The Sunday Edit – Volume 30

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:

• Exploring Richmond, Virginia
• Linen Clothes for Cool Summer Outfits
• The Sunday Edit – Volume 29
• Pick Your Own Tulips at Burnside Farms in Nokesville, Virginia

Life Update & Thoughts:

Hi Gems!

I cannot believe my big 10-day road trip is already over and that it’s the last day of June. It’s hard to believe that last Sunday I was soaking in every detail I could of Charleston, South Carolina. I think the excitement of the trip has finally caught up to me because I have no energy at the moment. It took me nearly 3 hours to convince myself to get out my computer to type this up. But, I want to document as much of this past week and a half as possible while it’s still fresh in my head.

The first few days of the trip were almost too good to be true. Aside from the baby having an explosive poop right as we rolled out to the first hotel (you can see a few photos of the historic spot here), the trip was off to a really smooth and relaxing start. Richmond Virginia was the first stop, Charleston was the second, followed by Savannah, then we stopped in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina just for a place to sleeve for one night before finishing off the voyage in Virginia Beach.

I was high on life after we left Charleston on Monday because of how happy the city made me feel (the people are truly wonderful). After that, things started to get a little rocky. The days weren’t bad by any means. We still had plenty of laughs and good times! But, they seemed to be a bit more stressful and less graceful than the first half. Little hiccups in the road kept happening that threw us off track – like needing to make a run for diapers, me misplacing a product I needed to photograph all while trying not to sweat on a 97 degree day (so I could look half put together for the product photo) as I searched every corner of the car to find it, trying to plan around the Savannah heat when my sister doesn’t do mornings, and we constantly were a hot mess bringing in our like 8 bags of luggage into each hotel. Here’s a nice “Instagram vs Real Life” photo as a visual. I guess you have to bring a lot of stuff when you travel with a blogger and a baby. Plus, I had a few campaign images I needed to shoot that kept getting pushed back (due to weather or our energy levels) which left us with a lot of work to do the last two days.

Our drive home was not the best way to cap off the trip either. We left later than I wanted to because I had something I needed to photograph and the shots I needed just weren’t working. Once we finally got out of the door, we hit traffic multiple times – once for an accident where we went no more than 8 miles an hour on a road where the speed limit is 70 for over an hour, I took the EZpass express lanes near DC which seemed like a great idea until I had to pee and there were no exits to get off at for miles, and it started downpouring shortly after we got into PA (which I’m taking a clear sign that this is not a state I am supposed to be in).

In a pit of frustration and on the edge of tears, I had to remind myself over and over again that I would not let this drive home ruin what was overall a lovely trip. That’s a feeling I’ve felt quite a bit lately – every time there’s something happening that’s making me happy, some big stress comes along trying to take that joy away. I like to visualize volume dials in these moments. It’s up to us to turn the volume up really high on those joy-filled moments so that they are louder than the stressful ones! They are always going to exist together – the good and the bad – but we have to let the good be loud enough that the bad doesn’t overpower it. To me, turning up that volume looks like this: reminding myself over and over again of the good moment(s) I just had, capturing photos of it (when possible) to have evidence to look back on, and also noticing how I physically felt during those good moments (relaxed shoulders, a settled stomach, and a soft smile on my face) while trying to return my body back to that state.

I hope you work on that this week, Gems – letting the joy be louder. Turn that volume way up!

Shines:

• I’m feeling very confident in the city I want to call home next. I’ll reveal it soon, promise (although I don’t think it will be hard to tell once I start getting my blog posts from the trip up)!
• I have so much content lined up from the trip. From outfit posts and funny stories to the most incredible boutique hotels and travel itineraries, I just cannot wait to put it all together and share it on here!

Struggles:

• I’ve been hoping, praying, and asking for my landlord would paint my deck. Well, as I was bringing in my luggage after getting home late last night. I realized my deck is now a very awful shade of gray but the railings were repainted white still. I was under the impression everything would be light gray and it’s just really not easy on the eyes. Ughhh. It’s things like this that make me really want to buy a house but I am just not ready for that level of commitment.
• Additionally, I also came home to broken air conditioning and a 91-degree house. I am not ready to get back to dealing with real life.
• Missing my little niece so so so much this morning. I loved waking up to her morning smiles on the trip. She’s just the cutest thing – and she’s growing so fast! She gets the biggest smile on her face when I say, “wanna do piggies?!” and then follow it with “this little piggy….” on her toes.

Currently Loving: