Coffee Chat

Happy Monday Dolls. I'm so happy you're here with me this morning. I know Mondays aren't our favorite days; today is particularly hard for me because it's the first day back to school and reality after a long Thanksgiving break. I've enjoyed sleeping in and long mornings on the couch drinking coffee and watching Christmas Hallmark movies and three long days of cooking and cleaning, preparing to host our first holiday in our new home. I'm not quiet ready to give that up yet but it makes it a little easier to bear with friends so grab a cup of coffee and get cozy with me and let's chat.

*Bonus if you are in pajamas or sweats with your hair in a messy bun because that's what I want this space to feel like; cozy dates with girlfriends in sweats and messy buns while we spill open the inner most parts of our hearts.*

So grab a mug and join me for a coffee date.



If you and I were on a coffee date...

We would be snuggled up on my couch with fuzzy blankets and my sweet Willow and Chance. They both love slow mornings and lots of snuggles, like their mama. I would be drinking Brown Sugar Crumble coffee with Coldstone Sweet Cream creamer. I would show you our selection of coffees and creamers and offer you a cute mug. We take our coffee seriously around here then I would offer you a blanket to get cozy with while we sat around the lit up Christmas tree and chatted about all the things on our hearts and minds.


I would tell you...

I had the best Thanksgiving ever. My husband and I hosted the holiday at our new home. For the first time since our wedding we had both sides of the family together and it was definitely memorable. There was no rushing from place to place, feeling like we weren't getting quality time in with anyone this year. We were able to sit and enjoy everyone's company. After the meal and some conversation we made our way back to the kitchen for pie and coffee then we sat around and talked and played with my sweet nephew for a while. After the food settled, before the food comas hit, I dragged everyone out into the front yard to take some family pics and I am sure glad I did. They turned out beautifully and are such a wonderful way to remember our first Thanksgiving in our new home, as one big family for years to come.

I'm all about long mornings and vacation days spent with no real agenda but I'm also kind of glad that today is back to school and back to reality. I'm the kind of girl who needs structure and routines and when my routines are thrown off balance for a while I find myself not at peace with things. I also enjoy silence sometimes. While this week was wonderful and fulfilling, I also find myself needing that silence and peace.

I haven't done a coffee chat since August. In fact, I got a little quiet on social media in general. I'll be real, raw and honest with you; I lost my love of blogging for a while and was literally just going through the motions to keep my stats up and my name out there. The only thing keeping me going were my ThredUp collabs and Welcome Home Wednesday Linky Party. I was posting content that wasn't bad but my heart wasn't in it. One of the girls in one of my blogging groups asked a question a few weeks ago that really got me thinking. She asked what we were struggling with and I told her I was struggling with loving my blog. She suggested that maybe I wasn't loving my theme; sometimes it can be something as simple as that but I knew in my heart that just wasn't it so I took a step back from blogging 5 days a week + keeping up with Instagram and all my other social channels and really started doing some soul searching. I came to the conclusion that all my social media channels are draining me and I wanted to share more of my real, raw self; those heart moments. So I refreshed my blog; you can read that post here. I also really thought about my Why. I also decided to make Instagram my main focus and forget about all other social channels.

I've also been on a mission to get rid of anything that doesn't bring me joy anymore; both in my real life and my blogging life. I've started cleaning up all my social media channels; I've been un-following accounts on Instagram, my followers have definitely dropped as a result but I can actually engage with the friends I truly want to because their photos are now showing up in my feed. Numbers aren't everything, being genuine is but I actually have learned about SEO through this because my blog is the first thing that shows up when you Google Peaches & Willow. My focus has never been SEO so it came as a surprise to me when my husband called me from work a few weeks ago to tell me that some of the girls he works with found my blog and told him so he googled my blog and it the first thing that comes up when you search Peaches & Willow. It came as a huge surprise but it makes me super proud because i've done it all organically.

I also walked away from a big part of my a couple weeks ago. It was something that I thought about for a while but, ultimately, I just lost my joy for it so y'all may notice that Welcome Home Wednesday will no longer be a part of my content. It truly wasn't an easy decision for me and I feel like i've let some people down by walking away and to them I truly and deeply have apologized but for me, it was something that I needed to do. I love the link up and all the ladies that i've met through it and I will continue to check out the posts and support them by showing some love.

I would tell you that my sweet husband is helping me make a DIY diva ring light, y'all. Are you interested in a tutorial?

I've already got two Christmas parties in my calendar for December and am thinking that a brunch for our friends needs to happen at our house because what could be better than chicken and waffles, mimosas, and a gift exchange? Umm, nothing. That's what.

I'm pretty sure that I may have an allergy to my fall candles because I can't breathe and I sneeze like crazy when I light them but hey, it's worth it if my house smells like Pumpkin Pecan Waffles and makes my guests (and hubby) say "it smells really good in here. What are you cooking?" Umm, candles.

I would also tell you i'm so excited for Pitch Perfect 3. I also want to see Bad Moms 2. Girl's night anyone?

I had a Lipsense party on my Facebook page last week and got two new colors. There will be more about those on Friday's blog post but I would tell you that I was once a Lipsense skeptic and now I'm a huge believer and lover of the brand. I will definitely be purchasing more colors because they truly are everything they say and more so if you are interested in learning more about it please check out my sweet friend and rep's Christmas Sho; Small Feature.

I'm so happy that it's actually getting cold in Georgia because, as much as I say I'm a summer girl, I find myself loving the cold. All the hoodies, sweaters, warm vests, boots and blanket scarves, please? I'm also obsessing over my new(ish) pom pom beanie from Target.

My husband and I binge watched Stranger Things. We made it through both seasons in just a couple weeks,now we're on pins and needles waiting on Season 3 to come out. I never dreamed I would like this show but it's strangely addicting. I think it's even cooler because some of it was filmed in our hometown. The arcade is still standing, it's just not a functioning arcade but how cool would that be? I also binge watched The Ranch on Netflix now i'm, not so patiently, waiting on the next season. What are you binge watching currently?

I finally finished up all my tee shirt and vinyl orders over the weekend. Now i'm ready to start working on Christmas projects. What's your favorite quote from a holiday movie? I'm thinking i'll be doing some National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation tees.

I need to start my Christmas gift guides. I would ask you what's on your Christmas wish list? I'll share mine next week. Don't worry, i've been telling Santa what I want. ;)

If we were on a coffee date ,what would you share with me?



Monday Mantra

Goals

This week's goals

+ Yoga 4 x's

+ Read Lipstick Gospel Devotional/Prayer Journal and Grace Not Perfection everyday

+ Grow Instagram to 810 followers

+ Get active in blogging groups 3x's this week

+ Make 3 pieces of jewelry

+ Go social media free one full day


What goals are you setting this week?