Currently trying to get my life together.
ahhhhhhhh.
I feel like I’m always saying that and the law of attraction tells me, the fact that I’m always saying that…is why I am always saying that! Ha! I need to find a new saying. I need to get a good affirmation going. Any suggestions?
Let’s get started with this little catch up, shall we?
Happy St. Patrick’s day everyone!!
I couldn’t think of a better day in March to kick off my official once a month “Currently” posts. I’ve seen other bloggers do them and I’ve always thought they were so cute and I always enjoy reading them so I figured I would give it a try myself :) I hope you’re wearing your green today!
Well hello there!!!
I’m super excited to start talking about this today because I’ve been waiting to share about this for the longest time. I talked on Monday about having done something last weekend that I had been waiting for months to do and it was attend the Dirty Dancing Festival in Lake Lure, North Carolina!
I just found out that this was even a thing earlier this year, around April I think, on facebook. I told Andrew about it and he booked us a room at The Lodge on Lake Lure that same day. We’ve always loved watching that movie together so it was something we knew we had to try at least once. And the fact that it was only a 3 hour drive away?! Umm hello…amazing!! It was such a great experience all around, I loved it. I was so excited to share with you all so I started writing a post that turned out I could break into three separate posts altogether it was so long. ha! It was a super event filled weekend and I took a TON of photos. Except a photo of us in front of the festival sign of course, but more on that later.
The photo above is a panorama of the festival on Friday evening, the night of the movie screening. This was taken right when we got there, before they had put the screen up. Yes. it was that packed before they even put the screen up and then it filled all the way up to the other tent up there on the left. Apparently it was the largest turn out for the movie that they have had in the 6 years they’ve been doing the festival! It was super cool to be a part of something so new, especially in honor of something so fun that is so universally loved. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love every smooth talkin’ line Patrick Swayze recites in that movie? He’s so cool, I feel like a lot of men can sit through that movie without too much grumbling even.
I’m so excited for y’all to see how much fun we had I just want to publish the posts one right after the other right now! But that would probably be a little overwhelming, no? So I just drafted this teaser post real quick, muahahahahah!
See you next week, friends. Have a great weekend!
xx
P.S- to get the full idea of my love for Dirty Dancing, check out my Dirty Dancing re-cast list!
Hey, hey it’s Monday, ya knoo-ooooow.
K I’m done. Does anyone else sing unrelated lyrics to familiar tunes?
Anyway!
Ok so my week/weekend had been nuts and I often wonder if you guys hate me because I don’t take enough pictures. Ok so hate is an intense word but really I am so terrible about preserving the moment in pictures that I’m embarrassed. I’m sorta kinda a blogger now so I need to get my shxt together right?!
So without further ado- here is a mimnial picture (as in just one) post updating you on my weekend happenings.
Friday. So if you read Friday’s post, you know that I was in Wilmington last week helping my grandparents, visiting friends and family and so on. Well, I was still in Wilmington on Friday. I spend that day continuing to help my grandparents get settled in their place and that’s pretty much that. Morning until dark. Whew.
Saturday was more eventful in that after helping my grandparents with some things, I went to see the new movie DOPE with my cousin after visiting with my other grandparent for a bit. Yea I know, how lucky am I that my grandparents (among other relatives) all live in one city? Love it! After the movie, we had some crab dip and sparkling wine at a restaurant we enjoy then it was straight to bed for me because I’m lame. Translation: I have no children and I still crash. Lord help me when I am a momma. I feel like I say that a lot.
Sunday was spent finishing up some things my grandmother needed help with as well as packing up my things for my journey back to my husband and kitty babies. I was able to find some quiet time on the front porch of my grandparents’ house with a glass of wine and catch a view of the beautiful colors the sun put on display as it set over the river.
My no filter iphone photo. NC is such a beautiful place.
Lots was happening last week and weekend! I’m always thankful for opportunities to see friends and family although I’m never able to fit everything in that I want to do no matter how long I stay. I suppose I should pride myself on the fact that I get lost in the moments rather than feel the need to take a thousand photos (I feel like I say that a lot) but I really do want to get better about taking pictures. The reason is not just the blog (although I’m hoping it will hold me accountable to my goal) but it’s moreso just because my friend Niki really showed me how important taking photos can end up being. Photographs can be such a blessing and I want to stop taking them for granted I suppose. Does that make any sense?
Anyway. I had a lovely weekend with the ones I love and I hope you did too. Cheers to new adventures in the week ahead!
xx
It’s Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on…
no?
Ok.
Hellooooo glorious friends and family! (Hey Papa!)
My Papa gets a special shout out today because it’s National Donut Day! Whoop Whoop! We LOVE donuts and we just so happen to live right around the corner from Britt’s Donuts. If you’ve never heard of them, people use words like “heavenly” to describe these things. They’ve been on a bunch of best donut shops list nationally, they are the bomb. The best part? They don’t need ANY bells and whistles. Just a good ol’ glazed donut will knock your socks off. That is if you’re up for waiting…sometimes up to AN HOUR AND A HALF…in line. It’s insane but not a single person says it isn’t worth it. People literally come from all over to try these bad boys. I wish I had a photo but I don’t (are you surprised?). I’ll get one next time I go back to my hometown.
So I guess that’s my first favorite thing! National Donut Day/Britt’s Donuts. Should that be 2 things?
I’ve been watching Graceland on Netflix this week and it’s quickly become a fav for sure. The new season starts on the 25th of this month and I’m pretty stoked. I still have to get through season 2 but I think I can make it happen by then. Obviously because I was able to watch season one this week. ha! Hi, I’m Jlynn and I’m a Nextflix binger. Now that I mention it, I should probably just go ahead and add Netflix to this list. Netflix is my favorite. I just said Netflix like a hundred time. Over exaggeration. Ok moving on!
I guess another favorite thing is my title because it’s totally obnoxious (just like today’s post!). I see those link ups but I never know which one to join! I’ve recently discovered that I can join as many as I want in one post. I’m about ta go HAM. But today, I’m chillin’ with my girl Miranda for Coffee Chat (even though coffee is on the list of 5 things that aren’t my favorite. gasp!) because that’s another one of my favorite things. Seriously, I love it. She posts fun links that I love. Every one of them is always great.
Speaking of links and things that are my favorite….
Watch this little girl cry upon finding out her baby brother will one day grow up. If this is old news than I’m sorry I’m so lame but I just saw this today.
You’ll have to excuse me, this week has been rather slow for me, which has not been my favorite. So I guess for my final favorite thing (even though this makes 7), this cute little photo I found on pinterest. It makes me happy to look at it so it made me happy to share it with you! I hope your weekend is full of happy thoughts and my love is with you for hanging out through my random rambles today. I guess we’ll see if my head is cleared up come Monday :) Happy Weekend, yall!
***Linking up with Miranda for Coffee Chat!!
I had intentions on completing this questionnaire I found a while back in January. I wanted Andre and I to do it together but words aren’t really his thing so I decided I would do it on my own then just never did. I beat up on myself for a while for it but then I decided, why not still do it? The first 40 questions are to review 2014 but by this point, I’ve let that year go…but there are still 10 questions left. 10 questions that prompt you to look to the future. I know it’s already March and there have been some bumps in the road so far but I still have time left in this year to make it count.
I said I wanted to use this space as accountability for my own self. As an encouragement but also as an aid. To remind myself of what I’ve committed to so that I might become the best version of myself possible. A woman my husband is proud to call his wife and that my future children would be proud to call mother. Some things are farther in the future than others but every journey in life is one step at a time and you’ve got to start somewhere.
I mentioned this in a past post but my “word” or “theme” for this year is growth. I want to see a growth in my character, self esteem, my faith…just all around.
I guess I would have to say my new area. After living in a town your whole life where you pretty much know how to get everywhere to totally new surroundings..it feels weird for sure. My dream travel goal right now would be a driving trip from my state (NC) to Alaska but if I was going to choose something more immediate I would say my new town!
I’d like to spend more time with my husband. We see each other everyday and we do spend time together but I would like to make it more intentional. Even if that’s just a walk in the evenings on his nights off. We’ve been caught up in the “work work work!” “gotta do!” I think a little much and I’d like to get back to the organic pleasure we get out of just being around each other rather than focusing on the “business” partnership a marriage can become.
I would really like to expand my yoga practice and I would like to see improvement in my sign language. I took a class last year and really felt like I was getting somewhere (I’ve explored this as a career option) but then “work” took over and I didn’t make it a priority to immerse myself in the culture of the deaf community. That is key because just like anything else, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Speaking of which, I would also like to get back into music. I used to sing all the time. Then I stopped because of some of the emotional things I went through a while back just really took the spark out of it for me. I felt undeserving (of anything in general really) so I just shut down almost everything. I’m feeling more alive than ever and I want to find that spark again. I can feel it’s still there. I’ve also convinced myself I can teach myself to play the piano. I’ve even borrowed a keyboard and instruction book from my bff Alicia! I guess we’ll see! ha! There was also talk between Andre and I of juggling…may or may not follow through on that one.
Confidence. It’s just recently come to my attention that I have little to no confidence. I have always known that I have a love for myself somewhere, but I want to find that oasis and drink up!
I would like to find a routine. Something I do everyday that I can count on. Even if that’s just having a cup of tea (no coffee please!) every morning or something. I’ve never felt like I’ve known stability. Not even as a child (with my parents not being together and whatnot) so I guess I would like everyday life to not necessarily be “routine” but I would like it to feel stable. solid.
I suppose I have a really bad habit of giving in to defeat. Not really like, trying something and failing though, because most of the time I will give in to the spirit of defeat before I’ve even really began something and I will call it “overwhelmed”. I know getting “overwhelmed” happens but I know that I can differentiate and I would like to start making an effort to do that.
Well this is a tough one for me because…get ready for it…I want to be a stay at home mom when I grow up, but we aren’t “family planning” at the moment. I have never really had anything else I’ve wanted to do. You can say I’m not very ambitious if you want but I really don’t care. Some people have ambitions of making all the money in the world and to me that is absolutely crazy. To make a goal surrounding something that in a day could all be gone. I suppose you could say the same for a child or a family but there is an energy there that can never die. And should you be blessed to have your children outlive you, there is legacy in that. Not all people choose careers based on money, there are people who choose based off passion and they leave a legacy in that which is wonderful. I suppose I’m just most passionate about family. And I’m not at all saying that all people who have money have no love in their life or that people who stay at home can’t make money. I’m just saying I’ve always known I wanted to be a stay at home mom and the motivation money can provide has never changed that. I suppose if I had to choose a career goal it would probably be to make some decisions on something I can do to bring in some income from home. I know blogging can turn into that but I think maybe I would like to write a Children’s book. I’ve had an idea for years now and I just might look into how to get that going. I may have already started ;)
Oh wow. Um. I guess as a cornerstone. A moment in time where I shook loose all the chains of my past and took steps towards a new chapter in life. A caged bird truly freed.
My number one goal. Geeze. That’s tough. If I had to choose just one (because there are many) it would be to grow in love so much that others can’t help but feel loved even from simply being around me. I think I truly believe in love and it’s power. Love for others. Love for the environment. Love for yourself. So I guess my number one goal for this year is to Grow. But mainly to grow in love. I think that’s the key to watching everything fall into place.
I’m really glad to have completed that. It feels good to look forward with hope. Although times will undoubtedly be tough at one point or another, it feels good to look forward with hope.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I’m sending you lots of good energy and love :)
xx
***Linking up with Miranda today for Coffee Chat!
Hello all!
I hope you had a fabulous week! No Sunday Brunch today as I was visiting my hometown these past few days and was so busy, I had zero time to read any blog posts. That means I have a lot of catching up to do! In between all that I’ll be working on a post about my trip but I must warn you…I was an epic failure at taking photos so I think I have like…3. UGH I HAVE GOT TO GET BETTER AT REMEMBERING TO TAKE PICTURES! ha!!
Anyway- I hope you all are doing well and whether you are tuning in to The Oscars or The Walking Dead tonight, I hope you enjoy!
Love you all!
I’m soooo late posting this today (hello 4pm!) but my brother in law and his fiancée got back from South America this week so I was slackin’ on getting this post ready. I still had 5 of my favorite articles from this week in mind though and here they are!
A Southern Style: Blushing Valentine
I love Zelle’s blog. Her style is classic, fresh and always classy. As soon as I saw her animal print heels in this post, I immediately thought of sweet Nikita.
Refinery 29: Why Taylor Swift’s Etsy crackdown feels so wrong
This isn’t related to Valentine’s Day at all but when I read it, I knew I had to include it. I have a post of my own coming about my falling out of love with her experience, but this is a good read and is all so true. Come to think of it, maybe I should skip writing a post and just write a song. (audience laughter)
Coley’s Opinion: Quotes about love (to make your day lovelier)
This sweet girl is always posting inspirational and encouraging things! Not only was this a great Valentine’s day post, but it’s also just a good any day post for a smile :)
A Pinch of Jasmine: Proposal Story
What is Valentine’s week without a beautiful engagement story?! I’ve enjoyed reading Jasmine’s blog for a bit now and couldn’t be happier for her. Love this story! Ordinary people? Ah! Swoon!
Life Could Be A Dream: Homemade Chocolate Syrup
Umm…yes please! I love Jana’s blog but her food posts are quickly becoming my favorite! Check out her Chocolate Mousse and Knife Skills posts too!
Last week:
Sunday Brunch // A Series Intro
Love to all of you in the upcoming week!!
xx
Hello friends!
Still trying to work out some technical difficulties over here but I’m trying to not get frustrated and just go with the flow. It’s hard though because I have been working on so much stuff I want to share and update everyone on! I hope everyone is having a great week and I hope all my Wilmington friends and family are surviving the cold as we do so begrudgingly ;) We’ll be…well, YOU’LL be back to the beach weather in no time!
Love to all of you!
x
