Happy Weekend! Here are some links for your weekend reading – curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee or tea, I hope. Enjoy!

A colleague shared this article about the book/author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. And when two other people recommended it in the next two days, I went out and bought it. Totally up my alley.

Had a hard time deciding between these two wallpapers.

The myth of the dream job

Exhaustion is not a status symbol

The perfect way to introduce yourself

Three posts from A Cup of Jo:

1. definitely going to use this idea to help plan our weekly menu
2. I love her beauty uniform posts but this one in particular stood out to me
3. I really want to discuss this post

I really enjoyed this podcast episode – listened to most of it during jury duty this week

In case you missed it:
motherhood, someday (one of the most vulnerable things I’ve posted in a while)
what i learned from a headache

 

Pictured above, three of my favorite things: my husband reading, our comfy bed, and the big windows in our apartment. I’m so glad my weekend will be filled with all three. We’re going to Annapolis for a night to celebrate our anniversary and then we’ll spend the rest of the weekend relaxing at home.

We took our go-to chocolate chip pancake recipe to the next level with this.

New snack this week. Just what I’ve been looking for. Sweet, satisfying, protein-filled, and comfy. But also relatively healthy.

I agree with everything in this post about finding your purpose or calling.

You know I love stuff like this. Just happy. So so happy.

I love Natalie’s definition of style. Her blog has definitely changed the way I think about beauty and style. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the capsule wardrobe she mentioned here.

If you’re dreading going back to your job after this long weekend, check out this program if you want help and encouragement to make a change.

 

 

 

This is my second weekend in a row with no plans! I’m totally loving it and for once, letting myself relish in not having plans and not putting pressure on myself to make any or do a million things. Have a relaxing weekend!

A Facebook friend shared this article with the caption “a must-read for educators.” I think it’s a must-read for everyone.

This op-ed has been circulating for a while but I hadn’t actually read it until this week. I was chatting with a co-worker about busyness and how I don’t want to answer “Good. Busy.” when someone asks me how I am. No kidding, within 20 minutes this link showed up in my inbox…sent my a former co-worker. So weird. I read it. It’s worth a read. The whole thing.

Two blog posts with truths that almost brought me to tears: an open letter to parents from a non-parent and one on getting married at 23.

On Love Always, Jo this week:

• a book review
• a post on gratitude

A reader sent this video in response to my post on gratitude. The student talks about how vulnerable saying thank you is. It’s so true. I was really hesitant to publish my post on Thursday because it made me feel really vulnerable–what if I interpreted the my colleagues the wrong way? what if this is stupid and silly? Anyway, enough about me, watch the video.

Have you read anything good lately? Share in the comments!

It’s the Saturday before Christmas! I’m going to be enjoying time at home in PA for the week and will be taking a break from posting until after the New Year. In the meantime, I hope to do a lot of great blog planning and make some changes to the site to make it a little easier to navigate. Also in the meantime, I plan to soak up family time, eat at our hometown favorites, and soak up more family and friend time.

Here are some links to keep you busy while I’m away…

Recipes

This pasta was so so good (and so quick). Is definitely going to be a go-to in our house.
I love pancakes and I love chocolate and lemon together so I made this ricotta pancake recipe the first chance I had. It did not disappoint.

Beautiful stories 

Why your stress may be a blessing in disguise
On what makes a house a home. You can feel the love, joy, and sadness in this post.
Not kidding, these photos made me cry. A lot.

On food and body image (and how our moms’ experiences impact ours)

A letter to Mum (this is long but I recommend reading the whole thing)
Amazing spoken word from a college student

From Danielle LaPorte

The real reason some people are bad for you
As you think about what you want in 2014, a reminder that you’ll need space to let it in and another one

On Love Always, Jo

My first vlog is getting some buzz on Twitter. Have you seen it yet?
How to keep the holidays joyful…going to try to take my own advice this break 🙂
I made a new kind of Christmas list this year…and I’m getting really excited to see what Santa brings me!

Questions for you:

Anything you’d like to see more of on Love Always, Jo in 2014? Let me know!

What should I be reading over break? I think a lot of my favorite bloggers will slow down so I’ll be looking for something to read…do share!