If We Were Having Coffee… April 25, 2017

Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner has been doing a series called “If We Were Having Coffee” that’s a nice blog series started by many bloggers out there to catch people up on the odds and ends of life that doesn’t fit into a pretty blogging box. Since I apparently missed my five year blogoversary the other week (which is kind of a big one, especially to miss, no?), I thought I’d do a “If We Were Having Coffee” post of my own to catch you up a bit with what’s been going on! 

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If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that it’s been hard to keep up with the blog lately, though I’m sure you’ve noticed that. I haven’t been posting as often and it’s hard to stay as excited as I once was with blogging.

If we were having coffee… I’d let you know that I still love my blog but life has been BUSY. I switched over to a new position at work and where I used to have a lot of free time before to read and blog and chat and hang out on Twitter, I’m working very hard all day, every day now. (Although I guess isn’t that what you’re supposed to be doing at work??) I don’t have those little moments where nothing is happening to catch up on my blog because there’s always something happening and I’m constantly trying to catch up.

If we were having coffee… I’d let you know that part of the reason why I’m behind is partially because I was off of work for two months. (I mean, I’d still be “behind”  because of the way the job was left to me when I took over, but this is also part of why I haven’t caught up yet.) My husband was inpatient in a hospital out of state being seen by a specialist and going through high-dose chemotherapy. I stayed with him the entire two months and fortunately my employer was gracious enough to let me stay with him throughout the whole treatment because I don’t know how we could have gone through that if they didn’t.

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you yes, I didn’t end up telling Twitter/Instagram/the blogging community know what we were going through during this time. It was a hard time for us both and it’s been and on/off battle with cancer for two years. It’s hard to tell a very large group of people about something so personal because it changed our lives in so many ways and it’s also very hard for me as an introverted person to share that piece of my life. It’s hard to update so many people and keep them constantly updated, reply to comments, reply to questions, and stay “on” while going through a hard time. It may be a surprise but it’s okay to talk about now that it’s all over. You can read a bit more about our story on this Instagram post (click on the link to access the full photo + caption).

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If we were having coffee… I’d say yes, thanks for asking! He’s doing much better now. Ever since my husband left the hospital, his tumor markers have normalized and he’s starting to recover and feel back to normal.

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that I meant to do sooooo much blogging and reading and catch up in the hospital but I ended up doing a LOT of work on my new website for my candle business, Novelly Yours. I built the website from a template, designed the store, added all of the listings, and set up all of the extras while in the hospital. It was a really, really long process (it literally took me months of working on it to get it all set up) but I’m so happy with how everything looks now! It’s still a lot of work maintaining my own website and store so that’s still taking up a lot of time too.

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that Novelly Yours is going great! It’s busier than ever, which a great thing, but also quite exhausting while I’m still working a full-time job. The hours are long but at least I love my candle business!

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that I had a candle in April’s Owlcrate box! It’s been so amazing working with Owlcrate and I’m just honored to have been a part of their box. I can’t even tell you how it feels to see that many people receive your candle!

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that I’ve been in a horrible, horrible reading slump. I think it’s just that I’m SO busy all the time and don’t have any time to take a break and just sit down and read. Things are constantly going which is good and keeps me busy but I don’t know how to relax anymore. Even the books that I’m loving I’m only able to read 20 minutes at a time so they’re just all broken up.

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that I went to go see Laini Taylor in the beginning of April! I’ve always wanted to meet her and only met her VERY briefly at BEA last year so it was great to hear her speak and get all of my books signed!

If we were having coffee… I’d let you know that I missed my five year blogoversary!!! I realized about ten days too late that I missed my blogoversary, and a big one at that. It’s kind of crazy that I’ve been doing this for five years and I’ve known some of you amazing people for five years! I definitely still love blogging but I miss the time I used to have for it. Before I made candles, I had so much free time and now I have none so I’m looking to find time to write posts and come up with unique topics like I used to. I want it to still be fun and I don’t want to do it because I feel like I have to keep up.

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you that sadly, I’m not going to BEA this year. I usually go with my best friends, Alyssa and Amy, and we kind of all have had a lot going on this year. I don’t have any more vacation time left since I used it all staying at the hospital so I can’t take the time off to go to BEA mid-week and I can’t afford to stay in New York City just for BookCon. Truly, I won’t really miss the ARCs. I’ve been having a very hard time keeping up with ARCs in the first place and I’ll kind of be happy not to have the temptation to grab things I won’t be able to read right away. But I will absolutely miss seeing my blogger friends that I only get to see once or twice a year and publishing friends that I only get to see at BEA!

If we were having coffee… I’d let you know that instead of BEA, I’ll probably go to ALA Annual because it’s in Chicago this year! That should be an easy one to do and who knows where I’ll be by mid-summer. I could have a lot more free time by then!


Thanks for sharing this coffee date with me! I’m glad I got to catch everyone on up on everything that’s been going on. Life has been non-stop, with so many things to do, and I really am trying to keep up with my blog because I’m still so proud of it and so happy with this little corner of the internet. I’m okay with slowing down and things being a little bit different but I definitely don’t want to lose it!

Hi, I'm Brittany!
Hi, I'm Brittany!

I'm an avid reader, candle-maker, and audiobook lover! Here you'll find book reviews, fun blog posts, and my other loves of photography & craft beer!

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6 thoughts on “If We Were Having Coffee… April 25, 2017

  1. Charlie

    Brittany, I am so glad your husband is in remission. I was a second-hand witness to my aunt’s battle, and it is hard to stay on and connected and updating. That in of itself can be overwhelming and exhausting. I am an introvert, too, and I find it hard to talk about certain things as well. My sarcastic or “Seriously!?” tone usually come out. How incredible for your boss to give you the time you needed to truly be with your husband. I can’t imagine any person that would allow that for their business or office. CONGRATS on 5 years! CONGRATS on your candle company – and Owlcrate!!! How awesome. And I’m not going to BEA either…like that is ever an option while teaching!

    Reply
  2. Amy Shaw

    I’m so glad your husband’s doing better, and I’m glad you were able to take the time off work as well. I had not seen your Instagram post so I’m going to go check it out now. I also completely relate with not keeping up with my blog! Sometimes I wonder what happened to the free time I used to blog, because I haven’t had any big changes in my schedule!

    Reply
  3. Chrystal

    First – I am so happy to hear your husband is in remission. This is amazing news.

    Second – I did not realize that was your candle shop! I’ll be placing an order once I’m back to work from maternity leave. I think they are so beautiful. How awesome it must have been to work with Owlcrate!

    Wishing you so much happiness this year!

    Reply
  4. Beth W

    So glad your husband is doing better, and the chemo is over. I can’t imagine how draining that was, for both of you! Also, I totally feel you on balancing a successful small business with full-time job with blogging with family life. Congrats on having a candle in OwlCrate this month! 😀
    I hope you’re able to get out of the reading slump with a great novel. May I suggest The Upside of Unrequited? 😉

    Reply
  5. Lauren @ Bookmark Lit

    I’m so glad things have been going better on your end — but clearly busier! I’ve been trying to cut down on blogging in general just because it’s crazy how much time it can take if you spend all of your free time on it. I want to have a bit more balance!

    I need to buy more candles too. I love them so much <33

    Reply
  6. Kristin (SuperSpaceChick)

    I’m so happy that your husband is doing better! It’s the worst to see someone you love in pain :-/ I hope he continues to stay in remission and improve!

    Happy Blogiversary! I’m sad I won’t get to see you at BEA this year but hopefully we’ll run into each other at a future book event soon! And congrats on having a candle in OwlCrate! I was so happy to get Cath & Levi although I’m also wishing for a Simon & Baz<3!

    Reply

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