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Good morning! I am really excited to be sitting down just to write today!
Back when I started writing, 10 years ago, the blogging world was different. People used to write much more from the heart and it was a place that communities were built. In a sense, it’s been replaced by social media but sometimes I find that it is hard to get a stream of thoughts flowing and share your thoughts with others. It’s often a highlight reel, right?
Recently I polled my community on Instagram and asked how many read my blog and it was very low, which I expected! Blog posts are now a place where SEO rules and require tedious use of keywords and word counts, all in order to perform well on google which is where a majority of my web traffic comes from.
But, I want to add more of me back in here. I love writing on my blog and connecting with a community of friends here. So, I want to find my roots. My tag line with Our Little Lifestyle has always been LOVE. LIFE. STYLE. SMILES. AND FAMILY TRAVEL TOO so I want to get back to hitting on each of those points when I have a chance (hopefully once a week). The human experience is more than a beautiful photo in a square on social media and I hope to dive a little deeper into topics and also just share things that make me happy! I encourage you to leave a comment on this post, like in the good old days, but also encourage you to reach out to me on Instagram or Facebook too!
LOVE
I want to share a couple of different things that I am loving right now!
The first is the A Beautiful Anarchy podcast by David duChemin. I saw someone mention his book The Visual Toolbox in a thread on the Clickin Moms forum and then somehow ended up on his podcast and CAN NOT stop listening. In true Sarah fashion, I started back at Episode 1 (Sept 2019) and so far I am up to Episode 12 and they are speaking directly to my soul. You don’t have to be creative to get something out of these short (10-15 minute) episodes. In particular, episode 2, Overwhelmed, dealt directly with this feeling I have had lately where I am almost paralyzed by too many options, too much time, too much information, and often end up never getting anything done. I feel like this episode is more relevant now than ever and encourage you to give it a listen! I mentioned it over on my Instagram with the link and received almost a dozen messages from people who were just as moved as I was!
Another thing (or person) that I have been loving this month is Clare Pooley. I read her book The Authenticity Project recently and really loved it. I then looked up other books from her and came across her book The Sober Diaries and was intrigued. It was only $3.99 on kindle so I picked it up. I have been noticing this growing movement toward sober living, or more importantly, the observations around our society moving toward “Rose all Day” and “Mommy’s Sippy Cup” type messages not only normalizing but encouraging drinking among women. Now, I an average drinker, like most of you probably are. I love my red wine and with the exception of my two pregnancies have probably consumed way more than my fair share over the past 20 years. After lots of drinks over New Year’s week and in an effort to shed some of the weight I put on in the past 5 years, I decided to do my first Dry January and so far am 20 days in, and don’t miss it one bit! I love reading memoirs and non-fiction and have found myself immersed in Clare’s content right now. I haven’t even finished The Sober Diaries because I ended up on her blog (which inspired the book). She started it back in March 2015 and blogs her journey almost every day. I find a lot of similarities between myself and how she doesn’t think of herself as an alcoholic but maybe someone who abuses it and as someone who may enjoy life more without the alcohol. Anyway, I have been reading every. single. post. If you want to join me you can click here for her first post and then just keep going through them. I don’t plan to give up wine forever but I am really enjoying how I feel right now without it.
LIFE
Life has been busy, fulfilling, strange, amazing, weird, and all of the other feelings. We are still navigating this pandemic like the rest of you. Matt in particular has been so busy at the hospital since this all started. The kids have actually been back in school (in person) since after Labor Day so they are really appreciating the sense of normalcy. Abby is still on the swim team and Jake is still doing Cub Scouts! Both kids are playing basketball this month and Jake is also on the school archery team. And because that isn’t enough, he just joined a local wrestling club, so I have been finding myself outrunning them around every single night of the week. If you know me, you know that I hate commitment to activities like this but I am actually really enjoying this chapter of parenting! Maybe it’s because I no longer worry about when I can sit down with my glass of wine at night.
Above I mentioned that I am often paralyzed with too many projects and hence why I often don’t get a chance to write here. To be honest, writing blog posts take a long time! Compare that to a quick Instagram post + caption and the instant dopamine hit that it brings and it’s not a surprise that my blog gets a bit neglected. I am also staying busy with my photography business, Sarah Blevins Photography, and running our vacation rental on Airbnb which I absolutely love. I started a blog series about that adventure and will continue it soon!
Despite what a crazy year 2020 was, I reached a number of my goals and am feeling really optimistic about this year. In an upcoming post, I want to recap some of those from 2020 and also share some of my 2021 goals!
And we received our 100th Chatbook last month!
STYLE
So, while yes, I used to be a kid’s fashion blogger. We don’t post much about shopping/style anymore because (a) my kids have opinions of their own and they are very questionable. And (b) I keep telling myself that once I lose some weight I will start caring about fashion again. Does anyone else do that? I legit have so much nice stuff hanging in my closet that hasn’t fit in years and find myself wearing my favorite black leggings and tees most days.
But, this month not only did I sign up for Stich Fix, but Matt did too! We both got our first box and kept a couple of the things. I was so excited that I have another box coming this Friday. So, I will keep you all posted on how that goes. I know that we are late to the game on that but if anyone ever wants to see unboxings in my Instagram Stories let me know! And if you are wanting to try it you can use my refer a friend link to save $25!
Also, I did just get a new pair of ON Cloud shoes. I have had the Cloud Flyer in navy/coral for a while and use them to work out but just grabbed the Cloud Running Shoe in Black with white soles to go with my daily legging ensemble and love them! They are so comfy to slip on and off and go with everything.
And in other possibly exciting news (the jury is still out), the kids no longer have to wear uniforms to school! This change was out of the blue and while Jake is happy as a clam in his long-sleeve tees and khakis, Abby puts a bit more energy into it. We found new favorite jeans for her, the Skinny Built-In Tough Pull-On Jeans for Girls, that are only $12. They look like real jeans but are pull-on and have adjustable waist buttons inside too. She’s wearing them in the photo below. We also grabbed the Ballerina Built-In Tough Light-Wash Frayed-Hem Jeggings for Girls in our last order and love them on her!
SMILES
If you follow me for any length of time you know that I am an optimist, maybe to a fault. I think we could all use a little more happiness and smiles and here are a few things that are making me smile this week!
My Van Mossion Pandora Station.
Closing all three rings on my Apple Watch every day this week.
This Facebook video of this grumpy old cat falling in love with a kitten.
Cashews.
The crackle of my Woodwick candles.
It warmed back up in the South and we are back at almost 70 degrees and sunny this weekend.
Blasting the mildew off of my sidewalks with this great little pressure washer I bought for $99.
Hanging three hooks in our master bathroom and feeling like Joanna Gaines.
Hiking with my family at the Forever Wild Trails.
AND FAMILY TRAVEL TOO!
The travel world has been flipped upside down by this pandemic. I am sure you see on Instagram that our travels these days consist of short road trips and an hour or two from our home or visits to our condo down on 30a. One thing that I have learned over the past year is how desperately I want to explore the world. As soon as it’s safe Matt and I want to plan a trip to Greece and Italy. It’s been on our bucket list for years.
Is there anywhere particular you want to go when you can safely travel again?
Abby and I did take a little girl’s trip up to Atlanta this past weekend. We had never really been other than passing through. Our main goal was to pick up some things from IKEA for Jake’s room. That ended up being a huge bust because every single thing we came for was sold out. But, the silver lining was that we got some time together. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo downtown and it was very clean and easy to social distance. The location was great and we spent a lot of time walking around outside and chilling in our room.
The hotel is adjacent to America’s Mart and central to a lot of things. The nearly Centennial Olympic Park was closed due to Covid-19 but we saw the Olympic Rings! The SkyWheel is also right across the street and the awesome Martin Luther King Jr. mural that is in my photo at the beginning of this post is right there in the parking lot of the SkyWheel. We had hoped to visit his birth home a mile away but didn’t get a chance to make it over there.
We bought tickets a few days beforehand to visit the Java Cats Cafe as they only allow 4 people into the lounge per hour to allow for social distancing. It’s been on Abby’s bucket list for some time and was the highlight for us! This coffee shop / cat adoption lounge works directly with PAWS, a no-kill shelter in Atlanta to find homes for all kinds of cats. With up to 20 at any given time, Java Cats will take in anything from playful kittens to traumatized older cats, which they love extra hard and find just the right home for.
You can see clips from our visit in this Instagram Reel!
On Sunday we visited the Georgia Aquarium and The National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Both are doing everything they can to allow for safe visits during the pandemic and visitors must buy tickets in advance for a particular time slot. We choose 8am for the aquarium and had plenty of space to explore. However, by the time we left (before lunch) it was getting busy so I recommend an earlier time slot.
We were very moved by our short visit to The National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Stopping in on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr day and in the midst of this division in our country, it was very relevant. I think Abby and I both walked away changed from that experience. When you are ready to visit and heading to Atlanta, plan a visit.
Thanks for reading! And if you like this effort to get back to basics let me know in the comments! The blogging world is a little lonely these days and where social media leads to instant gratification, sometimes a blog post feels like a one-way dialogue. I would love to hear from you!
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I absolutely loved reading this blog post! I always love to see where you are adventuring!
Thank you so much for reading Melissa! I love watching yours as well. Makes me miss California so much! I do have a tab here on the blog under Travel -> California if you are ever looking for more to do out there!