A person walking across a wooden bridge in a wooded area during sunset, with tall trees and golden light.

Life happens in the middle.

Welcome to The Beautiful Middle.

Life isn’t lived in the before or the after. It’s lived here- in the messy, beautiful, complicated middle.

This is a place for the stories that happen while we’re still figuring it out. Motherhood. Love. Starting over. Work. Growth. Laughter. Heartbreak. And all the beautifully imperfect moments in between.

A woman with long dark hair wearing sunglasses and a cap with an 'N' patch, smiling, in front of rocky cliffs and the ocean on a sunny day.
A woman with long dark hair wearing sunglasses and a cap with an 'N' patch, smiling, in front of rocky cliffs and the ocean on a sunny day.

Hi, I’m Justine.

I’m a mom of four, a NICU nurse, and a woman learning how to build a life I love in the middle of all the things I never planned for.

I write about motherhood, starting over, relationships, work, growth, and the ridiculous little moments that somehow become stories we remember.

I don’t have it all figured out. That’s kind of the point.

Stories from the Middle

Motherhood, starting over and everything in between.

Close-up of a child's legs and a swing set in a park with green grass and blurred background.

Mom, Watch This!

Apparently childhood requires a full-time audience.

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A cozy bedroom corner with a bed covered in white textured bedding, a decorative pillow, a plant next to the bed, and wall art hanging above.

The Myth of Having It All Together

Turns out, “together” was never the point.

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A woman with long brown hair walking down a forest trail surrounded by green trees, wearing a white dress and black boots.

Mom, You Are So Embarrassing

The devastating realization that your mother is, in fact,

a person.

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A woman with red hair wearing a white dress gazes out a window splattered with rain, standing next to a table with tea cups and a lace tablecloth in a rustic kitchen.

Who I Became

Somewhere in the starting over, I found myself.

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Various plates of breakfast food on a table, including waffles with berries and whipped cream, a salad, a baked egg dish, and drinks like coffee and water.

The Tale of Bacon

Some betrayals happen one crispy strip at a time.

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There’s beauty here, too.

I’m figuring it out as I go- motherhood, work, starting over, and all the beautifully messy parts in between.

A Little About Me
A white mug with the word 'COFFEE' written on it in light gray, placed on a dark wooden table next to an open spiral notebook with lined pages, near a soft light coming from a window.