Content: Peaceful Happiness
The other day, someone asked me what I had been up to. In the last 6 months or more I’ve actually been busier than EVER. Travel, work, social life, you name it.. I had gotten used to my response to that question being exciting, “just got home from ____ and now doing/planning ____. “ or “I’ve been SO busy, but good!” I was going to bed late, nailing out projects, getting things done, feeling a rush, but not content.
The definition of “content” is “[to be] in a state of peaceful happiness”. It’s also a word often used to describe what’s posted on social media, you know, “social media/Instagram content”, it usually consists of highlights. Sometimes I’ll look up a friend on Instagram to see, “what they’ve been up to.” How funny that the very substance of the adjective, “content” consists of being at PEACE and NOT striiiiiving, (I think the word striving deserves more “i”s) for an exciting answer to someone’s question about their life lately — jumping from square to square or high to high.
Often times I get tired of people expecting to hear some exciting new thing when really, thriving in marriage, being wise with money, and having relationship with our creator is already an overflow of opportunity to be content in every single day.
I’ve been content. I’ve been feasting on rest and moving forward one day at a time. I hadn’t even noticed my quiet, daily dedication of sticking to a routine of washing my mind in meditating on God’s promises to me, walking, reading and reviewing my dreams and goals taking small, daily steps toward them — and getting 7-8 hrs of sleep — was resulting in me ultimately thriving in a state of peaceful happiness. I know it sounds like a lot, but I had a routine before: sleeping in until the last second, jumping up to get ready, running late, constantly chasing the day instead of directing it myself — it wasn’t working for me.
WHO KNEEEEW the tortoise won the race for a reason. Having a routine keeps me moving forward — actually in strides, while not feeling exhausted and wiped out. In nearly every success book ever written, they say the secret to success is all about doing something small every day that moves you towards your dreams and goals. Repetition and dedication won’t breed disfunction, they will bring results. This consistency in my life has untied my hands to achieve more and do it restfully and peacefully in every area of my life. If you don’t know where to start with a routine, Terri Savelle Foy’s book “5 Things Successful People Do Before 8am” is a good book to read. Don’t let the title scare you, after reading it, you can figure out what you need or want to stretch yourself to do. If you want accountability, my friend, Tori and I got your back, send me a DM on Instagram. We need each other for real.
You have a routine whether you realize it or not, I hate to sound cheesy but, is it nudging you toward peaceful happiness?
I’ve got little pictures to show for it, but I’ve been content, and that’s hard to take a picture of, but I think this expression is a reflection of my heart and represents it well.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read, what started as a Sunday afternoon thought turned into a novel (oops) from a topic I care deeply about and that has apparently been stirring in me for quite some time.
Love you, no — I really do.
Jules
Special Occasion
Sometime this week I heard someone say, “don’t save the china for special occasions”, this inspired me to pull ours out and create our own special occasion. While Brandon was waking up from a nap, I tied a note to Louis’ collar inviting him to dinner, and sent him in to see Brandon. B accepted my invitation, and we had the most beautiful evening together. Dressed up, we dined with our fanciest dinnerware, poured our drinks in heirloom crystal glasses, and shared a dessert plate.
Just like everyone else, we’ve been adjusting to a lot. We’ve both been working from home, (which we are so grateful for), but we’ve also have had more down time together. While it’s so tempting to stay in sweats, and be less purposed when it comes to romance because you feel like you’re together 24/4 anyway, it is so important to cultivate experiences that create memories and connection. I know we’re all doing our very best right now, but through all the chaos lately, we hadn’t been super intentional with us… It was so nice to stop everything and indulge in each other last night. It was wonderful, and centered our focus back onto what matters most.
I want to encourage you, your spouse, your family, to treat more moments like they’re special occasion moments. There’s too much to be grateful for than ungrateful, there’s still so much good going on to celebrate. We’re now going on our 8th movie night/pj party in a row, but I’m so dang thankful that I get to be here with him, enjoying his company, cracking each other up, playing games, falling deeper in love and closer to each other. I know staying seated in gratitude, and celebrating each other are both investments we’ll never regret making.
Through it all, I’ll stay thankful.
Bochy’s Box
Box is “a subscription box that is filled with gifts and goods provided by survivors, influencers, and brands whose mission is to empower and restore exploited women.” (bochysbox.com)
Have you ever tried a subscription box? I promise you this is the best one you could ever subscribe to. What sets this box apart from others is that all of the proceeds go toward supporting a safe house, (Bochy’s Place) for girls rescued out of sex trafficking. Bochy’s Place is an incredible safe house and transitional home, this post from their Instagram explains what they do so well:
“90% of victims who are rescued will return to the lifestyle simply because they are unable to sustain themselves in society.💔
They are devastated in the depths of their souls, in places they sometimes do not even understand themselves.
This leaves them unable to break the cycle of brokenness... During the second phase of their restoration & healing at Bochy’s Place their talents and passions begin to show themselves⭐️
Our goal is to begin to develop within them what God has shown them is His plan for their lives! We begin the process of training, educating, and developing the skills necessary to support the transition into a full and normal life!! During this process we begin to clean up the records of the past such as driving violations, criminal charges and more.
Within weeks she will be on her way into a new job and a new purpose!🙌🏼
Will you help us help her? We can not do the work we do without generous people like you!🙏🏼
Go to bochysplace.com to partner with us today!”
The heart & mission behind Bochy’s Place is beyond incredible and true. The founder, Carla Shellis, is one of the wisest and kindest women I’ve ever met. She has so much wisdom when it comes to inner healing and surrender. There is no one better for women—especially who have endured the unthinkable trauma of sex trafficking—to take in, love, and help them to grow and bloom again. I’ve linked her podcast below if you’d like to listen. If this topic is something that stirs your heart, and you’d like to help somehow, you can find out more at Bochysplace.com or give financially below:
“Bochy’s Box is a subscription box filled with gifts & goods provided by survivors, influencers, & brands, whose mission is to empower and restore exploited women. When purchasing the box, you become part of her journey to recovery and freedom.
Bochy's Box is a quarterly box created and shipped in February, May, August, November as a compliment to the beginning of a new season.
The residents of Bochy's Place have no way to make an income while in recovery. One of the goals of Bochy's Place is to teach the residents a new type of independence. During their, 12-18 month stay we encourage creativity in earning income outside of a standard job. Each box curated and shipped with items made by the residents. By buying this box our subscribers are giving the survivor the opportunity to learn how to create items to sell, branding, pricing and more.
Bochy's Box is a part of the eco-system being created by the founder to build a sustainable model for long term solutions to eradicate Human Trafficking. Proceeds from the sales of Bochy's Box are used to fund outreach, rescue & restoration efforts of girls trapped in sex trafficking.
When you take a step, she takes a step.” — Bochysbox.com/about
With Bochy’s Box, there’s two different ways to subscribe, (quarterly or annually). Everything in this box is handpicked or approved by Jade Shellis, Carla’s daughter, and a really good friend of mine. Jade is the BEST gift giver and I’m just saying, gifts are way better when they’re given by people whose love language IS gifts. These boxes are packed up with so much thought, love and care and every dollar makes a difference. When you subscribe to Bochy’s Box, you are sowing into the lives of these women, and supporting the mission of Bochy’s Place in a wonderful way.
Thank you so much for reading, for more blogs click here: julesthieme.co/blog.
Date Night Fit
dark green color pictured
Date night = my best night
I love time with Brandon any day, but when we purposely set aside a night to go out I LOVE getting dressed up, (big surprise, I know). I found this silk-like cami on amazon this past May, and have ordered it in every color since. It’s lovely and very simple. Some of my favorite evening outfits involve this top so I wanted to share it.
These fit pretty true to size, but don’t have adjustable straps. I usually wear them with a short fitted skirt, or high-waisted jeans, with my favorite blazer. While I’m at it, I’ll also link my favorite headbands and hair clips that make styling my hair easy.
(everything is linked below)
This is a blazer I find myself wearing a LOT. The most simple, elegant evening outfit I can think of is this blazer over a lace/silk cami. OR for a casual look, I like wearing it with a graphic tee, ripped jeans and vans.
TAP IMAGES BELOW FOR LINK
date night hair accessories
2019 reflect + christmas photos
I now understand why my mom always wanted pics growing up because they commemorate life so well. Nowadays they last forever, (this is a good thing most of the time lol). I’m so thankful for these photos because I am so in love with this season of our lives right now and always want to be able to reflect on these days.
2019 was incredible. God has always been faithful to guide us, bless us, shut the wrong doors and open the right ones. We’ve learned to lean on Him when it was our only option and chose to lean on Him even when we felt secure. Brandon and I have only been married for 2 years, but have already learned so much. I want to always be reminded of God’s goodness, His nature towards us, and keep childlike faith when it comes to trusting, believing and taking Him at His word — because it is more than enough.
Here are some of our favorite scriptures that were HUGE for us throughout 2019:
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Romans 8:28
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33
“The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. “Psalm 23
Merry Christmas & may 2020 be your best year yet,
The Thiemes (“tee-mee” — no need to thank me)
Thieme Christmas
Photography by Hayden River Smith, (@haydenriverphotography). I gained Hayden as a cousin when I married Brandon, (huge perk). She’s one of my closest friends and is such a treasure to me and one of the most genuine people you’d ever meet. I’m incredibly grateful for her, her friendship, and the fact that we’re family (aka tied fo life). She is a beautifully gifted photographer and I love these photos she took of us!
Girls Just Wanna Have: Beach Waves
If you’re a woman, chances are you’ve opened Pinterest before and typed, “beach waves” in the search bar. You know the exact look I’m talking about: “fresh-out-the-ocean”, “so-natural-it’s-unnatural”, effortless — but with much effort, done but also undone but also chic-bedhead… if your hair looks like this naturally, you are blessssssssssed, if it doesn’t, keep reading.
I discovered a wand a few years ago that I JUST discovered how to use in my favor. (THIS is the exact wand I’m talking about, and step by step instructions below:
It’s very unique and the only curling tool I’ve been able to get this style of hair with. (+ on sale right now for $22)
While your hair is damp, use a texturizing spray.
(I love this one and this one) lightly spray your hair and scrunch it with your hands to get some texture and help any waves you already have to form nicely. (You can do the same with dry hair, I just prefer to do it while it’s damp).
Use the wand to curl your hair.
The wand itself makes each wave unique because of its shape.
Technique: The goal is to have loose waves. For beach waves, we don’t want tight curls, this is the key: after wrapping 1-2 inches of hair around the wand and holding for 5 seconds or less, hold the end of the section and pull the curl straight.
Hot hair is like wax, you can mold it while it’s warm. The curling iron gives us a tight curl and we want to manipulate it into being a loose curl by pulling it straight. (Adjust how long you keep your hair on the wand, the less you hold it, the less tight the curl will be and vice versa)
That’s it! I don’t use hairspray because I like to let my hair fall more throughout the day, but if you normally use it you can finish off with a spritz!
Closet or Boutique
This week I made a video on IGTV about organizing my closet, after a handful of friends asked me about it. Earlier in the day I had mention on my instagram story that I try to keep my closet looking like a boutique, I didn’t realize how vague that sounded until the questions started flooding in. Here are some tips mentioned in the video:
I try to hang outfits together.
I like to try to plan outfits out as far in advance as possible, I usually try to set aside a few hours each month to plan out a few casual and dressy outfits to grab on the go, and then hang them all together in my closet. Ex: a cami hanging on the same hanger as the leather jacket I’d wear with it. I also showed in the video how I would hang several button downs together that I could potentially wear with the same jacket, near that jacket. Working smarter, not harder is the goal. Sometimes I’ll hang scarves with a jacket, or accessories (if it will hang on a hanger), with the outfit as well.
Put mismatched patterns together.
This will surely drive someone crazy, I shared that I used to color coordinate my clothes, or hang similar clothing items together, but I realized I spent so much time figuring out what to wear with what, and I was often bored with what I had. What I like to do now, and what I’ve found really keeps me inspired, my clothes feeling fresh, is putting different patterns/textures together in my closet. The best example of this is at 4:10 in the video.
Fold sweaters, sweatshirts and hoodies
When you walk into a boutique, some clothes are hung and some are folded. I like to utilize shelves by putting sweaters, sweatshirts and hoodies on them. The neater they look, the more “fresh” and welcoming your closet will feel.
Tray of perfumes & accessories
If you have room in your closet, I love to have my perfume in there on a shelf. We’re building our first home (eeep!) and I don’t think I thought of shelves in our closet, I may need my bestest most sweetest husband ever ever ever to build me some. I love having perfume in my closet because 1.) it looks beautiful, and smells amazing and 2.) it’s a lot cleaner than the bathroom counter and more private
Keep your favorite smelling candle in your closet.
DON’T LIGHT IT lol I definitely don’t want to be blamed for someone’s closet or house burning down. Candles smell so good if you keep the lid off, (sometimes I put it back on to keep it fresh, then I take it off again). This keeps your closet smelling so good and not like a musty closet.
The original video from my instagram:
Holiday Gift List
Christmas is by far the BEST time of the year. These are some of my favorite things to gift to the people I love. Getting is great, but giving away is the best gift you could ever receive.
this candle smells like a piney forest and provides the best mental escape to a Christmassy winter wonderland. Get one for a friend, and one for yourself, your nose will thank you later.
coin necklaces are a great gift, gorjana is my go-to for gold jewelry. this luna necklace is perfectly dainty and simple enough to wear with anything. (it’s definitely on my christmas list)
BEST OVERSIZED DENIM JACKET YOU’LL FIND
does your mom need a wardrobe pick-me-up? this jacket is a big mooooood and will spice up any closet, as you can throw it over almost anything! it’s a great purchase that will last for years to come.
madewell scarves are just that — made well. i’m a big fan of them. unpopular opinion — i don’t like blanket scarves. they’re hard to get just right, and have always felt frumpy to me. #sorrynotsorry
a scarf is one of the best, and easiest gifts to give because they’re one size fits all. you can’t really mess that one up. madewell has some gorgeous scarves this season.
TICKETS TO LAUREN DAIGLE WORLD TOUR W/ JOHNNYSWIM
did you know this was happening? this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear these voices on stage together. jonnyswim is definitely one of our favorite bands already, and lauren daigle is just crazy talented. i can think of several friends who would LOVE tickets to this show as a gift… ahem, (me) think about it, pray about it, get back to me.
FOR MEN:
I need to preface this with, Brandon usually only wants racecar parts. So I normally don’t have to think too hard about this stuff for him. Still — for you, and because I’m a good friend, I’ll link a few of my favorite manly presents below.
this speaker is a great gift for your man, your father, or just any guy in your life that you would spend $129 on. (lolll)
my dad has one of these and he takes it with him everywhere, for worship in the morning while he’s getting ready, podcasts and everything in between.
jo malone london is diviiiine. take my word for it, or next time you’re near a nordstrom, go smell some at the perfume counter. a few months ago, I was looking for a new perfume, someone told me about jo malone and I’ve been hooked ever since. their scents are unisex, this gift set has some of the more manly smells. a cologne gift set is great for men, because he can try a few out before committing to his favorite.
this gift set includes: myrrh & tonka, bronze wood & leather, oud & bergamot + 2 others.
this may be the exact gift your guy needs, but wouldn’t think to ask for. every man needs a backpack at some point, this is a great one!
this devotional is hands down, without a shadow of a doubt, mine and brandon’s favorite way to start the day. I’ve given this away to more friends and family than I can think of, we were given it, and it’s really the best. it’s a great gift going into the new year, and a great investment in starting your day off right.
“Homemade” Nail Salon
My cousin Hayden turned me onto doing my own gel nails, or “homemade” as her little sister calls it. I was spending almost $100 a month getting dip (next gen) done on my nails. It wasn't sanitary, (have you ever really paid attention at nail salons yyyuuck) and was so expensive, and honestly, I was only happy with them 60-70% of the time.
THIS ISN’T FOR EVERYONE, I get that some people would rather just pay to have them done, (my mom for example lol). I'm so particular about my nails, AND I have a pretty steady hand, (it took a few tries but I finally have my technique down and as of now, will never go back to a salon again, don't quote me). I actually bought a nail extension kit at CVS too for when I want to do them longer. I was sure to buy all the same brand when ordering this stuff, (top coat, base, regular polishes etc.) because this brand, "Gel Len" has good reviews. I'll link each of the items I ordered. Be sure to read the bottle, not because you need to, but because the english/grammar is so funny.
Process:
-Rough up your nail with a nail filer (this is like putting tile down, people. we gotta have a rough surface for the gel to stick/stay. I'm not talking about ruining your nails, but just giving them some texture for the paint to grip)
-Base Coat
-Light (for about a minute each time, the light I linked has a timer that goes off by itself)
-First Color Coat
-Light
-Second Color Coat
-Light
-Third Color Coat
-Light (If it doesn't seem too thick, and you think your color is a bit see through and you could use it, a fourth coat is fine, then the light again)
-Top Coat
-I usually do the light two times per hand on the last one.