Blogging authentically.

It’s a cold, blustery day here in southern Minnesota! We had a 2-hour late start for school yesterday and this morning, my husband and I were all ready to be out the door by 7:00 am when we received the call: school was cancelled today as well! So, we unashamedly took our coffee back to bed with us for a slower “re-start” to our day. 🙂

I just love these days because they mean quiet, meaningful time with my husband – without our usual rushing about or conversations about things like warming up the car or getting the recycling outside. Woo hoo! 😉

It’s a glasses day for sure! While flopping in bed, I watched an awesome documentary (more about that in a sec) which brought a whole new level of inspiration to the day! Now I’ve got homemade bread in the oven (recipe here on Today Is My Favorite), the whole house is cozy and warm and smells like bread, and I’m settling back in with my thoughts.

I first heard about the documentary American Blogger this summer. It was filmed by the husband of one of my favorite bloggers (Casey Leigh Wiegand) and I finally decided to make the purchase to watch the documentary online! I’m so glad I did.

 I loved every second of the film because of its raw, honest vibe and, of course, the inspiring bloggers Chris interviewed! What a beautiful reminder of the importance of sharing our lives – the human experience – with each other. And that’s what I want to take away from it – EACH of us can be storytellers, sharing our own life with the world! The bloggers in the film also emphasized the fact that their lives are not perfect. Surprise, surprise – no one’s life is. 🙂

The behind-the-scenes and everyday shots shown in “American Blogger” were one of my favorite parts of the documentary, simply because it was refreshing to see that all bloggers – regardless of their seemingly perfect lives – are real people with real struggles and joys and ups and downs. I finished this film feeling genuinely connected to the blogging community as a whole, and most of all, it left me feeling even more inspired to share an authentic portrayal of our life.

Because, while there’s this in front of the camera (the Rustic Spiced Pear Galette was one of my favorite posts from 2014):

You should know that THIS is the kind of stuff that’s going on behind! (Am I right, friends?! Haha.)

In the spirit of authenticity, I want to put it out there that I desire to share “more of the mess” on this blog. While it is so fun to stage the perfect photo and work on improving my photography, and while I definitely want to keep an uplifting, positive filter on what I post here, I want to join in on this great journey called REAL LIFE with you all! Let’s build a community here where we can not only share recipes or inspirational photos or advice, but where we can share the deep stuff – the rich, raw, real stuff – too.

The human experience is a beautiful thing partly because everyone has a unique story to tell. So, in the future, you can expect to see me striving to give you even more real glimpses of our life here on Just Bee. Thank you, thank you, for reading along and joining us here in this space! 🙂

Click HERE to watch the “American Blogger” trailer!

[ By the way, my favorite avenue for sharing snapshots of everyday life is – you guessed it – Instagram! You can follow me here. 🙂 ]