Walking around Wash Park has been one of my favorite pastimes since moving to Denver - it's such a stunning area! // One of my favorite repeated work outfits
I finally got Snapchat again // Waffles from Crema on Larimer street // Absolutely obsessed with Whole Foods' carrot cake!
Another walk around Wash Park // Got a stunning haircut from Layla at Three Cutters - she always makes me feel amazing // When you want to wear your leggings but you also have to look business casual...
I love living in Denver (most of the time) // There's something so satisfying about cleaning up the apartment and then sitting down on the couch to relax // I never get sick of Wash Park, but you're probably sick of it by now, haha
Snapchat selfie when you forget your headphones at home but need to go to the gym... so you head to Walgreens to get a new (and better) pair // I hardly ever wear skirts at work, but I love this outfit // My sleepy, perfect husband 😍
Yes, I am that weirdo who eats Wheat Chex as a snack // J and I had a date night planned and he picked out this cool Mexican restaurant in south Denver... and when we got there, there was an hour wait. Eek! So we ended up having date night at this small, local (and cheap!) Mexican restaurant near our apartment instead. It ended up being a perfect night!
I discovered these crunchy okra at Trader Joe's and I'm totally obsessed! I'm sure they're meant to be eaten on salads or something as a topper, but I love them straight from the bag. // Another walk around Wash Park // Leaving the gym and feeling great!
J and I took a walk around Wash Park and found this strange miner statue... so naturally, we took our best "miner" pictures in front of it // After literally months of trying to sell my headboard and desk, I finally sold them both! It took such a long time, but I was so relieved. We really did want to move them again (they were both massive) and we weren't really using them anyway.
BBC "Pride and Prejudice" while I put away laundry // J and I flew to Hilton Head, South Carolina to see my family and then attend one of my dearest friend's wedding. At the Atlanta airport, we saw Jackson Galaxy from "My Cat From Hell." J actually spotted him and I didn't believe him at first. I thought he was kidding! But it was definitely Jackson Galaxy, haha // My parents got a new puppy! He's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and his name is Dash 💗
I couldn't stop taking photos of Dash, but can you blame me?! // Perfect little baby 💕 // I was craving waffles (thanks to my breakfast at Crema a few weeks back) so my dad whipped some up one morning!
Got a new swimsuit for the beach (which, of course, I never ended up using, haha) // J and I hardly ever get pictures together taken by someone else, so I had to take advantage // My family all went to Spring Wings, a wing-festival, while we were in town! J loves wings, so I've gotten into them over the past few years. I only got slightly burnt, haha.
My dad and Dash! Aren't they the sweetest?! // I love getting to walk on the beach while I'm in town - there's always so much to see, as long as you're paying attention. I don't like seeing all the dead jellyfish, but they're still stunning // Dash fell asleep on me 😭💕
Since there are so many outlet malls in Hilton Head, one of the things I was dying to do while we were in town was go shopping! My mom, grandma, and I went shopping several times while I was there and I got so many new work clothes. I really needed some stuff that was cute and professional, so they were really necessary - as was Starbucks on the way home! // My little brother had to leave and go back to Portland early, so it was just my parents, J, and I by the end of the week // My mom, J, and I babysit for a few hours and it was exhausting.
I love this kid so much 💕 My parents, J, and I went to Savannah for an evening // One of my dearest friends, Hannah, was getting married in Atlanta on April Fools Day, so I brought my Instax along! It took sooo long to get into town because of traffic // Once we got there, it was perfection - J and I stayed in an AirBnb with a bunch of my closest friends
Hannah and Eric at their Rehearsal Dinner - the loveliest people you will ever meet! 💖 // My beautiful friends // It was such a beautiful weekend!
I was in the wedding party, so I chose a grey tulle skirt and a crop top. I had to borrow a pair of my mom's shoes, but they turned out really pretty with the outfit // My friends are so beautiful - inside and out // I can't say enough how lovely the ceremony was - I never cry during weddings (except my own, I guess), and I basically sobbed during theirs. It was so authentic, intentional, and intimate. Once Hannah started crying, I lost it. Her mom had to give me a kleenex when we sat back down, and I did a reading right after Hannah and Eric exchanged vows - so yeah, I was sobbing and had to take a second. Eric said something like, "You got this!" and I managed to read the poem. Yeah - the groom had to give me a pep talk during their ceremony, haha. It would have been embarassing if it wasn't so incredibly sweet.
If their ceremony was intimate, their reception was lit, haha. It was totally full of joy, dancing, margaritas, and abandon. So much joy - and I was so grateful to get to see so many of my dearest friends all weekend
Instead of flowers or boutonnieres, Hannah and Eric gave each person a pin. Mine was (appropriately) from Stay Home Club, haha. I have the shirt that matches this, actually, which Hannah didn't know and which made it so much funnier! I'm an extrovert, but I looove staying home in the evenings, so this was absolutely perfect for me // My parents, J, and I went to breakfast while we were still in Atlanta. I had two bites of my fried chicken eggs benedict when I realized I misread our flight time: it was two hours earlier than I thought! Ahhhh! We had to leave breakfast right away in order to make it to the airport. We still made it just around two hours early, but it was a really stressful way to start our day and it was totally my fault. Those two bites of fried chicken were still the best two bites of fried chicken ever // Back to work on Monday!
The packing couldn't stop once we were home - J and I signed a lease on a new apartment for mid-April, so we had to be extra productive durign the work week. If you look closely, you can see Leif's eyes peeking out of the box! 😂 // On Thursday evening, J had to drive me to the airport to fly to Des Moines that coming weekend. No rest! Of course, my flight was delayed just enough that I would miss my connecting flight to Des Moines, so J and I stood in line for an hour while I prepared to be rebooked // I got a new flight that was a few hours later than my original, but flew directly to Des Moines! I spent a long time walking around the Denver airport, getting coffee, and snacks
Finally in Des Moines for the Iowa Interfaith Exchange! // My mom suggested we get ice cream at VanDee's, the local ice cream shop in my hometown and I was all for it! I always get a chocolate chip cookie dough "blitz" with extra cookie dough. 😊
I spoke with two other panelists at the Iowa Interfaith Exchange on Saturday! // Flew out the next morning, but not before meeting up with my friend Dylan and his mom for breakfast at Mullet's, my favorite breakfast spot in Des Moines! // J had to work on Sunday, so instead of taking a cab home, I opted to try the train for the first time. I loved it! Super affordable and it totally took me back to using the Tube when I lived in London. Public transport is the best, folks!
Finally back in Denver, but of course I got super sick right away // We finally got J's car sold! It took sooo long. It was a bittersweet day, because he's had the car since 2011 and it's helped him through two moves across the country // My dad let me have the waffle maker since they basically never use it, so I made protein waffles! It's actually this same recipe (adapted from the Tone It Up recipe), only in a waffle maker.
We were set to move to our new apartment the weekend after I got back, so I had to pack during every spare minute. Eek! // Even though I was still super sick, I had to go back to work. Being a grown up! // On Friday, I managed to drive this monster truck to our apartment without incident and even back it into my spot! Because J worked on Saturday afternoon, we had to get the truck packed with all the major furniture and as many of the boxes as possible on Friday night so we could actually move early on Saturday morning... which meant yo girl (who was still really sick) and J had to come load a truck full of all their earthly belongings on a Friday night after working all day. Yikes.
We got all the big furniture loaded first and we moved a bunch of the smaller items into the living room for loading and easy access. We finally finished around 9PM, and I've never been so miserable or exhausted. If you can help it, don't move while you can't breathe. It's hard. // J and I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to drive the car to our new apartment to start unloading. It was so much easier to unload than to load, and we got it done about 2 hours faster, haha! // Our new complex left us two plastic color-changing ups, sunglasses, and a t-shirt! The cups were especially useful, since we hadn't packed up most of the kitchen and didn't have any glasses at the new place yet, haha.
Finally in our new place!!! // Since J's my tech guy, he wanted to get the tv and all the gear unloaded and set up before he went to work. Unfortunately, even though our Comcast service was supposed to be set up at the new apartment, it definitely wasn't working... So I spent most of the day dealing with that while I tried to unpack and take more loads of boxes from the old apartment to the new one // After two more loads, I was wiped! I spent the rest of the weekend alternating between taking trips back and forth and actually putting things away at our new apartment.
Since our new apartment is so close to my office, I get to walk to work now! // My gym is also ridiculously close to our new place - only a few blocks! I love getting to walk to and from the gym 😍 // Sometimes you need to give yourself a pep talk - you are smart, you are loved, and you are worthy of respect!
In the evenings and especially on the following weekend, I did my best to keep making trips back and forth and keep cleaning the old apartment. I managed to trap the Roomba inside the bedroom so it could do a lot of the work // It felt like we were never going to be done moving! // On one of the last moves, I took apart our IKEA bookshelf and put it back together again at our new place. It really helped because we needed the space!
One of the best perks of J's job is that he gets free tickets to see bands all the time! A few weeks ago, we got to see Tim Kasher perform and I was so excited! J introduced me to one of Tim Kasher's bands, Cursive, when we first started dating and they've become one of my favorites! // Date night with bae!
Tim Kasher was everything I had hoped for and more! // My bestie, Liz, came into town for a day or so and we had dinner with our husbands. I love this girl so much and it was a joy to see her! // J and I needed to turn in our keys to our old apartment, but the leasing office wasn't open until later... so we decided to take one last trip to the old apartment and spend thirty minutes or so relaxing on the floor of our bedroom. It was actually a beautiful way to start the morning AND to say goodbye to our old place.
I loved my outfit for work! It's one of the outfits I got (mixed and matched, of course) from my shopping excursion in Hilton Head over vacation, and I just love it. It's so hard to find cute stuff that feels feminine, strong, and professional. // I was craving nachos, so I bought all the supplies at the grocery store, made salsa (with my homemade pickled jalapenos), and cooked up some nachos! J made his own, but I thought mine looked amazing. 😍 // For the first time, I cleaned up the bedroom! We had so many boxes and clothes all around the room in various suitcases. It took me more than an hour, but I put everything away. It made such a huge difference for the room. It's really big as-is, and I'm not quote sure what to do with the space... except enjoy it, haha?
Lately, I've found it so difficult to get up in the mornings. It's been weirdly easier this week, when I've gotten up at 5:30 every day, but for the majority of this winter and spring, I've just been exhausted. Maybe it's been anxiety, laziness, a lack of motivation, but I just haven't been able to get up. But can you blame me when it's so comfy, haha? // I really feel like I'm getting into a good style groove when it comes to work clothes!
I got dinner and drinks with my friend Alicia on Thursday. I suggested this Irish pub in town (I've been feeling particularly nostolgic for Europe lately) and I'm so glad I did! They had killer happy hour specials, their burgers were half off (and not pricy to begin with), and I got to drink Magners with some really great company. I had dinner with another friend, Kaitlin, on Friday. We had planned on going to this local Mexican restaurant, not remembering that it would be Cinco de Mayo. // I've been killing my workouts lately!
Sorry for my temporary absence, gang! Sometimes it's really difficult to be a professional AND have an internet presence... even if it's not a blog. I'm trying hard to figure out what the balance is between doing two things I love: blogging/social media, and being an attorney, especially when so many people don't appreciate the huge benefits that can come from an internet presence and engaging on social media. It's something that's difficult to balance right now, but I'm feeling inspired and willing to put in the time to do this right.
I'm currently on the hunt for a new job, and it's made me think a lot about who I am and what I want. I'm an emotional, enthusiastic empath; so how does that relate to any job I have? Any position I take? What am I willing to do? What do I want to do? And how far am I willing to try to hide who I am to get a job I want? And more importantly, would the right job want me to hide who I am?
It's not that my blog is a fundamental part of who I am; it's that I like it. And I don't want to give up the things that I like just for a job, although, you know, I also want to pay rent and eat. Temporarily getting rid of my blog was the right choice at the time, but I'm tired of hiding who I am. I'm tired of worrying about what people will "find" about me on the internet, because I am who I am, and I'm proud of myself and what I've accomplished. I'm proud of my vulnerable spirit and my capacity to forgive and my compassion for other people. I'm proud of going to the gym even when I don't want to, or how hard J and I worked to move everything from one apartment to another, or how much I've used this blogging outlet to connect with other people, even when its opened me up to judgment. And I don't want to give this up in order to be "liked" a little more... so I won't. 💕
How do you balance your "professional" life with your "personal" life? Do you think having an internet presence is helpful or harmful? Do you have any areas of town you keep visiting over and over again?
No comments:
Post a Comment