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In 2009, my world shifted. I was working for Microsoft as a celebrity interviewer for MSN. After 14 years with Microsoft and thousands of interviews around the world, I loved my job and my life. It was all perfect. Then it happened. In January, I lost our baby. On May 5, 2009, I was part of the Microsoft Cinco de Mayo layoff. I felt humiliated. I cried. A lot. I was lost.

One day I read this quote by Elizabeth Edwards “She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” I had to adjust my sails or I would continue to sink. I could still create a good, happy, life. I realized that you are not your past. You can change your story.

I started a blog called The Happygirl. I wondered: How do you get happy again? I started with nutrition and then exercise and I found a therapist I trusted who would be my coach. I rediscovered my relationship with God. I learned that when I thought things were falling apart, they were actually falling into place.  I still have anxiety and bad things still happen but I know how to power through now.

Happiness after loss is possible.   Small things can add up to happy moments. Hot apple cider on a fall day can have healing properties. Loving acts of kindness are life affirming. Doing something physical (barre, yoga, running. . .) gets you out of your own head and makes you glow. Setting goals (including stretch goals) for yourself gives you something to focus on. Discovering things that make life easier or more beautiful makes each day a wonder. Traveling can illuminate new possibilities. I learned to be open to healthy options, synchronicity, to saying yes to new situations and to saying no when I needed to establish boundaries, to forgive others and forgive myself.  I learned that happiness is possible, in whatever circumstance you find yourself.

I hope this blog inspires you to create your own happy life. I’d love to hear from you. What makes you happy? Email me anytime at Taylor@thehappygirl.me. Thank you for joining me on this happy adventure.







I’m a Massachusetts girl, who spent her school year with nuns and summers swimming, reading Judy Blume, enjoying the occasional Fluffernutter and riding my bike until the street lights came on. After earning a B.A. in Politics from St. Anselm College, I put law school on the back burner and explored different careers including in-air traffic reporter, publicist, wildlife preserve guide, lifestyle blogger for a global fashion house, celebrity interviewer and most recently, Director of Advancement at my former Catholic high school. I’m married to my favorite person, the man who knows how to make me smile (and who patiently taught me everything I know about technology), Larry Hryb, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson.


I believe that unimaginably good things can happen, even in those moments that seem impossible to fathom that life could ever be anything different. The key to discovering your happy life is believing that happiness is yours, being kind to your body, forgiving past transgressions (including your own), believing in something (be it God, the universe or the goodness in people), being grateful for what you have and doing what you can to be the sunshine in someone else’s life. This is the happy life.




I am very selective about the brands that I align with. I collaborate with companies whose products fit my personal aesthetic or are a natural fit for The Happygirl. Unless an item is marked “Sponsored,” I have purchased the item on my own and have not been compensated. If a company has provided me with a product, the post with be clearly identified as sponsored.

If you represent a company and you would like to partner with The Happygirl, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact our team at HelloHappy@thehappygirl.me.




This site may provide affiliate links to items which means a small commission may be earned by me when you make a purchase via the external vendor. The price a consumer pays in not affected by this.

‘The Happygirl’ is a registered trademark of Taylor Johnson. 

 
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