Every Sunday, I stop by to share with you a few raw and real stories from my week in The Sunday Edit. Stories where I edited struggles into strengths and found Gem moments when shining seemed impossible. You’ll also find what products have been making my life easier, what new Gem finds I’ve come across, and the best sales going on right now! In the comments below, tell me a struggle you were faced with this week AND something good that happened to you.
Life Stuff
On Thursday, I was minding my own business writing blog posts at a Dunkin’ Donuts (um, FYI they have ICE CREAM INSPIRED coffee flavors right now!) and then the manager sat down to interview someone. To be honest, it wasn’t going well initially (what? It’s not my fault they were talking very loud!). But then, the manager asked about tattoos. The woman began to explain the stories of the ones she had – a symbol of her brother that died from a heart attack, another to honor her father who passed from cancer. And all of the sudden the tone of the whole conversation shifted to one of admiration and understanding. The two then talked about life and how hard stuff really put things into perspective. After hearing the note the interview ended on, I’ll be extremely surprised if this gal doesn’t land the job. Once again, I’m reminded of how important our stories are. When we open our hearts up, even just a little bit, we create understanding, connection, and energy.
Speaking of my own story. Ugh. I had this brief period of time (which looking back seems like it lasted for only like maybe 45 seconds) where I was actually believing I was getting my life back on track. And now, that seems like it’s all fallen to pieces. I told you about a few things last week that are seriously stressing me out right now, and while our broken air conditioning was a simple fix, I need to do some serious reworking of my life in order to pull off getting some kind of car to drive. It sucks because I was finally at the point where all of our bills were paid on time and I was pulling in enough money for life to work. It feels like just as I got that together and made it over that hurdle, now there’s this new puzzle piece screwing everything up again. It’s also made it so hard to recognize and appreciate the progress I’ve made. It’s hard when the growth that has happened doesn’t end up being enough. It makes me feel like I’m not enough.
So, how does one get through stuff like that? For me right now, it’s helping to tell myself that this is a part of my story. Someday (hopefully soon!), I’m going to look back and tell you an inspiring story about the time when I wasn’t making enough income to be approved for car financing. One day, I’m going to tell you about how I went from crying so hard in my car that I had to pull over to collect myself because I just had no clue how to make it through life to how I fell in love with being alive. Soon, I’ll have more of the pieces of the “how I went from stressed out, broken twenty-something to ruling the content creation industry and crafting my dream life” story.
It doesn’t seem like it now at all, but all this hard stuff is creating content, empowerment, and strength for me to share with you later. So promise me you’ll stick around for it, okay? The entire reason I share my heart and my struggles on the internet is because I want you to see that if I can claw my way out of all this stuff, you can make it through your shit, too, and you can see it through until it becomes part of your story.
I’m so stuck in this place right now that I’m forcing myself to see and list positive things that happened this week so that I can acknowledge the good (and if you’ve had a rough week, I encourage you to do the same)… This isn’t easy and I’ve already been sitting here for 15 minutes trying to locate the good… I grabbed dinner for us at one of my favorite pizza places one night. I found out Dunkin Donuts has ice cream coffee flavors right now. I got to spend more time than usual with my favorite 3 year old and 5 year old. Shaun made a cute little intro for my YouTube videos. Shaun also cleaned lots of stuff around the house which gave me less things to stress about. It’s been warm outside and I love being able to run outdoors. OREO thought my platform was cool enough for us to work together, which is pretty neat!
I’m awesome because, despite all the stress, I stuck to the Monday/Wednesday/Friday blog post schedule I promised you I’d deliver (check out my next round of Empties, how to wear an off shoulder dress, and simple things you need for summer gatherings). I met all my campaign and sponsorship posting deadlines. I let my emotions out this week when I needed to and pulled together my productivity when I needed to as well. I organized some of my mom’s kitchen cabinets even though I was tremendously tired. I showed up to teach all of my classes even when I just wanted to lay in bed all day. I did a good job this week simply because I did not give up.
If any of this landed with you, or if you just “get it”, tell me in the comments!
Products Making Life Easier:
- Quip Toothbrush – I heard someone on the radio say this is the iPhone of toothbrushes, and I completely agree. I feel so cool when I use mine, and brushing for a full 2 minutes (it’s timed so you know how long to brush for) really does make my mouth feel cleaner!
- Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream – When your air conditioner is broken, you get to have as much ice cream as you want, right? I feel like we often expect all natural foods to not necessarily taste as good as the other options out there, but I promise you, this natural ice cream seriously tastes better than any other one I’ve had from a carton!
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Jane Iredale Golden Shimmer – I’ve had to keep my makeup routine really simple this week because what’s the point of putting it on when it will sweat off your face before you leave the house? I use a bit of this on my eyelids and tops of my cheekbones for a simple warm and glowy look!
Latest Finds & Sales:
- Just found out my summery Swiss Dot yellow dress from this look now also comes in the most beautiful teal that reminds me of the clear blue-green water at one of my favorite beaches, Siesta Key.
- I’ve been eyeing up the Castañer Espadrille Wedges (so perfect for summer to wear with literally every outfit this season, I hear they’re comfy!, and I love the feminine ankle ties) and found quite a few pairs on sale like this chic metallic silver pair ($52 off!), this fun red and white striped pair (50% off!), this pair in pale pink ($31 off!) , and this elegant crochet pair ($50 off!).
- You told me you’ve been head over heels for the off shoulder dress trend, so I found a few of the most flowy and flattering styles that are all on sale right now! This post has more tips on how to style off shoulder dresses.
Talk To Me
In the comments below, tell me a struggle you were faced with this week AND something good that happened to you.
