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!
This Week on Lemon Stripes
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Comparison & Joy
Workout with Anel: Arms & Abs
YES on the “putting your writing in a drawer” and coming back to it with fresh eyes a few hours or even a few days later. I’m an English teacher and have been tutoring/teaching writing since I was in high school, and that is one of the best ways to edit (and revise!) effectively. I also have my kids work in partners to proofread, where the partner reads the piece aloud to the author while he/she/they are following along with a copy. THEN I have them read it backward sentence by sentence because that removes you from the ideas/content; you are able to focus on the grammar/mechanics/syntax. The kids hate it all (lol), but it cuts down so much on superficial communication mistakes! Plus it helps students see where they are most likely to make mistakes so they can head those errors off at the pass in future pieces.
I remember when my teachers used to make us do the backwards editing trick. I HATED it too. But it did work!
Shazam forever!
Also, it is 2019 who is still asking about if someone is having a baby/another baby??!!??
OMG thank goodness someone knew what Shazam was. I felt like I was majorly dating myself LOL. And agreed. It’s so odd but happens DAILY.
Loved your article on The Everymom! Not a mom, but I found it to be such a great perspective on infertility and miscarriage. A friend of mine just this week found out her pregnancy isn’t viable (a surprise pregnancy after having to go through IVF for her first) and I’ve struggled with how to respond. Your thoughts were invaluable.
Have you heard of Grammarly? From what I understand, you plug in your text and it checks for spelling and grammatical errors. I think you do an amazing job of putting out well-edited content, but maybe it would be helpful to use as a final check? xo
Thanks Brigid! I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. I’ll be sending her some extra love too.
I will check out Grammarly now. That sounds like exactly what I need! Good tip 🙂
All the kids/teens use Grammarly. From what I tell it works well. I always say what has been said already, give it some time and read it aloud.
This is one of my favorite round-ups is a while. Thank you! All so relatable. As someone who writes a lot of speeches, particularly relate to the proofreading article. It happens! Also, your article Everymom was beautiful and poignant.
Thanks so much, Nora!
thank you so much julia! have the best weekend! xo
No YOU have the best weekend 😉
Love the article about proofreading! I’m an attorney, and my tip is to print out whatever you’ve written and take a red pen to it. It’s old-fashioned but effective!
Love the old school editing technique!
Schitt’s Creek is hysterical and quickly became a favorite! You and your blog are fabulous!
Hysterical. I laugh out loud in every single episode! And thank you xx
This is an excellent round up and I always love the links to others’ articles and blog posts. You do a great job supporting others and linking to things that are a fun or inspiring read.
Thanks Alex! Have a great weekend 🙂
I have become OBSESSED with Schitt’s Creek, especially Dan Levy. He seems so awesome in real life as well. The whole Levy family is really killing it on the show. I knew that Dan Levy was Eugene Levy’s son, but did you know the actress who plays Twyla is Dan’s sister and Eugene’s daughter? I just found that out and it kind of blew my mind.
YES! I learned that and was blown away. Obsessed with the whole Levy family and want to be a part of it!
Macs have a dictation feature that speaks your text to you. As someone who wrote major papers in grad school and now writes a lot for their job, I always use this feature because when you hear the text spoken out loud as you read along, it’s so much easier to catch errors!
I never knew that! Will Google how to use it, thanks!
One of my professors in college had recommended proof reading by starting at the last sentence and working your way up, so you lose the flow of what you have written and see each sentence as it’s own. It does help, but getting myself to slow down and actually do it is another story!
It sounds like that is the way to go. I’m trying it for Monday’s post!
Great post! I often struggle to with catching my own typos! It is something that everyone does lol. When first starting my blog I thought that I had to have perfect grammar and language. That is essential to some point, but it is also so fun when someone writes how they would normally talk. I absolutely love all your posts!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com
Thanks Kate! I agree… But my spelling errors are so embarrassing 🙂
Sharing your fertility journey and your beautiful rainbow baby Amalia Louise gave me hope and got me through our similar fertility struggles.
Thank you for being so brave and genuine, and for making it your mission to lift women up and help us shoulder the struggles together.
I am currently 37 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, counting down to meeting him! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the work you do! From the baby gear, to the self care, to the emotions, to the exciting milestones, I would not feel as prepared for all that is to come without Lemon Stripes.
Xo sending love from Glastonbury
Thank you so much for telling me this, Claire! Congratulations on your pregnancy and sending you the best wishes for his birth!!
A really great feature for catching typos is to copy and paste whatever you have written into Microsoft Word and use the read-aloud feature. It (obviously) allows you to hear what you’ve written and not just what you think you’ve written! I do this for every assignment in law school, and it has helped me so much!
Typos or no typos, I love your blog!
Thanks Bridget! I just started using Grammarly though and am loving it. There is an extension for Chrome that makes it so easy!