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Coffee Talk 11.06.22

outfit details

Greetings, and happy End-of-Daylight-Savings Day! I know it’s not a popular position, but I’m always happy to get back to standard time. I wish we could just leave well enough alone… didn’t Congress vote on this exact topic? Whatever happened with that?

Anywho. It’s been A WEEK, y’all. Work stuff, life stuff, nothing major, but just a lot. I worry about my kids like it’s my job, and it seems like the older they get, the more there is to worry about. And this time of year is just insane for my line of work, which sometimes is nice because there’s always something to do, which gives me a place to channel my energy… but on the other hand, there is always something to do. It can be a blessing and a curse.

If it seems like I’ve had a lot more sponsored posts than usual, you would be right! This time of year, the sponsored post opportunities are nothing short of overwhelming. I’m sure it seems like a lot on your end too, but I only work with retailers I truly love and that seem to resonate with a lot of you. I hope that’s evident.

I haven’t had anyone complaining, but the season is far from over, ha! Some people seem to think sponsored posts aren’t as authentic as the others, but that’s so far from the truth. If anything, I work harder on my sponsored content than the other posts, although I’ll admit I often have more fun writing the topical posts that aren’t focused on a specific brand or store… that’s probably what people notice.

With sponsored content, I can only feature products from that retailer, which can feel limiting. But in general, I’m really excited about the partnerships I’m making these days. I’ve been doing this job a very long time, and I’m at the point that I can afford to be choosy, which is really nice.

The downside of sponsored content is, I have to wait for my posts to be approved. They don’t rewrite them or tell me what to say, and oftentimes there are no edits whatsoever. They’re basically looking to make sure I have the correct links and product details, and that I don’t write anything that is overtly political or contentious.

But I still have to wait until I get approval to publish. If they’re late getting back to me, I have to juggle my calendar and rearrange things at the last minute. I try to have a post or two written and ready to go, just in case, but that doesn’t always happen. I don’t say any of this to complain. I just thought you might enjoy knowing a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes.

So Becca’s marching band season finally wrapped up this weekend. They had an extra Friday night football game, since our team made it to the semi-finals. They had their final cavalcade last weekend, so they were feeling over it. Becca wasn’t looking forward to performing again and dragging that heavy marimba across the field, but as it turned out, they had a great performance. She said it was so much fun to play and enjoy the show with no pressure of competition looming.

Paul and I didn’t go, since it was an away game, but I can’t wait to watch the replay. She said it was their best performance yet. The other school even put an announcement on their Facebook Page, saying our band put on an amazing show. All that to say, it was a great way to wrap up the season.

And just like that, we’re on to Indoor Drumline! These kids don’t get a break, but I guess they like it that way. We went to a meeting this week where they announced the theme of their show for this year, and they’re all super excited about it. They start practicing next week, and their first competition is in February. From that point, they have a competition almost every weekend through mid-April. So I guess I know what we’ll be doing this winter!

Meanwhile, I’m already thinking about getting Caroline home for Thanksgiving. I need to get her plane ticket, because it will be here before we know it! Paul ordered the turkeys yesterday, and I pretty much know what I’m making. We don’t change it up much year to year. I just need to shop and plan out my schedule so I’m not stressed out trying to cover Cyber Week and host Thanksgiving.

That was the nice thing about always being a guest for Thanksgiving. Aside from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, it’s the busiest week of the year for my business. Although in recent years, it seems like most retailers are doing Black Friday sales all month long, so that sort of spreads out the crazy. #thankgoodness

Alrighty! I need to get a move on here. I have a meeting before church to help plan our ladies’ Christmas Tea, and Paul is doing a brisket on the smoker for this afternoon, so I want to prep some sides so I’m ready when he is. He isn’t really sure when it will be done, so I’m on standby.

Before I go, I guess I should have a moment of silence for our Philadelphia Phillies. They played hard, and we did get a few good wins early in the series, but it sounds like the best team won. Congrats to all the Astros fans out there, and go Eagles! 💚 🦅 💚

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photos: Alison Cornell

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33 Responses

  1. I feel you with the worrying about your kids like it’s a job ! We were just talking about this at work , big kids big worries is so true! I have a freshman in college and a freshman in high school , it never ends !

  2. I love your observation that worrying about your children is like your job. My 4 are ages 30-40 — with families, children, careers– and it seems to rotate who I’m worried about. As for your content posts, I like them. And it’s clear to me how much time you put into writing them. Thank you, Jo-Lynne, and have a blessed, restful Sunday.

  3. I don’t think the worries with our kids then grands ever ends. It’s just part of being a mama, but the older I get the more I can look back and see how God has taken care of them and all that I worried about was for nothing and I learn to Trust Him more and let go more. I call it history with God. We should never forget what He’s done in the past, so we can draw from that memory the next time an issue comes up, bringing on the mama worry. I have 3 great, adult kids and 3 wonderful grandkids, so my worries are different than some parents who struggle with wayward kids, but still the worries are there. God loves them more than we do, so He will take care of them.
    Becca’s band football season sounded like a success. I miss those HS sports days. How come you now had to take over Thanksgiving host every year? I thought I was having both holidays this year, but it’s ended up neither and I have to say it feels kind of good to be able to relax and not be concerned about meal planning etc etc. You’d think you’d stress less the older you get, but it’s been the opposite for me. Probably because I’m feeding more people….adult kids, spouses and grands for multiple days overnight. Have a good day and enjoy. PS. I always enjoy hearing your behind the scenes stuff for your job. Interesting.

    1. Yes, I know you are right, and that does bring me comfort. 🙂

      I used to always go to my mom’s or in-laws, but everyone up here has downsized, and Caroline doesn’t want to travel to VA, she wants to be home since it’s such a short break. I feel like that is important for her. And I like hosting things, I just always had a hangup about turkey, so I’m glad Paul does it!

  4. ASTROS!!! Our two daughters are 38 and 41. Two grandsons and two sons-in-law. All are doing great…but I still worry. Congratulations to Becca on a great band season.

  5. I loved your comment about worrying about your children. My Mom always said: “Little people, little problems. Big people, big headaches!” So true. And then you have grandchildren – it never ends! And our Phillies – I still think they did one heck of a job getting as far as they did. I still love them.!

  6. Yes to the worrying about our kids! It’s different as they get older. Our questions become more future-oriented: when are they getting their “career” established? When are they going to be able to afford to live out on their own? Do we like their girlfriends and are they “marriage material?” 😆 Just know you’re not alone!
    I had a tough week too (I cried when I got home from work on Tuesday) and yesterday I spent the day unwinding and did absolutely nothing except a trip to the grocery store and I pretty much parked myself on the couch to read and watch college football. I got called for Jury Duty on Monday, so I have to go into work today and write my sub plans (the life of a teacher). Right now, I’m sitting in my kitchen and looking out at the gorgeous morning view of the coastal mountains (no fog this morning ☀️) drinking my first cup of coffee and focusing on the positives. 💛 Hope you have a great week ahead!

  7. The concern and worry never ends. My 50+ stepson and his wife are headed towards a divorce; he has all of his personal belongings in his van now and is living out of it. We are concerned about his overall well being, as well as our 22 year old granddaughter. Now he will be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas; he has nowhere else to go; of course, we are family, so we will do whatever we have too, to make it work. We just want the time to stay one way or the other. Maybe the Congress and the Senate will hurry up and vote on it. It is nice here, but humid as heck and I’ve had to turn the central air back on. Where’s the real Fall weather!

  8. Apparently, the Senate approved the bill, but the house never acted on it. I think I heard they have to start all over now with the new year. I am with you. I do not like daylight saving time.
    My kids are both in their early 40’s now and believe me, worrying about them has only increased. Sorry to break it to you!
    Your sponsored posts don’t bother me at all. I appreciate you letting us know when there is a sale, especially on things you have previously shown. No complaints here!

      1. I wish we would have stayed on daylight savings time. Selfishly, because my night vision is not as great as it used to be. And darkness/cold at 4:00 in New England gets depressing at times.
        I’m like a kid come the change being able to drive until 9:00

        1. I agree, DST is a big pain especially for us living in northern locales. It will be dark by 4:30 in December. My night time driving vision is not what it used to be (time for new glasses it appears) …..not sure why we bother changing the clocks? Plus I feel like I need a NASA space engineer to change the time in all the tech toys or my car 🤣

          Don’t mind the sponsored content…. We know you partner with good vendors and are authentic! Hopefully Talbot’s is one of them?

          Thanks for not partnering with Amazon. I’m trying to support more local, or North American and avoiding Fast Fashion that I wear once or twice and it falls apart.

          Have a blessed Sunday!

  9. I just know that I am going to be a mess 24-7 when my oldest goes off to college in Fall 2024! I will worry non-stop.

  10. Worrying is a hard one! As women I think it’s just in our nature… but I have been learning the older I get to just give it to the lord! He has complete control in our lives and he has his plan for each one of us! When I start my day in prayer I give it all to him ! At the end of the day we spend precious time worrying about things we have no control over and can’t change anyway!

  11. My two sons are 39 and 34. I asked myself when did I get old enough to have a 39 year old son. Lol. There’s always something going on as both have big families with 10 grands and we are adding another one. My youngest son and his family are going to foster to adopt a baby that is a relative of my dil. I thought we were finished at 10 but surprise surprise. Life happens so we have learned to roll with it.

  12. I’ve been reading your posts since the beginning of the pandemic, and your blog is the best of the ones I read on “fashion for women of a certain age.” Among other things, I really appreciate that you always point out when you have sponsored posts and that you typically have sponsored posts on products we see you wear in your non-sponsored posts! With (most) other bloggers, I’m never sure if they are pushing something b/c they are being paid to or b/c they really love it. One way in which your sponsored posts are different from your other posts: your other posts often point out things that either don’t quite work, or wouldn’t work for people with body type X or …

    In any case, thank you again for all your hard work – it shows in the quality of your posts

    1. Yeah, that is the main thing. I have to be a little more “delicate” with my critiques of the products when I’ve agreed to endorse the brand. I appreciate your encouraging words!

  13. I dislike the time change too but I wish that we’d stay on Daylight Savings year round instead of Standard. I prefer the light in the evening and enjoy seeing children active after dinnertime and rather enjoy seeing the sun come up. In the summer time, if we’d stay on Standard, daylight would begin shortly after 4:00 AM.

  14. Hi, i just love your content – both the products you feature and reading about your life. And any pictures with Savannah always put a smile on my face! ☺️.
    You mentioned your husband is smoking the turkey. Is this on a Traeger smoker? Can you briefly share his process with this?

  15. I’m one of the few that loves the month of November and the start of standard time. I’m lucky, as I’m only five minutes from work, so I don’t have the difficulty of driving to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. I love that I can get home at 5 and be all snuggled in and cozy. As far as sponsored posts, I feel that a lot of influencers can be very false in their posts, and they just don’t seem authentic. I never feel that way with your posts. I trust your thoughts and the posts are very genuine. There is a lot more work that goes into them than I realized, so I’m glad they’re worth the effort on your end.

  16. I hear you on the worrying. Seems like my three (two older teens and a young adult) rotate on giving me things to pray about. Never a dull moment!

    I’ve been reading your blog for a few years, but haven’t commented before. Just wanted to say thank you – you’ve helped me a lot with picking quality, stylish items for my wardrobe. Seems like once I hit 40 I was at a loss and needed some help in the fashion department. Most recently, I’ve purchased some Victoria Emerson pieces and I love them even more than I thought I would, and find myself wearing them all the time. I wasn’t sure but I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.

    Thanks again, I hope your holidays are lovely.

  17. I’m envious that your husband ordered the Thanksgiving Turkey. I learned yesterday that our Thanksgiving host is serving lasagna as the main course. If you offer to host the family Thanksgiving dinner, shouldn’t you serve turkey? Isn’t that what people expect? If you want lasagna then don’t say you’re going to host the dinner!! Am I wrong here??

  18. I enjoy all of your content, sponsored or not ! All of your posts take time and research and I appreciate when you share the good try ons and the not so good try ons!
    Our marching band season is still going strong ! We just had our state comp yesterday with and Excellent rating, our football team continues to win in the play offs and our band is heading to Indianapolis for Bands of America. Being a band parent is exhausting !

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