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Coffee Talk

becca

Good morning, friends! My husband took that picture of our daughter the other night, and I love it so much.

It’s a gorgeous spring Sunday morning here in Philly, although cold. I will be so happy when summer gets here!!! The rain we had yesterday moved out and left us with slightly cooler temperatures, but it’s beautiful outside, so at least there’s that.

I’m leaving on Wednesday for the Mom 2.0 Conference in Laguna Beach, CA. I know, rough life!!! I’m excited to reconnect with old friends and hopefully forge some new brand partnerships, although now that I’m squarely in the fashion space, the brands attending aren’t going to be as relevant to me as they once were. It’s odd to migrate from one space to the other — there is definitely a difference! It’s almost like going back in time.

Fashion bloggers tend to share more personal information and write in more of a memoir style, sharing a bit about their lives as they feature their outfits. A lot of fashion bloggers read each other’s blogs too, so I’m finding a really cool community vibe that has sort of declined in the mom-blogging space as many of us evolved into lifestyle bloggers and began focusing more on content creation than community building and memoir writing.

That said, there is always a community vibe at conferences. It’s the time when we get to reconnect, talk shop, and share our trials and triumphs. It’s so refreshing to be in a place where everyone gets it. Most people in my real life don’t thoroughly understand what I do and the unique challenges that come along with being an entrepreneur in the digital space.

That’s not to say I don’t value their perspectives. I’m often thankful that my “real life friends” get me away from the computer and keep me from becoming too absorbed in the online world. But for this week, I’m going to be pretty much immersed in the blog culture, and I’m actually really excited about that.

I always come away from these events re-energized and inspired, and many of the women attending have been friends for a long time. We communicate in private Facebook groups and blog comments, and now we’ll get to visit face-to-face. There’s nothing quite like it! Whereas my last conference — the one in Dallas — was intimidating because it was a new crowd for me, this conference is going to be like Old Home Week. I can’t wait to hang out with old friends.

Since it’s a cross-country trip, I splurged and used all of my airline miles on first class seats. I am SO excited. It’s like a 6-hour plane flight, non-stop from Philly to LAX, so I will definitely enjoy the extra space. I plan to bring my laptop along and work for most of those hours.

In other news, my son had his first official date last night. He can’t drive yet (he has a permit, but he’s not working very diligently towards getting his license) so she drove. I have to say, my mama’s heart was breaking just a bit. I’m so not ready for this. Are we ever???

I’ve been expecting this for a while because they’re good friends and I could see things evolving from friends into something a little more, but it’s still not easy to see your child with his first girlfriend. Anyway! I guess I should be glad it took him this long, right!?! I mean, he is 16, after all.

Let’s see… what else? We got a bunch of outfit pictures yesterday, and we’re hoping to get a few more today, so I should be all set in that department for a while. Since I’m traveling for the better part of this week, we wanted to make sure I have a good stockpile to draw from. Now it’s time to think about packing!

It should be much less stressful to pack for this trip than it was to pack for Dallas, knowing I was going to be hobnobbing with fashion bloggers all weekend. I will probably repeat much of what I took on that trip, and I must remember my running shoes this time!!! There’s a 5K every year at the Mom 2.0 Conference, and I don’t want to miss out on that.

Alright, I’m off to walk the dog and soak in some of this gorgeous morning before I get ready for church. I hope you have a blessed day!

grace

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21 Responses

  1. Good Morning Jolynne! It is a beautiful morning; can’t wait to work in the yard or head out in the kayak with my dog . I live on a pond and always feel god’s blessing when I look out the window. Your gradual shift in how and what you blog is most likely a parallel to your own life. I feel very fortunate to have found you, Cyndi and Tania. Even though I am in my early 60s, my brain still thinks early 50’s . I know you and Cyndi have not even reached 50 yet, but I find I can usually apply your fashion ideas to my life, sometimes with a little tweaking. Same with Tania. I am not as bold as Tania, but she gives me the confidence to step out of my box.
    I don’t always comment but I read you everyday.
    Have a Blessed Day!

    1. Ohhh I would love to live on a pond. I run by one in the mornings and always stare at it longingly. If the house on that property ever goes up for sale, I’m going to take a good look at it!

  2. Hi Jolynne, I hear you about the dating thing. My son just turned 17 and I will never forget when I picked him up from his first date (also at 16) and they came out of the movies holding hands!!! I tried to be cool, but inside I was thinking “What is this?!” Of course, a lot of the socializing is done through FaceTime, snapchat and, of course, texting. It’s a new dating world. Enjoy your day.

  3. Awesome post Jo-Lynne! I felt like we were sitting in a coffee shop with our coffee chatting! Watching our soon to be 17 yr old granddaughter drive is blowing me away, since I don’t have children of my own. And now that she and her family are temporarily living with us, we are a little more involved in her day to day life, which is packed non-stop. She leaves for school by 6:45 and the earliest she’s home is 4:30, just to eat dinner then off to ballet, and doesn’t get back until after 9.

    We drove to our country home on Thursday. Being out here where we see nothing but nature, I feel even closer to God because of all the beauty and the quietness. We live on a private dirt road, so if we’re home and a neighbor drives by, they usually pull in for a visit that can easily last two hours. We’re learning to slow down and ENJOY life even more. Knowing that my mom is being well cared for by Hospice and the staff at the assisted living facility allows me to come here and recharge my battery, mentally and physically.

    Have a wonderful trip this week! I’m glad we’ll be able to still hear from you.

    God bless!

  4. I look forward to your emails every morning. Once everyone has left for school, I get to relax and read your blogs.
    Have a fun week in CA! I’m sure the weather will be perfection. I can only imagine what you’re going through with your son. They seem to be growing up so fast. Thank goodness we stop aging as fast as they do. ????

  5. Have a fabulous trip Jo-Lynne!!
    I think it’s fabulous you’re going first class—-I used to think it was a waste since you’re on the same plane going to the same location, but after doing it once—-oooooh! It’s such a nicer experience—especially for the longer flights!
    Here’s another perspective for your son—how nice to see a young man enjoy the company of a young woman. Think of all the support he’ll get from her and life lessons learned (since it seems like at that age, mothers are not the fountain of information)
    Happy weekend and safe travels!!
    jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com

  6. Hi Jo-Lynne,
    Hope you had a lovely Sunday. Thank you for your regular blog entries and your willingness to share things about your personal life. Your blog always cheers me up, especially through stressful times. Since reading you, I’ve upgraded my style with skinny jeans (I hopped on the trend very late) and jewellery from Stella and Dot! I look forward to reading you each day!

    1. I’m so glad to hear that I can cheer you up! It makes all the frivolous yammering about shopping and fashion seem more worthwhile. Haha! And I’m also glad to hear you jumped on the skinny jean bandwagon. They really do flatter almost everyone.

  7. What a great picture of your daughter! You need this one in a frame. Happy and safe travels to CA. My husband is a big fan of traveling first class too, but I don’t complain, ha!

  8. Love that picture. I love spring/summer, that would be hanging on my wall.

    My son and grandkids live near Laguna Beach, it’s beautiful. Have a great time.

  9. Love your Coffee Talks! And dating today is SO different than when we were younge, isn’t it? We’re navigating the same waters here and I just continuously pray that we’ve guided them well so far, hopefully they keep on making good choices! Enjoy your conference. I will look forward to seeing your pics here and on IG!

  10. Lol, our 16 year old son had his first “official” date last night too, so I can definitely relate! It is certainly the beginning of a new season! He still came in and gave me a hug when he got home and then sat down and told us all about it. So I guess I’m ok with it for now!!

  11. Hope you have a great time at the conference. I just got back from my first one, and I agree, it’s so motivating! And I hear you on the dating thing – I know it’s part of the process with teenagers, but it’s still so hard!

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