Life Lately: February

Happy Friday from (freezing cold) California! My sister, mom, and I are visiting my grandmother for a few days. It’s been a great girls’ bonding trip, but even though everyone out here is freaking out about the cold weather, I’m just happy to be out of the snow and with my family members that I don’t see nearly as much as I’d like to. We’ve pretty much just spent the last two days chatting and eating tacos. Aka my dream life.

On the flight out, I finally watched Bohemian Rhapsody and am here to tell you that you must see it immediately. Rami Malek played Freddy Mercury perfectly, and the combination of the captivating story and fabulous music made for a great movie.

In other news, I’m excited to share that The Everymom asked me to write about my fertility journey and the heartbreak of miscarriage, and I’m incredibly proud of my article that went live yesterday. I am a big fan of their site and was so honored to share my story with their readers!

Back at home, our basement guest room and bathroom designs are coming together really well! This wallpaper went up in the bathroom and this super over-the-top palm print paper went up in the guest room. I can’t wait to show you the final product in a few weeks when everything is finished. It’s starting to feel like a little tropical getaway down there.

Around the Web

Shirt worn above. So cute and on sale!

How many productive hours in a workday? The results from a UK-based research firm say 2 hours and 23 minutes. The study was conducted for people who work in a “real” office, but I think it’s hilarious because when I used to work a traditional 9-5 job, I was way less productive than I am now working from home. In the same vein, another study shows that 4-day weeks are more productive and cause less stress than 5-day weeks.

Why it’s hard to catch your own typos. Fact: I make a lot of typos. As someone who has to write for a living, that’s kind of a major problem. I have at least one person proofread each blog post, but sometimes they don’t catch them either. I get a lot of messages from people with fixes (thank you!), but also get the occasional message telling me that I’m lazy, sloppy, and should be embarrassed of all the mistakes I make around here. It’s lovely. I actually try really hard, but no matter how much I proofread, I can’t seem to see my own typos! So I started reading up on it to see if there was anything I could do to fix this. I found this article that shed some light on the different tasks of writing content vs proofreading. The following quote sums it up well:

“When we’re proof reading our own work, we know the meaning we want to convey. Because we expect that meaning to be there, it’s easier for us to miss when parts (or all) of it are absent. The reason we don’t see our own typos is because what we see on the screen is competing with the version that exists in our heads.”

But this article gave me an idea for how to fix it. Instead of proofreading right away, wait a few hours, come back to the article or post, and proofread it later.

The perfect leopard cardigan has finally been created.

Best friend is a tier, not a person. I wholeheartedly agree with Grace’s perspective on friendship. I call at least five people (plus one dog and one baby) my best friend, and it’s because I’m close to all of them in different ways. I hadn’t ever thought about it outright but I love how she broke it down. Speaking of friendship, her post on losing a friend was absolutely devastating but well-written and poignant.

Gal Meets Glam February drop. Julia Engel’s latest collection is feminine and beautiful. I bought this floral jumpsuit for an upcoming trip to Florida (also available on Nordstrom) and I adore this sage green maxi dress too.

The failure resumé. I had never thought about my failures in this way, but Victoria wrote about hers beautifully and helped to change my perspective.

10 things to know before buying your first home. Jess nailed it with her post on first-time home-ownership. It answered all of the questions I wish I had the answers to when we bought our house. On the same topic, this article on homeownership in the age of Instagram is fascinating.

Color-block swimsuit. Love it. Need it. Backordered. But 40% off!

Every cool restaurant’s playlist: I am apparently from the stone ages because I still Shazam songs at cool restaurants constantly. Anyone else? But now there is an actual playlist that includes the coolest songs from the trendiest restaurants.

Barack’s bomber jacket. I’m so here for the hype around this coat. The embroidered 44 is beyond cool. #missyou

The Everygirl courses. Today, The Everygirl launched a new place where you can learn how to develop new skills, inspire meaningful growth, and spark new avenues for inspiration: The Everygirl Courses. The first two courses available are Landing Your Dream Job and Photoshop Essentials (perfect for bloggers and small businesses). Claim your spot here!

More color blocking. The blue bow on this yellow top is adorable.

February Q&A

Answers to my most commonly asked questions this month!

1. We see your dad a lot on social media, but not your mom. Why is that?
My mom and I are super close and talk on the phone multiple times a day, but she lives in California and can’t travel right now because of a health issue. She’s getting a surgery next month that will hopefully remedy that. If it does, you’ll be seeing a lot more of her soon. My dad and his family live a few hours away by car, so we see them about once a month, which is really nice. We feel so lucky to live near them!

2. What are you watching right now?
A few months ago, I started Schitt’s Creek and am now a superfan. I usually watch one episode during my “lunch break” during the week, so I’m slowly creeping my way through the seasons. Before you ask, David is my favorite character, followed closely by Moira. Anel and I just finished the first season of Killing Eve, and before that, we watched The Sinner and The Bodyguard. I was into all of them.

3. When is Amalia getting another sibling?
You would be shocked at how many times a week I get asked this question. So often, that I wrote a whole blog post about it!