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Now is the Start

August 20, 2015

I’ve been putting this off for far too long now. It’s been well over two years ago that, in the midst of a breakdown over something so silly I can’t even recall what it was today, I first said to Jeremy, “I want to start my own blog. I need to do it. I’m going to do it” with the intention of diving in just days or weeks later.

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I wish I could offer up an excuse better than, Life got in the way or I’ve just been so busy or The time was never quite right and feel better about procrastinating for as long as I have, but the truth of the matter is this: I got scared.

Every time I started to make some kind of forward momentum, those pesky, detrimental thoughts crept in. What if no one reads it? What if people get bored? What if I get bored? What if I can’t stick with it long enough or make it beautiful and meaningful enough and what happens if I fail?

Only just recently did I realize that it doesn’t matter. None of it. The whole point of saying, “I want to start my own blog. I need to do it. I’m going to do it,” those many, many moons ago – though I certainly didn’t realize it then – wasn’t first and foremost for everyone else. It was for me.

Life had begun rushing by so quickly after college, and had become so routine, that I was missing out on – or forgetting – the little (and even sometimes even very big) moments that make it so worth living. I was caught up in the stresses and monotony that often come with being an adult. I wanted to document those events and those days and those weeks – good and bad – so that I could reflect back and relish in the bits that mattered whenever I felt the need, and laugh at the ridiculousness of getting so frazzled and jaded by the dumb stuff.

And now, here it is. The start of something I’ve desperately needed to do. I’m feeling awfully good about it. So, hello. Welcome. Join along if you’d like, and if you not, that’s okay, too. I’ll just keep on keepin’ on the best that I can.

xo, Aly

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Aly + Jeremy Tagged: About Us

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Hi! We’re Aly & Jeremy, a wife and husband based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We use this space to share about our adventures at home, around the world, and in life.

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Life Lately

alyhess

I never could’ve imagined the kind of duality 20 I never could’ve imagined the kind of duality 2025 would hold. The highest highs braided in tightly with the deepest lows.

A year of celebrating friendships old and new, engagements and weddings, pregnancies and births, and quiet personal wins—while also learning how to carry the still-fresh grief of my dad’s death, mourning a friend lost to suicide, navigating major shifts at work, and relentlessly advocating for long-unanswered health questions.

I juggled new side projects and passions while spending countless hours closing an estate. In April, I took a whirlwind trip to Waco to see family and rerouted to Vegas instead of home at the last minute for a work conference. And in August, found myself alone in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains (except for the night a bear came knocking).

Hosted a few gatherings. Baked many cakes. Took tons of photos. Got back into reading. Grew a garden. Gave extra snuggles to a newly, nearly-toothless Rosie. Learned how to stop taking myself so seriously. Forgot how to sleep.

I’ve never cried more. Never laughed more. Never been so social, yet so isolated.

It was a year of progress and growth—and also of bone-deep exhaustion. A year that tested my limits in every direction.

But we made it.

And I’m endlessly grateful for the friends and family who met me with patience, kindness, and unwavering love along the way. As someone who tends to disappear to rebuild and recover, the time spent with you was just as healing, and what got me through.

Every favorite memory from 2025 lives here—rooted in the people I love—and I can’t wait to make even more with y’all in 2026. 🫶🏼
Happy Christmas Eve, friends! As I spent the last Happy Christmas Eve, friends!

As I spent the last couple days baking holiday treats with only my thoughts as a soundtrack, I reflected a lot on how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many incredible people in my life—and how grateful I am to have been invited into so many meaningful moments in yours.

This year was full in the very best way: engagements and weddings, babies and promotions, anniversaries and sweet sixteens, graduations, big moves, bold leaps, new beginnings. Being trusted to bake the treats, capture the photos, and help plan the celebrations for these chapters is something I never take lightly. It’s an honor beyond words, and I’m endlessly grateful for it.

And if your greatest accomplishment this year was simply making it through—please know I see you, and I’m celebrating you, too. Some of the most life-changing seasons are the quiet ones. The heavy ones. The years that stretch us, soften us, and ask us to begin again. I’m always here for those chapters, too… whether that’s sitting with a listening ear or in shared silence, or supporting you from afar.

Wishing you all a gentle, joyful holiday season and a year ahead filled with exactly what you need. Thanks for being here. 🤍
December’s been a blur—as has the entirety of December’s been a blur—as has the entirety of 2025. Slowing down a bit to soak up what’s left of the holiday season and reflect on the past year. I hope you’re able to do some of the same, friends. 🕯️ 

#cottagechristmas #holidaydecor #christmasathome #dachshund #rosiepoesy
“In this autumn town where the leaves can fall O “In this autumn town where the leaves can fall
On either side of the garden wall
We laugh all night to keep the embers blowing

Some are leaping free from their moving cars
Stacking stones ‘round their broken hearts
Waving down any wind that might come blowing

Mice move out when the field is cut
Serpents curl when the sun comes up
Songbirds only end up where they’re going

Some get rain and some get snow
Some want love and some want gold
I just want to see you in the morning” 🍂

#ironandwine #november #wanderfolk #peoplescreatives #indiana
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Who is behind Beard & Bloom? Hello! We're Aly Hess and Jeremy Weiks, a wife and husband living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with our sweet miniature dachshund, Rosie.

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