Brian Joy joins Pure Joy Home. Wow. I never thought I’d be writing this down but here I am. It’s been an amazing couple of months for our family having him around more, my stress level has gone way down, the kids are freaking loving it, and a weight has been lifted for him. I have lots to share with you about how we made this transition but I want to get one thing out loud and clear before I begin.
This is not a post to say, “we quit our jobs, are moving to an island, and are following our dreams, see ya!”. This has been YEARS in the making, a crap ton of financial planning, and like all things, we do not know how long we will be able to take advantage of a time like this. It ultimately came down to, “if not now, when?”.
Brian has a zest for life I’ve never seen in anyone. I knew when I met him that being with him would mean a life of adventure. He loves to travel, ski, play golf, go fishing, an avid sports fan, loves going to games and watching *I mean yelling* at the TV, barbecuing, being with his family and friends, and most importantly, being an amazing father. He gives his ALL to our kids (he just interrupted me to tell me he’s going to get my tire fixed because I ran over a nail, a true gem). This guy can PLAY for hours on end with them, whether it be at the pool, the beach, the backyard, in the playroom, playing school, barbies, you name it, he’ll play it. He loves me, too, lol. Loves a good date night, laying on the beach in peace, getting away for a night, etc… I mean who doesn’t, but he prioritizes it.
His zest for living big like this is so good for me. I tend to be a homebody, I love working, being in my kitchen, and could get used to a nice little routine, and so his adventurous side lights a fire in me and always ends up being FUN! Example, we go skiing. I’m happy as a clam going down my greens and blues, Brian leads me to the top of a double black diamond and although I’m close to having about three heart attacks and nearing death on the way down, he gives me a high five and cheers for me at the end and I’m like, “heck yeah I just did that!!”.
He’s really fun to be around and I never like not being with him. Like for real when he had to travel for work I’d have a pit in my stomach for weeks before he left. Every morning when he left to get on that 7:00 AM train to NYC I was legitimately sad seeing him go and counting down the minutes until he would get home in time to kiss the kids goodnight. It was a long day as many of you moms out there know, and often he was out at night entertaining clients or on the road at various nationwide events.
I’ve been a serial “creative” entrepreneur for 10 years. I’ve done SO.MANY.THINGS. since graduating college staying on top of social media was always a part of it. I had a blog back in 2009, then twitter came out, and pinterest, and eventually instagram. I was always grooming those skills alongside my full time job (which was in HR) and side hustle projects which were having a paperie on Etsy and doing interior styling. Social media as a career was not even a thought in my head in those days.
We had kids, Brian in 2013 and Grace in 2015, and I started to take blogging and instagram a little bit more seriously about 6 months after Grace. I saw a community forming around the things I was sharing and I’ve been fostering that ever since. As this community grew, opportunities started to open up and it has been one heck of a ride. It’s fast-paced, extraordinarily fulfilling for me, and always changing.
Around 2017, we brought on two girls to help me with everything because although it doesn’t look like much from the outside, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Also, bringing on some help enabled me to be more present with my family. Brian was in preschool in the mornings but Grace has been home with me until this year when she went off to preschool. Keeping a semi-clean house, being a mamma, making dinner, laundry, etc… is a full time job in itself! You get it…
Having Brian do all this alongside me as a partner has been nothing short of amazing. He brings so much industry knowledge having built a very successful career in national brand sponsorships and advertising within the media industry, and is my other half. To enter this next chapter was an aspiration we worked very long and hard for. We don’t exactly know where the future of Pure Joy Home will take us, but do any of us? In any aspect of life? For now we will keep on moving on, dreaming up ideas and plans, and enjoying this wild, love-filled adventurous ride.
To quote one of my favorite song lyrics by Little Big Town, “Life is short, love is rare, we all deserve to be happy while we’re here”.
*Thank you to Peter Millar for sponsoring this post.
Peter Millar is one of Brian’s absolute favorite clothing brands, and he was ECSTATIC to represent them in this post! For sizing reference, Brian is 6’3 and weighs approximately 220 lbs. He had full freedom of what to choose for this post and ultimately went with his old faithfuls.
Brian is wearing his favorite type of shirt, a performance polo. He loved this Competition Stripe Stretch Jersey Polo which he loves to wear on and off the golf course. When the weather is cooler, Brian loves these pullovers, and chose this Featherweight Foam Pullover in Navy. Also on Brian are these Ultimate Sateen Five-Pocket pants which are SO soft, in the color, Sand (size 36), and this classic Waxed Braided Belt in Navy. For the ultimate Father’s Day gift, this Peter Millar x Baume watch is amazing! It has such a timeless and classic style that can be passed down to the generations.
You can shop Brian’s entire look below, and be sure to check out their Women’s + Youth line and their father’s day gift guide for more great gift ideas while you’re at it 😘
