This post has been a long time coming, at least for me.  Back when I started CoaJG, I was a confused twenty something who didn’t know her place, who didn’t know where she would end up, who didn’t know where she belonged.  This blog started over six years ago and has chronicled so much of of my crazy life through it’s few versions.  I’ve made some of the best friends I could ever have through this blog.  I’ve Been to Vegas, Minnesota, Chicago, California and NYC to hang out with some of the most amazing people that were ever put on this earth. Above all else, this blog has helped me to feel not so alone in a time when I had very little.

And then?  Then Vegas happened.  I realized that there were so many opportunities out there, so much that I could do if I just made the choice to LIVE.  So, I did.  I really think that weekend gave me the strength to be the person I am now, to make the choices that I have and to really love my life.  I fell in love with the man that became my husband, bought a house, survived a deployment, planned a wedding and became a photographer.  A REAL photographer.  All of this happened because of this blog and because of the courage and understanding that all of you who read this blog have given me over the years.  I’m a better person because of all of you.

Continue reading →

I’ve never owned a house. To be honest, I’ve never really wanted to. I’ve moved around a lot in the last 8 years, and have really valued being able to pick up and move when I was ready to do so.

I’ve been living in apartments and/or renting houses since college, and I can say that through roommates, two-bedrooms, four-bedrooms, backyards, no backyards, pets and no pets… I’ve learned a few things about living in an apartment.

Rachel’s the opposite. She’s never lived in an apartment, so we thought we’d share our thoughts and lessons learned from our own experiences with each others’ readers. Fun, huh? So, if you’re on my blog today, Rachel’s sharing her 5 Things No One Ever Told Me About Owning a House, and here I am with -

5 Things I’ve Learned About Apartment Living in the Last 8 Years

5. Make the most of your small space. I’ve found that in smaller apartments, shelf space is super valuable. Chris and I have little cabinet space in our big new kitchen sink and like to keep the counters clean. This was almost impossible – as we needed the space on the counters for our appliances – until we added a shelf in the kitchen. We moved our pretty dishes, bowls, and glasses onto the shelf and put the appliances (blender, food processors) out of sight and in the cabinets. This works in other rooms also – keep your surfaces clean and clutter-free by making use of creative space like shelves.

Continue reading →

When I was younger, I can remember my mom taking me to the grocery store with her and she had the menu planned out for the whole week and then we grocery shopped from that, buying whatever we needed for that week.  When I grocery shop, I basically just buy whatever produce looks good and go from there.  I never had a real rhyme or reason to what I bought except my produce was organic, I try to buy local when I can and all of the meat I buy is free range & grass fed.  I don’t eat meat, but I have a husband.  You know how that goes.  By the end of the week, I was always tossing things that I forgot to make and went bad.  Um, money down the drain people.  Seriously.  So, I’m menu planning.  I sat today and picked out a TON of recipes that I liked with the help of Pioneer Woman and Taste Spotting.  I planned the next 11 weeks of meals out and decided i’d share with you the first week!  I’m going to try to post photos and what not as I cook each thing and hopefully at the end of the week i’ll be able to show you each meal!

Continue reading →

My heart has been heavy lately.  I’m not really sure if it’s the winter blah’s just taking it’s toll on my little body or something that only upping the dosage on those little pills I take can fix.  It’s frustrating to say the least.  The Jersey has been gray and dark for working on a month now, we so much snow that it’s snowing before the snow from the storm the week before has even had a chance to melt.  I live at the beach people, this is NOT normal.

It’s frustrating because I take care of myself.  I’m a the gym daily.  I don’t eat poorly.  I take walks with my puppy.  And still… blah.

I’ve been working so hard and trying to do so much that it’s a struggle with myself to just hit PAUSE and be present.  I look so much to the future that I overlook the here and the now.  I guess I just get overwhelmed and then I get sad when things start to seem hopeless.  Sigh.

Oh well.  Tonight?  I’m skipping the gym for the first time in MONTHS and i’m baking a funfetti cake because I’m going to let a two year old smash it tomorrow.  Good times.

***I’LL BE IN NEW YORK CITY MARCH 20TH FOR A B.SESSIONS BOUDOIR MARATHON AT THE ANDAZ HOTEL ON WALL STREET.  SESSIONS WILL BE TAKING PLACE ALL DAY.  INTERESTED IN A SPOT? EMAIL ME!  HERE’S SOME PAST B. SESSIONS GOODNESS.  DON’T MISS OUT, I’M OFFERING A SPECIAL BLOGGER DISCOUNT!***

Aside from the Food Network, Cooking Channel & the endless re-runs of NCIS and SVU that play on USA every day, I don’t watch a whole lot of television.  I DVR American Idol, Biggest Loser and Glee to watch with my cousin (and BFF) when we need something mindless to watch when we get home from the gym every night at 9p.   I didn’t know it, but my cousin added the Bachelor to our DVD line up and popped it on one night while we were stuffing our faces with my famous kitchen sink salad.

I protested a little, but gave in because curiosity got the better of me.  I’ve never actually seen an episode of this show.  In order to be all Judgey McJudgerson, I needed to be educated.  Curiosity won the better of me and I watched the episode with her.  Now, I don’t consider myself a serious feminist.  I sort of consider myself a humanist, meaning it really irks me to see anyone being objectified, not given a fair shot, not being treated equally.

At first glance, each of the girls on this show are beautiful (except for that one redhead who sort of looks like a really ugly Isla Fisher).  Like, not girl next door beautiful either… jaw droppingly beautiful.  At first glance, they are the types of girls that, if I were near them, would send my insecurity through the roof.  They are the girls we all think could get any guy that they wanted.  They are the girls we all would think would never be alone.

Continue reading →

olive garden delivered at 11pm and eaten on paper plates by candle light.  a head rub when you’re sick.  flowers for no reason.  a smile from across a crowded room.  his hand on the small of my back.  a pinky swear.  puppy kisses.  a long drive with the windows down.  singing in the shower.  car dancing.  wine.  a long run.  new baby smell.  the perfect cupcake.  laughter.  girlfriends.  making a connection.  forehead kisses.  text messages to say “i love you”.  snowball fights.  breakfast in bed.

I feel like my first post of 2011 (albeit 10 days late) should be something good, something memorable.  I feel like I should have a resolution or something exciting to talk about, but the fact of it all is… I don’t really. So I’m just going to start writing.  It might make sense, it might not.  I can’t tell you for sure because even as I’m typing this I have no idea what my next sentence is going to be.

I can tell you that I desperately miss my little corner of the internet, I miss sharing my stories with everyone.  I feel like after getting married and settling down… I just don’t have the time.  Sometimes I wonder if my stories are too boring.  I have always known I was an old soul, usually preferring to spend the night in with a good book and a cup of tea… but I just feel so much older than 26 now.  I look at my friends that aren’t settled down yet and they are still out at bars til the wee hours, they can still travel at the drop of a dime, they can pack up and wander the world with no one to answer to but themselves and me?  I have to check in with my husband.  Husband.   Even over a year (or three months, depending on where you’re counting from) later, it still sounds so crazy to say that.  I’m not complaining that I have to check in, and really… I don’t have to check in.  It’s just that I think about him with everything I do and spending our savings on a solo trip to clear my head isn’t the wisest thing anymore.

I can tell you that my business has completely taken over my life, and yet I have no idea how to transition from a 9-5 into being a full time creative.  Even saying those words full time creative scares the shit out of me.  To not have a job to get up and go to, to depend on no one but myself for a paycheck… it’s scary.  I don’t think I’m good enough.  I think I have so much more to learn and yet, there are people asking me to teach them.  It’s all a little crazy and overwhelming.  I know I have a long way to go, I look at other photographers and they make me look like a total joke.  Sigh, such is life I guess.  I love what I do though.  I’ve never been as happy as I am behind that camera.  When people get excited over my work?  I’m on top of the world.

Matt is deploying in November again.  He’s not 100% positive, but it’s pretty certain.  I’m not excited to have him gone for another Thanksgiving, another Christmas, another New Years.

Continue reading →

All over the internet, amazing things were happening this weekend.  Nearly 70 bloggers took over Las Vegas for Bloggers in Sin City 2.  New friendships were formed and lives were changed, I’m sure.  Every blogger on that trip came back with a ton of new best friends and more inside jokes than they can even count.  My heart swells a little reading the recap posts, because I was there last year and I KNOW.

Jenn graduated COLLEGE!  Jessica was off on a cruise to celebrate graduating from college the week before!  GO GIRLS!  Woooo!  So proud of you, you’re both amazing.

A handful of wonderfully amazing ladies descended on Indianapolis for a weekend of relaxation, too much fried food and some serious girl time.

After a hiatus from my reader for almost a week, logging in to read all of these amazing weekend recaps was pretty amazing.

Continue reading →

As i’m sitting here right now, my head is aching from what I can only assume is a massive adrenaline crash.   See, I got a phone call this morning from my Love.  It was the best kind of phone call that a girl like me could get.  He’s coming home.

By the time this auto-posts tomorrow, I will be on my way to the airport to welcome my Hero home after a long six months.

All afternoon, my heart has felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.  I can’t believe that tomorrow, I’ll get to hug him.  I’ll get to kiss him.  I’ll get to touch his face, hold his hand.  Tonight, is that last night that I’ll go to sleep alone.  He wasn’t due home for another week or so, but this is a welcome surprise.  I have so much to rush home and do tonight, that I don’t even know where to begin.  I don’t care though, this is a welcome kind of panic… So different than the panic i’ve been dealing with since he left me.

Aside from all that’s whirling through my head though, I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart.  There’s just no way that I would have been able to get through this deployment without the support, encouragement and advice that so many of you have given me through comments here, skype dates, text messages, tweets… whatever.  When I was having a rough day, so many of you were there to lift me up, to remind me that this is only temporary.  You guys got me through this.

Continue reading →