by Joey | Sep 14, 2015 | Throwback
Hurdle after hurdle, this year keeps throwing twists and turns at us that should trip us up. I saw this image a few weeks ago, on a particularly hard day, and thought…yup.
But the truth is, the only real option is to just keep moving forward. It’s to the point now that when we hit a hurdle, J and I just look at each other, hold hands, and jump. We know what it’s all for. And no matter what the situation is, we have each other’s backs.
I get asked a lot about our marriage, our relationship. And the truth is, we’ve never actually had an easy go of it. From day one, things have been hard. A kind of hard that I’m not even sure I can articulate to you. The kind of hard that’s a book waiting to happen. But in reality, it was the best preparation for a happy, healthy, and strong marriage.
We joke sometimes that the one thing that was determined to destroy us only set us up to be indestructible.
We stand together, always. Our life is almost always chaos. We’re both constantly chasing after dreams, doing whatever it takes to make those happen. We’ve grown. We’ve changed. Every single day is different, producing some new unknown. And everything seems so damn scary almost all of the time. But it all seems possible with someone standing next to you, whispering in your ear the reminders you need to hear.
I’ve had this friend since I was thirteen. This boy who saw my future even before I could. The man who knew I’d become this woman, who practically pulled her out of me. The husband who taught me that I could do more, be more, have whatever I wanted, and helped me along the way. He’s stood by me, even when I wasn’t the best version of myself.
Failure is easier to swallow when you come home to someone who pushes you back out the door the next day, promising it’ll be better this time. And when it isn’t, they have ice cream waiting.
Life is hard, friends. And sometimes I think we have it harder than most (why? seriously, why?) but this hard life feels easy with him.
People ask me what to look for in a future spouse. They ask me but how do you know for sure? I’ll never understand why I’m the person these people ask; I know nothing about dating. I married the boy who sat behind me in 8th grade PE, who practically stalked me into dating him (who I then pestered into marrying me). But if I had to offer some words on the topic, I’d say to think about what could possibly be your worst day ever. Then think about the kind of person you’d want there with you in that moment. You’d probably want someone who could comfort you, listen to you, understand you even when you can’t say words. In my case, I wanted the guy who could make even my saddest heart laugh.
Find the person that even on your worst day, you can look at them and say you know, it’s lucky we still really like each other.
by Joey | Sep 11, 2015 | Throwback
I don’t have a nail polish post for you today because I haven’t painted my nails consistently since last month. I’m not sure who I am anymore, but once I figure that out, I’ll let you know.
Also, I’m not going to touch much on 9/11 today. I’ve written about it before. Many times. But today I’m going to keep things a little lighter because, well, that’s where my heart is.
When we first got married, J called me Cups. We hadn’t lived together in the 7 years we’d dated before our wedding day, but we had spent an awful lot of time together. So I think it was a little surprising to us both that we had qualities the other hadn’t noticed before. Quirks, if you will.
The nickname came from my habit of never putting cups away. If the kids I nanny are reading this (hi) they’re so going to bust me on this. Because I am the dishwasher Nazi. When I was done with a cup, I’d set it next to the sink. Not in the sink. On the counter next to it.
At the end of the week, there would be so many cups gathered on the counter that J used to joke he could “play” them like a musical instrument. There used to be a picture of this somewhere on the internet. I can’t find it.
Anyway, I’ve gotten better over the years. I’ve developed a relationship with our dishwasher, and I’m pretty good about putting the dishes where they belong. I like a neat and tidy house, afterall.
Well. This morning, I was running around tidying up (you know, so I have less to do when I get off work tonight), and this is what I discovered…
Cups lives on!!
That, partnered with the embarrassing number of water bottles I finally cleaned out of the car on an ice cream run with ATA earlier this week, no one can ever say I’m not well hydrated.
Have a happy Friday, friends!
**A special shout out to my sister! Happy Birthday, Eileen!**
by Joey | Sep 10, 2015 | Throwback
>>I wasn’t home 30 seconds tonight (Wednesday) before I changed into my pajamas and washed my face. J came home to find me at the kitchen counter with a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn. We were both up super early for work this morning (him earlier than me…Mr-I-Left-For-Work-At-3:09-AM), so to say we were both ready to collapse into the couch tonight would be an understatement.
>>Speaking of early starts–J’s new job has him going in pretty dang early. As we got into bed last night, he admitted that he opens the door to our apartment so cautiously when he’s leaving. “I just have this fear that there’s going to be a raccoon asleep up against our door, that I’ll wake it up, and it’ll run into our apartment in a panic.” I guess this experience had a bit of an impact on him.
>>In case you don’t follow me on instagram (you should, by the way), I chopped my hair. Some will say it’s still long, but this is the shortest my hair has been since I was growing it out a many years ago! It’s so dang healthy now, which is exactly what I was going for!
>> I pushed myself to go for my run today (yesterday, when you’re reading this). I wasn’t feeling too hot (hello, flo), but it was a run day. I tossed around the idea of just not going but knew I’d feel much better about my life if I just went. I was right. If I accomplished nothing else, I ran. I love that about starting the day with a workout.
>>Exciting things are happening this weekend! I’m hosting a blogger party for local bloggers at The Gallery in South End! If you happen to live in the area (or nearby!) email me for deets! I’d love to have you attend!
Okay friends. I’m hardly able to keep my eyes open. I’m out. Have a good Thursday!
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by Joey | Sep 9, 2015 | Throwback
I think I’m getting a little better at not looking like a hobo. I’ll make an official announcement next week about what’s been going on behind the scenes here lately, but on any given day I can be stopping in for a client meeting either on my way to or on my way home from work. Obviously, my day job requires very little in the way of a dress code. As long as it’s appropriate to wear in front of kids, I’m usually pretty okay.
But now that I’m frequently meeting with business owners on any given day, I’m trying to find a healthy balance between the two worlds.
On the day I wore this outfit, I actually just wore the dress with my flat gladiator sandals from Target to work. I had an event to attend afterwards (the PDQ event), so I packed my new Light in the Box booties and my denim jacket to transform the dress into an outfit.
Shout out to the almost eleven year old for taking these photos for me before I ran out!
A quick note about the
booties,
I am in love. They’re comfortable even though they have a bit of a heel. Oh, and they’re
cheap! I was surprised at how well made they were when they arrived considering the price. If you want to be trendy but aren’t fully committed to the whole
fashionista thing like me, I’d definitely recommend them (ps, they’re currently 51% off, so snag them before the sale ends)!
**the Target links are affiliate links. The light in the box links are not.
by Joey | Sep 8, 2015 | beauty, Loves
Farewell, summer! I looked at the weather this morning and was delighted to see that it’ll only be in the 90s one day this week. Yup, that’s “fall” in North Carolina for you.
I’m in the minority. I’ve never cared much for summertime. So I’m practically pushing it out the door. I’m not one of those omg fall! girls, though I do really love fall. But I honestly think I just like any season that isn’t summer. Fun fact: winter is my fave.
I stopped off at Yankee Candle on Friday and managed to only pick up a few tarts for our warmer. They’re stashed under our kitchen sink for now because I refuse to burn any fall fragrances until there’s an actual chill in the air. It makes me giggle though every time I reach in that cabinet because I’m literally assaulted by the scent every time I open the cupboard. I’m okay with that.
I snuck out for a quick run yesterday. I went a little further than I’d gone the last few times. I did have to stop. A lot. I’m not quite back into the groove I maintained in Buies Creek, but I’m determined to get back there. I honestly really just love how great an analogy running always is for life. Sometimes there are hills. Sometimes you have to stop to catch your breath. Sometimes you pass people. Sometimes they pass you. But in the end, you’ve still accomplished something.
I’ll leave you with that, on this Tuesday that feels like a Monday! Enjoy your day, friends!
**This post contains some affiliate links
