Hey there! It’s time for Tuesday topics, and this week the topic is, What does “community” mean to you right now?
Of course I immediately thought of our blogging community. Does it seem like a lot of bloggers- including myself- have been going through a rough patch recently? Several people took blogging breaks last week (either planned or unplanned) and people generally seem to be feeling unsettled, worried, and/or overwhelmed. I spent most of last week feeling not quite right, and couldn’t understand why.
Well, I’m here to tell you I FOUND THE SOLUTION! I… rearranged my living room! On Saturday night I moved all the furniture. It looks so cozy now!
Okay. Maybe this doesn’t look amazing, but you have to realize that my husband once said our house looks like it was decorated by “two college guys.” Here’s the wall to the right of the couches…
Once again- we’re not fancy. But I LOVE having a new look. On Sunday we sat down happily in our “new” living room to watch the Dolphins game! I made a special meal for the occasion.
That beer was good! The only problem was, I practically fell asleep after dinner. Can I not even drink ONE BEER without passing out??? Sheesh!
Anyway… if you’ve been going through a rough patch I highly recommend shaking things up (if possible). Adding some fall-themed pillows and blankets doesn’t hurt either.
Link Up With Tuesday Topics
Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts!
Has life felt extra-challenging to you lately? Or do you have no idea what I’m going on and on about?
Top photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
28 Responses
the blog world, old fashion one, is a great community. I feel like I know some of you, and I feel like regular bloggers know about my life more than my close friends.
And yes to move things around to feel different! we did that two weekends ago and I love my temporary new room with AC now.
Yep- in a lot of ways I’m closer to bloggers than my IRL friends. Well- at least they know more about my day to day life.
Community- I’m on the fringes of the blogging community- lurking on certain blogs and feeling some connections. I think I’m part of my kids’ school community, but again on the edges. I help out and people know me, but again, I’m a bit removed. I think I can’t really embrace a community outside my family due to … lots of stuff.
I don’t feel very unsettled now- I’m coming off of the two most challenging years of my life. So though a part of me is waiting for the next crisis, I mostly am moving forward. I did completely clear out and rearrange my basement room this summer- very satisfying- so maybe I already took your advice!
My husband hates rearranging things, and our living room looks like a college lounge. Yours is much cozier!
Ha- my husband also hates rearranging things, so I did it while he was out of town! To be clear- I knew he would like it if he returned and it was all done. And I was right! He really likes the finished product.
I’m very glad you’ve joined our blogging community : )
I do love our blogging community! And even though I’m quite a bit older than most of you and I’m no longer able to run, I still feel such a connection. 🙂
Isn’t it fun to rearrange furniture for a new feel? Adding anything fall brings on the cozy for me! That said, I need to put out my fall stuff ASAP!
Yes! Get our your fall things! And, you are not “quite a bit” older than ME ; )
A change is as good as a rest, Jenny! I love your living room rearrange and can 100% relate to it feeling like it opens up a new wave of flow and ease to life. (I remember switching our master bedroom around a few years ago and it felt life changing (and made SO much more sense than how we’d originally had things arranged.
Shaking things up, even just a little, can make such a difference. I cannot tell you how good it felt to take a week away from the internet but do you know what… my blogging community follows me offline (well, in a sense; off from the blog, I mean), too! I get emails and texts from incredible women who genuinely love each other. It is SO special and impossible to fully explain (wait, you have this deep connection with random people you met on the internet you’ve never crossed paths with in real life??? UM, YES!!).
Outside of our blogging community, my other big “community” is my church. It feels like home and words cannot express how much the people that gather together and walk through lifes ups and downs together mean to me.
Life HAS felt like a lot lately for a lot of people and there is a sense of comradeship and everyone having each others back in terms of support. It really does mean so much.
HUGS.
Yes, hugs to everyone! I love when people share (what they can) about the difficulties they’re facing- it definitely feels like we’re all in this together.
Jenny! Your living room looks great! It’s so cozy and ready for fall! I love all the decor. You know, this reminded me that when I was a kid my mom used to rearrange the furniture every so often for a new look, and it was always fun when she did it. This wouldn’t work in my living room because the shape of it precludes any moving of furniture BUT why not a new throw pillow. Maybe I’ll go to Homesense this weekend. Oh wait! I have little pumpkins a friend knitted for me and I have yet to bring them out. Project for today!
I love our blogging community. Just yesterday I picked up my mail and had two pieces from blog friends. I mean, how great is that! We have such a lovely and supportive community and anyone reading this and lurking – say hi, because we’d love to include you! Don’t be shy!
I have a lovely group of friends and this week we are celebrating a 60th birthday. (Today is my son’s 21st birthday, it’s birthdaypalooza around here, so much cake!) But this group of friends also rallies when one of us is down. We just need community so much, it’s especially important as we go through life. STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE (like we needed studies to tell us friends are important, but it’s nice to have that backup)
Thank you Nicole! I hope you spent the day getting out your knitted pumpkins (and possibly running to Homesense for some throw pillows!) And, Happy Birthday palooza! I hope you enjoy every bite of cake.
The seven layer dip looks amazing! And your new living room setup looks so cozy.
I have been in a rough patch since May and I’m not really sure how to shake things up. A lot of it has been work related and I’ve had interviews for new jobs but no offers yet, but I’m hoping for a new opportunity to come along.
Oof- that is a long time to be in a rough patch. Well, I hope a new job opens up soon. I know you haven’t been happy with the one you have.
Echoing what Nicole said, it’s not like we’re an exclusive country club with rigorous membership rules. We’re just a bunch of strangers on the internet who started leaving comments on each others blogs! The way into the group is to start chatting!
I love the living room refresh! Of course the key to decorating is to have a snuggly cat or two to cuddle with afterwards.
You’ve written about the key to getting through both ho-hum and crappy phases many times: make every day count! Even if it doesn’t fix the problems, taking a minute to think through “OK, this is my situation, what can I do to have a good day today?” is a very helpful refresh.
I know – I seem to forget to make every day count at the most important times. But then it all comes back to me, luckily.
I’m always THRILLED when a completely new person leaves a comment. Or, someone old that I haven’t heard from in a long time.
Rearranging rooms can make such a difference to the feel of the room, and the freshness somehow lifts the mood!
Like Deb said, I love the blogging community and I’m so happy a blogging community like this still exists, because after influencers and SEO spam took over the blog world in the 2010s so much of it disappeared or at least became so hard to find. I was lucky to come across the fitness blog community when I first started running. Your blog, and Kim’s were the first I came across.
I think I’ve had rough patches on and off since the pandemic. Probably since after I left my nursing career I’ve finally had time for reflection and to work on myself. Then there’s all the niggles and injuries, sigh. My arm is sore again today but I try to think of how it could have been much worse and that really I have nothing to complain about. And last night I finally had decent sleep and the sun is shining. That makes a huge difference!
Decent sleep and a sunny day make a HUGE difference. And yes- we’re old-school bloggers. Just in it for the fun and community.
I went through a phase like that, where I had one injury after another. Things seem to have improved over the last several years though- so know that it’s just a phase!
Syliva LOOKS SO TINY. Is she going to be tiny? Does she love the new living room setup, too?
Life does feel challenging right now (wait until you hear about the sick deer that has taken up part-time residence in our yard), but I’m trying to look for things to celebrate every day and somehow that has to be enough to get through. Because, hey, there are still great books and tiny kitties and doggy zoomies and a good cup of tea and co-workers who show when you need them and these funny looking green pumpkins at the grocery store.
Yes to all those things you mention- no one can take those away from us!
I’m concerned about this sick deer. I um, hope it gets better??? Sounds like it could be a tricky situation. And, Sylvie still isn’t quite full-grown. I’ll have to include a photo of her and Foxy next time so you can see how big she actually is.
I spied your cozy kitty right away. How did the pets respond to having things moved around? I know my former cats used to act like WHEN DID WE GET A NEW HOUSE OH MY GOD!
You’re not the only one who’s a cheap drunk. I feel any drop of booze immediately.
Ha, I’m actually thinking of getting non-alcoholic beer next time (WHO AM I???)
The cats were a little alarmed while we were moving the furniture of course, but as soon as we were done they came out and lay down on the carpet. So I think they like it!
Absolutely nothing wrong with a good old living room rearrangement LOL (I am always surprised how good that feels – I’ve done this as a teenager so many times!).
I love our blogging community. It’s so nice to be able to check in with each other and help each other through the rough patches!
Yes, and San you’re kind of the Queen! You brought so many of us together through NaBloPoMo (do you want to be Queen, or President? We’ll let you decide!)
I can’t even express how thankful I am for the friendships I have with this group of (mostly) women. SO thankful.
I love your refresh of your living room. I think ours needs that but if we move the furniture it will show how dirty our carpet is and that’s not such a grand idea. We need new flooring, is what I’m saying.
Ha, well luckily we have the “right” color carpet, and by that I mean different shades of brown. Anything lighter would be a disaster for us.
Two college guys?! Ha. I like the new look; it does look cozy! I often get out of a funk by exercising or starting a new project, although I don’t have furniture! However, there are other things you can start, or goals you can set, that make me feel like I am getting control back in my life. Your dip looks great! At first I thought it was a pizza and chips, and I was thinking you were going for a carb load, but dip sounds like a better idea overall!!
Staying connected with our blogging community is my main motivation to continue blogging.
Your living room looks great—as does that 7-layer dip! We don’t really have any options to rearrange our living room — our sofa will only fit on one wall. When I was a kid I used to do major rearranging of my bedroom every so often. Looking back, it’s great my parents never hassled me about it.
LOL! You say this as I repainted my kitchen and really turned things on their head! It was a heavy week. 9/11 played into it, as well as other things. But yes. Refreshes and resets can really turn things around! I love your newly imagined space!
Yes, I love this reset! I’ve been in my apartment for ALMOST a year so things still feel a bit new, even though I’ve added a LOT of new things. But I’m considering changing up my office so that my desk isn’t covering my big window… I need to get a new desk and it could be an interesting time to do that! We’ll see, though.
My apartment is all decorated for fall and it makes me so happy!