Happy Monday and happy July! It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we’re halfway through the year. I realize these posts usually come on Fridays, but I was feeling stuck at the end of last week and decided not to push it.I don’t want to gloss over my absence in this space, but I’m also not quite ready to peel back some of those layers that will ultimately set the scene for life as of late. It’s not that I haven’t been writing, but rather, that I’ve been focusing on writing for myself. It’s been really freeing to clear away some of the clutter without fear of judgement (or the feeling that I’m bringing any sort of negative energy to my little corner of the internet). But on the other hand, I know that my personal posts are the ones that resonate with you all the most and I’m hoping we can talk through some of what’s been going on behind the scenes in the coming weeks. Are you up for that?

Anywho, onto this week! It’s going to be short and sweet on the work front. I’ve got a full day of cranking stuff out and then tomorrow my team is cutting out early to watch the Cubs play! After that, my girlfriends Tish, Whit, and Erin start trickling in for the holiday week/end (and my birthday!) and I don’t know that I’ve ever looked forward to anything more. It’s been SO long since we’ve all been together and my excitement is palpable at this point. We’ve got plans to do/see/eat/drink all the things and soak up every last drop of Summertime Chi!

I spent all day yesterday deep cleaning my apartment and running errands to get ready for them! I’ve still got a few more things to check off my to do list tonight, but I’m feeling pretty good about where I’m at. I got my new white shower curtain hung up and it instantly brightened up my little bathroom! (Slowly but surely getting my space just the way I want it.)

I got hooked on the hi def class at Studio Three, which is a hot yoga-inspired class where you use weights and resistance bands, about a month ago and can’t get enough. I’ve honestly never sweat so much in my life and I love that it’s no shoes required. On the other hand, I’ve had a major sweet tooth lately. As in, I snuck down to the 19th floor at work to get a bag of candy and nutter butters on Friday afternoon and then made a late night run to Jewel to pick up a few things and a jar of Talenti’s Fudge Brownie jumped in my cart (who was I do deny it? 😉 ). I’m hoping to make it to a class tonight before the week of debauchery begins to balance things out a bit.

Oh, I almost forgot! You know when you shouldn’t do something, but you do it anyway and then it bites you in the ass? That happened to me Friday afternoon. I ventured out for lunch and was carrying my phone in my hand without a case on it (I never got around to buying a new one after having to replace my phone) and my clumsiness came out and the next thing I knew I was picking up my shattered phone screen off the hot cement. Real cool, Jess.

Here’s a look at what caught my eye over the past week or so!

Song of the week:  In Your Atmosphere – John Mayer. Turn it up and listen as you browse this week’s links 🙂

AROUND THE WEB/WORLD:

• Love Astro Poets’ take on what lies ahead for this month!
• Just ordered this bikini top and these bikini bottoms in both the black and misty rose (and on super sale!) – I actually tried this on in the store and went with a size medium in both!
• My fridge is littered with instax mini photos and I’ve since run out of magnets to add more. I stumbled across these instax magnets and couldn’t order them fast enough!
• Carly nailed it with this post on the problem with Instagram. I don’t think it’s any big secret that I’ve been feeling uninspired on that front for some time now. I love sharing to insta stories (it’s where you engage with me the most!), but my feed is just…a bit of a lost cause at this point. Trying to figure out where I want to take things when it comes to IGTV and I finally got around to creating a YouTube page and am going to try my hardest to put together a weekend recap video and upload it there.
• Hallie’s post looks so close to a post I have sitting in my drafts it’s almost scary, but also incredibly comforting to know that I’m not the only one feeling out of sorts. Like I mentioned above, I’m just not quite ready, but I’ll get there.
• I think I’ve shared this tote before, but it recently went on sale and would be perfect for the beach, pool, and weekend getaways!
• Saturday night I got in a long overdue catch up with Sarah and met her new little Lady! She’s the sweetest thing.
• If you follow me on Instagram stories, you might have seen my plea to Old Navy to start making half sizes after trying on these gingham slides and these bow slide sandals are almost identical – again with the half sizes though!
• I’ve been journaling pretty consistently since December (a mix between free form writing and using The 52 Lists Project book) and can’t wait to try The Five-Minute Journal. I love that it has a section for expressing gratitude as that’s something I’ve been working on – even on the hardest of days there is plenty of good in my life!
• I’m obsessed with the cut of this linen dress (summertime is for a little sideboob, no?). I’m not sold that the color would look great on me though. I wish it came in more color options!
• And this breezy, black midi dress is just the thing for dinner dates this summer!
• My look above: gold chain bracelet, tortoise shell bracelet (similar), gingham top (this is from Madewell last summer, but the top I linked is super close in style!), and the distressed jeans I wear non-stop.

SHOP THE POST:

Here’s to a productive day, month, and second half of the year, friends! Any big plans for the Fourth of July? Whatever you’re up to, I hope it’s the best! I’ll be sharing in real-time over on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, so be sure to follow along there!