This week has been a hard week. I am sure I will fill you guys in on more of the details soon but for right now, I am trying my best to keep my thoughts positive and look ahead and focus on the happiness and joys in my life. There are some unknowns in my life right now that are stressful, scary and hard not to think about but overall I am feeling positive, strong and believing in the GOOD.
(Thank you to my friend Michaela for sharing the above quote with me when I really needed it yesterday.)
This weekly post is a good thing for me because it serves as a small reminder to take a moment to think about the things that make me smile every week and right now it’s a good distraction for me that I definitely need.
Another good distraction? Alyssa and Brittany are coming in town with their guys to spend the weekend with us! I am really looking forward to some quality time with friends and we’re hoping to spend most of our Saturday on the lake this weekend which always sounds wonderful to me.
I hope you all have a good weekend and thank you so much for reading this blog. I hate to be vague in this space but I just didn’t feel right typing out an intro to this post without mentioning the difficulty of this week because everything I wrote just felt hollow. I need to be able to share the ups and the downs in this space, too, and thank you for understanding. I am hoping to have answers to some things today that I am believing will only be GOOD news and will likely be able to fill you in on everything on Monday.
Thankfully I typed up most of this post earlier in the week before my mind has been consumed elsewhere, so here’s your usual Things I’m Loving Friday post!
Things I’m Loving Friday
- Ryan
I need to give a huge shout out to Ryan to kick off this list of things I’m loving this week because he is everything to me. Ryan has always said he’s the “rock” and I’m the “joy” in our relationship and this week has definitely brought the calm, steady, reassuring nature of his personality to the forefront. Living with someone and loving someone who serves as such an incredible form of comfort and strength in my life is the biggest blessing. When I look at my husband and see someone who is so completely sure everything will be fine, it absolutely rubs off on me and I am left feeling stronger, braver and more optimistic. I love you, Ryan, and I love our life together.
I know I’m late to the game on this one, but with some encouragement from my fellow musical-loving friends Leah and Gina, I finally started listening to the Hamilton soundtrack (you can stream if for FREE with an Amazon Prime membership!) and it’s AWESOME. I haven’t fallen in love with a new musical soundtrack in a while and was way overdue. This one it catchy and fun and I’ve been listening to it in the background at home all week.
- Blog Friends – New and Old!
Last week, during my blog trip to Canada with General Mills, I forgot my SD card and only had my iPhone to rely on for pictures during our visit. Talk about a blogger fail! Thankfully General Mills hired a talented photographer to document our visit and now that I have some of his photos on hand, I wanted to give a shout out to the awesome bloggers I was able to meet last week.
It was wonderful to be reunited with a handful of my closest blogging friends whom I’ve known for years and I enjoyed meeting a handful of extremely talented new-to-me bloggers as well!
Definitely check out these awesome bloggers (from left to right): Super Healthy Kids, Cookistry, The Naptime Chef, Eating Bird Food, Simply Taralynn, Fit Bottomed Eats, Carrots ‘n’ Cake, me and The Fitnessista
During our first night in Winnipeg, our group dined at the gorgeous Mud & Stone Studio, a beautiful naturally-lit space where Lynne Mulvihill and Jenn McCurry create unique, functional and modern ceramics for everyday. Their work is stunning and we were each gifted a beautiful piece of their handmade pottery to bring home with us. I’ve been using my piece as a snack plate of sorts and absolutely love it! Mud & Stone also has an Etsy shop, so I wanted to give them a little shout out on the blog in case you are looking for handcrafted original pottery for yourself or as a unique gift for a special someone in your life. (Their coffee mugs and planters are my favorite!)
- Friday Flashbacks
10 Awesome YouTube Workout Channels (For days when you’re looking for a quality workout you can do at home for free!)
Easy Smashed Potatoes (A go-to side dish in our house!)
- Around the Web
Food: Healthiest No Bake Key Lime Pie Ever // Plant-Based Make Ahead Freezer Meals // 15 Protein Ball Recipes // Healthy Summer Salad Recipes // Next Level Zoodles with Creamy Corn Sauce
Fitness: Lower Body Barre Burner Video // 10 Workouts To Try from Around the Web // 33 Cardio-Based Bodyweight Exercises
Stellar Sales: $25 for every $75 you spend at Express (I ordered this lace romper and this cold shoulder top that I’m planning to pair with a strappy bralette to transition into fall!)
Question of the Day
- Please share something GOOD that happened to you this week! I would love to read all about some of the wonderful, positive things going on in your lives today!
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You should check out the Waitress soundtrack. I can’t get enough (there are two versions: the Broadway version and Sara Bareilles’. Both are amazing!
I love Sara Bareilles! I’ll check it out! 🙂
If I’m not mistaken, Sara Bareilles wrote all or most of the songs for the Broadway version of Waitress, which is based on the Keri Russell movie from a few years ago. If you haven’t seen the movie, I really liked it.
YES! Songs and the musical were both nominated for Tony’s this year as well. The Tony’s were outstanding this year and James Corden was such an exquisite host.
Sending prayers for good news and a sense of calm your way – for whatever it is you’re dealing with right now.
Something good…I’m looking forward to a friends wedding tomorrow. I was there when she and her future hubby met. And it has been so exciting to watch their relationship & now to see them get married. Plus. I get to dance like a crazy person and no one will judge me. SCORE!
Thank you, Jessie <3 Hope you have a blast at the wedding tomorrow!
My husband, a med student, finished his internal medicine rotation! They say it’s one of the tougher ones, and he started the week after we moved to a new city with a 4-week-old. It’s a happy day in our house! But we’re starting to transition the baby from his rock and play to his crib, so I’ll let you know Monday of the happy vibe sticks around 😉 (If anyone has any tips on how to do that, we’d love them. He sleeps through the night in the RNP, so I’m nervous to mess it up.)
Congratulations to your husband! <3 And good luck with the crib transition. I was really nervous about transitioning Chase from his bassinet to the crib, but it was actually way harder for me than it was for Chase. I hope it's smooth for you, too!
Nothing in particular but I realize how lucky I am to be living a healthy life with loving friends and family. In comparison to the world around us and other people’s difficulties, I have nothing to complain about and that is something to be thankful for.
Sending my best. I saw your post on IG and it struck me as well as I am coming out of a difficult situation. Lean on others and count your blessings for the amazing rock you have in Ryan.
I’m loving the soundtrack as well. Thanks to Courtney for the other suggestion!
Hugs to you, Brynn <3
Prayers and positive vibes sent your way!
Thank you, Annie. I appreciate it very much. xoxo
Sending some positive thoughts your way, Julie! And it’s awesome you have Ryan there to be your rock. 🙂 Hope your weekend with your friends takes your mind off the problems for at least a bit!
Sending you and your family a lot of positive energy!
Sending prayers your way for peace and comfort! Enjoy your weekend with friends!
So sorry Julie, sending my love from Memphis. Fingers crossed that everything will be ok.
Sending good thoughts and prayers to you!!! Having faith and a strong support system will carry you through hard times.
Two of our best couple friends just bought a place right near our house. So excited to be neighbors!
Praying you receive good news today!
I’m looking forward to my daughter’s baptism tomorrow! I’m so thankful my family is making the trip for this special event and excited to visit with everyone.
Sending positivity and love your way! I heard a really nice quote the other day, “keep your face to the sunshine and you won’t see the shadows”. Best wishes to you! <3
Something good around here, finally healing and picking up my milage for my very first marathon after a knee injury that had me benched from running!
Lot of prayers and positive thoughts for you!!! I hope you get the good news you are hoping for and are able to enjoy a great weekend!! Xoxo
Sending positive thoughts and vibes your way and I hope all turns out well for you!
When you posted that quote yesterday I SO needed it!! We are selling our house, figuring out where we want to live/possibly build, and our careers are busier than ever! I have been a ball of worry but I know I need to trust in God that everything will be okay!
I will keep you guys in my thoughts as you wait for some answers!
Thank you, Alex! I hope everything unfolds smoothly for you during such a transitional time. <3
I thought something might be wrong because the timing of your posts seemed off..ha maybe I’m following you blog too closely if I noticed that 😉
I hope everything settles down and straightens out for you, we’re in your corner!!
Something good this week was helping my oldest friend get ready for her wedding and seeing her so happy to marry someone that makes her smile!
It breaks my heart that you are sad! I hope everything gets better soon. You are an inspiration to a lot of people and we all want you to be happy! Thank goodness for Ryan and Chase to brighten your day.
Thank you, Jessica <3 <3
Sending you lots of hugs and positive thoughts to carry you through the weekend! Thank you for your transparency on this blog because I can imagine it’s not always easy. Know that you have a strong support network through your readers during the ups and the downs <3
Hi Julie,
I’m sorry that you’ve had a tough week. But I am glad that you mentioned it because you give your “blog friends” a chance to give back to you for a change. You give so much to us. You have people that are thinking and praying for you. You might try looking up the song “Make a Way” by I AM THEY. It has been an encouragement to me in the past.
Praying that you have a wonderful weekend with friends and family,
Tiffany
Julie – Thank you for always being genuine. Life is about the ups and downs and the balance between the two. Wishing you, Ryan, Chase and Sadie well over your weekend. As for something good that happened to me this week is I received my copy of the new Fed & Fit cookbook and I look forward to getting inspired by some of the recipes and the fitness plan this weekend.
I’m terribly sorry you are going through something right now. Everything always works out exactly how its supposed to. Keep positive!
Something good happened this week, actually last night, I felt and saw our baby kick for the first time. This is my first and I have been needing some sign that my little one is doing ok in there. Waiting 4 weeks to hear the heartbeat at our next appointment seems like it takes FOREVER and I’m a nervous wreck until that time. This was amazing and crazy weird at the same time! So excited for this new chapter in pregnancy!
Something I’ve been loving this week is all of your wedding posts! I originally started following your blog when I stumbled upon all of your wonderful wedding planning notes and recaps of your GORGEOUS wedding, now that I’m planning my own I have found myself referring back to them often 🙂 I particularly love your post about what you want to remember about your wedding day, makes me smile every time.
Sending positive thoughts your way, hope you get some good news today!!
Thinking about you and hoping everything turns out in your favor. How fun that blog friends are coming to visit. I hope they enjoy Lake Normand and Charlotte. I love doing youtube workouts at home, so that youtube channel is being added to my favorites. Enjoy the lake this weekend!
I’ve been reading your blog for a couple years and so look forward to all of your posts. Sending positive vibes and prayers to my favorite blogger from Chicago!
So excited to finally get some relaxed QT with you! We will be there soon to brighten up your weekend <3 xoxo
Think of you and your family. I hope that the news you hear is good but just know that you are a person capable of incredible things. I’ve had to remind myself of that many times over the past 9 months. I had Fletcher back in August of 2015 and then less than 2 months later my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She lost her fight with the awful disease on December 1st of 2015. So, to say that this year has been a roller-coaster would be an understatement. I am an only child and family all lives at least 1.5 hours away so I moved my hubby, my baby and I to go and live with my dad for a month and a half. Besides learning how to be a new mother, not having my mom there to share this new wonderful baby with me was devastating. I kept it together though, I had to for my dad and for my baby. I was determined to give Fletcher the best momma he could have so I pushed though, and made sure that I was incredible and strong for him. Did I want to go crawl into bed and just be left alone for days and days…yes. Could I let myself do that, absolutely not.
Life isn’t easier, it’s just different now. My mom was the strongest person I ever knew. I miss her with every inch of my being every minute I’m breathing. I wish more than anything she could of gotten more time with her only grandbaby, 3 months wasn’t nearly enough and she was sick so she couldn’t even enjoy him that much.
I just want you to know that whatever is going on, you are a momma, you gave birth…you got this. You can push through and come out on top. Find strength in Chase, in your little miracle of a baby. If I wouldn’t of had Fletcher, I’m not sure I would of came out of this the person I am now. He made me be stronger than I ever thought possible.
Thinking of you and sending love and good vibes.
-Molly (Blog reader for 7 years)
*Thinking of you and your family it’s supposed to read, still getting through my morning coffee.
Molly your story brought me to tears and inspired me to remind my loved ones how loved they really are. Thank you for sharing xoxo i’m thinking of you and your family
Thank you Zoe, I also urge people to look into the symptoms of ovarian cancer, they are not always obvious.
Abdominal bloating or swelling
Quickly feeling full when eating
Weight loss
Discomfort in the pelvis area
Changes in bowel habits, such as constipation
A frequent need to urinate
A lot of these symptoms can just be chalked up to normal women issues too. Mostly when people discover ovarian cancer it is in stage 3 or 4 already because these symptoms are ignored.
Thank you for your thoughts for my family. We just celebrated Fletchers first birthday yesterday and he turns 1 on Wednesday! Have to always look to the good in life. There is so much good even if you’ve been through so much bad.
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a rough week. Sending hugs and prayers your way for peace and understanding through whatever you are going through! So much love. <3
You are one of my favorite bloggers and I appreciate you being so open about how you are feeling and that you are dealing with some hardships right now. It takes courage! I am thinking and praying for you and your family!
I’m the WORST at worrying. One of my favorite quotes to remember when I am doing my worrying over nothing is “Worrying is like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain.” Smacks ya right in the face.
Hope you get the clarity you need soon! 🙂
gosh, i hope everything is alright. thinking of you and sending hugs!
<3 Your shout out to Ryan was beautiful! I hope he reads it and I hope you have a fun-filled weekend of distraction 🙂
My husband and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary next week, but since we've been having one of those weeks, I assumed we'd just have a quiet evening at home this year. Instead, he made date night plans and enlisted a babysitter without a single ounce of input from me…and my overtaxed brain could not be more overjoyed! I have no idea what we'll be doing, but the anticipation is what's getting me through this week and next!
I’m sorry that you are going through a difficult time right now. Prayers and good thoughts sent your way and hope everything turns out ok!
Stay strong Julie, sending positive vibes your way!
Some good news: I found a simple yet delicious double chocolate zucchini bread recipe, made it and ate the whole thing in 48 hours. It certainly brought a smile to my face this week and hopefully this little note will cheer you up a little bit too!
Happy Friday!
Ugh what is with this week?! It has been a really tough, life-changing one for us. Having the love and support of my husband, baby, family, and friends has been tremendous. On a happy note my husband and I are celebrating our 6 year wedding anniversary tomorrow. It will feel good to celebrate after all of the sadness this week brought us. Lots of positive vibes coming your way. xoxo
Here’s a quote that helps me through tough times:
Surrender to what is.
Let go of what was.
Have faith in what will be.
Thinking of you and your family. Thanks for always being a fun part of my day.
Hi Laura,
I’m just another commenter (not the Julie from pbf)… just wanted to let you know how much I love this quote & how much I’ve needed something like this lately. I copied it into a note on my phone so I can refer to it again & again. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad I could help. I have that posted up next to my desk and it has really helped me and I always love to share it with others. Sending you a virtual hug. Hope things get better for you.
I read your blog every morning, though hardly comment (this might be the first time) – but I wish you all the best in whatever is happening right now and send good vibes to you and your lovely family. All my positive energy is coming your way!
I want to thank you for my good news, because I’ve been struggling to lose ‘the last 10, erm ok, 20 pounds’ of baby weight that I had been carrying since having my two kids, and I have been using your at-home circuit workouts ALL the time, for about the last 8 months when I came back to work full-time. I love the variety, I use them almost every day at lunch in our office stairwell, of all places, lol! I share them with a colleague and we sweat it out in there together – they are so inspiring, and we add running sets of stairs to each one for an added burst of cardio. When I weighed in this week, i’ve lost a total of 16 pounds now! I want to be healthy and set a good example for my kids, and I constantly use this blog for inspiring ideas of new workouts to try and challenge myself.
You have a wonderful little family and I wish all the best to you…
My husband received a promotion at work and a much bigger raise than we expected! We’re going out to a fancy dinner tonight to celebrate!
Sending good vibes your way, Julie! Love that you included Ryan in your roundup this week. I’m loving the sounds of Hamilton too – I managed to snag tickets for next year. Already counting down for it!
I decided to get out of my comfort zone by deciding to move across the country to TX so that I can teach pure barre with a studio that will be opening this fall. I’m feeling very lucky that this opportunity came about and am excited to try something new! My next big step will be committing to balayage 😉
Thinking of you and the challenges going on in your life right now and hoping everything works itself out. Have a wonderful weekend!
Julie, I stumbled upon your blog when you first began writing it and I enjoy following along with your life each and every morning while I have coffee. You are so positive and happy and have been and inspiration to so many people. I hope you find peace in your journey and I’m sending positive thoughts your way. Have a lovely weekend with your family and friends.
Sending prayers your way. I had a really bad week last week, but this week was better so I am hoping it will be the same way for you. Have a great weekend with your friends.
Hey Pbfingers! Whatever you are going through, I hope it all works out. It always does. I got bad news in June when they found I had a stress fracture…IN MY HIP! I freaked! I got angry and I cried and cried to my sweet and very patient fiancee, who through everything, was and is my rock too. It gives you a sense of stability and strength when you have your man on your side, willing to do anything for you. He even pushed me through two busy airports in a wheelchair! Talk about love. Sending positive vibes.
I’ll follow suite with things making me smile this week. My dog, Annie, no matter what ALWAYS makes me smile. I’m sure you can relate 🙂 Also, knowing that fall is right around the corner, is also making me smile. Already planning a trip to the mountains for my bachelorette party in October. Hello pumpkin, plaid, spice, colored leaves and football! Keep your chin up, hold your adorable little boy tight, and think of all the good things in your life 🙂
Hi Julie,
I wanted to say a few things. I usually don’t comment on blog posts but I follow your blog every day and given the nature of today’s post I wanted you to know how much I appreciate all the hard work and love you put towards the blog. It is amazing to read about your family, your daily activities, your lows and your highs. I truly admire your positivity and joy. So thank you. I am sending positive thoughts and prayers your way and truly hope that everything will be okay!
In terms of something good, I am originally from Brazil and live in Boston but my parents still live in Brazil. They are flying into Florida today and my fiancé and I are flying down to meet them and spend some quality time with them, which I am very excited about because I miss them very much!
I hope you have an amazing weekend with your friends! I wish you all the best always!
Thinking of you Julie and sending positive vibes your way. My sister booked an impromptu visit to me in MD from CA this week so I was so excited to see her and we get to enjoy the weekend together. I know you value sister time too 😉
*Internet Hug*
Thinking of you, Julie. Just reading this blog it is clear that you have so much strength and are such a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Hoping and praying that everything works out great and I know that it ultimately will. Thank you for being candid and honest and reminding all of us that everyone has ups and downs- it’s what makes us human.
I had a really awful week last week, and just today, I received a postcard from my mom that ended with “Smile and look at the sun! :)” It’s apparently something that my grandpa used to tell her when she was feeling down, and even though it’s seemingly so simple, it’s a happy reminder that life is fully of small joys to get you through the tough times.
Wishing you all the best as you conquer the road ahead, and remember how lucky you are to have a wonderful husband, an adorable baby boy, and an incredible network of family and friends that will always be there for you! (Including Misters Ben & Jerry!)
Sending positive thoughts and vibes your way! Hang in there, Julie! Something that is making me smile this week is coconut water (I know I’m late on this too, why did I wait so long!?) and being able to go home to spend time with my Aunt this weekend <3