Written in realtime; posted at a later date
Written in realtime; posted at a later date
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| Forever chasing a sunset |
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| View on Saturday Morning |
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| Valentine Flowers TO: me LOVE: me |
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| Timing is everything |
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| Flowers make Mondays even better |
Hi friends!
I'm linking up with Erica and Andrea this week for Friday Favorites! I can't wait to read your posts:
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| Look at that bluebird! |
Week in Review
Can we all agree this was another wacky week?!
Friday we had a lot of snow (for our area) and we were able to leave work early. I stopped by McDonalds on the way home to pick up my Birthday Fries (!) and I spotted the bluebird in the photo above. I was so mesmerized to see him. He was so beautiful and he stood out against the white snow.
Saturday and Sunday were spent inside resting, eating and doing the normal weekend things.
Monday through Thursday were kinda a blur. I kept thinking it was a different wrong day; I felt that the days moved both very fast BUT also very slow. I also felt that I got nothing of real significance accomplished but when I look at my log, I did a lot this week.
Also this weeks Friday's Favorites are all over the place, which is par for the course this week.
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This and That
Overheard:
"Do you want to go back to 2020?" NO very loudly by myself in the car; then I got angry thinking about 2020.
"I've been using my Calming tea as a crutch a little too much lately. " Said by Montana
Random Thoughts:
Grunting coffee maker- My little Proctor Silex single cup keurig machine, will grunt as it makes my coffee. Yes, think of how pigs grunt, that is my coffee maker. I have googled this and tried to reason with it BUT I cannot for the life of me figure out why it grunts. Its kinda comical. and the days it doesn't grunt, I get worried.
Seat Jam 3D and Find Out- I am not a gamer at all. These two games have been keeping my spare time occupied and I giggle every time I play these games. Seat Jam 3D is a silly logic game and Find Out is the generic Where's Waldo game. I love having these on my phone
and lastly,
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| THIS is the sweetest thing ever! |
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Looking Ahead
February, is that you? Its good to see you!
End of month items at work; Planning out Galentine's Day and my next sewing project.
Also, I am bringing back pink/purple/red outfits for the whole month. ALSO I am in the market for a tripod for my phone to take #ootd photos. Any recommendations?
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Links
16 year olds Stanley Obsession /// I don't this spending $3k on Stanley Cups is the smartest money move you can make as a parent for your kid. Perhaps, investing $3k into the Stanley Brand stock would have been better.
Well well well// We all knew this when it went into effect. Do you know how many times I forgot a reusable bag and I walked out of the store with an arms full of stuff grumbling to myself thinking, I want the plastic back!?
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Posts
Did you miss any of my posts from this week?
Find them below:
unFOURgettable | 2023 Goal Review | 2024 Goals | What's Up Wednesday | WGJ vol. 49
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[[Go where you feel most alive]]
Hi friends!
I'm linking up with Erica and Andrea this week for Friday Favorites! I can't wait to read your posts:
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| Favorites at Lunch Birthday edition |
Week in Review
This was a funny week.
The weekend was great. Saturday morning I spent a few hours at Starbucks working on WGJ and people watching. Sunday we went to an early dinner at Hanger 21 to celebrate my birthday! The food and service were SO good as usual! Monday was my birthday and I went to the Chiropractor and then the gym (which I quickly realized why I like going at 4:30 AM- there is significantly less people there.) I got a sweet suprise when I scanned my key card at the front desk, instead of the computer saying "welcome!" it said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" It truly stopped me in my tracks and made me smile. The attendants behind the desk heard that and all wished me a happy birthday. Then in the afternoon, we went to Chick Fil A for lunch, the dollar tree to look around then Starbucks to pick up my free coffee. All in all it was a great long weekend. OH! It also snowed Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning. I love when the snow is freshly fallen and everything looks perfectly covered. Then after that, I think to myself, okay, it snowed, we can proceed to spring. LOL
Tuesday I ended up taking a sick day due to a migraine and not sleeping the night before. I was proud that I didn't feel bad taking a sick day. (do you ever feel bad taking a sick day even though you are given specific days off, to use for said sick day?) By Tuesday night, I was feeling much better.
I was happy to go back to work after an extended long weekend, even though the temperature on my car said some obscene number (16 degrees!) I was ready for the cold. I got the sweetest surprise when I saw the officer at the metal detector, he said 'good morning' then ' how was your birthday?!' Again, I was completely surprised he remembered. I love when people do that!
We're supposed to get snow...again today. I would like to opt out of the snow package this year. Please and Thank You!
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This and That
Red nails// 5 weeks strong. Usually Friday nights I take the polish off to give my nails a break for the weekend and then Sunday night I repaint them. I love having my nails done each week. It sure does always give me a boost of confidence AND I look slightly more put together.
No sugar/caffeine after 5 pm.// I learned this the hard way on my birthday. Two birthday cupcakes and a large Americano after 5pm does not bode well for a night full of sleep. I couldn't fall asleep until 2 AM and I awoke with a terrible headache.
Modifying my gym schedule//I've been going to the gym for 430 AM since November between 3-5 times a week. This week I decided to give myself a break not to only sleep in BUT also to re-evaluate my gym schedule. I need something more sustainable; while I love my daily workouts, I need to change it up. I will ponder on this, this weekend.
and lastly, isn't this neat?!
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Looking Ahead
The last full week in January? How did that happen?
Girl Dinner monthly dinner continue this week as well!
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Links
NJ National Guard deploys// A family friend is deploying with the NJ National Guard and we are praying for both his safety and all the other soldiers being deployed overseas.
Stanley Cup Craze// This makes me laugh. I held off buying a Stanley Cup for SO long and when I finally did buy one, I didn't buy the 40 oz one because it looks comically large. I wonder why sometimes why people buy multiple ones- you can only use one cup at a time AND furthermore where are you storing all of these cups?!
Menders at Broad Street Ministry // This story came out in December last year but it has popped up on my feed multiple times this week. I LOVE this idea of the "menders" fixing things while the customer gets out of the cold, eats a warm meal, finds some resources and then leaves with their clothing all fixed with love.
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Posts
Did you miss any of my posts from this week?
Find them below:
Happy Birthday to ME | A Year of Backgrounds | 2024 Word of the Year
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[[Grace upon Grace]]
Hi friends!
I'm linking up with Erica and Andrea this week for Friday Favorites! I can't wait to read your posts:
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| This was even more magical than I could have imagined |
Week in Review
What a week! It was the first full week in January and boy, did it keep me on my toes. Ha
I spent the weekend around the house and then jumped into the week! Work has been back in full swing and I couldn't be happier
We got hit with that big storm on Tuesday night. The winds were loud and there was so much rain! My house and work were lucky not to lose power or have any flooding. The Toms River caused some chaos leaving worn on Wednesday because of high tides and lots of rain. It's one of the quirks I love about Toms River- the flooding 😂
I got to see my favorite person Wednesday night- my hair stylist. I said to her that we have known each other for a LONG time. She went back into her index cards to see and we just had an anniversary- December 21. I first started seeing her back in 2012 meaning we've known each other since 11 years, which makes her (my hair stylist) my longest relationship. LOL We agreed we need to celebrate or anniversary!
Other than my early morning gym workouts and feeling genuinely happy, life has been pretty good this first full week of January. I hope this is a good indication of what is to come.
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This and That
Sweethearts: you know those little candy hearts with silly saying on them for Valentines Day?! I found the original ones (not the Brach's ones) at Stop and Shop the other day. I was SO excited. There was no allergy warning on them (like Brach's) and they were sooo good! So naturally I went back and bought 4 more bags 😂
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| Luck |
Lucky penny: when I have my virtual therapy appointments, I park on the side of a food store for some privacy and for use of their wifi lol! So I pulled into the stop and I looked up to see the sidewalk and the wall. There was nothing on the wall. I looked down at my phone and then looked up again and something on the wall caught my eye. It was brown and round and weirdly perched on the wall. I got out of the car to investigate and to confirm what I thought it was; to my surprise, it was a penny facing heads up. How strange is that?! It seemed to just appear out of thin air. I guess I had a Guardian angel watching over me.
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Looking Ahead
My birthday is Monday!!! Wahoooo! Hello 36! Its also a long weekend, double WAHOO!
My car goes for an oil change on Tuesday and I want to figure out how to spend a gift card that is going to expire in February. I have some ideas I want to research this weekend.
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Links
Elizabeth, NJ had a rough weekend: first the Singer Sewing Machine Factory had a HUGE fire then Santillos Pizza went up in flames the next day BUT Dave Portnoy spoke up and said whatever they need help with, he will help. He went to Santillo's for the one bite challenge.
Fruit stripe gum is gone forever?!//// remember that gum that was full of flavor for a whole two seconds? Yup, it saw its last day and the company is finally sunsetting it after 54 years in production.
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Posts
Did you miss any of my posts from this week?
Find them below:
2023 Family Photos | 2023 Book Reviews
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[[May your life have joy- Philippians 4:23]]
Hi friends!
I'm linking up with Erica and Andrea this week for Friday Favorites! I can't wait to read your posts!!
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| Last night's sunset |
Week in Review
Happy New Year!!! Woah! It's almost the mid-twenties! This was a fun week. I had a nice long weeekend, which felt like a total reset for the new year.
I have been keeping up with my gym workouts and I spent some time repainting my nails red too. I bought the first of many bouquets of flowers for this year.
This week has been funny. It was busy but slow, wacky but normal, and cold but warm. It was a week of contradictions. These contradictions made me laugh and say, "is this what 2024 is going to be like?!"
But in all seriousness, I had a pretty great week. I am happy to be at work/the gym/home and I feel confident and accomplished. I'm so eager to see what this year holds for me.
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Giggles
Props to the marketing team/PR team who decided to put YES CHEF with this Calvin's ad; the Female popular thanks you!
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Links
Positive Female Golfer /// I've been following Haley for a while now; great article on how she's a great influence for Female golfers at any skill level.
Housing Market Crash??/// it's possible that there could be a housing market crash in New Jersey. Please please pleaaaaassseee?! I really want to be a homeowner to something larger than a Little Tykes house 🤭
2024 Dating Trends/// the Everygirl outlines some of the potentially big trends in Dating. Hint: ghosting is no longer being tolerated.
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Posts
Did you miss any of my posts from this week?
Find them below:
Dear 2023| Wishes for 2024 | Happy New Year |
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[[There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind- C.S. Lewis ]]
Hi friends!
I'm linking up with Erica and Andrea this week for Friday Favorites! I can't wait to read your posts:
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| How true is this?! |
Week in Review
This is the last Friday's Joy in 2023! I wrote 28 Friday's (Favorites) Joy's this year. Weirdly enough, I also wrote 28 Friday Favorites last year too! I will take that as a win this year! I love linking up with all of you and I can't wait to continue into the New Year!
I have been all confused with the days this week. For some reason, with Christmas being on a Monday, it completely threw me off. Christmas was lovely. We went out for brunch on Christmas Eve to our favorite diner and then we stayed home on Christmas Day. It was low key and relaxing. I am really happy to celebrate the holidays this way.
I took two days off this week (my last two personal days) and Tuesday I spent it in my pajamas catching up on all the back posts I have been meaning to write. It felt so good to be able to finish those up and start 2024 with nothing pending from 2023.
I went out to the Office Lounge on Wednesday night with two friends for our monthly girls dinner. We laughed and ate and drank and stayed out way past my bed time🤭 I love this monthly tradition we have.
Staying out so late on Wednesday meant absolutely no gym before work. I needed my sleep and I figured I could go to the gym the next few days. I learned this year to listen to my body, and not push myself.
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New Year's Eve Plans
Snuggled up in my bed, listening to music and probably working on my blog. 🤭 my New Year's Eve tee and sparkly sweater will make an appearance too! Oh, you can't forget snacks!
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Looking Ahead
2024! 2024! 2024!
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Links
Red Nail Theory/// To end the year, I am trying out the Red Nail Theory. My nails don't always love nail polish so this will be interesting. Have you heard of the Red Nail Theory?
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Posts
Did you miss any of my posts from this week? Find them below:
My Christmas Wish | 2023 Christmas Card Reveal | Merry Christmas | WGJ vol. 48 | Diary # 48 | Dear December
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[[You can never have too much happy]]
Hi friends!
I'm linking up with Erica and Andrea this week for Friday Favorites! I can't wait to read your posts:
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| The dreamiest view yesterday morning |
Week in Review
What a week this has been!
I took last Friday off and I spent the day doing errands and then stopping by the high school to meet with my sewing teacher to have a refresher sewing course. I couldn't believe that even after 20 years, she has the same sewing machines I used back when I was a student.
It was SO weird to be back at high school almost 20 years later. I don't feel like I've been out of high school that long BUT things have changed so much that after seeing them I'm 100% sure I've been out of high school for that long 😅
The work week has been odd! We had a bad storm Sunday night into Monday. There was so much flooding and with it being high tide, it was a mess Monday morning.
Another mess this week, my mind. I couldn't keep the days straight and I kept looking at the calendar in disbelief it's so close to Christmas.
I also picked up my last gifts this week now to wrap everything and I will be done! So excited about that!
Work has been winding down and I'm getting ready for 2024. To me, its still 2019🤣
I had 2 Christmas parties to attend this week. One with an office I work closely with and then the other one was with my office. Lots of holiday cheer and surprise Christmas gifts. I just love this time of year! I am looking forward to slowing down and getting back to normal life.
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This and That
I finished my Christmas skirt just in time for our office Christmas party. I felt like I looked like CHRISTMAS! Ha. I was so excited to tell people that it had pockets AND I made it. I also loved showing them the inspiration photo of baby Gabby! Onto my next sewing project!
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| An updated look 1993| 2023 |
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Looking Ahead
In order: Christmas, some days off, my favorite co-workers last day, and girl dinner. Also 2 four day weekends coming up.
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Links
Aldi's and Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes/// anytime I think of Christmas, I think of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. A women found them for 49 cents and bought them all. I don't blame her at all!
150 conversation starters /// anyone else sometimes struggle with keeping a conversation going/starting a conversation?! No, just me? Cool. 🤣
Home Alone Package at the Plaza/// LOVE this! Ha you get to live like Kevin McCallister and go on his Christmas Adventure. Bonus: this package runs all year long.
Tree Skirt Skirt/// I love this tutorial from Cassie Stephens. I'm adding this to my list for next year for an outfit to one of my Christmas parties.
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Posts
Did you miss any of my posts from this week? Find them below:
Till You Can't | Best of 2023: Favorite Posts| Best of 2023: Favorite Photos | Best of 2023: WGJ Favorites Playlist | Best of 2023: Thoughts on 2023
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[[It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving]]
