Dan and I just got back from a leisure/business trip to Orlando. He has a conference there every spring, and we usually arrive early to enjoy a mini vacation. This year we spent a day at EPCOT before the conference began. Then I worked from our hotel room all week while Dan attended the conference.... [Read More] The post Decluttering Before Baby Arrives | One Room Challenge Week Two appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

I’ve been aware of the One Room Challenge for years. It’s so popular that my best friend (who isn’t a blogger) even participated several years ago. I’m not really a home decor blogger–but my photo archives for blog post ideas are filled with home projects. I’ve never done a big room makeover before, so I... [Read More] The post Guest Bedroom Makeover | One Room Challenge Week One appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

Reading has always been my favorite hobby. Ever since the pandemic started in 2020, I’ve leaned into reading, hard, as the best form of self-care. According to Goodreads, I’ve read more new books during the last three years than I ever did before. 66 books (23,532 pages) in 2020 68 books (23,111 pages) in 2021... [Read More] The post My 2022 in Books: What I Read and Loved appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

On March 10, 2022, I received an unexpected email from LinkedIn. Normally Gmail sorts these into my Social tab, which I clear out a few times a week. But this email made it into my regular inbox… And the subject line intrigued me. “SEO Copywriter & Content Optimization Manager for Top 3 in Industry” I... [Read More] The post The Writing Job I Didn’t Know I Wanted appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

You are so gorgeous. The words hit me quickly, quietly. Panic rose up in my throat even as I kept pushing my cart down the aisle. My heart racing, my anxiety spiking, an adrenaline rush of fear–all in a split second, before my mind could even process. Did that just happen? I immediately started second-guessing... [Read More] The post Sexual Harassment on the Frozen Foods Aisle appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

On the morning of December 2, 2021, Dan and I arrived at Northside Hospital around 5:20am. The hospital didn’t even open its doors until 5:30am. My surgery was scheduled at the earliest possible time that day. We checked in with the receptionist in the first waiting room. After waiting for maybe 5-10 minutes, a woman... [Read More] The post My Small Bowel Resection Story: the Day of Surgery appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease more than 25 years ago, at just 8 years old. While my parents tried to shield me from some of the scarier aspects of living with an Irritable Bowel Disease, I eventually realized that I might need surgery one day. Specifically, I’ve known for almost 20 years that I... [Read More] The post My Small Bowel Resection Story (Prologue) appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

I felt like another brain dump, so here’s my second installment of Whatever Wednesday. Note: post contains Amazon affiliate links, but I’m recommending books I’ve read.  Currently I am… Reading: Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke. Blame my best friend Rachel. She recommended them to me last month. I’ve already finished the first 13 books... [Read More] The post Whatever Wednesday // Volume 2 appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

To celebrate my birthday month, I’ve been rereading the fairy tales I discovered last summer. First I reread the The Four Kingdoms by Melanie Cellier, which I reviewed last year. Then I started on Beyond the Four Kingdoms. I own all of these retold fairy tales on Kindle, and I’m tempted to buy them all... [Read More] The post What I’ve Been Reading Lately // Beyond the Four Kingdoms by Melanie Cellier appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more

May the 4th be with you… Yes, I’m a Star Wars nerd and proud of it. Note: I wrote this post in collaboration with shopDisney. This Star Wars apparel post includes affiliate links. All opinions are my own, but it’s a FACT that Baby Yoda aka The Child aka Grogu is the cutest Star Wars... [Read More] The post Cutest Clothes in the Galaxy // Star Wars Day 2021 appeared first on Belle Brita ..read more