Site icon Allyn Lewis

The Sunday Edit – Volume 5

Allyn Lewis

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! 

**This post may contain affiliate (which means I make a small commission when you shop from them) and sponsored links (gifted items are indicated with a [c/o] and sponsored links with a [sp]) 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.**

Last Week on The Gem:

Coming This Week:

Life Stuff:

When I really got serious about making this my full time thing, two ish (?) years ago, I was definitely in a gloomy place. I had already fell in love with the world of blogging, but everyone was only ever sharing the amazing things happening in their lives (and I didn’t feel like I had much of that to share at the time).

So, I wanted a place that shared fun, pretty, and happy things, but also real stuff, too. Some days, it’s been so hard to seek out the good to share because when you’re in a downhearted place, it’s a challenge to see the world with happy glasses on – let alone share it with others. But, I knew only sharing the real, raw, not-always-uplifting stuff wouldn’t get me very far either. I kept searching for good things to share with you while also staying authentic. I forced myself to put together cute outfits, find cool stuff, and dig out words to share even on days when I didn’t feel like it. This process of constantly creating content to share that helps you live with less stress is exactly what holds me accountable to doing it myself, and it’s helped me find more brightness in my own life. I found some evidence of that the other day!

On Thursday, I was dying to wear these lightweight summer pants, so Shaun and I decided to head to one of the cute streets close to our house to take a few photos. When I went to edit them the next day, for the first time in forever, I felt like I looked happy (and no, I really don’t think it was the ice cream that did it, because most of the photos that you’ll see in an upcoming post were taken before I purchased those scrumptious scoops!). Side note: I can’t find this same pair of pants anywhere, BUT this pair of striped pants is almost identical, here’s a similar cropped style, and this pair of pleated pants is also very similar.

I know you probably can’t tell, but almost every time I look at the photos we take, I think to myself, “ughh, I look so tired and exhausted”. Slowly but surely, I do think my life has been coming together (or maybe I’m just getting better at emotionally managing the craziness?). Looking back on the past few months, it does feel like I’ve had more happy, upbeat moments overall – and I’ve worked really hard to seek out more of them! But to actually look at photos and genuinely see it on my face just gives me such a crazy feeling. It’s tangible proof that I’m getting better at enjoying life rather than stressing my way through it and that feels so, so good.

For some people, happiness is really easy. But for me, even when happiness is there in front of me, I always question if it’s deserved or what might go wrong next or if there’s some other issue I should currently be dealing with (all thanks to my anxiety). It’s a very weary way to live, and after lots of mental work, I’m proud of myself for starting to get to the point where I can choose happiness over stress. My hope is that through this community and the content we focus on here at The Gem, that’s a point you can get to as well. We’re in this together. <3

If this message landed with you at all or if you have had any similar experiences, I would be SO honored if you’d share a little bit of your heart with me in the comments section! 

In Other News…

Latest Finds & Sales:

Exit mobile version