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Coffee Talk 05.20.18

Greetings, friends! I woke up this morning to a ray of sunshine streaming in my bedroom window. I’m pretty sure I now know how Noah must have felt when he emerged onto the deck of the ark after 40 days and 40 nights of rain… sweet relief!

Okay, I’m being dramatic, but really, after a week of rain, we’re all going a bit loony around here. Even my 12-year-old was dancing around the house last night when she saw on her weather app that the rain clouds that had been pictured for Sunday and Monday were replaced with sun and clouds.

It’s still overcast at the moment, but it should burn off by afternoon. Not only is the monsoon moving out, but it’s warm outside again! Yesterday we were wearing coats, and today it’s going to be 81. Spring in Philly… gotta love it!

Of course, along with springtime comes spring allergies. I’m feeling pretty drained, but ’tis the season. We’re all struggling a bit — especially my girls, who always seem to have a rough go of it this time of year.

As a result, we kinda laid low yesterday. I spent much of the day working on my son’s graduation slideshow and watching House Hunters Renovations with my youngest, but today we have church and then my older daughter’s dance recital this afternoon.

As soon as I publish this post, I’m going to go for a walk/run — not sure I have the energy to run much of it, but it will feel good to get outside.

I’ve also been trying to educate myself on this GDPR regulations that are affecting anyone who owns and operates a website. This is the kind of crap that goes on in the backend of my job. When people ask me how a blog can be full-time work, well, this is part of the reason it can be so time consuming.

If you have no idea what GDPR is, consider yourself lucky. (Google is your friend.) It’s really designed to hold big tech companies accountable for how they collect user data and what they do with it, but it trickles down to affect the little guys like me because anyone with a website has to be in compliance.

What does that mean for YOU? Nothing, really, but after May 25 (the deadline to be in compliance with the GDPR) you will probably have to “opt in” to use my blog and others.

Nothing will change about how I collect or use information (i.e. email addresses and I.P. addresses, etc.), but I have to make sure readers know that their information may be collected and how it will (and will not) be used, and they have to agree to that. So if you start to see a pop-up box on my site, informing you that I use cookies to collect information and asking you to agree, that’s what is going on.

Of course, it will probably turn some people away because they won’t understand, but there’s not much I can do.

Between the social media sites implementing their algorithms and these types of requirements for blog usage, it’s a wonder any of us manage to keep a business up and running.

Bear in mind, bloggers aren’t collecting any information in a nefarious way, and nothing is changing about what we are collecting or what we are doing with it; we just have to make sure readers know and require their consent.

I’m sure there will be plenty of bloggers who ignore it, so you probably won’t see these opt-ins on every website you frequent, but I’m not about to run the risk of being fined.

Well, that was a turn I didn’t plan for this post to take! Sorry for all the shop talk on a Sunday morning.

I’m excited for the week ahead. My Friday lunch plans got rescheduled for tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that. Then I meet with my designer on Tuesday to see her ideas for the new house, and I cannot WAIT.

I definitely plan to share more about that in an upcoming post, plus I want to talk about what it’s like to work with a designer for those who are wondering. It sounds so fancy, but if you are someone who struggles to put things together, working with a design professional saves you soooo much time and money in the long run. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.

Well, I guess that’s enough rambling for one post.

I hope you enjoy what’s left of the weekend and have a blessed Sunday!

Join The Conversation

31 Responses

  1. Good morning! Overcast here too but at least it’s not pouring! Finally!
    We might get a bike ride in to the beach and then the Ferry to get tix for Memorial Day. 
    Enjoy your Sunday ❤️

  2. Good Sunday morning! Two things: 1) I think posts like this educating your regulars will help with any confusion about regulations and what we will see. And 2) Just a long shot here, but I have horrible Texas allergies and just before Christmas someone shared with me Dr. Mark Lynch’s you tube video of Chiropractic facial massage for allergies. I do this every morning and evening and sometimes in between and have all but eliminated allergy medicine in what others say has been a particularly bad season. I use it on my 3 year old granddaughter, too. Just Google if you are interested. And MAKE IT a great week! 

    1. Thanks for the facial massage tips to treat allergies…… Definitely need to try it or else buy shares in Allegra medication!! 😂
      We’ve had a tough winter which seems to lead into tough allergy season.

  3. Hi Jo-Lynne, I think that it is a good idea on your part to educate us about the back end of your blog. That way readers are not scared off blogs and websites because of pop-ups and what-not. I am excited to hear about your decorating plans for your new house. Have a good Sunday!

    1. Thanks, Bev. I hope it helps. I understand why there are these regulations, but sometimes they way they want us to implement them can be really off-putting to readers – who really don’t care.

  4. I’m in school getting a computer science degree😍 and cookies are honestly no big deal because you are so honest and reliable. I agree with Diane, the fact you told us to be on the lookout for the opt in and educated your readers shows how important our privacy means to you!! We all love and adore your blog and hope u keep doing it for a long time! I’m soo going to check out the allergy video. They are horrible this year and medicine makes my heart race! Can’t wait to see pics of the new house and decor😄

  5. Hi Jo Lynne
    Thanks for info. on the new website requirements. I have already been seeing cookie pop ups on the couple of other blogs I follow. After being in pharmaceutical sales for years I fully get your pain on regulatory. Glad I have left that behind! Onto allergies- My MD suggested Xyzal for the seasonal issues here in the south. It has not bothered me at all as far as side effects and you take it at night. Really worked. Working with a good designer is SO fun! I am glad I did when we moved a few years ago. Enjoy! Julie 

  6. I hope you enjoyed your walk/run this morning!   It’s not 10a yet and we’re already in the 70’s with sun/clouds.  The storms return this afternoon and we have a chance of rain through next Friday.  The humidity is so high that it’s pretty miserable outside if you don’t have a big fan blowing on you.  I hope your daughter does fantastic in her dance recital 💃🏼.  Have a blessed day!

  7. I have been seeing the GDPR thing all over the place, have had to resubscribe to several blogs that switched mailing list providers. I have found your explanation to be the best (of course! You excel at all of your subjects that you post about.) 

    Thrilled to have no rain in the forecast today so we can walk our dog more than once. It has been tough as part of her rehab because of all this darn rain!

    I saw the AT sale and have 6 shell tops in my cart lol… going to lay out my summer stuff to see if I really need to add any to match work bottoms. Hoping someday it warms up enough to wear summer tops lol!

  8. Thanks for the Coffee Talk. I just think all the regulations are not useful anyway. Those that have malicious intent with your data, are they really going to ask you to consent? Like clicking a button will protect us all? Sorry, just had to get that out. Hope you have a super fantastic Sunday in the SUNSHINE! 🙂

  9. Hey Jo-Lynne! Happy Sunday. What white jean jacket do you own? I’m on the hunt. Thought that polka dot dress from loft would look adorable with a white jean jacket and tan slides for a casual out to dinner night with friends. Have a happy Day.

  10. The marigold dress in your AT cart reminds me of Amal Clooney’s dress at the royal wedding yesterday. You just need a giant hat to go with it. I agree with you, I would find the hats annoying when trying to view the bridal couple but I think a benefit to wearing one would be you could cover your face. Great for people who get emotional at weddings!

  11. Funny, I have the GDPR thing that I put off all week. I am in biotech. Didn’t expect to see that here today! Enjoy your Sunday!

    1. Haha! I’ve been putting it off till other bloggers figured out what we’re supposed to do with it. Now I have a good resource, and it’s time to get busy.

  12. Thanks for the extra information on the “behind the scenes” blog tech. Change seems to be the main idea of everything these days. 
    So I was in Ann Taylor on Friday and bought the denim shift dress you linked to & it’s really cute, easy and will be great for hot summer days. I also bought this cotton drawstring skirt: 

    https://www.anntaylor.com/drawstring-skirt/462930

    The weather in So CA is cloudy, cool, and high 60s….it’s what we call our “May Gray” days ….but we usually get to see the sun later in the afternoon. 
    Happy Sunday! 😎

  13. Hi Jo Lynne! 
    Coffee Talk is my favorite post of the week! I love how real you are! 

    I’ll look forward to your posts about your new interiors. We are in the process of selling/buying right now and my head is spinning! You are so calm about it all. I can’t even think about the design until we move in. Were you able to meet with your designer at the new home? I definitely think it would be easiest to paint before furniture is moved in, but I can’t even imagine make all of my decisions before then. 

    I totally feel you about the rain. I don’t even have much to complain about other than it has been raining since Friday afternoon and although it’s dry today, it isn’t sunny. I normally have year round allergies but in the past few months I’ve gotten in the habit of using Flonase and it’s really working. I’ve never been one to want to use an otc medication every day, but I’m really amazed at the results! (I also do a nasal wash every day.) Have a great day! 

    1. Hey Dana. No, I wasn’t able to meet the designer in my new house, but she looked at the pictures on Zillow and had me take a few close up shots of things like the stone fireplace and the granite in the kitchen — those will both help dictate the color palette we go with.

      My daughter used to use Flonase, I’ll have to try it. I haven’t had much trouble with seasonal allergies as an adult, but this year it’s getting to me!

  14. You are so right about working with a designer on a new home. The options are overwhelming and our designer kept us on track for a consistent look. Saved us time and money we would have spent trying to fix our mistakes.

  15. Will you be sending us a link to sign up (again) for your newsletters related to GDPR? Don’t want to miss anything.

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