It feels like decades since I’ve sat down to write, reflect, and share anything beyond a quick Instagram post or recipe. The past year brought a lot of big change for me and in true introvert-fashion, I hibernated into myself, not really processing any of it while it was happening, and just muddled through what felt like a busy year. It wasn’t until actually writing about it month by month… Keep Reading
Daily Life
STRANGE TIMES. Life for everyone is getting a little bit weird, scary, and unsettling, but I’ve tried to remain as “calm” as I can. Job security for myself and others feels uncertain and I’m finding myself worrying about losing all that I’ve worked so hard for… which in full disclosure threw me into what felt like a panic attack today. All things considered.. I guess I’m doing pretty good if… Keep Reading
Daily Life
The last three weeks in a nutshell: I officiated my 2nd wedding, turned the ripe age of thirty-one, went hiking through caves, started horseback riding lessons again, came down with a cold, and bought a new(er) car… oh and I’m kicking butt at work! 😉 It felt good to write all of that because I’m constantly feeling like I’m failing. But when I actually step back and look at my… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Photo by Raelyn Ramey Photography I kept feeling like somehow summer passed me by this year, but after writing this post and going through the hundreds of photos I took over the last 3 months, I realize I’ve just been incredibly busy! I actually feel like I really made the most of the free time I did have in between house projects and work. The one thing I was disappointed… Keep Reading
Daily Life
While it may sometimes seem like I’ve fallen off of the face of the Earth, I’m very much alive, kicking, and moving things along as best as I can. April and May seemed to blur together with a 70/30 split between work and family. Chris’s brother, Andrew, moved to Texas at the end of April so we made sure to get a lot of quality time in. Taco nights are… Keep Reading
Daily Life
I’m thinking that I need to up the Daily Life posts to two or three times a month because things have been changing quickly around here! We’re about a month into living in the new house now and I can honestly say that it truly feels like home (and as you see above, Punk feels the same). We had our first family dinner here on Sunday and it was really… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Goodness gracious.. how is it still January?! By this point I thought I would be writing, “I can’t believe it’s March!” but something about this month has just stretched on for an unnecessarily long time. Perhaps sliding my car into a ditch twice, the white knuckle drives home in the snow, and/or that I’m just two weeks away from hopefully/maybe/possibly/ CLOSING ON MY FIRST HOME! I’m waiting to hear back… Keep Reading
Daily Life
We’re a week into 2019 and things are already off to a great start. We took off this past weekend to get out of town and spend some time at a cabin with family and friends. It was a nice way to blow off some steam after a hectic holiday season and there were plenty of good meals, good laughs, and good times shared. The real highlight of the weekend… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Alright it’s the beginning of the end (of the year that is) and I’m ready to end it strong! I don’t know if it’s just the right culmination of stress, anger, energy, and determination, but I have this fire to make things happen right now. I’ve been creating more regular content, reviving my newsletter, and writing out some concrete plans on how to navigate from the life I’m currently living… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Hello November! Last month was full of travels, straight back to a full work schedule, and house shopping. If you followed along on Instagram you saw that I celebrated my 30th birthday in Paris, traveled through to the south of France, and then across Italy. It was my first trip abroad and we packed in A LOT over the course of 3 weeks. Friends and family keep asking me about… Keep Reading
Daily Life
I know the official start of fall isn’t for a few weeks, but in my mind it has already started and I’ll be the first to say BYEEEEE SUMMER! Don’t get me wrong, summer has it’s moments, but when you have a vacation planned for the fall, humidity is not your friend, and you’re basically a vampire and fry up like bacon anytime the sun hits your skin.. you kind… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Summer seems like a season where you get to kick back, work very little, and live a playful, stress-free life. My summer seems to have missed that memo and has been quite the opposite. I’m at one of those annoyingly frustrating, emotionally exhausting plateaus in my life. I don’t want to say it’s a downhill point because I’m generally happy, grateful, and optimistic for a lot of things in my… Keep Reading
Daily Life
I’ve been trying to spend as much time outdoors when the weather allows and Chris surprised me with a little nature date a few weeks ago. We checked out a state park we had never been to before and took Bella The Basset along for the adventure. We walked some trails and then ventured down to the Middle River Ford where you can drive across. I know that’s probably pretty… Keep Reading
Daily Life
I wanted to start the week out with a Daily Life post, not only to catch everyone up on the last several weeks, but to use this to hold myself accountable. I’ve been struggling with finding motivation and energy to focus on creative work, leaving me feeling even more burned out at my fulltime job. I want to get back to one of the very basic reasons of why I… Keep Reading
Daily Life
I think we’ve officially hit the point in winter where we are all ready for it to be over! When you can stay home and snuggle up with your favorite fat cat and a cup of tea it’s not too bad, but the reality is that I’m commuting in it every single day which makes for some white knuckle driving and me saying a lot of, “Oh shit oh shit… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Well Hello 2018 and all the lovely optimism that comes with you.. and all the frustration of changing “17” into “18” every time I write the date. My new year started out with celebrating my mother’s 60th birthday, which is odd to say because I still view her as a beautiful and young soul. And I promise I’m not trying to get daughter brownie points or anything. She’s truly an… Keep Reading
Daily Life
The past few months I’ve felt really guilty about not posting as often as I should. Typically on my days off I would get called in, had a ton of errands to catch up on, or things just wouldn’t go as planned, leaving me with no recipes and no content to share. Over the last few weeks I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting about why I started a… Keep Reading
Daily Life + My Southwest Road Trip
The last two weeks have brought a lot of change (good change), travel, and celebrations. I accepted a promotion at a new store, turned 29, and went on a week long 3,300 mile road trip through the southwest! I kept my birthday low key and spent it at home with my family and boyfriend. Later we went kayaking at sunset (I’d never gone before) and enjoyed a few beers on… Keep Reading
Daily Life
Oh Mylanta! I actually have a day off and a moment to write! I took a few weeks off from the blog at the beginning of this month while I was working extra hours at my full-time job before traveling and then of course a week off to enjoy said travels, so it’s nice to finally play some catch up. So let’s get to it! Any time the seasons change… Keep Reading
Daily Life
We’re in the midst of summer and I find myself wishing it were October already. The stifling heat and humidity have taken away the enjoyment of being outside and spending time in the garden. Even early in the morning I find myself pouring sweat and ready to pass out after just a few minutes of being out there. I blame the Pacific Northwest and their mild summers for making me… Keep Reading
Daily Life + Garden Update
Spring seemed to just come and go with a whirlwind of road trips, concerts, work and garden projects. Things kicked off in April with a vacation to good ole Nashville (which I’ll share a separate post about) and then a few weeks later a quick 24 hours in Chicago. In between my mini-getaways and working I’ve poured the vast majority of my spare time into the huge 100 square foot… Keep Reading
Daily Life
It’s been a little difficult for me to do any personal writing lately because when I do finally have a moment to sit down and process it all, it’s just an intense outpouring of everything all at once. It ends up being a little too raw and personal or the reverse and I find myself “editing” as if everyone is reading it live, so I have to make sure not… Keep Reading
Daily Life
After a five day battle with a nasty cold I’m happy to report that with the help of a steady stream of Dayquil, NyQuil, and Sudafed.. I’m back to good health! The last time I checked in, we were talking about some of the goals that I’m working on for this year, like getting out of debt, horseback riding, and being more active in general so here’s a quick update… Keep Reading
Daily Life + 2017 Goals
After the last “heavy” Daily Life.. it’s time to talk about some of the awesome things finally unfolding in my life, some 2017 goals, and how to tackle them more successfully than last year. A few days after New Years, I filled up a piece of paper with all of the things I would like to accomplish in 2017 in no particular order. I circled 5 of them and wrote out… Keep Reading