Hey there! Thanks for visiting! My name is Jess and I’d love to share a little bit about myself and why I created Pinecone Papers. I live with a chronic autoimmune disease called Lupus, which turned my life upside-down in 2010. Since then, I have learned a lot about being more mindful, using positivity to get the most joy out of daily life, and tracking and reflecting in my planner to help with self-care. I’m always exploring and learning – and I hope you’ll follow along!
Pinecone Papers is where I share how planning and journaling has helped me:
- track my symptoms and flares
- process information about my treatments/ therapies
- explore ways to positively cope with my struggles
- reflect on life, stay mindful and slow down
- find more happiness within myself
- plan some really great days ahead!
Within my blog you’ll find a mix of methods and ideas for planning and journaling for self-care and health tracking, along with articles about living with a chronic or invisible illness. I hope to help you find ways to reflect on what’s working in your life, and where you might take positive baby steps toward becoming mindful, coping with set backs and finding more happiness.
I’m not a mental health professional or doctor — I’m just one of the millions of people living with an invisible illness who hopes any small tip or idea I share might lift you in some way! ♥
What I Love
I’m a mom to three incredible sons and wife to an amazing husband of 25 years. We live in northwest Montana, surrounded by mountains, forests and lakes. I’m one of those people who have too many passions and not enough time for all of them! I love photography, crocheting, gaming, birding, camping and reading. I adore learning new things!
I am incredibly passionate about helping people and this is what really gives me the most joy. I’ve been lucky enough to have had a wide variety of experiences, such as volunteering as a year-long art teacher for 4th graders, editing and writing for a national pregnancy magazine and website, facilitating a chronic illness support group, and supporting parents as a birth and postpartum doula.
Currently I’m working as a Customer Advocate at Buffer, where I help our customers and work with the most amazing, kind and creative people I’ve ever met.
What Guides Pinecone Papers
Here are some things you should know about me because these philosophies and quirky traits drive my blog. 🙂
- I’m actively squashing my perfectionism so I can finish what I’ve started and move more quickly on projects. My latest mantra is, “Polishing is really procrastination.”
- I believe in giving credit where credit is due. If I ever link to a product, a design, a method, or anything else that I did not create — I will give credit. I deeply respect other people’s work and art.
- I give myself permission to step back during lupus flares in order to rest and recover. This means I work doubly hard when I’m in remission to make sure my work is the best it can be!
- I’m deeply empathetic and always thinking of how my content might affect you. That’s why I try to keep positivity and gratefulness at the front of everything I write and I hope my posts leave you feeling warm and inspired.
- I only review and promote what I use. You may find affiliate links and products throughout the site. These will always be of products I personally use, recommend and love. See my disclosures.
- I believe creativity is within all of us, and that by channeling it, we learn about ourselves. There are a lot of artistic planners, journals and bullet journals out there. Your journal pages may not look like anyone else’s — and that’s great! Let yourself make mistakes, find your own style, and let yourself flow into your pages. I’ll always encourage you to find your own way, while also giving you resources to learn new skills if they help.
- I love to connect with people and hear their story, and I love learning about other perspectives and experiences. Please understand that it may take me time to get back to you (full-time job + full-time mom & wife + side hustle + chronic illness = a lot!), but I strive to reply to each and every one of you!
If you’ve made it this far, I’m so grateful you’ve taken the time to read about me and my little blog. I’m so happy you’re here!