From the Front Porch
Happy Friday from the front porch, sweet friends. It’s good to be back with you!
A few days before I left for Loblolly, I had one of those business meetings that felt like a coaching call.
I always appreciate these moments because I know the minute someone takes the time to invest in me, I’ll be able to use that information to invest in someone else.
And in a romantic way, it feels like an endless gift of sunshine being passed around from one person to the next.
We were discussing a future business decision when he said, “This path is not an easy one. New opportunities will make you question your resolve and dedication. Competing demands will threaten to knock you off course. You will find a million different excuses wrapped up in the stories you tell yourself. There will be many, many days you doubt yourself and wonder if it’s worth it. That’s why you must get crystal clear on what you really want and then be willing to say goodbye to what holds you back. Taking action tomorrow is a myth. All you have is today.”
I’ll freely admit it was difficult to let that truth bomb hang in the air.
But I knew those words needed plenty of time to sink in, so I gave them, and the other nuggets of wisdom shared during that call, adequate space to permeate my heart the way they were intended.
What I never told him was that most of the words spoken over me that day had already started manifesting themselves in ways I could not have imagined.
Earlier that week, I stopped to grab a drink in the kitchen. At the time, I thought my sweet rescue Piper was sleeping under my desk chair.
But the minute I heard a loud noise I knew immediately she had gotten tangled up in my computer cords and as a result, my laptop came crashing down.
Thankfully, she’s ok but it left me unable to bring my laptop to Loblolly, a critical necessity when you’re a part-time writer and a full-time content creator.
Then several days after we settled in at Loblolly, my Mom and I were in her bedroom when out of the corner of my eye I saw an avalanche of green heading towards us.
We quickly ran to safety only to discover a large limb from our neighbor’s tree had fallen blocking the entire driveway, our cars, and my Dad’s fishing boat.
The blessing is that had the limb been a foot closer to the house, we would not have lived to tell the story because my parents’ bedroom would have been completely destroyed.
Two days after the limb fell, I came home with a raging migraine. I was so “in the flow” while working 16-hour days, I failed to address the quadfecta cocktail that seems to always trigger my migraines…lack of nourishing meals, improper hydration, hormonal changes or stress, and sleep disturbances…all for the sake of getting things done.
It’s a feast or famine cycle I’ve been struggling with for years.
A cycle that I am desperate to correct and one that later ignited a passionate conversation on self-care I was not yet prepared to have.
By the time my Mom called midweek to tell me one of my favorite aunts had fallen, I was already slightly panicked trying to catch up from being gone while simultaneously trying to get ahead so I could leave again.
And almost immediately the words from the business meeting turned coaching call rang in my ears like church bells.
…Competing demands will threaten to knock you off course….
“How are you doing?” I asked my aunt.
“My face is scraped up and my body feels achy. But Shug, I’m not worried about all that, I’m too busy celebrating our miracles,” she sang out.
Completely confused, I said, “What do you mean miracles?”
“Well, if you think about it the limb didn’t fall on you, your Mom, or the house so that’s miracle one. Miracle two is that they had a cleaning crew working before you guys were even up and out of bed at no extra cost to you and miracle three is that I didn’t break a leg or a hip when I fell because at my age that stuff is important,” she said.
As we hung up, I felt immensely grateful for yet another opportunity to practice the fine art of blending self-awareness, self-care, and grace because I was this close to falling into a nasty pit of overwhelm before calling my aunt.
Even more importantly though, I’m thankful for the people placed on our paths who freely invest in us by sharing their sage wisdom, gentle truth bombs, golden nuggets of wisdom, God-winks, fresh perspectives, and miracles.
For they are truly the ones who allow us to pass on an endless gift of sunshine from one person to the next.
Cheering you on from the trenches, sweet friends!
A Few of Our Favorite Things from Around the Web…
A gorgeous Sea Island beach retreat in the prettiest shade of green.
Can you even with Carly’s new living room and dining room makeovers? They’re so beautiful! I love the updates she shared of Jack’s bathroom and her bedroom too.
Wait until you see this before and after!
I love the unexpected cabinet color in this kitchen. and don’t even get me started on those beams. They’re dreamy!
I’ve been using this tidy home tip all week and it works!
10 Tips for Living the French Way of Life (I just started this book and love it so far) (Also, here is the link to her online shop – it’s gorgeous)
There are so many things to love about Miss Potter’s Cottage.
A magical garden guest house you have to see to believe.
One of many beautiful floral displays at the Chelsea Garden Show.
These just might be the perfect pair of white pants.
Speaking of which, have you seen this budget-friendly dress yet?
20 of the Best New Affordable Luxury Hotels
Here’s How Much You Should Tip In Major Cities Around the World
10 Healthy Habits of Happy People
One of the many reasons I adore Ina.
Words to Live By…
On My Nightstand…
(Amazon affiliate links have been provided for your convenience. As an Amazon and Impact Media Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Any sales made through such links will support us with a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read our full disclosure policy here)
As I mentioned above I recently started reading, Joie: A Parisians Guide To Celebrating The Good Life as part of our French Country Inspired Summer Bucket List and it’s such a good book.
As always, you can find a complete list of the self-discovery books we’ve read here and a list of our favorite podcasts here.
Menu Ideas…
Summer Inspired Finds We Spotted Online at Amazon This Week…
(Amazon and Target affiliate links have been provided for your convenience. As an Amazon and Impact Media Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Any sales made through such links will support us with a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read our full disclosure policy here)
Dress * Tanning Drops * Kindle * Duvet
Makeup bag * Short Set * French Press * Book **
Beach Umbrella * Bath Sheets * Dress * Sheet Set
Bluetooth Speaker * Bistro Set * Tablecloth * Nightgown
If You’ve Missed Anything from the Blog Recently or the Archives, Here’s a Peek At What We’ve Been Up To…
64 of the Best Books to Read This Summer
June Bucket List…
- Celebrate Dad’s Birthday, Flag Day, and Father’s Day
- Kickoff French Country Summer Bucket List
- Create and Decorate at Loblolly
- Begin 30 Day Rest Challenge
- Try a New Craft Project
- Learn to Make a Signature Mocktail
- Surprise Someone with an Unexpected Gift
- Take a Walking Photography Tour
- Continue Quarter 2 Challenge
- Read the Book of the Month
- Keep Sundays Sacred
June Word of the Month: Experiment & Explore
Activities to Enjoy:
- Try a New Recipe or Restaurant
- Experiment With Fresh Makeup/Hair/Outfit Ideas
- Ask Someone New to Lunch
- Play Tourist in a Nearby Town
- Enjoy a Concert or Play
- Cross Something Off Your Bucket List
- Visit a Farm or Botanical Garden
You can find our complete list of Word of the Month Ideas here.
52 Weeks to a Simplified and Organized Home Challenge…
Focus of the Month: Paper Clutter, Photos, and Email
- 06/04 – Bills/Mail/Paper Clutter
- 06/11 – Digital Computer Files/Passwords/Photographs
- 06/18 – Your Email Inbox
- 06/25 – Organize Your Purse, Wallet & Update Your Phone Contacts
TCG Housekeeping Notes, Dates to Remember, and Upcoming Posts…
- 06/10 – Dropping In Your Inbox for the Lifestyle of Love Blog Hop All About Breadboards
- 06/11 – National Making Life Beautiful Day
- 06/14 – Flag Day
- 06/18 – Father’s Day
- 06/19 – Juneteenth
- 06/21 – First Day of Summer
- 06/23 – National Pink Day
- 06/30 – Social Media Day
As always, we appreciate you more than you could ever know, and we hope your weekend is peace-filled and relaxing. We can’t wait to share even more with you next week!
Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.Many blessings,
CoCo
I LOVED This post, CoCo!! It’s been a week over here and, when things go awry, I am quick to forget the many, MANY blessings that still abound. I appreciate your words today, friend! Have a lovely weekend!
Thank you so much, Rachel! I can definitely relate in that the minute things start going squirrely I think I need to do more, more, more or to find a way to fix it all ASAP. But what I really need to do is to slow down and be thankful as you say for the blessings that abound. It’s so important and honestly, it changes everything. Cheering you on sweet friend and hoping your weekend is peace filled and relaxing, CoCo
What a beautiful post! I needed to hear this message today! Thank you for sharing!
You are so welcome, Susan, I need reminders like this myself all the time. Sending you big hugs for a joy filled weekend, CoCo
Oh, how I adore you. I love the wisdom that you share. I too suffer migraines for the very same things that you listed. I get the overwhelm. You are amazing, my friend. God’s a got you. Hugs to you.
Thanks so much for your gentle encouragement, Renae, I really appreciate it. I never know if I should share stuff like this but I know if I’m going through it surely someone else must be too and we can all rally together. Sending you hugs for a happy weekend, CoCo
Thank goodness you’re all safe. We have a tree near our house that worries me.
We are dealing with food aversion with Peanut now and it’s made extremely upsetting but I keep trying to plug on
Oh no, Cindy, I’m so sorry to read that Peanut is still struggling. It’s so hard when they’re are sick and you’re trying to help them and they can’t tell you how they feel or what is going on. They are lucky to have you so hang in there. I’ll definitely keep you all in my prayers. Hugs, CoCo
Only having today hung thick in the air for me too. It’s true but I never think that way when I should. We always shrug and say – Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, right? So glad you, your mom and the house are okay. And I love your Aunt with her optimism and seeing the miracles. Glad she’s okay too. I know what it’s like to care for aging family (as you do as well). And we can’t forget the little fur babies. She’s a handful but precious.
Thanks for all the links. My soul the wall papers and old paneling did it for me in Carly’s place and I too love the soft blue/green kitchen cabinets in the other link. Remind me of our front door. Helps me to stop second guessing my choices. 😉
Stay healthy and safe sweet friend. Now I need to choose a new book to read! Takes me a while to get through one because life is ridiculously busy but gah, I love to read! Happy summer CoCo. XO
Coco,
I have said it time and rime again that I need to start making these lists like you do…I do make a To Do List but I really like that you have a monthly Bucket list and an Activities to Enjoy list….Definitely something I need to do because even after 4 years of not working, I am still in that mode that I need to do things around the house first because I have to go to work…Funny how hard it is to break old habits….Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!!
Hugs,
Deb
I can totally relate Deb! Creating a monthy bucket list really helps us make sure we are incorporating fun thing into our calendars. It’s so easy to get caught up in obligations and doing things for others that we totally forget to put some fun things on the list for ourselves. Wishing you and your family a happy summer season, CoCo
I love the 10 tips for living a French life. The notion of having a proper lunch with others and not discussing work sounds- well- extravagant.
I’m so glad that your aunt spotted all three miracles. Needless to say, I’m glad you and your Mom are safe.
We are all cheering you on too CoCo! I know you can handle all curve balls life will throw your way!
So funny! I have that EXACT pair of white spanx pants. They are the only white pants I feel comfortable wearing!