I Worked Out with Princess Anna and You Can, Too

As many of you know, I’ve prioritized exercise this past year. Working out isn’t my favorite thing, but I want to be healthy for myself and my kids and so I can live the life I want to live. I have three kids five and under. If I’m going to be the mom I want to be, I have to keep my energy up!

Now, I really thrive when I stick to pretty strict routines. I can feel a difference if I miss even a few days of working out. When I went to Disney for eight days with Stella, I didn’t plan ahead for exercising, and even though we walked around nine miles a day, I could feel the difference. So, in January when I went to LA for the Florabundance Design Days conference, I knew I had to have work-out plan so that I could stick to my schedule and not miss any gym time!

How I Add a Month to My Year

Before I had Stella, when it was just Brian and me, I would wake up at 5 am every day. I’m one of those rare introverted extroverts: when I’m on, I’m totally on, but I need time to myself to re-energize and recharge. I loved having time all to myself, before Brian was up, to prepare for my day.

Then I had Stella. After being up all night with a baby, the last thing I wanted to do was wake up at 5 am. Shortly after, I had the boys. Same thing. Somehow, five years have passed since I regularly woke up at 5 am. And I miss it.

Let’s say the average person wakes up at 7am everyday.

Your Sensitivity is Not a Sign of Weakness

I remember around this time last year, having dinner with a friend and somehow the topic of sensitivity came up and I said, "I'm sensitive."

Her response was, "That's really good that you recognize that and are able to admit that. Now you can work on it."

Her words were meant to be encouraging and I know they came from a place of love. The truth is I'm grateful that I feel things so deeply. I believe that feeling deeply allows for great inward focus, which has helped tremendously in growing my business. I also think it allows me to be more aware of what others are experiencing, which comes in super handy when planning a wedding. The truth is I don't view it as something I need to work on, but rather a strength.

Zeke is my little sweetheart

He gives the best hugs. He even pats you on the back as he hugs you tight. It's the sweetest thing. Home is his favorite place to be. Everyday when he comes home from school, he says, "Mommy, I want to put on my pajamas."

PersonalJessica ZimmermanDecember 14, 2018family, jessica zimmerman, jessica zimmerman family, motherhoodComment

It's ok to lose followers

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about my marriage and wedding anniversary. I received around 40 direct messages saying something along the lines of, "I can't believe you would lose followers over this."

Marriage is hard

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. We dated five years before we married. We've officially been with one another half our lives. Warning: This is not going to be one of those sweet and sappy anniversary posts.

To be honest, this past year has been the hardest year of marriage we've had. In almost every way, our roles switched. Something neither of us asked for or were prepared for. We struggled to navigate our new normal.

How I get more joy and less stress out of my kids’ birthday parties

I’ve only been doing kid birthday parties for four years, but it only took me two years to figure this thing out. Here’s what I do to make sure I actually get to be present during the parties – you know, like actually talk to the people there, watch my kids as they blow out their candles with my actual eyes and not through the viewfinder on my phone – and have zero clean up when the party's over.

My role in our flipping business

If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve probably noticed on my Insta stories I share behind the scenes of our house flipping projects. Every time I post something about it, I get messages asking me about my role in this business.

I’m going to share with you before and afters of our second flip house we completed in November and share with you our roles.

PersonalJessica ZimmermanMarch 16, 2018 Comment

I put on the Swimsuit

I am a travel junkie at heart. I am one of those people who would totally take my kids out of school for a year and travel the world. Maybe one day I will! A lot of our traveling the past couple of years, especially with three little ones, has felt more like trips than vacations. Seaside, Florida is that one place where we go every year that actually feels like a vacation. We rent a beach house for a week and we have zero problem unplugging. We go about the day with no real schedule. We go for bike rides, swim in the pool, and play by the beach. Everything is in walking distance. We eat good food and each day the kids pick a treat, either a snow cone, ice cream, or something from the local candy shop.

How We Started Flipping Houses

Before I share with you this story, I want to thank my husband, Brian, for giving me his blessing to share it with you. He is the best human being I've ever met and allowing me to share part of his story in hopes that it might help someone else just adds to the very long list of why I love him. My husband Brian worked as a financial advisor for years. It was a stressful job to say the least. After our twin boys were born, Brian began to get very sick. We were in and out of the hospital with him four different times ...

PersonalJessica ZimmermanJuly 3, 2017 Comments

The most important thing I do for my kids every day

Brian and I were married eight years before we had kids. During those years I would go through Ina Garten’s cookbooks, page by page, and cook a new recipe each night for dinner. I love to cook. There is something about taking ingredients and making them into a delicious meal that just makes me happy. Brian and I always ate our dinner at the table together. This is where we would really talk about our day or dream about our next vacation. Fast forward to today and life's a little more full! Driving three ...

Making the Most of 18 Summers

This past weekend, we went bowling with some friends. One of them said to me, “you know my daughter’s four and we only have 14 summers left with her and it really hit me the other day that we need to make time to create some memories. We need to plan a little vacation. I mean, 14, that’s not many.” I couldn’t agree more! Brian says out loud almost every week “the days are long, but the years are short” mainly to remind us that even though we are exhausted and ready to put the kids to bed and ...