Hello Saturday, Volume 3
Hi friends, Happy Saturday!
Long time no talk! I must admit, I certainly didn't intend to take a month hiatus from posting a new blog to this series, but sometimes life gets in the way, you know? Last time we had a Saturday chat was early September on Labor Day Weekend and now (somehow!!) it's already almost mid-October. In general, I think we can all agree that albeit a year of "not a lot going on at the moment", the first nine months of 2020 have passed by so fast. In some ways, I'm glad the year is almost over, but the other part of me wishes time would slow down just a little.
Keeping it 100 with you, life has been a bit more stressful as of late. I've been supporting so many critical projects in my professional job and balancing so many little life things in my personal time. As a result, I've been experiencing some higher levels of anxiousness than usual. Plus, Alex and I have started talking wedding arrangements (which is amazing!) and it has me (both of us really) feeling totally overwhelmed. After being engaged for two months, people are starting to ask us more and more about our wedding plans and it's been a lot to deal with. I'm managing it all the best I can, but whew! I need a vacation!
To help alleviate some of the stress and pressure, Alex and I are gearing up for what should be a fun and festive fall weekend. We haven't gotten out much the past couple months due to our busy schedules, but we're hoping to use this weekend to explore and indulge in some of our favorite fall experiences. We've got lots to do in the next 36 hours, so be sure to follow my Instagram if you’re interested in our log of festive shenanigans. If all goes well, I'll have a bunch of pictures to share! Just hoping the rain holds off…
Until we depart for our first activity, I'll be drinking another cup of Trader Joes' Pumpkin Spice coffee blend, watching the last episodes I have left of Gilmore Girls, and finishing a fun little recap blog post I'm writing about our day trip to Downtown Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach a few weekends ago. Saturday mornings are perfect for all things relaxation and self-care, both of which are important to keep a positive mindset and maintain a healthy life balance in all the craziness that's happening in the world around us.
Highlight of the Week: Enjoying the peaceful mornings of fall and capturing a beautiful sunrise on my Canon DSLR camera!
Admittedly, my DSLR camera sat in the closet collecting dust from September 2018 to August 2020, which is both disappointing and slightly embarrassing considering all the pictures I've taken on my iPhone in that time period. Yes, iPhones and iPhone cameras are great and all, but there's something special about looking through the lens of a camera and hearing the sweet click of memories in the making. I'm no pro, but I'm so happy with the way this sunrise photo turned out. I love how the sun poked its head perfectly through the jack pines and casted a dark shadow effect throughout the rest of the yard. Sometimes the biggest highlights from the week are simply just small moments to be grateful for. It’s always important to appreciate the little things.
From the Camera Roll — A Collection of Photos from the Past Week:
I’m adding this segment to Hello Saturday going forward because you all should know by now I love taking pictures (insert smiley face here).
Top photo — Foggy morning fetch with Mogul. Lower photos left to right — Photo op, Spooky season meets fall plaid, The illusive orange Bill, and Classic Alex and Jen.
What I've Been Listening to — Music & Podcasts:
Tickets To My Downfall (SOLD OUT Deluxe) by Machine Gun Kelly. Without a doubt, this new album from MGK has been my favorite release since Taylor Swift’s folklore. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be a MGK fan, but this new alternative pop punk genre fits him SO perfectly. Favorites from the album: bloody valentine, forget me too (feat. Halsey), my ex’s best friend (with blackbear), hangover cure, and split a pill. So basically the whole album, haha!
Manic by Halsey. Halsey dropped a bonus version of her latest album and I’ve been loving the new songs on Disc 2.
Lady Like by Ingrid Andress. I’m late to the party on her, but this project is so beautifully crafted. The Stranger is a total heart eye emoji of a song.
Grow Young (Version 1) by Brynn Cartelli. One of my favorite The Voice winners — I can’t wait until she releases a full album. This song makes me feel really nostalgic. Released last year, it’s one of those oldie but goodie songs.
ballerini by Kelsea Ballerini. I will admit I liked kelsea better than ballerini. I appreciate the artistry and the intention behind this new project, but ballerini felt more like a collection of demo tracks than an acoustic, stripped Side B of an album.
State I'm In by Filmore. I’ve been looking forward to this album since the London and Blue Skies singles were released. I like this guy in country music, that’s for sure! My favorite song from the album that I hadn’t previously heard as a single is Pictures On The Fridge.
betty (Live from the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards) by Taylor Swift. Yeah she showed up and stole the show at the party! It was good to get a live performance from her as she’s been very quiet as of late.
Slide Away in the Live Lounge by Miley Cyrus. This live performance was posted last month but it’s so good! I love Miley’s voice and this song is so painfully beautiful it’s sad.
Blake Horstmann of The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, podcast episode from Mouthing Off with Olivia Caridi. For you Bachelor fans, you know Blake Horstmann… the guy everyone loved to love on The Bachelorette and loved to hate on Bachelor in Paradise. Everyone knows The Bachelor tv series is a love competition and reality tv show mixed in one, but listening to Blake talk about his mental health struggles throughout Paradise and post-Paradise makes me feel SO bad for him. The Bachelor production team has a bad habit of making bad storylines and I wish they’d calm it down a little bit. Even though people know what they’re signing up for by going onto the show, I think the show has swung too far into the reality world in the past handful of seasons. The show likes to paint certain characters as villains (i.e. Olivia Caridi back in her season), but uses inaccurate storylines to do so and it’s so frustrating!
Jason Tartick, podcast episode from Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe. I love these two — it’s always fun when they jump on the podcast together. I don’t watch DWTS, but it sounds like Kaitlyn is having fun despite being exhausted and injured. I laughed out loud at the bit about life in LA when Jason said there is a 0.00% chance they’d ever want to move to LA after their past months experiences within the city.
How to Become a Truly Positive Person, podcast episode from Deliciously Ella. I love the well-being focus of this podcast, I always look forward to the new episode each week.
From Around the Web:
As today is World Mental Health Day, I thought I’d share some reads I found around the web that focus specifically on mental health topics. Considering mental health is just as important as physical health, it’s important that we talk about it as often as we can. It saddens me to know there’s still a stigma when it comes to talking about mental health — come on world, it’s time to normalize the subject already!
9 Mental Health Tips for Anyone Feeling Emotionally Pummeled by 2020. This one is a good read on life thoughts and “New Bad Things” happening in 2020.
Covid: What is the mental health cost to the young? Love this article talking about how pandemic life has been affecting today’s youth.
Brie Larson Shared Her Favorite Ways to De-Stress, In Case You're Feeling Overwhelmed, Too. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to stress relief, I love reading how other people manage their stress.
Why walking could be the easiest (and cheapest) way to take care of your mental health. Walking is SUCH an easy and effective way to take care of yourself. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I need to clear my head. The writer of this article shares how she learned that getting outside to walk has really helped her to establish perspective at times when everything seems overwhelming.
UW System Students Increasingly Seeking Mental Health Counseling. I feel so awful for today’s college students, especially my fellow UW System students. My college days were some of the best days of my life and it’s so unfair that today’s college students have to experience such exciting times social distancing and using Zoom to learn.
12 Ways People Say Their Anxiety Has Changed During 2020. This article is excellent and very well written. I’ve always loved a good interactive reflection piece and reading about other people’s experiences with anxiety in 2020 makes anxiety feel a little more normalized. So many people experience anxiety, why are we so afraid to talk about it!?
60% of All Mental Health Queries Come From Adults Aged 21-30 : Practo. These unprecedented times are so alarming. It’s so important to reach out for help if you need it. With so much negativity happening around us (see: pandemic, injustice, politics), remember it’s okay to not be okay. Never be ashamed to take care of yourself and your own needs first.
5 Ways to Set Healthy Boundaries with Social Media. In a social-media dominated world, mental health can easily take a tumble if you have too much scrolling exposure and don’t know how to shut it down. This is a great article to read if your looking for strategies to minimize scroll time and make better use of social media platforms.
And that’s a wrap for this week my friends! Enjoy the weekend ahead — I hope you’re able to get out and do something exciting. For me, it’s time to call my dad and wish him a happy birthday!
JB