Archives for April 2013

Welcome to AmyJBennett.com

April 8, 2013 by Amy 24 Comments

Welcome to the launch of my new blog home, AmyJBennett.com! I am so excited to have made this jump and so glad you are here!

First, we have a little housekeeping for our new home. Here are some things you’ll want to know:

Everything that was on Permission to Peruse should be moved over here. All links pointing to amyjbennett.com should automatically forward to this site.
If you subscribe in email, you do not need to resubscribe but you will see a new title and a new look.
If you subscribe in RSS, you WILL need to resubscribe to http://feeds.feedblitz.com/amyjbennett. I need to apologize because I thought it would be seamless for you but it’s not.
Like the new Facebook page. I’m most nervous about this since it means I’m starting from scratch. I’ve added incentive (and celebration) for you to go to the page and like it. There is a new tab on the Facebook page that says Giveaway. You have to like the page to see it. Just click there, enter your email and you’ll be entered to win one of FIVE $5 Starbucks gift cards. Share it with your friends—I’m sure you have a few that would like a free cup of coffee!

OK, housekeeping done!

I spent the last year or more wrestling with blogging. After 10 years, I laid it on the table with God and said here, do you want my time elsewhere now? He’s handed it back to me every time I’ve asked.

Given that, in the last 9 months or so I’ve spent a lot of time with several different mentors of sorts which has all led to this leap.

I now have a clear vision of why I’m blogging.

While I have so much to learn, I finally believe that I am a writer.

I’m excited to continue creating community with you.

I feel like God is doing something new and has great plans.

The name and design change are just an outer reflection of what has happened behind the scenes.

Here are some key inputs that have made a difference:

Blog critique by Christin Slade. Christin did a great job giving feedback on how I could improve my design.
The Allume conference absolutely was key in helping me give myself permission to be who I was.
I joined Jeff Goins’ Tribe Writers group last year and learned so much about writing and building a tribe.
I reached out to Anne as a mentor and her input has been vital.
I completed 4 weeks of e-coaching with Holley Gerth and I can’t even begin to tell you how valuable the brand guide and growth plan we produced has been—actually, I do want to tell you about the growth plan this week. Without doubt, her coaching was a turning point. Her books You are Already Amazing and You’re Made for a God-sized Dream are also fantastic resources and would be great for someone who might not be able to do the e-coaching—God totally provided that opportunity for me.
After meeting with Holley, I formed a small Advisory Board of faithful, long-time readers who could come alongside me and help plan. What a difference this has made.
The many, many cups of coffee with friends, blog posts, podcasts and books I’ve consumed that I can’t even begin to list.

If there is one thing I have learned it’s that you can’t be a blogger on your own. You have to have the courage to ask for help and be willing to learn from others.

My biggest hope is what has always been there but is now reflected in the new tagline—that we can share life together and grow alongside one another. I want you to feel like the two of us are sitting down for coffee every day and whether we laugh or cry or just share silly stories that we’re encouraged by one another as friends.

Thank you for showing up.

I think it’s time I reintroduce myself. I’m Amy J. Bennett and the “J” is for Jo.

Don’t forget to resubscribe and enter the giveaway on the Facebook page and I’d love to hear a hello in the comments today! Please do let me know if you encounter any issues while you settle in.

Five Minute Friday: After

April 5, 2013 by Amy 4 Comments

Eleven years and it’s time to say goodbye. We’re on the cusp of before and after of my blogging life. “Before when I was Permission to Peruse,” I’ll say.

I’ll have fond memories. I remember still being on sabennett.com/wp and writing my first post about hating ice in my cup (which I still do hate). I remember clearly brainstorming names, thinking about how it was my journal but I was letting people in. Permission to…to what, I asked myself. Permission to Read My Journal didn’t really resonate.

I’m an alliteration lover so I looked for something that started with P. I settled with “peruse” because I was–giving people permission to peruse my words, my journal, my life. And for eleven years, I extended that permission, choosing to share my words publicly.

And then something happened in this last year.

I’ll be forever grateful for Permission to Peruse because I’ve realized I wasn’t just giving you permission to peruse but also me. Writing here has helped me grow and change and find myself in a lot of ways. It’s time to be that me that I found–to live in the after as Amy J. Bennett.. Thank you for being the biggest part of that. I’ll be forever grateful.

Linking up with Five Minute Friday

PermissiontoPeruse.com — Changes Coming Soon

April 4, 2013 by Amy 11 Comments

REALLY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT WAY DOWN THERE. DON’T SKIP THIS ONE.

image credit

Lexi does not like change. At all.

She didn’t like it when I got an iPhone 4S that was white instead of like my black iPhone 4.

Three months later she still doesn’t like that we rearranged our living room.

Just this month, she started hoarding food in her room because she said she was going to live in her room the rest of her life if we really tore the wall down in the kitchen. Just a few days later, she was happily eating breakfast on our new bar.

Change is hard for some people. And that’s ok.

People like me, on the other hand, usually get pretty excited about change (except when you try to replace the recliner).

We love redecorating a room and do it often.

We never wear the same outfit twice.

We are constantly downloading apps just because we want to try the newest thing.

We try a new way home just to see if it’s faster.

And that’s ok too.

Neither of us are right. We are who we are and we both need each other.

I’m sure both kinds of people read this blog so you’re going to take some news I have differently.

See, the thing is, changes are around the corner for this blog. Big changes.

If you like change, I want you to celebrate with me! You’re probably excited wondering what is going on and want a list of all the changes to see if you approve or disapprove. You’d be ok if I changed the design and RIGHT NOW because that would be FUN.

If you hate change, like Lexi, you’re probably rolling your eyes and saying you don’t like it already. Why do people have to keep changing their blogs?? It’s ok.

Lexi has given me a new dose of compassion for change-haters. I want to give you a big hug right now and tell you I love you, I’m not doing this torture you and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it once we all settle in. Will you at least give it a try?

Here’s what’s coming:

A new blog name
A matching new URL
A new design
A new me with more focus
Lots of the same posts

And it’s coming fast. Next Monday, April 8th I’ll be unveiling a new site. I am so, so excited about it and ready to tell you all that’s been going on behind the scenes.

In the meantime, I have a little sneak peek over at the brand new AmyJBennett.com.

For you change lovers, you can click on over to see if you like it and you change haters can click if you’d like to start preparing yourself.

In all seriousness, I do love you. You have no idea how much I think about you and ways I can serve you through writing. I feel like this is the next right step for this corner of the Internet and I hope you’ll step with me.

I’ll be posting for Five Minute Friday tomorrow as usual and then the blog will probably be wonky for the weekend while we get things moved over. Lord willing on Monday morning, everyone needs to come (or will be redirected) to the new AmyJBennett.com and I’ll start explaining just how all this happened. Squee!

What I Wore Wednesday 04.03.2013

April 3, 2013 by Amy 10 Comments

It’s Wednesday! I share my outfits from the week with The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday.

I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.

NOTE: Pinterest has updated all of their embed code and I don’t have as much control over how the pins are displayed as I previously did. I wish I could make the pictures bigger and get rid of the footers and buttons on each one but I can’t. Apologies! Hopefully Pinterest will get some feedback soon from bloggers and make some updates!

Here’s another work from home day. I went out on a limb with this color combo but was happy to find it in a bracelet I already owned.

I wore this outfit out shopping for Easter dresses on Saturday. My boots are great when we’re walking a lot and the skinnies and shirt couldn’t be more comfortable.

I wore my Easter dress most of the day Sunday but never got a great pictures of it. That’s ok though, because if you read Monday’s post, you’ll know why I like this picture so much.

Squee! I finally got the maxi I wanted at TJ Maxx this weekend. You might remember I almost kept a striped maxi in my first Stitch Fix but couldn’t pull the trigger. I’m glad I didn’t. I got this one I like more for a 3rd of the cost. I wore this working from home and then out to Chuck E. Cheese with the family.

Clearly with all the plants I picked this week, I am READY for Spring and Summer! And seriously, I want a lemon tree or three now.

Question: who has a good source on Pinterest or otherwise for some great summer looks? Were any of you doing WIWW last summer? I really, really need to update my Summer closet this year.

Behind the Easter Picture

April 3, 2013 by Amy Leave a Comment

That picture? If I could frame their childhood, that’s what the print would look like.

We’re all dressed up in clothes that we went shopping for the day before. Even though they were begging me to leave by the end of the 3 hour shopping trip, I loved when Emma would lace her fingers through mine walking through the mall. Or, how Lexi straight up told me my dress was ugly.

I love that even though I didn’t push for it, both of them settled on that same green dress immediately. While I didn’t get patent leather shoes and Easter hats like the little girls in the purple dress in the mall, I still got a little bit of my matching baby girls.

I love Lexi’s long hair and her bare feet because that’s just Lexi, kicking off shoes wherever they land and swinging that hair she says we’re never allowed to cut.

I love that Lexi’s not wearing her jacket like Emma’s because we can’t find it. It’s missing somewhere under a pile of who knows what in our house. Emma’s was rescued late last evening from a friend’s house where she left it Wednesday night.

Emma’s wearing sandals she didn’t wear to church because the sole was coming out of her dress shoes—the same ones from last year. We had to hot glue the soles down 10 minutes before church because they kept coming up and irritating her. I told her she could throw them away if she would just get through Easter with them.

I can see Emma’s new earrings she bought through her hair. She wanted “dangly ones” like a big girl and used her own money to pay for them. Her left ear is getting infected because she says she has a bad habit of twirling it.

I love that I’m wearing a dress that I bought because I love it. I didn’t have to call anyone to see what they thought and I ignored Lexi when she didn’t like it. It’s hard for a people pleaser when you have to look yourself in the mirror in the dressing room and just answer, “What do you think of it?”

I love so much that we’re laughing because Lexi kept running her little fingers up the back of my knee just to aggravate me and make me laugh while Mom was taking a picture. Just. like. her daddy.

Her daddy, might I say, who was off working. I sure do miss him in this picture but that’s the sacrifice we make. The three of us girls find ourselves alone a lot on weekends. I love our girl time and this picture reminds me of those moments.

I want so much for my girls to remember me like this—forgetting hot-glued shoes and lost jackets—and just laughing for no other reason than they wanted me to.

Stitch Fix – Fix #3

April 2, 2013 by Amy 9 Comments

Yahoo! I still LOVE to get my email saying a new fix from Stitch Fix is on the way.

I found my 3rd fix on my porch Friday. I’ll be honest–I had some credit (THANK YOU, FRIENDS) and I really hoped I could take advantage of the 25% deal if you keep all 5 pieces. I’m all about free clothes, friends! But alas, it was not meant to be.

Item #1

I love the print of this dress and the bright, bold pattern. It’s light and airy and would be great for the summer. If I could pull it off (and usually I can’t), I think it’d be great with a belt.

Here’s my possible issue (besides the fact I desperately need a tan): I think it’s too short. I think with some flats, I might feel a bit better.

The style card also suggests wearing it with leggings and I definitely can do that in the Spring and Fall, but then I don’t know if I’m a big fan of that.

Maybe I just need to play dress-up with it a little more before I send it back.

Item #2

This is just a “no” all the way around for me. The top didn’t fit right, the waist line isn’t flattering, the pockets make it bulky and I don’t like that high-low thing going on.

Items #3 and #4

I almost didn’t post these pictures. Both the ankle pants and shirt were in my fix and WOW.SERS. Those pants were TIGHT. It reminded me of mozzarella cheese in casing. Just unroll me and make some pizza. Yikes.

I do have to make note that I’d love to try these pants in a different size. I know I’d wear them all the time if they fit.

The collared shirt is cute. I like the coverage in the back and I think it’d be cute with my jean jacket. The style card also has it tucked in a nude colored skirt which would be great for work. I like the print up close but I’m not loving it far away. This is a definitely possibility though.

Item #5

I like the color of this mint sweater. If I remember correctly, I think I asked for something mint. However, I feel like I’m wearing something out of Emma’s closet. You can see the fit is pretty small and you can’t see the glittery threads. In some ways, it felt juvenile and in others, I felt like it aged me. Scott likes it though so what do I know?

I think the sleeveless top is going to win out as much as I like the idea of the first one.

But wait! There’s more!

My friend JoAnn got her first fix this week and came over one day at lunch for me to help her decide what to keep. I snapped some pictures and thought I’d share. Sorry about the bright! sun! It was noon.

Let’s go clockwise starting in the middle.

Middle: The color and neckline on the coral dress is fabulous but we both wished it had come as a top instead of a dress.

Top right: I liked the black and white sweater but JoAnn felt it dated her and she let it go back.

Bottom right: The print is fun on the black and white dress but the pleats were a no-go.

Bottom left: The floral sleeveless top was super cute but the bust was just too tight.

Top left: I wish I had gotten a better picture of the black cowl shirt on the top left. I think my camera didn’t take a picture from the front like I thought. It looked really, really great and this is the item she kept.

Even though it doesn’t seem like we had many wins, the process is still super fun.

If you want to try it out, I’d love for you to use my referral link…for every person that signs up, you get a $25 credit to use on your next purchase!

Behind the Easter Picture

April 1, 2013 by Amy 16 Comments

That picture? If I could frame their childhood, that’s what the print would look like.

I love Lexi’s long hair and her bare feet because that’s just Lexi, kicking off shoes wherever they land and swinging that hair she says we’re never allowed to cut.

I love so much that we’re laughing because Lexi kept running her little fingers up the back of my knee just to aggravate me and make me laugh while Mom was taking a picture. Just. like. her daddy.

I want so much for my girls to remember me like this—forgetting hot-glued shoes and lost jackets—and just laughing for no other reason than they wanted me to.