October | 2017
Man you guys, I am getting so behind on my posting, I'm sorry! Our life has just gotten so insane (and I'll tell you why soon) but we're just...
Man you guys, I am getting so behind on my posting, I'm sorry! Our life has just gotten so insane (and I'll tell you why soon) but we're just trying to get our ducks in a row, and in the process I'm not taking many photos or creating much besides dinner and laundry. Is that very interesting to share about? NO. So as I say - my blog always reflects my life, and right now it is BUSY and not very "present" beyond what we're doing to try not to lose our heads. I hope that makes sense?
HOWEVER, I promise I actually have TONS to share, so I'll be filling you in once I can actually sit down and write about it. It's been killing me to keep all these bits and pieces to myself, but obviously, no one wants to share about things that might fall through or aren't completely certain and have to go back and be like, "sry, nvr mind" soooo that's why there's been such a hold up. GAHHH but it's killing me because it's been ALL consuming the past several weeks! Soon though, so be ready for some announcements.
Here's our unedited month of October!
So there you have it! A photo overview of our October. The only post I did this past month was my Iceland Travel Guide (see?! so behind!) but I'm hoping I can get started on my France and Italy guides too... as well as some posts going over the stories from our trip. I thought that would just be a fun change of pace and let you hear the good, bad, and funny of our three week adventure!
Is there anything else you want to see on Joy Lynn? Let me know! I seriously love your suggestions.
Don't forget to follow me on social media to stay up to date and connected. Feel free to message or email me with any content requests, ideas, or collaborations!
September | 2017
I'm back, ladies and gents! I realize we are well into October, so I'm pretty late on my monthly update post, but I must admit, it's been a nice break to be away for a while and allow myself to miss blogging and all the work that goes into it. Sometimes writing can start to feel more like a chore, and in turn keep me from really desiring to write, so having this time away has been an extremely healthy exercise for me. At times, I find myself coming up short in terms of content or ideas, and end up writing something subpar out of guilt to just "get something out there." But giving myself the time to just shut it all off and "be" has proved invigorating and helped reignite some of that passion back into me.
Now, if you're not up to speed, Tom and I jetted off on our first overseas vacation (and first vacation since our honeymoon over four years ago) for three weeks. We took in the raw beauty of Iceland, the old architecture and culture of France, and the food and wine and history of Italy. It was the trip of a lifetime and truly unforgettable. I'll be sharing about each country soon, so stay tuned for some fun posts on the little quirks of each place (culture, food, customs, awesome areas to visit, etc...).
The month of September, though, was mostly spent stateside (and included my birthday: post here). Let me go over a few highlights! Keep in mind, most of these photos are unedited - I just like to give you a real taste of what's been happening behind the scenes :)
Life Lately
CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
Commentary:
I dyed my hair blonder
Hondo is enormous
I turned 28
We had lots of homemade crusty bread
We fit in lots of Berner snuggles before our long time away
We left early for Newark and looked a bit like packing mules
We saw Time Square at night...
...and saw NYC in the daytime
We made it to Iceland and chased waterfalls and lava fields for three days
Then made it to Paris (where we basically just slept!) and continued on to Dijon before October hit us
September Posts
Favorites Lately
Since arriving home, it's been so nice to eat more familiar foods. Not that we didn't have some great meals in Europe, but by some miracle, we've had nice, cool, fall weather here in Georgia since getting back. My favorite fall meal is chicken pot pie. Check out my recipe - I PROMISE you haven't had chicken pot pie that's this good, so give it a go. It's a beloved family recipe and I've got a whole pan in the fridge right now (it's even better leftover).
This cute, basic backpack that we used as a daypack on our trip, was super sturdy and lightweight. It was easy to just throw the day's necessities in it and go. Plus, I think it looks really nice!
Did you know about Target's "Finds" page? Check it out here. It's basically several collections of the stuff people find at Target. Hauls, Instagram hashtags, trends, product editions/topics... Just kind of a cool category of their site I've not noticed before!
All the fall things! I picked up a yummy Pumpkin Vanilla scented candle (at Target of course) and at this rate it'll be burned to the bottom by Thursday!
What're your favorites lately? What things make you really get in the spirit of Fall?
Don't forget to follow me on social media to stay up to date and connected. Feel free to message or email me with any content requests, ideas, or collaborations!
August | 2017
Oh my goodness. I am sooooo glad to leave August in the dust for one reason.... the WEATHER. Well, honestly, summer in its entirety, but August was particularly sticky this year. Nothing on earth makes me grumpy the way being too hot makes me grumpy. We all have our "things" that irritate us to an extreme, and mine is hot, humid, BUGGY weather. So I have no shame in admitting my qualms about it - haha - it's just one of those "things" for me and I'll never stop being a whine baby about it.
Overall though, August was busy around these parts. We ate a lot of good food, our trip is getting closer, digging into the actual places we're visiting is proving time-consuming but fascinating, and generally it feels like there hasn't been enough hours in each day. My mind has been swirling with ideas (of course, always the second I lay my head down at night) and it's been hard to prioritize what's worth pursuing and what isn't, or if I should try them all. Basically, I've felt like my mind is in a constant state of "elsewhere," if that makes sense? I suppose that's the curse of a restless mind and soul.
Life Lately
August Posts
Favorites Lately
La La Land. Surprisingly, Tom really liked it - maybe more than me! It was just done so creatively and the story was really cute and seemed more realistic. The music was great, and so was that choreography. We keep listening to the soundtrack and it gets majorly stuck in my head.
This amazingggg post by Hey There, Chelsie. She literally put words to my struggles as of late. She says,
"I’ve been only giving 100% on my good days and giving nothing on my bad days. And then I find myself full of rage because I’m just not doing everything I should be or could be. Does that ever happen to you? You go through the motions for a few days or weeks or months and then you are full of rage because of all the time you wasted or the opportunities that passed you by or the lack of personal growth you feel?"
Go read the whole post because my GOODNESS was it spot on, honest, and just beautiful.
This Ed Sheeran song is beautiful. And this Macklemore song is happy (and the video is ADORABLE and hilarious).
Don't forget to follow me on social media to stay up to date and connected. Feel free to message or email me with any content requests, ideas, or collaborations!
July | 2017
I mean, is it okay to admit that I'm already living vicariously through our upcoming trip? Haha! We are having so much fun just PLANNING for it, and we're learning some cool tricks for packing and about overseas travel as a whole. I've become really fascinated by it all and have found myself looking for info that doesn't even necessarily pertain to this trip.
Are any of my readers fluent or decent in French or Italian? I've love to know the phrases you think would be most helpful for us to familiarize ourselves with. Like, "Yes, more bread and cheese, please" "Another bottle, please" and "What do you mean I look like a tourist?!" :)
This month was really pretty relaxed, though, which has been nice. It was extremely hot and humid here until recently, when the humidity dropped and the mornings have been perfect for walks with the pupper. It's been a slow month, overall, and we've had a nice balance between busyness, life, work, and appointments. Here's what's been happening...
Life Lately
July Posts
Favorites Lately
Things this blogger "will never..." - I loved this post by my friend, Autumn. It was both amusing (#2: really! Some people's comments online are INSANE) and a fun way for me to see someone else's perspectives on some things that don't bother me, or I've just never thought about. Fun little read! It'll get you thinking!
Venice travel guide - also by a friend (sorry, I'm a little biased, okay?!). Alex put this together so nicely and it was fun to hear about her trip!
This video of a poor hamster's running wheel fail - haha!
Do you like dad jokes? These guys go up against each other and aren't supposed to laugh at each other's dad jokes... but obviously.. that's impossible.
Tumblr posts that are too real for dog owners - it made me laugh way too hard.
This Chicago home tour is so awesome. Love the storage solutions, modern touches, and bright decor.
How was your month? Anything you'd like to see on Joy Lynn soon? I'd love to hear from you :)
Don't forget to follow me on social media to stay up to date and connected. Feel free to message or email me with any content requests, ideas, or collaborations!
June | 2017
After such a busy May, it was nice to have a quieter month to follow. It still involved a week-long trip, but it was mostly a month we used to nail down our Iceland/Europe trip details and itinerary. I've been obsessing over this trip and it's honestly been really hard for me to focus on anything else because I don't want to feel like we're booking anything last minute (as in, a month or less before). Now I'm sorting through shoes, compact hygiene ideas, useful travel accessories, and backpacking tips.
This month, we did have some fun though. We...
- explored San Francisco
- saw family
- took Hondo swimming
- made sushi (so yummy and fun!)
- watched the Giants play
- ate gyros at Kouzina Christos
- started looking at new couches (not happening soon, but we're thinking about it)
- witnessed our dog grow another 10lbs from last month (he's 75lbs now!)
- had a coffee date
- enjoyed some seafood (trout and swordfish) at REEL
Don't forget to use my code: JOYpass2017 to get yours for only $35. It's filled with BOGO entrees at many of Atlanta's best restaurants. It has truly has become our date night sidekick!
In the next couple of months I'm hoping to share with you all the products and ideas I'm gathering up to pack for our trip in only a backpack. We'll be using the backpack pictured (but in black).
It's about the size of a typical carryon, so it's going to be a challenge to pack for nearly three weeks in a bag of this size, but I'm really looking forward to packing light and putting a greater focus on just being in these amazing destinations!
The challenges I foresee:
- shoes
- hygiene products
- hair styling tools
- clothes that roll up really small and wash/line dry easily
- fitting electronic stuff and chargers
It's going to be a serious adventure! If you have any brands or products you think I might love for this trip, please share!
Don't forget to follow me on social media to stay up to date and connected. Feel free to message or email me with any content requests, ideas, or collaborations!
May | 2017
I'm pretty sure that the month of May is crazy every single year of life. School's out, graduations, spring trips, parties, etc... and this one was packed full for us!
I'm so thankful we were able to see a lot of my family at the confirmation of our oldest niece, and then later on in the trip see more family in friends in Wisconsin. We could have done without the emergency car repair in some random suburb of Chicago and the bill + a night in a hotel that went with it, but such is life! We also started a gym membership at the beginning of the month and have faithfully been going twice a week, and soon will add a third day. I have been loving it and am even finding myself doing random sets of body weight exercises at home.
The baking challenge is coming to a close in the next month, but it's been so much fun to share and get done every week - especially since my mom is doing it with me! We've always loved to bake together, so even though we're miles apart, we get to feel close while we bake over Facetime :)
Also in relation to food, I'm so excited to be an ambassador for this amazing Dining Out ATL Passbook! We are saving so much money on dates (almost all the deals are BOGO) and having a blast while we're at it!
Well, enough rambling on. Here's the photo tour of our month!
April | 2017
What a full month we've had! Not only terms of our schedules, but full in joys and accomplishments and celebrations. See below for the photos and summary!
This month's happenings:
Favorite Links
Now that we've announced our trip to Iceland and Europe this fall, I can show you guys the fun tips, videos, and articles I've found on travel to these places. I love this video by Gal Meets Glam on their visit to Iceland this past winter.
In preparation for our big trip, we're also working on making some lifestyle changes. We've joined a gym and I've been working at keeping my portions under wraps. Recipes like this make it seem like a totally enjoyable change to make!
We've been on the hunt for water resistant jackets for Iceland that can roll up really small as we'll also be going to France, and we found them at Target! I'm so excited to wear this blue jacket!
As today is May 1st, check out this post on my Facebook page where I explain my FAVORITE song about the month of May. Hint: it's from a 1960's favorite movie of mine!
P.S. Don't forget to check back this Wednesday for a special guest bake by my Star Baker, Cameron!
March | 2017
Spring really is my very favorite season in Georgia. Besides the horrendous allergies, it's great to have those warm days, cool nights, and spring life budding more each day. We had a well balanced month in terms of busyness and hang time, and having family visit made it even sweeter!
We've spent the last two years working on the interior of our house, so this year, we're focusing on the outside a little more. Currently we've got a garden box in the making and we'll be hopefully seeding our dirt-patch backyard with grass. It's a really shaded area, but since the backyard is fenced in, we'd like Hondo to be able to have a grassier, less muddy area to be free.
Anyways, scroll down to see what our month looked like.
Below that, you'll find some favorites from around the internet, and my sidebar also has some new additions to my favorite Amazon products, so be sure and explore those too!
Favorite Links
This old YouTube video of a kid's self-talk on his eating habits. Never fails to crack me up.
It may be a couple months in, but I love The Peculiar Treasure's words on respecting those in authority. Honestly, whether this was about Presidential authority or other figures of authority, this is beautifully said.
You had to know my minimalist soul would love this post on stopping those unnecessary shopping habits. Great tips!
Are you following me on Instagram? I'm adding another layer of blond to my hair tomorrow, so stay tuned to my Stories!