Category Archives: Personal

My New Journal Approach

July 26, 2016How to's, Personala list of lists, handwritten, how to journal when you hate journaling, journal, keeping a journal, lists, personal historian, reflection, self improvement, write it downBeth Berger

Here’s the deal. I’ve never been a great historian of my own life. I admire the folks who keep detailed accounts of their days tucked away in composition notebooks and moleskines. What a gift to be transported back in time years later. However, try as I might, I’ve never been able to pick up this habit. (Blogging is the closest I’ve come!) I’d love to be able to look back at handwritten pages and recall dishes I ordered at restaurants and the songs I played on repeat for months at a time. I’d like to find sustainable ways to track my gratitude and personal triumphs.

So, what’s a girl who loves to start journals and abandon them three days later to do??? After a little reflection, I’ve landed on LISTS. I LOVE a list. I love to make them, I love to read them, I love to organize the random into neat little bullet points. Aha!

*Trumpet Sounds* Enter my new approach to journaling…THE LIST JOURNAL!

And what do you think my very first list shall be? If you guessed a list of lists then *ding, ding, ding* you nailed it! A list of lists I want to write in my list journal.

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far…

Books that have motivated or inspired me to make changes in my life.
My favorite topics of conversation.
Where we take visitors when they come to Miami.
All the acts of love that made up our beautiful wedding.
Standard packing list.
Every speech piece I ever competed with.
Weird things I did when I was super broke.
Reasons I love Wink.
Stuff that makes me feel better when I’m sick.
A running account of movies seen in the theater.
Favorite YouTube workouts.
Everything I’m thankful for on a given day.
Folks I’d like to send letters to on a more regular basis.
Chet’s masterfully prepared meals.
My most worn clothing in a given season.
Books I would recommend to someone who wants to read more.
The best seasons of The Real World. 🙂
Childhood memories that make me laugh.
Photos I want to frame and display.
People I admire.

My thought is that recording lists, along with the date, will give my future self a nice window into where I was in the world (physically, emotionally, AND mentally) at the time of composition. Or at least offer me an outlet to reflect on past events, articulate my gratitude, and mindfully create space for happiness. Wish me luck!

What do you think? Would you keep a list journal? Got any tips for being a better personal historian? I’d love to hear!! xoxo

P.S. My notebook system and how I prioritize my passions.

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Throwback Thursday

July 21, 2016Personalbrother and sister, Chicago cubs, childhood photos, cute babies, nostalgia, summer vacation, the 80's, the 90'sBeth Berger

While staying at my Mom’s house the week and a half leading up to the wedding, I went through a whole bunch of old family photos. In the top photo, above, my older brother Andy and I are cozied up with our Dad on some sort of tourist boat. (I have no idea where. I just really enjoy ALL our shirts in this shot.) In the middle one, Andy and I are hamming it up for the camera. (Special appearance by Perry the Panda!) And the bottom one is me tossing a frisbee at a company picnic. (Oh how I love those grassy, rolling hills in horse country.)

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We’re married!

July 18, 2016PersonalArts Place, Breauxmance, bride and groom, feeling thankful, Kentucky wedding, Lexington, married, newlyweds, weddingBeth Berger

After a week and a half of whirlwind last minute prep in Lexington, Chet and I got married on July 9th at Arts Place. The whole weekend was an absolute dream come true. Chet flew in from Miami on Thursday evening. I immediately whisked him away to enjoy dinner and drinks downtown with a few sweet friends who came in early to help us celebrate. On Friday, my ride-or-die ladyfriend threw me a bridal luncheon (complete with tiny hats), and that evening our tribe gathered at a local park to eat tacos and rehearse the ceremony.

I was a little nervous about getting everything done on The Big Day. The venue had to get set up and decorated the morning of. But these things have a way of working out when you have a crew of family and friends willing to go above and beyond to make sure every detail comes to life. I even had time to slip away to pick up platters of food and cake (from Good Foods Co-op!!) and grab a quick lunch/makeup date with my friend Katie. Meanwhile, Chet spent the day in a basement kitchen cooking a gumbo to feed all our guests!

Before I knew it everything was ready and my mom was twisting my hair into a gorgeous chignon. In my old ballet studio, no less! Chet and I decided to see each other before the wedding. And I’m so happy we had that time with each other to play and shake off the nerves. Our dear photographers/best friends, Carrie and Ganer, expertly ushered us around and kept us laughing.

The ceremony itself was everything I had hoped for. Our beautiful ceremony participants offered up their voices and their love and their signatures on our wedding certificate(!). My sister sang three perfect songs. Our friend Ben was the BEST officiant we could have ever asked for. The care he put into each little detail touched my heart and his words won’t ever be forgotten.

We ate gumbo, drank local beer and wine, and danced to our favorite songs. Chad and Ganer each gave us one hell of a toast. (I’m still blushing about their kind words.) And afterwards I ate a cupcake baked by my extraordinary mom. She made TWO kinds!

Our guest list was small but full of the sweetest folks you’ll ever meet. Aunts and uncles. Friends who live too far away. Neighbors that have watched me grow up. I was humbled to have each and every one of them present on such an important day in my life.

The reception wrapped up and we kept the party going at a bar just a stone’s throw away. And stayed until closing time…reveling in all the electric love and excitement. (And, like, when you buy a gorgeous dress that you can only wear once…you gotta keep it on as long as poss, right?!)

So, that’s a little overview of how my dream wedding weekend went down. I can’t wait to show you more photos. I’ll do some more detailed posts when I get them, if you’d like! Until then, thanks so much for reading. I’m excited to get back into the swing of things here on the blog!

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Photos by Sur La Lune Photography, the very best in the biz! We can’t thank them enough for the care they took with capturing this special experience while also being such an important part of the experience, too. We love you!

On summertime traditions.

June 23, 2016Personalaquariums, family, Lake Michigan, memories, ritual, summer, vacationsBeth Berger

On Monday we talked about items to check off our bucket list THIS summer, but today I’d like to talk about things to do summer after summer. Stuff to look forward to all year; like a yearly road trip to camp in a state park with your cousins or an annual backyard barbecue held for the whole neighborhood. Do you have any summertime traditions like this?

Growing up, my family would pack up the mini-van each summer and head north to Lake Michigan. We’d rent a cottage within walking distance from the shore and head to the beach each day with an armload of sand toys, books, and floating rafts. I’ll always remember eating packed PB&J’s (with the added crunch of specks of sand) and plums from the Farmer’s Market. Maybe indulging in a few kolaches as a treat, made locally in a Swedish bakery. I would finish book after book, lounging sun-kissed and sprawling on the beach-themed furniture, trading dog-eared paperbacks at a used book store for new-to-me stories. Frequent evening trips to the ice cream parlor were a non-negotiable.

Now that I’m getting married in just a few weeks, I’ve been thinking about how meaningful these types of traditions are. I’m eager to lean in to the rituals of my new, soon-to-be-official, tiny family.

The last two summers, Chet and I celebrated his birthday with a trip to the aquarium. (We walked across a rope bridge above a shark tank right after we got engaged!) And I love imagining what it will look like if this ritual carries on into the expanse of our years. Who knows if it will, but I can see our future selves fawning over sweet turtles and fish so colorful it’s hard to believe they’re real. And that’s pretty cool.

But the possibility of traditions not yet thought of is pretty cool, too.

What summertime traditions do you hold dear? I’m oh, so curious…and who knows? Maybe we’ll get some ideas!

Summer Bucket List

June 20, 2016Personalflorida life, goals, make memories, Miami, summer in florida, summer vacation, touristBeth Berger

Last summer felt like such a whirl-wind. What with Chet’s graduation, getting engaged, packing up my life in Lexington, and moving to Miami. While we still managed to squeeze in lots of fun it seemed to go by in a flash! This summer isn’t free from big changes/life events by any means(our wedding is SO SOON!), but I’m more than ready for the little moments, too. I want to slow down and enjoy my surroundings. To take full advantage of the extended daylight. And make memories to last a lifetime as I enter this next season of my life.

So, in honor of the first day of summer, I thought I’d jot down a few items for a seasonal bucket list…

Sample the fare from new-to-me restaurants like this one and this one.

Concoct a pitch perfect summer cocktail to enjoy while taking in the vibrant sunset skies on view from my balcony.

Rent one of those surrey bike contraptions and take it for a spin around Tropical Park.

Stick to a Sunday morning ritual of Farmer’s Market haulin’.

Find the perfect coffee shop to soak up free AC and Wi-Fi. Bonus points if they serve delicious cafe con leche and piping hot empanadas.

Take a road trip up the west coast of Florida, and stop to snap photos at whatever abandoned tourist attractions and motels that strike my fancy along the way.

Capsule my summer wardrobe.

Give our screened-in outdoor space a little design face-lift. Fairy lights! More potted plants! Wind chimes!!! The possibilities are endless.

Experience a quiet moment of reflection, and check out the giant Buddha statue, at the Wat Buddharangsi Buddhist Temple.

Challenge myself to reach a new fitness goal. Think: mileage, daily yoga challenge/achieve a pose I have yet to master, or a new-to-me form of exercise.

Three words: SWIM UP BAR.

Spend a few evenings playing disc golf, once I learn how to actually play of course.

Add more books to my spreadsheet, like this one and this one and this one looks good too!

Go on a middle-of-the-day adventure to track down lunch from an obscure and tasty food truck.

Blog about all of the above RIGHT HERE on findingdelight.com!

What’s on YOUR Summer 2016 Bucket List? Share below! xoxo

(Photo by Sur La Lune Photography.)

Florida Stay-cation!

June 6, 2016Personal, Travelbeach life, by the water, Delray Beach, friends, Homestead, Miami, photographer friends, staycation, Sur La Lune, tropical gardensBeth Berger

As I mentioned before, our dear friends Carrie and Ganer recently visited us in Miami. We had an absolute blast! Since Carrie is a professional photographer who travels with camera in tow, I thought I’d share some of her fabulous snaps from their time here. I love all the sweet moments she captured. It was the perfect Florida stay-cation for Chet and I (with the HUGE added bonus of two of our favorite people). Take a look!

We spent a day lounging by the water at our favorite beach…

explored Pinecrest Gardens with all it’s larger-than-life plants and teeny-tiny lizards…

and took advantage of our apartment’s stones-throw distance from a swimming pool (with cabanas!).

After a few days in Miami our pals headed to Delray Beach for Part 2 of their vacay. We couldn’t resist following suit and drove up after work one evening for margaritas and tacos followed by the whole next day spent on the beach (complete with a couples photo-shoot!).

Thanks for swinging through Florida, Ganer and Carrie. We loved having y’all stay with us and had so much fun in Delray. Can’t wait for our next beach vacay with you two!

All photos courtesy of Sur La Lune Photography.

Follow Sur La Lune on Facebook and Instagram for more beautiful shots by Carrie. Her lifestyle wedding and portrait photography is the stuff of dreams!!!

Top 10 Yard Sale Advertising Tips

May 23, 2016Books, budget, How to's, Personaldeclutter, downsize, e-book, garage sale, make money, marketing, moving house, tips and tricks, YardSales.netBeth Berger

Hi guys! Now that spring has sprung in the US, you may have noticed signs start to pop up around your neighborhood. You may have even gotten the itch to wake up before dawn on a Saturday morning and follow their bold arrows like a treasure map. Where did these signs lead you? Why, to everyone’s favorite example of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” of course! The Yard Sale.

But what if you want to cash-in on this warm weather fun for yourself? What if you have a whole bunch of extra stuff weighing you down or are looking to raise some funds for an upcoming adventure?

Today I’ve partnered with YardSales.net to bring you a few handy-dandy tips to make sure you have a steady stream of folks at your next yard sale. Not just a sad trickle of passersby.

Back when I lived in Bowling Green, my friends and I often marked the arrival of Summer with a yard sale. We were broke-as-a-joke college kids looking to unload a few possessions before we, inevitably, packed up and moved from one terrible rental to another. Oh, and did I mention we were poor? Any extra cash to pay the light bill and treat ourselves to a pizza and a pitcher of beer was a God-send.

Here’s a snap of one such yard sale with my friends Maggie, Chad, and Katie (I believe my friend Ashley is behind the camera). We called this yard sale “All Diamonds, No Rough.” (Old vacuum cleaners, a sled, and stacks of t-shirts? DIAMONDS, PEOPLE. DIAMONDS!!!)

While we usually ended up with a little extra cash at the end of these (desperate) money-making attempts, they never made us as rich as we hoped.

Wanna know where we went wrong? Impulsivity. Met with a combination of bored, broke, and scheme-filled brains…we’d decide, “Hey! Let’s have a yard sale!” and then proceed to stay up all night pricing items and throw them out in the lawn the next day. No forethought, not a lot of planning, a few haphazard signs and Craigslist ads scattered about the day of.

After checking out the e-book The Ultimate Guide to Hosting a Yard Sale, I now know where our hustle fell short. So, let’s all learn from my well-intentioned haphazard sales of the past! In case you’re planning a yard sale of your own, here are some tips from the book about HOW TO ADVERTISE…

RESEARCH. Before you start hanging up signs, do a little research about ordinances in your town or city which may prohibit you from doing so. Find out if a yard sale permit is necessary in your area.
PROVIDE INFO. Create some signs with the following info — Type of sale, date and time, address and/or cross-streets. Remember: Most folks will be reading your signs as they drive by in a car so keep them concise and legible.
CONSISTENCY. Every sign should be the same color and design so as not to confuse potential customers.
ADD FLAIR! Attract eyes to your signs by adding balloons, pinwheels, arrows, etc.
COMMUNITY BOARDS. Create a few 8.5″ x 11″ sale signs to hang on community boards at libraries, grocery stores, cafes, etc. (Here’s a helpful template.)
GRAB ATTENTION. Write an attention-grabbing advertisement that you can post around the web. “Multi-Family” or “Moving Sale” are sure to attract some extra attention!
DETAILS. Along with pertinent information; like times, dates, and location, your online ad should include details. List your big ticket items and any collectibles. If you’re selling clothes, include brands and sizes. And don’t forget to attach some photos!
NETWORK. There are lots of websites you can advertise your yard sale for FREE. Check out Craigslist, YardSales.net, and GarageSaleFinder.com. (Just to name a few!)
GET SOCIAL! Don’t forget to post about your yard sale on your personal social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
IN BLACK AND WHITE. Finally, if you have the funds for it you may want to consider taking out an ad in your local newspaper. These can run anywhere between $25-$200 depending on the reach of the paper.

For more tips on having your most successful yard sale yet, go grab a copy of The Ultimate Guide to Hosting a Yard Sale! YardSales.net is offering FREE DOWNLOADS of this e-book THIS WEEK (May 23 – May 27). Go grab one! You’ll be de-cluttered and raking in the dough in no time.

Maybe you’ll even decide to treat yourself to a pizza and a pitcher of beer! Enjoy!

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(This post is in collaboration with YardSales.net. All opinions are my own.)

My Notebook System

April 26, 2016Career, Every day life, Personalin my notebook, notebook, organization, planner system, planning, to-do list, work from homeBeth Berger

Do you have a system to keep track of all your to-do’s for the day? It may seem like a no-brainer to some folks out there, but once I developed a set-up that worked for me it was a game changer.

As you can see above, I devote a full page to each day. I borrow elements from the bullet journal system, but it’s a WAY scaled down version. Each of my tasks are given a tick box that I check off as it gets completed. If I didn’t complete the task it gets an arrow so that I know to migrate it onto my list of to-do’s for the following day. If an item no longer needs completing for whatever reason I give it a strike-through.

In the middle of the page are my notes. These are items I encounter through out the day that I want to return to and investigate further when I have more time. This little section is instrumental in keeping me focused on the task at hand. And I don’t forget about things that may be useful or interest me later. Sorta like leaving myself little breadcrumbs in the form of bullet points!

And finally, something I started in 2016, a MANTRA! I kicked off the new year with Yoga with Adriene’s Yoga Camp. The challenge included 30 yoga videos to be done every day for 30 days and each one came with their own mantra. I found these daily affirmations wildly helpful and inspirational in January so I figured, why stop here!? When I sit down with my list at the beginning of each day I find a phrase, quote, or affirmation that I can focus my thoughts towards in the coming hours.

I also borrow The Monthly Log or Calendar Page from the Bullet Journal method. That’s where the Bullet Journal similarities end. For me, keeping an index (a key Bullet Journaling component) just feels too cluttered. The full Bullet Journal system, though I tried and enjoyed it for awhile, just isn’t for me. And ya gotta find what works for you. I love my system and love that it’s adapted over time to keep me productive and my brain-space uncluttered.

OH! And for forward-planning (ie. weekly and monthly planning as opposed to daily to-do’s) I use a mini-binder planner from the Target Dollar Spot. I just started it at the beginning of April and have been trying my hand at planner decorating…..totally something I never thought I would get into but I’m absolutely loving it. Perhaps I’ll post some pictures at some point if y’all are into it.

How do you stay on top of your daily to-do list? Do you keep paper lists or are you totally digital? Have you ever tried keeping a bullet journal? Into planner decorating? Tell me everything!!!

On Saying You’re Welcome

February 16, 2016Every day life, Personaletiquette, pet peeve, resolved, thankful, the power of wordsBeth Berger

I’m a big believer in saying “You’re welcome.” I know that sounds a bit obvious. Of course anyone with a shred of decency and an ounce of home training knows to respond to thanks. I just mean I’m a fan of this specific response over others.

Mindlessly answering “No problem,” “No worries,” and, embarrassingly, “Yeah” when people tell me “Thank you” is a habit I’ve worked long and hard to break. These more flippant responses, whether purposefully flippant or not, were the result of feeling over thanked. An almost shy dismissal of the ways I was helping people out. Which is kind of weird, right? Helping people made me feel good. Doing a good job on something made me feel great. So why, when others acknowledged these things, was I brushing it off with “Oh don’t worry about it.”? Basically the equivalent of WHATEVER.

A couple years ago, in serious self-betterment mode, I made a New Year’s Resolution — Say You’re Welcome more! I flipped the tables and considered all the times I give thanks to and for others. How honest and humbled I feel in that split second of grateful recognition. How often it doesn’t feel like enough but I say it anyways because I hope small words will do the work of thousands. I figured if anyone was going out of their way to utter “Thank you,” I owed it to them to sincerely reply “You’re welcome!”

At the end of the day, we can never know the full story behind the words others choose to speak. Perhaps a “thank you” means…

Today was more than I could bear but you made it just a little bit easier.

Someone noticed.

I love you.

You’ve blown my mind/opened my eyes/made my life easier/made my hard work worth it.

And so “you’re welcome” can carry many meanings too.

I’m squeezing you tight.

You’re worth every good action and effort.

I’m the lucky one.

Thank YOU.

While I do slip up from time to time, I still try to hold by this practice of saying “You’re welcome.” I would never want to imply, through a “no problem,” that a thanks was unnecessary or irrelevant. And I would ask that you consider your own response to expressions of thankfulness.

You may have unknowingly lifted the weight of a thousand elephants off of someone’s heart or handed them the whole world on a shiny silver tray. No problem? I don’t think so.

I’d rather not diminish feelings I could never even pretend to understand.

Even in return for the smallest of gestures.

(Photo above of a chauffeur helping a woman into a Bentley in 1926. I hope she thanked him for this small gesture and that he took her thanks in stride.)

Pinterest, Mason Jars, and Wedding Planning

February 9, 2016Personal, Style and Designbride, crafting, DIY, mason jar addict, over pinner, wedding inspo, wedding planningBeth Berger

While I don’t plan on being one of those brides who makes herself crazy trying to achieve every last wedding detail she pinned on Pinterest, I just can’t help but to love a good mason jar decor project. If it pops up, I’m pinnin’ it. Now I know you might be thinking this skews a little #basic and a little #typical but listen… I’m a vAAAAry early adopter of the mason jar. I’m talking getting vintage ones for Christmas when I was in elementary school early. So. You’re lucky I don’t plan on walking down the aisle covered in them. Instead, I’ll just pin a bunch of DIY tutorials to my wedding board, very few of which will I actually have the time or wherewithal to complete, and we shall end up with appropriate levels of mason jar accouterments. (The Lord finds a way.)

Of the projects I’ve come across I think one I will make the effort to complete is a Wedding Wish Jar. Here are a few tutorials…

This tutorial from Yesterday on a Tuesday includes free mason jar printables! I probably wouldn’t go for the glitter though.

This Wedding Wish Jar DIY from The Cottage Market is sweet, simple, and freakin’ adorable.

Guest Book alternative from Confetti Daydreams. Not a mason jar but I love the gold and the hand-lettering inspiration.

Or for less than 30 bucks, I can just buy one already made. Because if there’s one thing you can count on — if there’s a way to capitalize on Pinterest, Mason Jar, Wedding Planning mania — someone is out there doing it.