wallpaper apps

This past fall, when I was feeling bummed out, Alex and I started a tradition to try to cheer me up...

When we would lie down in bed at night, we each had to say:
* two things you're grateful for overall
* two little things you enjoyed that day
* one reason why you're glad you're married to the other person

It was so nice to end the day with this little chat, and we would tell each other anecdotes and compliments that we might not have otherwise. And it really was a pick-me-up! Even though I'm (thankfully) starting to feel better now, we're planning to keep it up.
Do you do anything like this? Gratitude journals are supposed to be awesome. (Here are six surprising tips about how to keep one.)

P.S. Encouragement and the no-complaining challenge.

(Photos from our friend's cabin a while back)

For the holidays, we went to Palm Spring and Los Angeles for two weeks. It was great to get a blast of California sunshine, and a few funny things happened during our trip...Read More >

Hello! I'm back from a three-week blogging break, which was by far the longest break that I've taken since starting Cup of Jo seven years ago. Thanks for coming back! How are you? It was a rare treat to be able to step back and think in an overarching way about the site, and I'm excited to be rolling out a few changes. Here's the plan...

This past fall, I was feeling pretty burned out. Part of that was postpartum depression (quite similar to what happened after Toby was born—more on that later—and I'm so thankful to have come out the other side). But part of it was that I was so swamped by day-to-day work and upkeep that I didn’t have enough time to write as many longer, more thoughtful posts or produce the types of original series I wanted to. I felt a little like I was on a treadmill!

When we were in California for the holidays, I realized that it might help a lot to bring on a few awesome, likeminded contributors. That way, they can contribute great posts, and I will have more time to write longer posts myself. Overall, the blog will keep the same tone and feel—including family anecdotes and personal posts—but there will also be more original content and series that I hope you'll really enjoy. We're just taking it up a notch, basically!

It will be a very slow and careful process, so everything will look the same for now. My hope is to slowly roll out new elements throughout the year. Please let me know what you think as things move forward! Obviously I want you to be happy and enjoy the site even more.

Meanwhile, I'd love to know: What are you up to these days? What’s on your mind? What are you excited or worried about in your life right now? What would you like to talk about or read about or discuss with other readers? Any topics you'd love to have covered? Or questions you have?

Anyway, I've missed you! And I have so much to share now after being off the internet for three weeks, holy smokes. It was awesome to get a break, but I’m happy to be back! Hope you're having a wonderful month. xoxo

P.S. Blogging as a career.
P.P.S. Thank you so much for the amazing job applications! I'll be reading through them this month and will get back to those of you asap.

(Photo by Kari Herer)

Happy Holidays! Can you believe 2014 is right around the corner?! Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Honestly, this year has has some ups and downs—long-time readers know that I'm not great with pregnancy hormones!—so I'm more grateful and touched than ever to have such incredible people returning to Cup of Jo. I love your funny, heartfelt and insightful comments and emails every day. I learn so much and can't express how happy I am to have you here. It's such a gift to have this warm and dynamic community of likeminded women.

Here's a quick look back over the past year, if you'd like...
Motherhood posts, such as co-sleeping with your children, six words to say to your child, five genius motherhood tips, naked babies at the beach, toddlers in the kitchen, a lullaby that really works...and the most moving post of my entire blogging career about a stillborn baby boy.
We also did a motherhood around the world series, where we interviewed mothers living in India, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Norway, Congo, Japan and Abu Dhabi. I was completely riveted by their answers and was inspired by parenting norms in different cultures. We'd love to do another series in 2014 with more countries.
Posts about toddler Toby, such as conversations with a two-year-old and three-year-old, playing his violin, his donut birthday cake, going on a babymoon trip for your older child, bringing his favorite book to life and preparing him for a sibling (thank you so much for the enlightening tips!)
Post about our new arrival, Anton, such as announcing our pregnancy, seeing his sweet profile, choosing a name, fast labors in cabs, introducing our two boys for the first time and decorating our very first Christmas tree.
Beauty posts, such as hair tutorials and nail polish trends, which are my secret favorite. We also did four reader makeovers (here are the afters!).
Fashion posts, such as a five-second trick for feeling pretty, my fall uniform, and the most flattering jeans.
TV posts such as the 101 best written TV series of all time, celebrity look-a-likes, casting auditions for The Office, SNL's spoof on Girls and a fantastic ballet documentary.
Design posts, such as natural home scents, how to arrange supermarket flowers, lost loves, the rain room and how to do...anything.
Home posts, such as a 500-square-foot San Francisco apartment, a vacation rental website for families and our own apartment makeover.
Career posts, such as a Q&A with the Girls costume designer and a Q&A with an animal photographer.
Food posts, such as crunchy roast potatoes, the beauty of eating dinner alone, 11 Nutella recipes, how beer's taste alone gets you a little high and three flavored waters.
Friendship posts, such as what to say when there's an awkward silence, how to say goodbye at parties, a spot-on personality test, the power of empathy, three things you're grateful for, wise words for when you're freaking out and the wobbly path to success.
Travel and NYC posts, such as 9 crazy things about living in NYC, what British people say vs. what they really mean, 11 untranslatable words from other countries, Swedish slides, a Positano travel fantasy and how to piss off every New Yorker in 36 seconds.
Relationship posts, such as making out in public, saying I love you, having sex on your wedding night, what marriage means, how to give a reflexology foot rub, having friends officiate your wedding, what you'd do differently if you got married again, celebrity crushes and a brilliant speech about the word "gay".
And, as always, random posts, such as a When Harry Met Sally prank, goats yelling like people, how a key actually works and how to walk on ice.

I hope you enjoyed this year on Cup of Jo, and thank you again for reading. Very much looking forward to new series and exciting adventures in 2014, and sending a big kiss to you. Happy holidays!!! xoxo

P.S. I'll resume posting on January 6th, if you're in a blog-reading mood:)

Now that Anton is finally sleeping (yay!), Alex and I have been excited to go out on date nights again. So we checked out the dating and relationships company HowAboutWe, which has really fun date ideas...Read More >