Happy Summer!
I am so excited for warm weather, longer day, warm nights, all the sunshine and time outside.
I have high hope for you, please be good to me.
Today starts my Social Media free Summer. I am deleting my social media today in hopes of getting back to all the things I've been missing. To read about why I'm choosing a Social Media free Summer, read my Summer Wishlist pist from Monday.
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[[I saw forever on a shoreline- Sunburnt, Barefoot & In Love by Brian Kelley]]
Happy almost Summer!
I have been dreaming about this Summer for a while. I am hoping for some beautiful weather and in the words of Eric Church I'm hoping for "A July Saturday night". Summer has always has always held some magical energy I am hoping for all the good vibes for this summer.
This summer I am wishing for:
-Beach days
-Pool days
-Concerts
-Adventures
-Mini golf
-Fireworks
-Baseball games
I am also wishing for:
-a peace of mind
-calmness
-reflection
-contentness
-guidance
-a path
-excitement
I think to find these things, especially the more abstract things this summer, something needs to change. My relationship with social media has been weird in the last few years and its gotten worse the last few months. While I love it and it's a great tool to connect with friends and find new friends, find new products and companies and to build your 'network'; it has been overwhelming for me- the constant product pushing, showing the highlight reel of life and the 'pressure' to always be on your phone to stay up to date and to stay relevant. I don't want that right now in my life.
There are so many things that I want to do but I am constantly dragged back to my phone because I want to see what's happening. I was never like this but it has become me and I don't like it at all. I have so many hobbies that have been pushed aside, I finally said ENOUGH! I want to do more than sit on my phone. I want to better myself and not bring myself down because I am comparing myself to those on social media.
With all that being said, I am looking forward to taking social media off my phone and getting up and doing all the things I been dreaming about doing. I am hoping that this will re-ignite my passions and bring me back to my old self- the one who was not obsessed with social media and what is happening online. There are so many neat things that are happening outside of the phone, I want to try to experience them all.
On Wednesday, June 21, I am going to be starting my Social Media free Summer.
Here are some questions that you might have about my Social Media free Summer:
What does this mean for WGJ? I do not consider my blog social media; I will be continuing to write posts and publishing posts. I have a schedule that I follow pretty regularly and keep myself accountable because of it. I hope to not be so regimented and to give myself grace with these posts this summer.
New "Random" posts will be on pause because those posts come from screenshots of social media posts. I will have one last new Random post in the beginning of July (with screenshots from the first few weeks of June).
Will I miss the interaction with other bloggers on Social Media? yes and no. I love connecting with other bloggers especially local ones but for my mental health, I think this is the best choice for me. I have seen both the good and bad with bloggers and influencers; I am not sure if that fits with what I am trying to do in life right now.
What about my #OOTD instastories daily posts? Those will be put on hold for a while BUT I will still continue to take daily photos and have a monthly post on here with my outfits. I started not liking to post my daily outfits because I kept catching myself checking who looked at the stories and thinking about why hasn't more people looked at this. Not good!
How will I find things that are happening around me? By word of mouth, subscribing to the town's newsletter and doing some google searches. I don't think it's going to be that hard.
What will I be filling my time without social media? Diving back into my hobbies, spending time outside, spending time on myself and learning new things. WGJ will be a part of my summer too!
and lastly...
What made you come to this decision? There wasn't one singular event but there was a combination of things that I was seeing (product placement in not appropriate posts); things that I was doing (obsessively checking to see my likes AND seeing what I was missing) and what I was thinking (I should be doing more; Why am I not getting more followers? What can I do more to make me more popular). Doing all these things was not making me happy or proud of myself. I was never like this and I knew I had to do something different. If I want a different outcome, I know I have to do something different.
Also, on this topic, Emily Ley from Simplified took a sabbatical from Social Media in the beginning of the year and she chatted about how it really cleared her mind and made her focus on what is important. I have been thinking about this since she mentioned it. This article and this article are very much on point with how I'm feeling and what I am doing too.
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Here's to trying something new and to a summer I hope I never forget.
[[This summer, put your phone away and make some memories no one knows about. Make memories that are completely yours.]]
While thinking about this post, I had mixed emotions about this Summer. There were some really really good parts to it and then there were some not so good parts to it. Now that I am sitting down to actually write this post, I have good emotions about the Summer. It's definitely weird to think that another season has come and gone and its even more weird to that we are basically in the 4th quarter of 2022. Shocking!
This Summer was filled with so many things and it felt like it was back to normal...kinda.
One of the best things that I did this summer was spending time outside. Between going for walks at parks, running, amusement parks, gardens, a pool party, paddleboarding and just soaking up the sunshine, I got a lot of vitamin D this Summer. That was a big goal for me this year, in general, spending time outside and I feel like I have accomplished that pretty well so far.
Vacation in North Carolina was so good. We were able to see so many different things and packed a lot into a few days. It was a great first vacation after the crazy few years we had. I was so happy with how much fun and adventures we went on and how saying yes to adventures took us to some pretty cool places. That seemed to be a theme of the Summer, saying yes to things I normally wouldn't do. Ride many roller coasters? YES! Go to a pool party? YES! Run a 5K? YES! Drive to the summit of a mountain? YES! Go on an overnight work trip? YES! Wanna see Lady Gaga at MetLife? YES! Want to go listen to Green Day in Asbury? YES! You get the jist of it. I said yes to adventures that ended up being some pretty great memories.
I put myself out there and did a few things by myself; things that I truly love and missed. Going to Crafter Dark at the Library and going to Yoga at Gravity Vault. I was pretty nervous going to both by myself, in a new setting and trying to meet other like minded people. Crafter Dark at the library ended up being really cute and while it was hard for me to get to it this Summer, I am hoping to go in the Fall. Yoga ended up being better than I could have imagined. I knew going to yoga at Gravity Vault would be different but I didn't realize how welcoming and kind the teacher AND the other people practicing would be! I truly look forward to it each week and I have seen improvement in my practice so much. The climbing community is in general so kind and welcoming, I should have realized that yoga in a climbing gym would be exactly the same. This is something I wished I thought of sooner because I feel there are so many benefits in yoga and maybe it would have pulled me out of my little meh-ness quicker. (You always see things in hindsight huh?)
One surprising thing I really enjoyed- even with my eyes closed and my hands gripping the handles are ROLLERCOASTERS! Kyle and I ventured to 3 amusement parks together this summer and if I had to rate them on how much I enjoyed them, it would go as follows:
1. Knoebels 2. Carowinds 3. Dorney Park
I can gush on about how adorable Knoebels is but I will spare you on that because you have to experience it yourself to fully understand. I think the only reason why Dorney is last is because I was tired and the bathrooms were so far apart! (#ibdproblems).
My very first coaster Fury 325 at Carowinds was SO tall and SO fast. Kyle made the right decision not telling me how fast nor how tall it really was. I went into that one completely blind. (Literally blind because I couldn't wear my glasses!) AND getting me on this one first, made all the other ones not so scary (no, they were still scary but I knew I had conquered a huge one already so these seemed easier.)
My favorite coaster was Phoenix at Knoebels because it was an old wooden one and the only 'safety' thing was a lap bar. Kyle put his arm around my shoulders and we had so much fun (I opened my eyes at one part on this ride!) and we I just giggled and squealed the whole time. There were a few times we got some 'hang time' and it was the coolest feeling. I think my roller coaster count by the end of the Summer was at 20ish.
I spent a lot of time with my parents this Summer too. That was super important to me. Besides spending the week together in quarantine, we got a chance to go out to lunch, brunch and have some fun days doing things we used to- errands together, playing trivia and eating family dinners. I have realized my time is precious and I need to make time for things that are important to me and family is definitely one of those things. We were able to take some great family photos this summer, and I will cherish those for a very long time. My parents went on a few adventures, by themselves too! I loved getting selfies from them where they ventured to.
Earlier this month, I hit a big savings goal of mine and it made me feel REALLY happy and proud. As you know, I have been saving money to buy a house. While I don't think I am fully really to dive in again to house hunting, it is nice to see that the money I have been saving is growing and when the time is right, I will be able to purchase my own home. I think this is the first Summer in two years, that I did not go see a house that was for sale. I am hoping that the housing market levels out for us commonfolk to be able to afford to purchase something other than a cardboard box.
As one of my goals this year, to be the best version of myself, I feel like I have been working hard towards that and while its hard to actually quantify that metric; I have seen results of things I have been repeatedly do and the feeling of gratefulness and kindness has really been shining through the last few weeks. I feel a sense of accomplishment and calmness that I haven't felt in a long time.
I have been chasing things that bring me joy; whether its been pulling over to take a photo of a sunset, or buying the crocodile pencil case or being drawn to bright colors in the store, I feel like joy is all around me and I try to show it to others too. You never know what a smile or a kind "have a great day!" will do for someone.
In the beginning of the Summer, I made the post about looking forward on what I want to do with Wonder, Grace & Joy. One of the things I wanted to do was to monetize my blog. I dipped my toes into the influencer pool and its been interesting. I am still trying to figure out how I want to go ahead with that and how I want it to align with my true self. I have some ideas and contacts that I am eager to get together and figure out how to fit it all into the Wonder, Grace & Joy umbrella. Its a work in progress and while this might take a while, it has been a fun adventure.
When I signed up for Couch to 5K program in the beginning of the Summer I had NO idea that I would fall in love with running so much. I really got a big push when I ran the 5K and did better than the last one I ran. I thought to myself, I did that! and I kinda enjoyed myself! I challenged myself at the beginning of September to run at least 1 mile a day. Well, here we are 21 days into the month and I am really proud that I have stuck with it for this long. I can't wait to see what my total mileage is at the end of the month.
Summer has always been in my mind, a time for adventures and I truly can say, this was an adventure filled Summer. New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina were the five states I traveled to; within those states (and New Jersey, of course) I got to go a variety of places. Some of the highlight adventures were Brooklyn for pizza and Ikea; Staten Island for cupcakes; Kennett's Square for Longwood Gardens; Elysburg for Knoebels; East Rutherford for Lady Gaga; Asbury Park for the Berkeley Pool and Green Day; Hamilton for Grounds for Sculpture; Long Valley for Hacklebarney State Park; Navasink River and the Cedar Creek for Paddleboarding;North Carolina for Mount Mitchell, Sliding Rock and Asheville and finally New Jersey for all the small everyday adventures I went on.
Summer, overall you were pretty awesome. Thank you for all the wonderful memories and photographs I took. I will think of you when there is snow on the ground and all I can do is just dream about sunny warm days ahead.
Did you miss any of my Summer themed posts? Find them below:
| Dear June | Dear July | Dear August | Diary #30 | Diary #31 | Diary #32
| Looking Forward | Ode to Summer | Summer | Beach Essentials | SUP dude! |
| Couch to 5K | Lacey 5K Recap | Longwood Gardens |
| WGJ Travels: North Carolina Recap 1 | 2 |
| Goodbye Summer 2020 | Summer 2016 in Review | Goodbye Summer 2015 |
[[Summertime is always the best of what might be- Charles Bowden]]
Living on the Jersey Shore, going to the beach always has been a thing for me. I love spending time by any body of water- River, lake, creek, bay, ocean, pool, lagoon- the list can go on but you get the point. If there is water, I am close by and you can count on me sitting on the sandy shoreline enjoy the sounds of nature.
Today I am rounding up some of my beach essentials. Everyone has their own opinions for what they bring to the beach and it varies widely on what season of life you are in. If you have kids, you are probably bringing a lot of sand toys and snacks and if you are a young adult, you might bring the bare necessities and snacks. (#priorities) So this is my unofficial and incomplete list of essentials for the beach.
Sand Chair | some people are team no chair and some people are team chair. I like my options so I am definitely team chair. I tend to choose a chair that is lower to the ground for the beach. This one is my favorite for a few years.
Towel | whether you are laying on the sand, playing in the water or siting in your chair, a towel is a must have.
Food | have I sat on the beach in a bathing suit, eating donuts shamelessly? Heck yes I have! There is something about being at the beach makes snacking so much fun. My go to beach foods-- chef's salad with pasta, buttered roll and ice cream! Pizza is certainly a great option too.
Beach Blanket | it should be lightweight, sand and spill proof and folds up into a teeny tiny little package. I want something that is not going to take up too much space but provide me an area if I decide to lay down and nap. This one from Everlasting Comfort fits all those categories and its really large too! You can find your own here.
Small Table | This table is a game changer for me. I love not having to worry if I'm going to get sand in my food and it can always double for playing card games.
Sunscreen | I swear by Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 100 sunscreen. I know I am protected and it doesn't leave me all slimy like other sunscreens.
Water bottle | Keeping hydrated at the beach is key especially ifs really sunny out. I love keeping a few water bottles in the cooler and then refill my reusable water bottle with ice cold water. (Beach Hint: Bring a spray bottle with water and keep it in the cooler for a refreshing mist!)
Donut Tube | I love sitting in a tube and coming and going with the waves-on the bay/river beach only- but I don't want to get lost at sea so I take a 5-7 lb weight and a long piece of sturdy rope and tie the rope around by tube and drop anchor (so to speak). It allows me to move around in the water but I won't get lost.
Sunglasses & Hat | This is the first thing I grab if I am going to the beach. The sun reflects off of the sand and water making it hard to see sometimes. I loving having a pair specific for the beach, just in case you get sand or salt water on them, you don't want them to get ruined. I love having a big floppy sun hat with me too!
A good book | reading or puzzle | I love having a physical book on hand at the beach. Do I always read it, no but its a nice option to have. I also like keeping a word search or puzzle book with me too. The beach is a perfect opportunity to try a word search. (Beach Hint: The Dollar Tree has a TON of puzzle books for $ 1.25 each.)
To find more products like the beach blanket you see featured here (isn't it so pretty?!), check out Everlasting Comfort, making life more comfortable.
Well there you have it, My Beach Essentials. What are some of your beach essentials? Let me know in the comments below.
Ps. Shay over on Mix and Match Mama has 21 Keys to savor summer and I think that is the perfect compliment to my summer posts check it out here .
PPS. I was gifted this beach blanket in exchange for my honest review. This is a product that I will truly use all summer long.
Here's to warmer days, sunshine, fireworks, dockside dining and drinks, beach days, adventures, salty air, nights under the stars, boardwalks, mini golf, and endless possibilities.
Summer 2022 I have high hopes for you and what you have in store for us.
[[Currently in a Summer state of mind]]
Dear Summer,
Its your last day for 2020 and I wanted to reminisce about the neat things you gave me this year. For one, I had not idea what kind of summer you were going to be- I couldn't even fathom it. I made a wish list for this summer with the normal things I like to do but I wasn't sure I was able to actually accomplish all of them (spoiler alert: I didn't but I'm not mad about it.)
You provided me with some beautiful sights in Ocean Gate and those sunsets from the beach were one of my favorite things this year. The colors, the slight changes from minute to minute and the reflection on the water brought me peace and calmness.
Ocean Gate during the day was equally beautiful- I loved seeing all the houses along the water- they were full of character and charm and oh so many stories. I dreamed about who stayed there and what they did. I often say little snippets of peoples lives who lived there- beach chairs, sandy from a day at the beach, next to the back door; beach towels draped over the railings and water floats drying out on the grass; the smell of BBQ's and suntan lotion through the air. I could keep going on and on about Ocean Gate but my walks there were probably in the top 3 favorite things from the summer.
Summer, you presented a unique opportunity for me this summer that combine my love for yoga and the water- Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga. Seriously, I know it sounds completely crazy BUT it was awesome. It really made you think about your placement and you became more intentional about your movements. The best part about SUP Yoga, hanging out with Adrienne. We have known each other for 5 years now and she is jus awesome. I loved our adventures down the creek and through the lagoons. I loved the board she had and I am eagerly saving my money for my own, next summer. Apparently, there was a SUP shortage this summer. I am glad I was on point with this.
Another interesting and new thing I tried this summer was house hunting. Early in June, I decided I wanted to get serious with my dream of buying a house. I contacted a realtor and a mortgage person and really set out looking. I knew going into the house hunting process, the interest rates were really good but it was a sellers market. I went and saw two houses in person- One was the right price but not the right house and the other one was not the right price but I loved the house. Here in New Jersey, the house prices are out-of-control. I always knew Jersey was expensive but I didn't realize HOW expensive. The inventory is high but the prices are extra high. I decided after a frustrating month, to keep my eye out but not get to attached to anything. Most of the inventory was pending the same day (usually within hours) of being listed. I am hoping for some lower prices once the election passes. The bright side of just looking- saving more money.
I am super close to my goal I wanted and I have the mindset now- I will keep saving my money and maybe I will be able to afford a house that is better than I have ever imagined. My thoughts on savings and money have changed a bit this summer as well. I am so much more focused on my savings goals than ever. I've always had a good relationship with money but now, its the best its ever been. I feel more in control of my money and I feel better how I spend my money as well. I would love to save more and create more security but I know that will come in time. I am happy (money wise) where I am right now.
My outlook on life has been pretty erratic during the pandemic. It started out fearful and then it moved to laughing about it and just going with the flow and now its pretty even, accepting and okay with it all. It took me a long time to get to that point and I feel like I needed to say goodbye to somethings in order to get to the spot I am now. It was hard and painful at times but I realized, if I want to have the life I dreamed of, I need to chase it. I need to do things to align with the vision I have. Saying goodbye to things that did not bring me joy helped; doing what makes you truly happy really works and not caring about what others think- its YOUR life. Remembering that social media is just everyone's highlight reels really helped with not comparing myself and doing my own thing.
Being in the midst of a global pandemic during the Summer was not ideal but I think we all learned a lot from this summer. We are all learning to be better people- to be kind and more tolerate to everyone you meet. Everyone is fighting a battle we don't know about. The biggest lesson from this summer- BE KIND. Its easy, its free and it makes all of us better.
Summer, you were one of a kind this year. I think you brought to light the things that matter most and what you should be focusing on instead of what you are wasting your time on. You were a good teacher this year. Thanks for the memories but I am ready for Fall.
See you next year!
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Did you have a good summer? Did anything happen for you that changed you outlook? Share below.
[[[and all at once summer collapsed into fall- Oscar Wilde]]]
-gabrielle
