerely upsetting to me. I’m glad I decided to read Confess anyway, giving her another shot. Definitely up to her normal standard. Must read.
Girl Online Zoe Sugg (audiobook). I’m embarrassed to admit that I willingly downloaded this. I’m even more embarrassed to admit that I loved every freaking second of it. Zoella is a popular YouTuber (that might be an understatement), so curiosity got the best of me. There was some drama surrounding the release because she had help from a ghost writer (most “celebrities” do), so I really just wanted to see what the fuss was about. It was adorable and kept me interested the entire time. Read.
That’s honestly all I’ve gotten through lately. I’ve traded my precious audiobook time for podcasts (I’ll share my latest obsession soon)!
There’s a bunch of new faces around here lately (hi!) so I just wanted to take a moment to share that I have a book out! Yeah, Maybe is available on Kindle and Kindle App, and I’d just be tickled pink if you gave it a shot! (PS, if you have Amazon Prime, you can read it for free! Score)!
