Good morning! It’s a rainy Sunday morning here in Philly. I don’t know what it is about Sundays, but lately they always seem to be rainy, wherever I am. Last Sunday was the 4th of July, of course, and it down-poured all day in Maine. And before that, we had a string of rainy Sundays here at home.
I wouldn’t really mind, except I’m supposed to shoot a couple looks for Athleta this morning. The post preview is due tomorrow, so I need to get that taken care of before I head out to the Nordstrom Sale in the morning because I know I will be all-consumed with that for a couple days. Nothing like waiting to the last minute, I know!
I didn’t have the products in time to shoot them with Alison before we went to Maine, so I brought it all with me, hoping to shoot up there with Paul. Well, our Maine vacation was a bit of a fiasco, and that didn’t happen. I should have done it yesterday, I guess! I was a beautiful day, but I didn’t feel like getting fixed up for a photo shoot, so here we are.
This is the kind of juggling that goes on all the time behind the scenes. There are a lot of deadlines involved in the brand collaborations I do, and it gets overwhelming to orchestrate the outfit selections, product orders, photo shoots, preview dates (when the posts need to be approved by the sponsor), and live dates (when the posts are supposed to go live on my site.) You can see why I’m so obsessed with the weather, lol!!! It really can throw off the entire schedule.
Anyway! Enough about that. It will work out; it always does.
As for our Maine vacation, we had some nice days and some good times, but about halfway through the trip, Paul started having an episode of diverticulitis. He started having these right before we sold our old house, about 3 years ago, and he’s had them off and on ever since. He just had one a couple of weeks ago, so we thought he was good for a while, but evidently not! This was a bad one, and he ended up in the ER overnight.
Needless to say, that kind of put a dark cloud over the rest of our trip. Speaking of dark clouds… When we saw the rainy forecast for our last few days, we decided to hightail it home to Philly. I did all of the driving because Paul was still not feeling well, plus the medicine they give him always makes him weak and lightheaded.
I never drive very much on these trips. Usually after an hour or two, I’m falling asleep at the wheel. Fortunately, I did the drive to Boston and back last fall with C for her college visit, so I knew I could at least do 5 or 6 hours, and that would get us half-way home.
I guess you do what you have to do, because I was just fine, and we had some really rough driving with heavy rain to complicate matters. We did make a pitstop overnight in Hartford, which worked out well enough. The girls and I had dinner in the hotel restaurant, while Paul got some time to rest outside of a bumpy car. After a night’s sleep (notice, I did not say a good night’s sleep, lol!) I was able to drive the rest of the way home, in spite of heavy rain for most of it. I’ve never been so happy to see that Welcome to Pennsylvania sign in my life!
D did not go with us to Maine because he’s working as a camp counselor again this summer. He came in last night for his 24-hour rest period between campers, so it was good to see him. (He gets a new group every week, and he comes home in between.)
Savannah also did not go with us to Maine. I have a wonderful dog sitter/house sitter who stays at our house when we’re away. She also works for me a few days a week, helping with some of the blog stuff here behind the scenes, so Savannah knows her and is comfortable with her.
All that to say, it was just the girls with us this trip. We had some good times, but we are all very happy to be home.
Paul is feeling a little better, but it’s a slow recovery this time around. He’s probably going to have to have surgery because he can’t seem to figure out what triggers it, and he can’t keep going through this.
Since I’ve been back, I’ve been a busy bee. I put up my #NSale Beauty picks last night, as well as a post on the Talbots Red Hanger Sale, so be sure to check those out if they interest you. I also put together some outfit inspiration from the #NSale Preview. I know, I’m going gangbusters over here!!!
I’m looking forward to catching up with friends tonight, and preparing to hit the ground running tomorrow. I have a lot of blog posts I’m working on — more #NSale coverage, of course, but also the Athleta collab I mentioned, one with DSW, and also one with Macy’s. I’m planning to get a What I Wore Lately post up a some point this week, and I’m working on a Fall Trends post as well, so there’s lots of good stuff coming your way!
It looks like the rain stopped, so hopefully we can get those pictures taken before church. That means, I better go get ready. Have a very blessed Sunday!
What a week! I’m sure many can relate. I hope things get better for everyone. I love your Coffee Talks!
So nice to have the coffee talk this morning and so glad you all made it home safe and sound.. It can be disappointing when your on vacation and the weather or even a health issue creeps up and can damper things but it sounds like you all made the best of it under the circumstances. I hope Paul is feeling better:) we had a cooler and rainy weekend last weekend but this past week the sunshine returned and the last couple of days have been hot! Today we will be in the high 90’s again . Hard to think of fall in regards to the Nordstrom sale but last year I did pick up a few things for Christmas.. 😳 I did just say that word. Hope you get a break in the weather today for your pics! Have a good one😀
Sorry to hear about Paul not feeling well. My dad had that and it is very painful. Can you share the color nail polish you are wearing in your coffee talk photo?
It’s CND Studio White. 🙂
Love your informative blog!! Very sorry for your hub going through such awful pain.
First off, I’m soo sorry hear of Paul’s health issue, that’s a rough one. 🙏🏻 for him and wisdom for the health care professionals treating him.
Secondly, always love The Coffee Talk! Gives us all a little insight into how you balance family, with your job. I can tell by your blog & its content/format, how much time and effort you put into it. So professional yet down to earth with real life stories!! Your sense of fashion is always spot on.
So welcome home and have a great upcoming week!
So glad you made it back home safe! I can relate to not wanting to drive on long trips. My husband also suffers from Diverticulitis and says it is extremely painful. I am new to your blog and heard about you from Tania! I feel like if I lived in Philly we would become friends. I love your fashion style and wisdom when it comes to purchasing clothing and accessories. I feel like we all need to be wise these days in making sensible shopping decisions. I also love that you attend church and after COVID going to church is not something I take for granted. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing more of your posts!
Hi, Linda. Welcome! 🙂 I’m sorry your husband also suffers from this horrible condition. It really is terrible. Thanks for your kind words. As I just said to someone else in a comment on another post – the fashion industry is definitely a bit of a racket, and it’s a delicate balancing act to stay current but not fall for the “must have all the new things” pressure that exists on social media. I like sharing what’s out there, but I never want people to feel pressure to “keep up” – we fashion bloggers have unrealistic shopping habits b/c it’s part of our job.
And yes, going to church – and singing without masks (a recent development in our church, since the CDC changed the masking recommendations) – is something I won’t take for granted again!
I love the way you put “not giving in to all the must haves…”. I never feel like you do spontaneous posts in an effort to get us to buy and buy just because it’s new and out there. Prayers for Paul and I’m glad you are home safely. xo
Yay, I always enjoy your Coffee Talk. I’m glad that you made it home safely as driving in rain is stressful. Prayers for Paul.
Longtime reader but infrequent commenter here coming out of hiding to say that my husband also suffered with diverticulitis for many years. He too suffered with flare-ups on vacations as well as at home. He finally had surgery a few years back when he was in his late forties and it was the best decision for him. The recovery was easier than any of his difficult episodes and he has absolutely had no issues since. I hope he feels better soon!
That is so good to hear, thank you! I will tell him. He’s nervous about it, but it seems like it’s inevitable at this point.
Wow, what a week, eh?! So glad you guys made it home safely and wishing your husband a speedy recovery! Blessings!
So enjoyable to reading your coffee talk every time.
Wish you have a wonderful Sunday no matter what the weather we get.
With a cup of coffee ☕, you will be good 💕
Oh dear – you guys sure do have problems when it comes to vacations – between Vertigo, Pauls issue, weather and Covid ….you really do deserve a problem free amazing vacation.
Speaking of – have you made any plans to try Austin again? We went in January of 2020 to Austin, Waco and Dallas and it was so fun.
Oh, girl. We really do have the worst luck. When David was in high school, we planned an epic trip to Arizona. A few days in Scottsdale at a resort, then driving up to Flagstaff where we were going to meet my parents and see the Grand Canyon. David came down with the flu, he was down and out the entire trip. Flat on his back in bed. We had to cancel everything, and thank goodness were able to extend our stay at the resort. Took him in a wheelchair through the airport to get him home. He has been ruined for travel ever since. It was like the only expensive fam vacay I ever planned, and it was a disaster. So yeah, then Austin, then Paris, then this… and I know I’m forgetting something. Anyway, glad to be home safe and sound. No, no plans to go back to Austin anytime soon. No plans to go ANYWHERE, lol.
Sorry the trip was less than great. I’m a homebody and even when a trip goes perfectly I’m never as happy as when my foot crosses the threshold of my front door. The only “vacation” that ever made me truly thrilled was when we rented a home in California for six weeks far from our midwestern snow! We brought our car so we had packed it with tons of stuff from home and I felt at home there so it was so like being home given how long we were there.
I can so relate! 🙂
Ooops pressed submit too soon. Also wanted to say that I am so sorry Paul isn’t feeling well. I am sure it will be a relief to have the surgery so he won’t have to continue to have these painful episodes. I was thinking about you on your vacation and between the weather and the health issues was worried about you! Happy you are home and can all relax and hopefully fully recuperate very soon.
Thanks for your posts today! I love Coffee Talk and miss it when it’s not a part of my Sunday morning routine! 🤣. It was hot and and sunny here in Jersey this morning, so hopefully you got your photo session in. Sorry to hear of Paul’s health issues. Never fun to get sick on vacation. A friend just posted on Facebook that he needed to find an Urgent Care to take care of a root canal while he and his family were in Disney World! Can you imagine!! 😱
I plan to be at the KoP Mall tomorrow morning. If I get to Nordstrom’s, I will keep an eye out for you!
Oh gads, that sounds horrible. Definitely stop and say hi! I’ll be there all day, lol.
Thank you for giving us more insight about all of the things you have to juggle for the blog! There’s definitely a lot more moving pieces than I realized. While your vacation wasn’t all good, I’m still glad that y’all were able to see your family and spend a little time at the camp. I am proud of you for doing so much of the driving this trip. I love to drive and over the past four years, I’ve started doing 95% of the driving, no matter where we are going. I ama really nervous passenger, so I am a lot more calm behind the wheel. I will keep Paul in my prayers, for him to get some better relief soon. I hope you’ve had a blessed day!
Jo Lynne , want to say that I really enjoyed your coffee talk this morning. Wow. You have had a tough go lately. Sorry that your vacation was interrupted by weather and illness. Sure pray your husband feels better soon Poor guy. Im so looking forward to see what you will show us during the Nordstrom sale. Thanks for all your efforts. I always trust your judgement on clothes. Have a Great and Blessed Sunday
So sorry to hear about the vacation trials. My family has been there and done that! (Our son ended up at the hospital for several days during his first trip to Disney World and he had needed an appendectomy during one of our trips to the beach) It is not any fun to be away from home and your own physicians when you are so sick. Blessings to you and your husband as you navigate all things medical.
I was very interested in your coffee talk and the ensuing comments this morning. One of our friends got seriously sick with stomach pains this past week and ended up 4 days in ICU. Of course we all went into panic mode thinking it was cancer, but it was diagnosed as diverticulitis, Wow , I had no idea how painful it is. Best wishes for Paul’s speedy recovery.
That is scary! Glad it wasn’t cancer, though. Diverticulitis is no fun, but at least it’s not life-threatening.
I’m so sorry about Paul, I hope he feels better very soon. You are always so upbeat and positive, even when life throws you curveballs! Thanks for your daily posts, I never miss one.
Ps-watch the nuts, seeds and corn for Paul. My Paul also struggles with this, so we have to be very careful of those. 👍
So good to read your coffee talk as usual. Sorry to hear about Paul and what’s going on. That can be miserable. I know family with it. I’m glad you were able to make it home safe. Your week sounds busy. Look forward to your NSALE post after you shop. Have a good day.
So sorry about the trip !! Just glad you’re home safe !! I was having stomach issues and was looking for help on the internet 🤦🏻♀️ I found Diverticulitis tea … the reviews are amazing … it can be found on Amazon .. I ended up not having Diverticulitis but thought the tea may be helpful … sending prayers
Hm, interesting! I’ll look it up.
Welcome home! I’ve not commented for a while but I’m enjoying your wonderful blog daily. You teach us so much by sharing not only the latest fashion but why/why not it makes the cut. I love that info.
Sorry to hear of Paul’s health. I’ve a good friend who had surgery and life is much better.
I am the driver due to my husband’s bad back and other health issues. That’s back-n-forth to the vaca home and any road trips. We just returned from a trip to the Carolina’s. Mountains are tricky for this Chicago flat-lander. I was a single mom for 10 yrs – we got in the car and went – everywhere. It was that or go nowhere. As you said, we do what we need to do. Sometimes, we surprise ourselves.
Thanks for all you do and sharing it with us.
Thanks, Kathy. It’s good to hear that your friend found the surgery successful.