Happy Tuesday, friends. I realize it's been awhile since I've posted. After I tried to write a post for a week straight, I decided I needed to take a step back. That break unintentionally bled over into social media, and for the past two weeks I've been spending my spare time reading instead of posting. I had intended to be back with a post yesterday, but a stomach bug followed by an unexpected death in my family kind of derailed those plans, as well as put me behind schedule on work stuff. I've got some stuff in the pipeline though and hope to have a new post for you later this week.
Southern summers can be brutal, and the last month has certainly proved it. We've had weeks of triple-digit feels-like temperatures, high humidity, and not enough rain to go around. Going outside is seriously miserable most days. My daily outfits have pretty consistently been shorts and a t-shirt so I haven't been sharing them on Instagram much. However, I did recently order a few things from Target, Shein, and Amazon, and have been making an effort to share pictures of those things as I wear them. Here's a look at what I've been attempting to stay cool in the past several weeks along with some other outfits I've shared.
Dress: Target
Dress: Boho70 / Shoes: Shoe Station
Jumpsuit: Forever 21 (similar)
Dress: Amazon
On Alexis: Dress - Cracker Barrel / Sandals - Target
One year ago this month I left behind the only real job I'd ever had and started a journey into some pretty unknown territory. It was the right move for me and my family, but it took months to make the decision. After nearly a decade of working in television news, I was getting out, and the weight that was lifted from my shoulders was life changing, even before the transition actually happened. Twelve months later and the change in myself is undeniable.
Toward the end of my news career, time felt like the enemy. There was never enough to go around between work, family, and myself. I wasn't sleeping well, my relationship with my husband was suffering, and my mental health was taking a beating. Time and time again I felt like I was having to choose between work and my family or my health. I don't feel that way anymore. If I need a break, I take it without feeling guilty.
This one is my favorite: My creativity has returned. Before I started working full-time, I wrote all the time. But then as the years passed, I didn't feel that spark anymore. I was writing all day, every day at work in a non-creative way and always on a deadline. After a few years of that type of writing culture, I was burned out. Now, one year into my new adventure, I've started back writing. In fact, I've spent the last week putting a story that's been swimming around in my head into words.
I'm once again finding pleasure in the things that used to make happy, and I finally feel like myself again. Life still has its ups and downs, and there are days where I want to scream at my computer over something work-related, but those moments aren't taking up a majority of my time like they used to. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm moving forward instead of being trapped. Every day isn't perfect by any means, but I feel whole and that is liberating.
This June was different than any other June. It's the first June in 10 years that I didn't have to be at an office Monday-Friday. It's also the first time since Alexis was born that she's spending a summer at home. That means figuring out a new routine, one in which I still get my job done and post regularly on the blog while also fitting in activities we wouldn't normally get to do. One of those new experiences is weekly trips to the library for story and craft time, which has meant not having large gaps between books. What's different about this month's reading round-up is that I didn't read any of these on my Kindle. Each one came from my local library. The first and last books I read this month each took about a week for me to finish, but that's because they were so well-written I didn't want to rush through them.
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Summary: Two young magicians are pitted against each other in a competition held within a black-and-white circus. Le Cirque des Rêves moves from city to city without any advance notice and is only open at night. The two competing magicians, Celia and Marco, fall in love. They have no idea that the competition will only end when one of them is destroyed. The stakes are high, both for the two young people as well as those who work within and come to see the circus. Will the two lovers find a solution that benefits them all?
My Thoughts: Magical. I know it's cliche to call a book about magic magical, but it's truly the best word to describe this story. In fact, The Night Circus might be the best book I've read this year. From the way the author seamlessly weaves all the characters together without leaving the reader confused to the characters themselves and the truly unexpected way in which the conflict is resolved, I could not put this book down. But don't let that trick you into thinking I gobbled it up in one sitting. Oh no. This book is meant to be savored over several days. My only regret is that I waited this long to read it.
Author: Stephanie Evanovich
Summary: After the death of her husband, 32-year-old Holly Brennan turned to food, and now she weighs more than she ever has. When she ends up seated next to personal trainer Logan Montgomery on a flight and he offers to help her, Holly takes it as a sign and agrees. Soon, the training sessions turn into romance, but Holly isn't Logan's usual 'type,' and they both have some issues with themselves that need to be worked out.
My Thoughts: This was your typical romantic comedy about an unlikely pairing. I liked that this one had both the male and female perspective and saw both of them grow. I thought the author deviated away from Holly and Logan to another couple a few times too many. They weren't badly written; I just felt like the story didn't benefit from being told from their points of view. Note: there are sex scenes in this book, but I thought they were pretty tame. However, one of the supporting characters is into spanking so if you're weirded out by that, I'd avoid this one as it dominates several discussions throughout.
Author: Eve Chase
Summary: Four siblings lose their mother in a horse riding accident one summer. Their father, devastated by his wife's death but feeling his children need a maternal influence, remarries to his old girlfriend who has a teenage son. That son and the oldest Alton girl fall madly in love, but the stepmother forces them apart even after the girl comes up pregnant. Another untimely death sends the family into a deeper spiral, none moreso affected than the oldest brother who goes a bit mad. Flash forward thirty years when the stepmother, in an effort to try to make Black Rabbit Hall profitable again, tries to rent the estate out for weddings. The first customer? The long-lost daughter of that forbidden love. But she has no idea.
My Thoughts: This book was so beautifully tragic. Told from the perspectives of the oldest Alton daughter, Amber, and her daughter, Lorna, it weaves between the late 1960s and early 2000s effortlessly. Essentially, this book is about a family falling apart and coming back together. I highly recommend it, but you may want to keep some tissues handy.
I've been speed reading through books by a newly discovered (by me) author. They're all little 200-page books, with 3-4 in a series, that I can read pretty much in an afternoon. The whole series, that is. They're different from anything else I've read before, and I'm enjoying them, but I'm not sure a majority of you guys would, so I've decided to withhold them from these reviews for now.
Happy Monday, folks! It's magazine delivery week, which means I'll be super busy. We're also finally getting our roof fixed from Hurricane Michael last October. We don't really have any plans for the 4th, but I'm sure we'll watch some fireworks. Speaking of the holiday, did you catch my super simple July 4th outfit formula last week?
I have been really into midi and maxi dresses this summer. I ordered this dress along with several other items from Shein. I really like the way this fits. It's fitted through my natural waist and then slightly flares out across my stomach and hips. I was a little worried that the buttons would pull and have gaps, but as you can see that's not the case.
The material is thin but not see-through, the buttons are functioning, and the straps are adjustable, which is a huge bonus. It's navy in color with cream and yellow flowers. I decided to keep things simple and not wear any jewelry, but I did add a little sparkle with my gold slides. I love one-and-done outfits, especially in the summer when it's way too hot for layers. That said, I'll definitely be wearing this dress year-round with a denim jacket or cardigan. I'm wearing size L (8-10). It also comes in a light green.
Shop My Outfit
Dress: Shein
Shoes: Old Navy - similar
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