Good morning, and happy Monday! In my past year of blogging, I’ve heard a lot of comments about Instagram and the glory reel. I’ve even read articles linking social media to increased rates of anxiety and depression. I think Instagram is a wonderful space where we can connect, grow and inspire each other. But it’s always important, whether we’re flipping through a magazine or scrolling our news feeds to approach media with context. If any form of media has ever left you feeling like you are not enough, read on! I hope that by sharing these thoughts and reminders, I can lend a little more positivity and light into your next experience. So today I’m sharing some quick thoughts on living in an Insta-perfect world from a blogger/influencer perspective.
Blogs Are The New Magazine
As we move further into the online age, I can guarantee you that magazines will eventually move to be completely digital, and there won’t be much of a difference between a well-run magazine and a well-run blog. Like magazines, a lot of time, energy and preparation goes into blog photos. You wouldn’t read a magazine and think that the models in those photos always look like that, so don’t let yourself think that about any kind of Instagram influencer either. It’s the exact same thing, just a different platform.
Nobody Lives In A Pinterest Board
Have you ever followed someone on Instagram and thought that they are just perfect? Always looking cute, living in a perfect house with perfect children and a perfect husband? As silly as it can seem when you say it out-loud, sometimes I’ve started to think that about people I follow! But nobody lives in a Pinterest board. We all have bad hair days, hide from our children in the bathroom (No? Just me?), and have never-ending house projects. Everyone’s human, and life is a joke if we all pretend we’re perfect all the time.
Inspiration, Not Shame
Instagram is a place for inspiration, not for shame. Nobody, whether they’re your friend in real life, an editor of your favorite magazine, or a blogger, should make you feel like you are not good enough. If anyone you follow (in any sense of the word) makes you feel badly about yourself, unfollow them right now! None of us have time for that in our lives! The only exception is if those bad feelings are coming from a place of jealousy. If you feel jealous of someone, re-harness that into self-motivation. Never tie your self-worth to anyone except yourself. We’ve all heard it before, right? Comparison is the thief of joy. We can only compare ourselves to our former selves, take an honest look inward, and then make the critical moves needed to elevate us to our idea future selves. Measuring our self=worth based on those around us, physical or virtual, is a self-destructive path. You are entirely up to you. If you see something that you want to achieve in life, just do it. You’re the only one with that power.
The entire goal of my platform on This Celebrated Life is to empower, inspire and uplift you. I love sharing my new recipes with you. Fun trips with you. Personal style with you. I love sharing my life with you, and am so thankful that you’re following along! But it’s full of ups and downs and is nowhere near perfect. Nobody’s life is anywhere near perfect. We all just need to remember that.
Want to stay connected? You can find me on Instagram here, Facebook here, and Pinterest here!
We’re over halfway through October now, and there’s no doubt that we’re full into fall, and full into cooler temps! Often the change of season inspires people to switch out their dresses for sweaters and pants, but you certainly don’t have to! So don’t hang up our dresses quite yet – today I’m sharing how I wear my dresses through all four seasons.
The biggest secret to wearing dresses year-round without freezing, is tights! If you’ve never tried this trick before, you might be rolling your eyes. But not only do tights allow you dress up your outfit with new colors and textures (like these fun burgundy ones!), they also provide an astonishing layer of warmth!
There are of course about a million different pairs of tights out there, all of which vary in thickness and therefore warmth. I love these tights for fall, because they’re thin enough to wear under practically any dress, but thick enough to keep my legs toasty warm! The Goldilocks of tights!
How beautiful are these lace tights? I love how feminine they are! They probably wouldn’t keep you warm in sub-zero temps, but I might be willing to risk it for Christmas Eve!
The total winter tight winner? These fleece lined tights! They’re sure to keep you super warm and cozy all winter long!
There’s just something about the fall that inspires me to brew a hot cup of tea, pull up a cozy blanket, and crack open a favorite book. I especially love getting lost in historical fiction, murder mysteries, and anything fantasy. For me, taking even 15-30 minutes to read before bed helps me relax, sleep better, and feel happier!
Lately I’ve also been really enjoying entrepreneurial books, but I find that I can’t read those before bed because I get too excited and motivated to get stuff done! Which is obviously great, just not when I’m supposed to be sleeping haha!
Here is my list of books I plan to read this fall! Some are old friends, and some are exciting new finds. If you read a book off the list (or have already read it!) – let me know! I love discussing books, and would love to hear from you!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I really enjoyed watching this movie recently, and had no idea it was based on a book! It’s such an inspiring story, and I can’t wait to visit the story again.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling
To my friends this is no surprise – I try and read the Harry Potter series every fall. Fun fact: I’ve actually read every Harry Potter book more than 35 times. Obsessed? Just a tetch. Much to my horror, Jordan hasn’t read any of the books! Can you believe it?? And I married the man! But he does enjoy the movies, so that’s a good start!
I’m always interested in discovering new fantasy series, and this is the first book of six. I know basically nothing about the series except that it’s young adult fantasy, so I have no doubt I’ll love it! Stay tuned!
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
This series was recommended to me by a friend, and I zoomed through it when I was pregnant with Charlotte! It’s going to become a mini-series in January (or is already available to my lucky UK friends!), so I want to read it again before it airs! If you get annoyed by romance like I do, the first book may be a struggle, but the second and third books are AMAZING and make the first totally worth it.
I love British mysteries – the Brits just know creepy better than we Americans do. I really enjoy PD James’ books because the plots aren’t so far fetched that nobody would have a chance at figuring out who done it, but there are also enough red herrings to keep me on my toes. I’m really looking forward to picking this one up!
Has anyone read this before? The synopsis sounds totally creepy, and I hope it’s not too scary for me! But with Halloween just around the corner, a spooky book might be perfect!
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
I recently listened to a podcast that Rachel Hollis was a guest on, and she was so inspiring! I’m all about challenging myself to grow in any way I can, and am excited for anything I can learn from this book! Also Rachel Hollis was hilarious on the podcast, and I’m all about some snarky, intelligent humor!
Know a fellow book lover who would also enjoy this list? You can easily share it with them by clicking the share icons below!
Quick breads are one of my favorite things to bake. They’re so easy, flavorful and everyone loves them! Just a little mixing, pop in the oven for an hour, and you’ll have the house smelling of tantalizing pumpkin spice goodness! Added bonus? You can whip up this easy pumpkin quick bread by hand – no need for a stand mixer.
This is definitely one of my favorite treats to bake in the fall, but I actually love to bake it year-round.
Happy Friday! I’m coming to you today with another amazing new recipe that I know you’re going to love – my traditional beef stew! This old-fashioned beef stew is filling, delicious and is perfect for chilly weeknights and cozy weekends. Beef, vegetables, red wine and herbs come together perfectly in this ultimate comfort food.
What I also love about this classic beef stew recipe is that you literally throw it all into a dutch oven or crock pot, and let it go! No complicated directions, just an easy recipe so you can spend your time cozying up for a game or movie while the stew fills your house with delicious aromas. What could be better than that??
A lot of you have asked lately what my favorite cooking tools are, and one of them is definitely my Wüsthof knives. Especially for recipes like this with lots of delicious vegetables, good knives are essential! Wüsthof even makes a vegetable knife specifically for starchy veggies like potatoes. The holes and ridge along the edge keep vegetables from sticking. Genius! (They’ve been making knives for over 200 years, so I suppose they’ve learned a thing or two!) If you invest in one item for your kitchen, I definitely recommend that it be good quality Wüsthof knives.
Ingredients
4 cups beef broth or bone broth
1.5 lbs beef chuck, fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
6 whole sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 tablespoons dry red wine or balsamic vinegar
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
1 bunch celery, chopped into bite size pieces
2 large baking potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
3/4 cup pickled pearl onions
3/4 cup frozen peas
Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Add all of the ingredients (except the frozen peas) into a large dutch oven over medium high heat, and allow to come to a boil, uncovered. Once it has come to a boil, cover the dutch oven and move to the preheated oven. Cook covered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the beef is tender and comes apart easily. Add the peas and serve!
You can also make this in your crock pot! Place beef in a 5-quart slow cooker. Spread tomato paste, wine/vinegar and flour over beef. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the rest of the ingredients (except peas), and cook until beef is fork-tender, about 5 hours on high, or 8 hours on low. Add the peas and serve!
In partnership with Wüsthof knives.
