JoaS

I'm popping in to give a little update on my progress, focusing better in 2020. Some changes I've made so far: JacobJewelry - I closed up shop and took a few weeks off at the end of February. I used the time to do a bit of rebranding, restructuring, and housecleaning, going through all of my designs with a strict eye for detail and a high set of standards. This greatly restricted the number of listings I offer, but I am so very pleased with their quality and style. I purchased many new, upgraded materials, and even found a great bead seller that abides by international fair trade regulations and has the most beautiful handmade beads from artisans in Ghana, Nepal, and elsewhere around the world. This is not something I had considered important for my business before, but now I can't believe I overlooked such an easy way to "give far"--see this post for more on that. The pricing has changed a bit for some pieces because of this, but overall prices...

I shared in this post last year that my "resolution" for each new year looks more like just one word, sort of like picking an area of my life that could use improvement or identifying something I find lacking and attempting to better incorporate that in my daily life throughout the year. For 2020, I have landed on the word "focus." Ironically, it wasn't very clear to me this year what my word was supposed to be, so it's taken me a while to organize my thoughts and write this post. Since Maggie has entered our lives, I have felt more scattered than ever before. It's been wonderful and my artsy brain secretly loves the lack of structure, but I find myself constantly wasting precious time, overly relying on my phone, unable to tackle the seemingly endless to do list that exists solely in my head. I have found myself going through periods of pretty intense anxiety and wariness and then returning to a sort of calm, with no real idea of what caused or e...

Hello! It's been a minute. Maggie has officially been with us for two months now and it is a new year, new decade, new life. My sleep deprived brain stays in a fog much of these days, but I've been knocking around a few ideas for my first postpartum blog post (try saying that three times fast). I hate birth stories. Or I did. They are a tad more palatable with a point of reference, but a strong stomach I have not. Needless to say, I won't be sharing that here. Or anywhere. If you ask for details I can give them, but I'll start gagging a little when I get to the part about the second (yes, second) epidural, so consider yourself forewarned. In short, it was twelve and a half hours full of many surprises and firsts, ending with the most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen and a room full of new besties. I will share what I wish I had taken to the hospital with me. It's not a huge list, and I won't be sharing one of those fun ...

With only about two weeks left before Maggie arrives, I thought I'd share some photos of the completely finished nursery! It took quite some time to launder and organize all the clothes and blankets. We were simply blown away by the generosity of our community, friends, and family. We are more than set with baby gear and little Margaret Elizabeth should not want for attention or love, that's for sure. Leftover shower decor makes for pretty cute nursery decor, if you ask me. The OG Margaret Elizabeth (my 93 year old great aunt) gifted Maggie this beautiful silver rattle with her name engraved on each end. I know it will be a cherished keepsake. Every child also needs a globe, in my opinion, to dream about and discover faraway places. This one happened to be Michael's as a child. My brother painstakingly hand cut each of the letters to make this beautiful pennant banner for our baby shower, and I promised we would keep it forever! It looks fantastic and...

It's the very last day of September. I have literally procrastinated this month's blog post as long as I possibly could. I can't believe it's already the end of September and Fall has arrived. It's still 90 degrees in Charleston, but the calendar says it's officially Fall. With T-minus 6 weeks until Maggie's arrival, Michael suggested we take one last hoorah to a friend's mountain house with family and enjoy a few cool days and falling leaves. It turned out to be just perfect and we all enjoyed unplugging and unwinding away from internet, cell service, and any stores or activity. It was absolutely beautiful. Temperatures were in the 70s during the day and got down to the 50s at night. Michael and I enjoyed a few quiet days alone before everyone else got there and neither of us could remember the last time we'd enjoyed such quality time. It's the longest vacation we've taken together, and we would love to take Maggie in a few years ...

Gratitude is a pretty powerful tool. Lately, the heat has made being pregnant increasingly more uncomfortable and, to be honest, the medical bills and little extra costs add up and eclipse most of our disposable income. It's been a pretty rough and hot July. A little pregnancy update: I'm well into the second trimester and was feeling so much better and so happy to have escaped the nausea of the first trimester, until a few weeks ago. The heat (or something) seemed to come out of nowhere and now I find it very difficult to catch my breath, often getting lightheaded and/or having dizzy spells. I've also been getting sick for the first time. First trimester nausea stuck with me pretty much all day and kept me on my toes, wondering and half expecting an episode. This nausea comes out of nowhere like a ton of bricks and strikes without warning. Hard. I was not prepared for this and it has made life a little more unpredictable. (That being said, it has in no way diminish...

Feelings are so finicky. Have you ever felt yourself wearing down and you begin to neglect your quiet time or your evening walk or your morning prayer time because there's just so much to do and you've run out of energy? Next thing you know you're losing your cool in traffic or exploding on a friend or loved one because they can't read minds and didn't know to watch their step in the mine field that has become you? Have you ever let that happen? Because I have. And it stinks. I can recall with perfect clarity the first time I let it happen and was consciously aware I was doing it. I was treating someone I loved with contempt and gruffness that they certainly did not deserve. I could feel myself doing it, I watched myself do it, and I thought the whole time "Emily, what are you doing?" I knew immediately that it was misdirected and I felt terrible. Emotions can be so strong. Mine often overwhelm me. This is something we diligently attempt to guide in th...

I have been receiving lessons in humility lately. I guess to be a "sanctuary"--pure and holy, tried and true--it stands to reason you'd have to be humble, too. When we first found out we were having a baby girl, my reaction was soft, gushy, heart melting--followed immediately by the realization that I am so flawed and so young and so unwise and inexperienced--how in the world can I do this well?? A girl is going to have to overcome so many of the trials and hardships with which I was faced, and I didn't handle them all well! I had to fight the fear. I started praying. I had to immerse myself in truth to shut out the (horribly loud) lies. I reached out to a mom I follow on social media (the one millennial activity I do well) and I asked for any tips she could give a first time mom. Her response, delivered with such tenderness and sincerity, was that God has hand chosen me to mother this little one here on earth. He seems to think I'm the best suited for this pa...

One of my favorite songs on the radio today is God Only Knows by For King and Country. God only knows what you've been through God only knows what they say about you God only knows how it's killing you But there's a kind of love that God only knows God only knows what you've been through God only knows what they say about you God only knows the real you There's a kind of love that God only knows They have a way of writing that just speaks straight to my soul. Their word choice could not more accurately represent those feelings I can't quite put into words if they had interviewed me, personally, before sitting down to compose. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I can be a little more authentic about my experience these past 12 weeks. First, a little background on Michael and I: we're both recovering people pleasers. We're both pretty laid back and don't like to let things bother us. We don't like to confront others, we don...

I try to post once a month, consistently, more if I have something worth sharing. This is the first post for April because IT'S A BIG ONE! And I couldn't share before. But now I can, so here you go: On top of learning the meaning of "sanctuary" this year--untainted and reliable--I've also been made a literal sanctuary--a place of refuge or safety. 2019 is officially the year we become a family of four! Margaret Elizabeth Hardee is scheduled to arrive in November 2019, and for obvious reasons this has eclipsed the vast majority of my thoughts, energy, and time. I literally could not think of anything else to blog about because our little gummy bear has pretty much eclipsed our lives already but it was all pretty hush hush until now. The beginning was the most difficult, but things are sort of settling now. My food aversions are STRONG. And ever changing. It's very difficult on a tight grocery budget, but will be very worth it in the long run. I...

Just popping in to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a joyous new year, from my family to yours! I hope you enjoy the sights, the sounds, the food, the laughter, and the memories. It's such a sweet time of loving those who are dear to us and remembering what was done in love for us, beginning with a tiny babe in a manger. Joy to the world! Best, Emily

I'm back with more favorites! This week I thought I'd share five of my favorite activites, not just products. These can be free, inexpensive, quality time alone or with loved ones, and beneficial in other ways. 1. Evening walks. Especially in the Summer, Michael and I take a walk almost every evening after dinner. It helps me to sleep better, it's our daily dose of quality time, and it relieves stress and aids in digestion. Numerous benefits, zero cost. Beautiful. 2. Reading. If I'm alone, I'm probably reading - these days this looks like listening to audiobooks incessantly since my hands are usually busy with laundry, jewelry, cleaning, etc. My dad and I started going to the library once a week before I even started grade school and continued through high school. I downloaded our local library's RB Digital app years ago when I went off to college, and I've been checking out numerous (free) audiobooks ever since. I've tri...

Finally! The promised next recipe. I've been meaning to write this and share it for weeks, but somehow Summer busyness is a thing and sneaks up on you last minute. I actually have not been able to spend much time in our kitchen the last couple weeks. But we're pretty much back to normal now, and here is the last family meal we enjoyed. My husband absolutely loves this, and that's saying a lot. Especially for a fairly healthy dish. And it's so easy, it's foolproof. All you do is toss the ingredients into a baking dish and bake it for an hour at 350 degrees Farenheit. Literally. That's it. Ingredients: Chicken tenderloins- or breasts, whichever you prefer. Chicken is not my favorite meat, simply because it tends to seem very dry to me. I prefer the tenderloins because I find them to be less dry than chicken breasts. You can use as much chicken as you deem necessary for your family/dinner party. I usually use four if it's only two of us, bu...