Happy Friday, friends!
This has been a week, people. A. Week. The last few weeks have seemed to fly by, but this one crawled along and was filled with stress and more anxiety than I've had in a while. I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend and spending time with family and friends.
I had a bunch of favorites from last weekend that I thought I would start out with, so...on to the faves!
I had a delicious southwest style eggs Benedict last Friday when a few coworkers and I met up with a former coworker for lunch. Those lunches are definitely a favorite. I'm so glad we've all stayed connected. She's currently due with her first child and it's been so fun to talk all things baby with her.
On Saturday, Sammy and I made the rounds to visit a lot of family on his side. His grandfather is back in the hospital--but doing better!--so we paid a quick visit to him before letting him get some rest. We went by his grandma's after that where his parents and uncle were helping her clean the house and go through a lot of her possessions as she's recently sold her home.
We had lunch together and I snagged these Christmas dishes she was getting rid of ;) I think the holly pattern and gold edges are so pretty and the bowls were a unique shape (you can't really tell from the picture). Plus just knowing they're Sammy's grandma's makes them extra special.
For our third visit, we stopped by Sammy's brother and SIL's house to get some baby snuggles in with our niece (whose face I have to constantly place stickers over since her parents don't want her to appear on social media--ha!) and catch up with them. Love spending time just the four (now five!) of us.
After that we made plans to see a movie with Sammy's uncle, aunt, and two younger cousins. We had some time to kill so we got some Jamba Juice (forgot how good those are!) and walked around some stores in the mall next to the movie theatre. We found ourselves trying out couches for a house we don't have. Why are couches so expensive? I just don't understand. We decided our next date is to Ikea where things are considerably cheaper haha.
This view is my very favorite.
We saw Love, Simon and I loved it. Definitely recommend.
Part of why this week has been so stressful is because we've been trying to maintain our sanity throughout this house hunt while also managing regular life stuff. Sammy had an interview this week for a new opportunity at the police department, we have a funeral to attend this weekend and waiting for details on that had been stressful (primarily because we feel so bad for the family), I've been trying to stay on track with my personal training sessions and not stress eat (happy to report that I think I've done really well this week when in weeks past I would have just ordered fries every day for lunch from our cafeteria), practicing driving (always anxiety inducing for me, obviously). Going to therapy last night helped, but I struggled much more this week than I usually do which was a little unsettling.
This house hunt has proven to be more discouraging than we had thought and hoped it would be. I've been dealing almost exclusively with our lender because Sammy works during the part of the day that she's most available to communicate, so it's felt like a lot on my shoulders as I've been providing her with all our financial information, relaying information from her to Sammy, and providing updates to all our parents.
We can't afford nearly what we thought we could (why do banks pre approve you for wayyy more than you can comfortably afford?!) and have switched gears from single family home to townhouse which is a big shift for us. We spent the last two years looking at houses we thought we could afford and that's solidified an image of what we thought our first house would be, so we're spending a little time getting used to the reality of what our first house will actually be. I'm actually digging the townhouse idea much more than I thought I would, so that's been exciting. There were a few on the market we really liked but, per usual, one turned out to be just as expensive as the single family home we loved, loved, loved, so we had to nix it and the other two accepted offers the same day we found them on Redfin.
However, through this, it's been confirmed just how well Sammy and I work together as a team. We stayed positive through the disappointments, Sammy came up with this townhouse plan and had me convinced within ten minutes (and convincing me of things is NOT an easy feat), and now we're looking forward to just seeing what pops up on the market. That realization was a big favorite this week and helped to alleviate some stress.
I saw this meme and couldn't help but laugh because this process has made me feel like there's nothing about my life that's on track (even though realistically I know that's not true haha). Nothing like trying to get approved for a loan to remind you just how much debt you have or how not great your credit score is...
ANYWAY. Enough of that.
Sunday brought more favorites in the form of dog walks, fifty degree temps, and snuggles.
We watched Dr. Strange because I need to get all my Marvel movies in before the next Avengers comes out. I just need to watch Thor: Ragnarok and then I'm good. I didn't love Dr. Strange as much as other Marvel character movies, but it definitely wasn't bad.
On Monday night I made a huge batch of Daily Dose of Pepper's chicken street tacos and I've been eating them all week. They are definitely as good as everyone on Instagram says and the easiest thing I've meal prepped by far (and only 2 WW points each!). Best part is I don't get sick of them which is always my problem when I meal prep big batches of one dish.
I loved Christina's post a few weeks ago about her family's favorite Ikea items. I pinned it immediately so I could reference it when we go to furnish our house. I was surprised by some of the items, like picture frames and glass food containers, because who thinks to go there for those? Genius! She also links to similar items on Amazon which is SO helpful.
I have to mention this book as a major favorite. Since I'm in the children's book business, the incredible John Oliver's A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo selling out in just one hour is big news in our industry. The book is a parody so it's hilarious in that respect, but it has the sweetest message of acceptance, tolerance, friendship, democracy, and love. Hugely important for all humans to read and understand, children being the group who will most easily understand it's message.
All proceeds go to The Trevor Project and AIDS United. The book is also available on Audible where you can hear Jim Parsons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and John Lithgow (among many others) narrating. And if you donate directly to either charity's website, you'll receive a free ebook version.
I immediately ordered my copy and anxiously await it's arrival as they're currently undergoing a rush printing to fill orders.
Speaking of bunnies... I can't believe next weekend is Easter! I've been calmed a lot this week in the evenings by pinning for a little while before bed and I've been enjoying all the Easter ideas and recipes in my feed. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest (I'm completely obsessed)!
That's all for me this week, guys. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
xo
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