So much of mothering is logistical and task oriented. (Schedule dentist appointments: check! Make sure they're eating their vegetables: check! Parental controls on their iPads: check! Order new cleats for soccer: check!) All that stuff is vital, but then there's the other equally vital part: fun! Let's talk about that today
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What are you doing this weekend? My boys are with their dad (sniffle, sniffle), so I'm planning to use the quiet time to finish the first round of edits on my new novel. I'll also probably also go for a run, clean my closet (spring cleaning has morphed into summer cleaning at this point (oops), and spend some time hanging with Brandon and his sweet kids, of course. It's going to be warm in Seattle, yay!
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Are you a glass-half-full, or empty sort of person? I've always skewed toward the "full" (though my parents would probably argue that there were a few questionable teenager years in there, haha). Most of the time, I jump out of bed excited about my books, my day, my kids, my life! And then there are days when
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It's no secret that about five years ago, my life changed in big ways. I wrote a bit about that journey in a series for Glamour, which after writing about and interviewing other people for years, it was scary, exciting, and therapeutic--all at the same time--to write from a personal place. But I'm so glad I did! I hear from women all the time who are facing similar big life changes and looking for advice, encouragement, or just someone to tell them that everything's going to be ok (it will, I promise). I've been wanting to write more on this subject in a more extensive, public way for some time now. So, I've decided to pool my advice, observations, wisdom, experience, encouragement, along with all kinds of confessions--both serious and hilarious. I've lived it all in these past five years--from crying to laughing, barely surviving to thriving. While it felt like my life was falling to pieces back then, I never imagined the beautiful, wild journey in store, or how happy I'd wind up years later in this very moment. I'm excited to share those thoughts, anecdotes and stories here. Will you follow along? OK, so today's topic: For starters, I just want to say that I really do think men are great. In fact, I loooooove men (and my fiancé, Brandon, is my total dream boat). But girls, here's the thing: I think that, in marriage or any longterm relationship, we sometimes fall into roles that can become limiting when (I suppose this is true for men, too, and I by no means want to imply that I or women are victims in any way. No. No way.) These roles we can find ourselves stuck in, well, it's nobody's fault, per se. I think it just happens. For example, I when I found myself suddenly single, with three little boys wanting me to fix their broken remote control cars, in a creaky old house with things breaking right and left, and no man around, at first I kind of
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Guys, do you think that in about 10 years, we'll all regard avocado in the way we do 1980's/90's trends like Canadian-bacon-and-pineapple pizza, bagel bites, or sun-dried tomato pesto paninis? Deep thoughts to ponder this Sunday morning.
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I have no shame about the fact that I loooooove beauty products. I'm constantly switching up my skincare routine, freaking out my boys with the latest and greatest mud mask or wacky skin treatment, haha. But over the years, I've stuck with a few favorite products. In this list, I'm sharing the top six products I cannot live without. Most are old timers (as in, I've been using them for years), but a few are kind of newbies on the scene for me. The list: Dr. Dennis Gross, Alpha Beta Peel Pads: I'm telling you, use these daily and you will see results. Glow, texture, all of it. I use these every night before bed. Skinmedica .25 Retinol: When I turned 35, a friend of mine told me I needed to be using retinol daily. I was like "what is retinol?" Figured out fast that this stuff is the ultimate anti-ager and skin perfecter. It has literally transformed my skin in the years I've been using it. But, be careful that you don't use a strong formulation. I found that anything higher than .25 will make my skin flakey and dry--no good. Also, use only at night as it breaks down in sunlight, which is a total waste of money. Also, I make Brandon wear this stuff every night. Get your guys on board! Isle of Paradise tanning water spray. OMG, where has this been all my life. As a pale girl who has tried EVERY sunless tanner on the market, this new product is the absolute best I've ever found. No streaking. No scent. Just really glowy skin. Word of advice: Mist all over (I even do my face with it), then immediately apply a body moisturizer everywhere to blend it in. Then, wash your hands (and the bottoms of your feet--the other day I forgot and well, the sitch on my feet isn't pretty.) Emminence Clear Skin Probiotic Moisturizer: An esthetician put this on me at a recent facial and I fell in love, love, love with this stuff. It feels so healthy and nourishing and isn't overly oily in any way. A perfect day moisturizer. Kind of pricey, but then again, we only live once, and I believe good skincare is worth every dime. Are you with me, or are you with me? (P.S. I also love a good drugstore find and will be posting a bunch of budget friendly products I love soon.) Oh, and also, Emminence's Facial Recovery Oil is also everything and worth the splurge. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil: This is the facial cleanser of my dreams. It just works. I use it morning and night, and I swear I've had zero breakouts in the year I've used it. You can find it on Amazon and it lasts forever. Tip: Apply to DRY skin. No water. The "Cure" water exfoliating gel: Guys, this is such a weird and bizarre product (from Japan, I think) that I found on some beauty blog years ago, then ordered on Amazon. At first I thought it was a gimmick, and to be honest, I have really no idea what ingredients are in the bottle (it's all in Japanese), but, I'm telling you, the stuff is epic. Clean your face, then, when dry, apply a dime-size amount all around and really rub everywhere (do your lips too!), and the dead skin literally balls up before your eyes. Like, there is NO other exfoliant that gets the dead, icky skin cells off of your face like this. It's kind of magic, and really fun! I use it once a week as any more might be too harsh on my skin. And sometimes I use it on my feet or hands, or in places when I've gotten too crazy with sunless tanners (happens a lot, oops), and it works like an eraser. I don't use any other exfoliators and my pores have never been more clear. Life changing. Honorable mentions go to hyaluronic acid (I use this most nights before retinol) and vitamin C serum of any kind (no need for a pricey brand, just order something simple with good ratings online. I've used this and like it. Reminder: vitamin C in the day, retinol at night. xoxo What are your favorite products? I want to hear!
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Some of you here have been longtime readers of my books and my work for Glamour (hi everyone! And, good heavens, I just saw that when you search my name on the site, I've written something like 4,600 articles and blog posts over the years. I am exhausted just thinking about that right now, ha. I mean, how did I do this? Did I have a clone working at night while I slept. These are blurry years. There was a lot of newborn babies involved.). Anyway, some of you are new here--new to me, my books, my writing, and I wanted to say hi! I love hearing from new readers every day all around the world. It's seriously my favorite part of what I do--hearing from you! I write to authors of books and articles all the time to say hi and tell them when I connect with something because it means so much to me when people take the time to write. So, welcome, everyone, and thank you for stopping by! Things have been a little quiet around here for a while. I took a bit of a break from this blog while I went through some big changes in my personal life, which I will write about more here in the coming months, but I’m BACK, and I have some exciting stuff coming your way. If you'd like to learn a little about me, you might check out my bio (scroll down for the slightly more fun "informal bio"), but to add to that, I decided I'd share some more, real life, less stuffy kind of stuff (stuffy kind of stuff-? My editor would cut that one on sight). With that, here's some stuff about me: I write books. Ten so far, published in a lot of countries (around 30, I think). Pinch me. Sometimes I still wake up and am like, "really? Is this really my career?" I feel very lucky. I'm a boy mama. My boys are presently 11, 9 and 7. If you see me in Seattle, I usually have a herd of little men around me, with the littlest one (age 7) holding onto my purse or skirt hem (he's done this since he learned to walk). I love pink, heels, and all things girly, and while I'm not entirely sure how/why God thought it would be a good idea to shower me with boys, I have to say I love, love, love being a boy mom. Lots more posts on boy-mamahood to come, but I feel, truly and deeply, like the luckiest lady to have been blessed with this tribe of little men. My first love was magazine journalism. After college, my dream was to become a freelance writer, and I hustled it big time to make it a reality. While my career transitioned into writing fiction, I still love magazines and would drop anything if one of my former editors called and asked me to write an essay about, say, my love of jazz, for example. (Friends at Real Simple, are you listening? Also, here's an article I wrote for RS years ago titled "20 Tips to Make Your Wardrobe Last" that I just found online. My Lulu leggings are looking kind of haggard, so I'm going to stop this and re-reread my own advice right now, ha.) I'm obsessed with jazz. Old jazz, new jazz, latin jazz, piano jazz, Bossanova jazz--all jazz (except elevator jazz, which really isn't jazz) makes me insanely happy. Dave Brubeck for me = instant mood lift. At my house, you'll find jazz streaming through the speakers all the time, especially on Sunday mornings, when it's a ritual. I think life is better with wine. Enough said. Dark chocolate makes me sneeze. Totally bizarre but true: I sneeze after the first bite of dark chocolate. Same thing happens to my son, Carson. Genetics, I tell ya! I love love. I'm a total cheeseball, tis true. I cry at weddings. All of them. I ask everyone how they met, fell in love. I eavesdrop on strangers on dates at restaurants. I am eternally fascinated by love. I'm a huge believer in forgiveness, of others and self. Forgiveness comes easier to some than others. I am always grateful that I'm an easy forgiver. I mean, I know, some people deserve what they have coming, but the thing is, friends, holding on to anger is sooooo toxic. Choose forgiveness. I do! And what's harder, I've found, is forgiving yourself. I'm still working on that. I survived divorce, and am stronger in its wake. Divorce sucks. I went through a pretty bad and wacky one, and still struggle with frequent landmines in its aftermath. Basically, when you dismember a family unit with the court system as the surgeon, you're going to have a bunch of wounds, scars, infections and phantom pain. Good analogy, right? That said, five years later, I am happier than ever, stronger than ever, and look at life and people so differently than I did before. Lots more on this subject to come
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Hi readers and friends! Over the last several years, I have been so fortunate to become a #1 selling author in Turkey. The outpouring of love and excitement I have received from Turkish readers has been so amazing and touching. In fact, when I visited Istanbul a few years ago, it was one of the most astonishing moments of my career. I hugged thousands of readers, signed even more books, and left with such a full heart. Of all the countries where I have been fortunate to publish my books (including my own!), I don't think I could find more enthusiastic, big-hearted readers than those in Turkey. From Ankara to Istanbul, please know that I will always be grateful to each and every one of you. And now, Turkish friends, I need your help! I am seeking an intern to help me get better connected with Turkey. Here are the basics: Who should apply? I am seeking a college student (undergraduate or graduate) who is familiar with my novels in Turkey and who is interested in the world of publishing (books, magazines, online media). What sorts of projects/duties are involved? First, this will be fun! We'll have a kick-off call via Skype to get to know each other better, and I'll set you loose! Projects will include light translation work (for marketing materials and social media), feedback on chapters of my new novel, brainstorming about marketing and social media campaigns for Turkish audiences, and more fun stuff. Special skills/areas of expertise preferred: English language proficient, please, and I would love to work with someone who Time commitment: The internship will begin on or around August 1 and extend until December 1; your weekly/weekly time commitment is up to you, most likely around 4-8 hours per week. What's in it for you? While this is not a paid position, there are lots of other perks! You'll have a twice-monthly meeting with me via Skype to discuss the projects we're working on and to ask questions about your own future in publishing! And, I'll also write a lovely letter of recommendation for you for future employers. :) Interested? I hope! The application process is easy. A.) Make sure you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, and B.) send an email to me (sarah@sarahjio.com), with a subject line that reads "Turkish Intern Application" and the answers to these questions. Why do you want to be my first intern in Turkey? What special skills do you have that would make you a good fit for this position? What are your personal career goals and dreams? What exciting things do you hope to accomplish during this internship and what specific ideas do you have to help me improve my presence in Turkey (for example, help me grow my social media following, help me connect with other authors in Turkey, etc.)? Do you have a blog, web site or other online outlet where I can read about you/your work and interests? The application deadline is July 10. I will select three finalists, interview each, then make my selection on or around July 25. I'm so excited to hear from any and all interested applicants!
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Hey guys! I'm kicking off a new series on the blog today in which I'll be sharing my best writing tips for aspiring novelists. Lots more to come here on the subject of writing (and so many more topics!), but for now, your tip: People always ask me how I get my story and character ideas and my answer always boils down to one word: curiosity! Maybe this stems from my long career as a journalist where I was paid to ask questions and go deep, or maybe it's just my natural inclination to learn more, and more, and more. In any case, curiosity has driven all of my novels. And here's how it plays out in my day-to-day life: I'm always listening, observing, and
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Hi all, It's been a while since I've updated this blog, but here I am again, saying hello from beautiful Oslo, Norway, where the temperatures hit the mid seventies today (!). I'm just finishing up the loveliest trip here to promote the Norwegian edition of my new novel, and I'm so grateful for the enthusiasm and warmth from my readers and publishing team in this awesome country. This is my third trip to Norway for book events, and with each visit, I fall in love with this special country all the more. While jet lag has been hard on this trip, it's been my favorite Norwegian experience to date. These past few days have been filled with amazing memories: sold-out reader events, spending time with author colleagues from around the globe (hello, Alyson Richman, Jan-Phillip Sendker, Lucy Dillon and others!), inspiring visits to the Munch Museum and the lookout point over Oslo where Edvard Munch set his iconic painting "The Scream." And, oh! Oh!! For all of my coffee-loving traveling friends, I have a little tidbit for you. Let me preface this by saying
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