Dear, sweet, loyal, fabulously stylish friends of JL PARISH- I’ve been missing you. You know it’s true. But, do you? My last “blob” was written in October of this year. Your girl, JLP, has been slacking. The pandemic, while awful in so many ways, gave way for new and old…
Many years ago, I called my cousin to check in on her and see how she was doing. Just a couple weeks prior, she’d lost her mom (and, my aunt). What was intended to be a call of care and concern quickly backfired on me. You see, grief has several…
“Lisa, let’s go jump off that rock,” I said. With only a tiny bit of hesitation and in her Southern Louisiana accent that’s most prominent after a White Claw, she said, “Ok, let’s go.” We swam over to Elephant Rock in the emerald waters of Beaver Lake in Eureka Springs,…
I just sat down at my desk. It’s an antique secretary desk in a heavy, dark wood with a hinged, fold down writing surface covered in black leather. It’s a real treasure, one I found while doing display design for my friend’s store, Imagine, many, many moons ago. Several of…
At the end of 2019, I read a New York Times story that would shape the first part of my 2020. It was titled, “Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain. It was published in early 2019 but didn’t find me until the end of…
Last Monday morning early, my husband was off to work, and I was at home with River, getting him ready for his swim lesson. That hour before swim is a hectic one because I’m getting River ready, getting his bag ready and getting 8,000 dishes in or out of the…
There’s a small metal easel at the end of our bar filled with River’s artwork, all crinkled from paint, with streamers hanging off of it, perfectly imperfect. Just behind it sits two containers of Advil and Tylenol for infants. River’s not an infant anymore, so they’re in that spot until…
A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for “Repurposed” at my church. It’s a training program designed to help you find your God-given purpose. Several of my friends had gone through this training experience, and I was excited to take part in it until I received an email with…
When I was a little girl, I loved dolls. And, oh, the care I took in the dolls that belonged to me. Their hair was always styled to my liking, their clothes were meticulously coordinated and they were always carefully put up in their rightful place, most often their crib,…
I was in Virginia Beach, Virginia meeting up with two of my very best friends, Kelly and Holly, at the boardwalk. It was a lovely day. Water was glistening and sun was shining just as it should be when you’re sharing a day with your people. They wanted to take…
