Have you also felt some hope in the air of late? Ever since being fully vaccinated, I’ve been feeling more hope and my world has opened a bit more. I remain cautious and careful (and extremely aware of how much more recovery we – and so much of the rest of the world – has to do) but it’s nice to feel the spirit of summer on the precipice unlike last year.
April and early May were just crazy for me. I was on a deadline to finish my apartment and get everything shot and posted before I left for a lot of May and I also re-did the entire Paris, Perfected website and branding alongside launching my Paris, Perfected Membership program. I have had such fun with the membership program since launching it – it’s a way for me to consistently be sharing my connection to all things French that don’t always fit in my wit & whimsy content cadence. I’ve been able to share a variety of special giveaways, promotions and Paris-related tips and exclusives with members that don’t ever get shown more widely & it’s a tight-knit community that I really treasure chatting with.
The Paris, Perfected re-brand wasn’t planned but ended up being so serendipitous in timing as France announced its re-opening and it also led to an unplanned re-brand of wit & whimsy…
I last designed wit & whimsy back in 2017 but kept a variety of elements from my 2015 re-design and those elements I feel I have largely outgrown. I don’t feel the brand entirely represents my aesthetic anymore so after being thrilled with her work on Paris, Perfected, I hired Katelyn Wood to help me re-design wit & whimsy and help it catch up to my current style and aesthetics.
We’re currently on round three of the planning phase and I can’t wait to implement the changes and show off the new witwhimsy.com with you all soon! The experience has been a really good one for me as I work to refine what I want wit & whimsy to stand for in the future and what I believe it offers today to you all.
I’ve been blogging since 2006 and it can sometimes be hard to step away from the day to day content creation and really re-assess and determine what your place in the online world is. I think the re-brand will more clearly establish wit & whimsy and I’m excited for that as well as the new look and feel.
I also recently changed over my email newsletter provider and there’s been a learning curve in getting that up and running. It’s more work the way I have it set up now but I hope you all are finding the change a good one if you’re on the list! We had to design loads of new templates and I also designed templates for Paris, Perfected Members. It was a lot of hours I’ve been putting in behind the scenes but it also feels good to finally have my emails in a place where I have more control and I’m more proud of the output. If you’d like to get on the list, subscribe here.
In other life happenings, as you guys may have seen, I drove to St. Louis for my brother’s micro-wedding (they held an immediate family-only ceremony after postponing their larger planned wedding in South Carolina till next Spring). It was different but so special and just wonderful for them to finally be able to get married after such a stressful year of planning and re-planning.
Following the wedding I decided to come to Colorado to spend more time with my family and have a change of scenery from New York. I had been so busy with work and a variety of projects leading up to leaving NYC that I slept so, so soundly for the three nights after the wedding weekend – I was clearly overdue on sleep! Taking a bit of time off from work last week was really nice and I spent a lot of last week outside reading in the sunshine with a cool mountain breeze.
This past Friday I also embarked upon a 10-day reset diet. I’ve done a shorter version of it before but I am working hard on bettering my diet so planned in advance all my meals and am glad to be in Colorado where I don’t have the temptations of New York City while I do this. I’m looking forward to how I’ll feel following this reset as I feel I desperately need it after a year of comfort eating and comfort baking. (Blue Apron was actually a big help in kick starting these efforts as every meal I made came with veggies and I noticed how much better I felt eating more well-rounded meals.)
For the past six weeks I’ve also been taking a variety of doctor-prescribed supplements and nutrients and have been amazed at how much better I’ve felt. My mood has been elevated, I’ve been sleeping better and my anxiety has been lessened. I take these Nanogreens every day in a green juice and also these drops in H20 every day; among other things.
Before I left, Spring in New York was actually glorious. It felt more alive, more like its old self and we had the best weather to enjoy so it was a little hard to leave. I came to Colorado with no return ticket but will be heading back before month’s end for some planned medical care I’ll be taking care of in June. I’m looking forward to spending June in the city and celebrating my birthday hopefully outdoors with friends as I did last year.
I’m planning to be back in Colorado in July as well to finally meet my niece who was born in April 2020 and whom none of us have been able to meet as my brother & his family live in Scotland. If all goes to plan, they’ll be back in the States and our (fully vaccinated) family will be able to reunite to finally spend time with them. I cannot wait.
Other summer plans include a trip upstate in early July to see my friend’s new country house and I’m heading to Newport, RI for the first time with a friend for a few days in early August. I also hope to make it to California at some point as I haven’t seen my BFF in over two years!! Nor met her daughter – my goddaughter.
I keep getting asked whether I’ll travel to Paris this summer and I’m not sure yet. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be spending a month there in the Fall but I’m also eager to get back and suss out how the city is faring prior to that. Again, I’m being cautiously optimistic yet realistic with my plans.
Truth be told, the no-mask rule for vaccinated people doesn’t feel real. While I am thrilled to be vaccinated and know that I can spend time outside with friends un-masked, I also think I feel a bit conditioned to wearing one in places like the subway and other more crowded indoor venues. With others still wearing masks, it feels odd to not have one on. I’m not sure when that feeling will go away.
That being said, it sure feels nice to have plans this summer again and know that things like picnics and hopefully some beach time will be in our future. I even have a friend’s baby shower outside to go to this summer which I know will feel special.
Do you have any special summer plans you’re looking forward to? I’d love to hear them!
What a lovely thing it is to have time to rest and recharge – so glad you’re getting that! I went to my first indoors-with-no-masks party this weekend – everyone there was fully vaccinated, but it still felt really strange! I have several short trips planned within the US to visit friends and family and to finally celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday this summer (it was during COVID and none of us were vaccinated yet, so we postponed), but no big travel plans outside of the US this year. NYC picked up a socially-distanced theatre show that my daughter worked on in Miami (Seven Deadly Sins), so I am meeting her in NYC in July to see the show – excited to experience live theatre again!
I am so glad you have some friends and family trips planned! I bet they’ll be so good for your spirits. And yay for a visit to NYC! You’ll have to let me know how the show is!
I’m taking a couple of weeks off work around the 4th of July and visiting my family for the first time since the pandemic started! It’s been hard to not see them for so long, and I’m really excited. Even though the pandemic is still far from over, it’s nice that those who are vaccinated can safely resume some “normal” activities. (Though I don’t think I’m ready to give up wearing a mask indoors anytime soon.)
I am so glad you are getting family time AND time off!! It bet it will restore your soul – thank you for sharing with me!
I’m interested to hear more about how you are treating your thyroid stuff if you are able to share. I’m a fellow hashimoto club member. Glad you are getting lots of rest and downtime!
Hi Kelly! I keep it under control with regular bloodwork and synthroid! You can read more here: https://witwhimsy.com/my-battle-with-thyroid-disease/ Hope you’re hanging in! It’s a frustrating disease for sure
I just got to take a trip to celebrate a friend’s wedding and also see my nephew who is 15 months and I’ve barely gotten to see over the last year! Savoring that time with family. You’ll love Newport, my husband and I went in 2019 and it’s such a cute little town. Make sure to check out Newport Vineyards!
So glad you were able to do these special celebrations!
We’re looking forward to visiting NYC.
We have a Balthazar GC that’s burning a hole in our pockets. We’d also like to see the Calder at the MOMA and the Medici portraits at the Met. Thanks for all the city ideas on all you post.
Enjoy!!