The Sunday Edit – Volume 26

In The Sunday Edit, we talk about two things: 1) Struggles – real moments that happened from my week that were not so great and 2) Shines – awesome things that happened along with what products have been making my life easier, what new Gem finds I’ve come across, and the best sales going on right now!

**This post may contain affiliate links (which means I make a small commission when you shop from them) and gifted items because we all have to pay our bills, and I’d rather keep creating awesome content for you than get a real job. All opinions are my own.**

New Posts on The Gem:

• Why My First Gal Meets Glam Collection Dress Is so Special
• The Sunday Edit – Volume 25
• 4 Staples to Prep Your Wardrobe for Summer
  
• Lash Extensions Review with Swank Hair Studio

Life Update & Thoughts:

Hi Gems,

Look at me go! Two Sunday Edits in a row, woohoo!

Moving is still the bigging thing on my mind this week – in addition to which Gal Meets Glam Collection dress from the May launch I want to buy (I mean I want to buy all of them but then my thoughts come back to moving and how I need to save a lot of money to do that). I think this wildflower print jumpsuit might take the cake though!

I’m trying so hard to let my excitement be louder than my overwhelm in my head. Since I’ve posted about my intention to move over the coming months on Instagram a few times now, people are starting to ask me questions on “where” and “when” when they see me in person. It’s weird. I’ve wanted to take this leap for the longest time, so actually saying those words out loud and having those conversations is making it all feel so real in, in the best way! You Gems really came through for me when I asked for location suggestions on Instagram and I’m so excited to start looking into your recommendations. Having a starting point helps reduce my stress so much – THANK YOU!

In other news, we took my baby niece on her first trip to the zoo yesterday. I don’t think she was phased given that she’s only 6 weeks old, but it’s just so much fun to have a new little person around when we do things as a family. I have such a hard time putting her down… I have to laugh because every time I post about her, people message or text me saying, “I know you’d love being an aunt” almost like they were concerned I wouldn’t enjoy it. It doesn’t bother me one bit and I’m just happy for having people in my life that keep up with my story and reach out with their thoughts. Rather, it’s just interesting to me because we often seem to forget that it’s okay to have mixed feelings about things in life, as I did with my sister’s pregnancy. Something can bring you joy and heartbreak, something can bring you calmness and anxiety, you can love someone so much even though they drive you crazy. Mixed feelings can be so exhausting when we feel like we HAVE to reconcile them. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my much younger sister having a baby before me, it’s that I’m allowed to have mixed feelings. It’s okay for it to tug at my heart and make me so happy at the same time. I don’t need to reconcile anything. In fact, it wasn’t until I allowed both sides of my feelings to exist that I started really wholeheartedly accepting what was going on. It no longer felt like something emotionally draining that I had to “deal with” internally. It made it possible for me to let in the joy of this precious little girl that’s stolen my heart. I love her so much.

I’m also just so proud of my sister. She’s been through a whole lot in the only 20 years she’s been on the Earth. I’ve never seen her love something as much as this little peanut. Even when she’s exhausted, she gets the biggest smile on her face and her eyes light up with joy when she holds her. She’s navigating all the “being a mom” stuff so naturally and I’ve loved watching her step into this role. It seems like just last week when I drank an entire bottle of wine (it’s fine, I was on vacation, so I was allowed to do that) and then she told me she was pregnant.

Shines:

• People are booking me left and right for photography and I could not be happier about it!
• We’re going to New Jersey for Memorial Day Weekend. I love traveling, so I’m looking forward to being in a different state for a few days, seeing family, and hopefully spending time with my best friend in the whole wide world.
• I spent the whole day on Friday snuggling with my baby niece. It’s like none of my stress matters when I have that little cutie in my arms.
• I’m starting to do research for planning trips to North and South Carolina to try and narrow down where I want to live. I’m always happy to have upcoming travel plans on my calendar!

Struggles:

• I’m doing a terrible job of posting on Instagram outside of sponsored posts. I promised you guys that I’d do less sponsored content, and I have! But it’s hard to tell because I haven’t been writing as many things in between the sponsored posts. Most sponsored posts have a deadline, and it’s easier to hold myself accountable when I’m getting paid and have a specific submit/publish date. But for other posts, I keep saying, “okay I need to sit down and write today’s Instagram post” and then the day gets away from me or I get mentally burnt out and then it never happens.
• There’s been quite a major wrench thrown in my moving plan. I need to let my feelings settle a little bit about it before I share it with you, but it changes quite a lot about how I thought I was going to be able to pull this off. I’m trying to trust that I will figure something else out, but it feels like such a big setback right now.
• I’m playing a risky game by juggling as many things as I am right now. I’m trying to stay calm, give myself some grace, and remind myself that even if I mess something up, everything will be okay in the end.

Currently Loving: