No. 1: August Favorites + Appendectomy

A week of bed rest is a breeding ground for a jam packed email, friends.

Wednesday afternoon, I declared in a conversation with my sister that my thyroid was in a place to commit to HIIT three days a week. I curated the perfect playlist of songs that make me invincible and booked physical therapy to take care of the herniated discs that flare up to level unbearable with more intense exercise. This was it. It was time. 

Thursday evening, O and I had a meeting to discuss spending. We decided that for the rest of Fall, we’d be on a cease-spend to avoid unnecessary spending as much as we can. We’re in the thick of building a home in the most expensive time ever to build a home and it’s time to implement some more balance. Yes, you’re right. Yes, I’m on board. Wallet z i p p e d. This will be great. 

Except Thursday evening, I had already noticed a strange pain I couldn’t place. No nausea, no yuckiness, just pain.

Deep pain.

It was happening about once per hour. “Thaaaats new,” I said to myself. But stomach pain is no stranger of mine. I thought little of it. 

I then thought a little more of it when the pain became less like “huh” and more like “dang.” I moved to the couch because there was no way I’d be able to sleep through what I can only describe as contractions—except in my stomach instead of my uterus— 5 minutes apart and all. 

When I finally declared it morning, after exactly 15 minutes of sleep, O was insistent on sending me to the only urgent care open. I, on the other hand, was reluctant at best. Remember our very fresh conversation about saving, friends? Wanna know what never has been and never will be pinching-penny friendly? Urgent Care. I argued that the pain had settled a bit (it had) and I wasn’t concerned anymore (I was.) But the bill would be gargantuan and he had his first boxing class in months that morning. Plus, I have puzzling stomach symptoms at least once a week. This was silly—I’d be a fool to go. 

O’s response in a nutshell? “I don’t care how much it costs, I don’t care about the boxing class, I don’t care if it’s nothing. You’re goin…to urgent care. (picture the exact cadence and seriousness of Dakota Fanning- “yer workin’…for me”)

Poked. Prodded. “So what brings you in today?” “What’s your pain level?” Repeat three times with three different people for what ever reason without fail every time. “Do you mind lying back?”

“We’re going to have to do bloodwork (no pennies saved) and a CT scan (double no pennies saved) to get to the bottom of this.” I picked up my phone to text O that I was about to be mortified when my bloodwork and the scan came back negative and I’d be the hypochondriac that came in for a stomach ache. The one the nurses laughed at in the break room.

The second I heard the muffled signature chime of a successfully sent text message, the doctor burst through the door with her eyebrows twisted into commas. “Jill, you’re such a bizarre case! You have appendicitis-you need to go straight to surgery!” 

For those of you thinking, “that’s enough reading for my Friday morning- take me to the recommendations,” I’ve got you. Scroll on, friend. For those of you who want the rest of the story- you can continue reading right here. Spoiler: I, much like Madeline, am officially appendixless. Happy September, Happy Labor Day Weekend and Happy First Letter from the gold standard, friend!!!

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one | three | four | six | seven | eight | nine | ten

If you love Post Malone and Return of the Mack as much as I do, listen to this right now. Get ready for all the motivation in the world so have your vacuum and cleaning gloves or sneakers and most secure sports bra ready to GO, folks. And if Whitney and Celine are more your style, he’s got you, too, with this one.

There’s a beautiful new documentary series on Netflix right now called “Untold” on Netflix. I’ve watched (and enjoyed!) a few, but the episode, “Breaking Point” is the one I want to recommend specifically. It tells the story of Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick in the USA Tennis 90’s heyday and ends with a deep look into Mardy’s battle with anxiety that developed as a result. If you struggle with crippling anxiety, it is almost a little painful to watch, but I have recommended it to everyone in my life who walks with someone battling mental health issues.

I'm the type of person who fast-forwards all the gory parts of a show and won’t watch anything scary. I need a thriller story to make me think while still allowing me to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night without being afraid. If you know me, you know the number of things that fit that list is miniscule. I thoroughly enjoyed this book that was described as a thriller. While it had difficult subject matter in parts, I didn’t find it to be “scary” one bit.

In this blog post, I shared that I’d report back on the super fancy sanitizer I ordered and I’m pleased to report that while it’s lovely and pretty and all those things, I still prefer the scent and weight of the sanitizer I shared in the 10 Products I’ll Repurchase Until the End of Time post.

If you’ve been craving a good cry, this video of Wynton Bernard calling his mom the moment he learns he’s made it to the big leagues will fix that in no time. My goodness, I still haven’t recovered.

“God is the only one who can be praised and still remain himself.” The 30 Minutes With the Perry’s Episode titled “Christian Celebrity Culture” is so powerful.

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alpaca cardigan. dress one. dress two. dress three. dress four.

If you’re a fashion lover, chances are, you love Doen. If you’ve loved Doen since launch one years ago like I have, chances also are, you’re in disbelief at how quickly the prices have climbed to the tippity-top of the bracket while the quality remains the same. The quality is and always has been impeccable, the cuts and details are fantastic, but I’m just not a girl who will shell out ball gown cash for a casual dress. Never gonna happen. Here are my picks from the stunning Fall Collection- all under $300. The brand has such star-power than when you’re ready to rotate out a piece you can sell it for essentially the same price you bought it for. That is a great wardrobe investment. These are by no means wardrobe staples, but if you’re in the market these are the items I see as winners.

I’m not currently shopping, but if I were these are the exact pieces I’d add to cart (and quickly- things are selling out like crazy and we all know they don’t come back.)

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Alright friends, that’s going to do it for today! I hope you enjoyed the first edition of the gold standard. I’d love for you to comment your thoughts- a word of encouragement, an appendectomy story, the books you loved this summer- I’m all ears. I just couldn’t be more excited that you chose to read this letter. Whether you’re sipping your coffee and enjoying some quiet moments before you begin your day or scrolling through this as a little break from a day that seems a bit too much to bear—I hope that this brought you a sliver of delight. I’ll see you here next week, same time. Same place.

Happy Friday, friends.