Diary No. 3
Hey there friends! I don’t do this often but, I am back with another Hello Thoughts post. It’s a gloomy day from where I sit – gray, drizzling, and cold. Too cold for the beginning of April if you ask me. And right now I’m at home all alone. Well, except for our cat, Lola, and puppy, Roxy.
And, while Roxy can get herself into some trouble – chewing on whatever she sees fit – I’m in for a wonderfully quiet afternoon here at home. Just before sitting down at my desk, I ran into Port Jeff for a lobster roll. So, basically this is the Sunday afternoon of my dreams!
A welcome change to the frantic pace life seems to have in store for us over the past/upcoming few months.
In my last Hello Thoughts post, I shared a little bit about our end of summer road trip upstate. How we found a seemingly perfect fixer upper farmhouse. And how we were ready to take the plunge into home ownership, and prep ourselves for a longer stay here in New York.
But, life works in mysterious ways. After contacting a realtor who basically danced around our multiple offers on the property, we took it as a sign that this house was just not for us. So, as of last October, we had our minds geared toward our road trip to Colorado.
A COLORADO STATE OF MIND
Our road trip to Colorado was unexpectedly easy. Which is something I never thought I would say while taking a 30+ hour cross country road trip with a 4 + 7 year old. BUt, they happened to fare better than I did on our first leg. And, I credit their amazing behavior to their tablets, and OnStar’s wireless. Serious lifesaver if you have a road trip planned in the future.
While we had a blast spending the holidays in Colorado with our friends, and planned to make their small town our next destination. A series of events occurred from the end of December through March that made Justin and I change our minds on making Colorado our next stop.
The rising home prices, and low salaries being just the tip of the iceberg on why we ultimately crossed Colorado off of our list. So, it was back to the drawing board for us. Crazy right?
HELLO THOUGHTS | WHERE TO NEXT?
Justin and I have a few states in mind for our next stop – Texas, Tennessee, Missouri – just to name a few. We decided at the end of February to explore one of these states for spring break. And, Texas was our first choice.
An airbnb was booked, and we were virtually house hunting in neighboring towns. We quickly fell in love with the idea that the American dream is still alive + well in Texas. Affordable houses, jobs are plentiful, and community programs that help you meet and establish genuine relationships with your neighbors.
But, we grew disheartened in our virtual home search. Every house (in our area of choice) had multiple offers, and being that we are not local, Justin and I knew that we were not a priority to our realtor. So, on a whim we decided to change our Spring break road trip destination from Texas to Tennessee.
And no, we are not headed to Nashville but, I definitely would like to visit there one day. In just a few short weeks we will be headed to East Tennessee. We cut our travel time in half, which is allowing us more time in our destination. And, as for right now, we are having fun trying to figure out which towns and attractions to visit.
There are definitely a few National Parks I would like to visit during our stay. But, more to come on our destination, and our plans in the upcoming weeks!
1 of 6 deer running through my yard. This one peeped through my kitchen window while I was washing dishes…
AROUND THE WEB
What I’m Reading. I’m not shy about the fact that most of the books I read come directly from our local library. So, if you see a recommendation from me here, that is the first place I think you should check. Lately, I have been reading The Power of Full Engagement. It explores how managing your energy is the key to high performance and personal renewal. I’ll be sharing my takeaways soon right here on the blog.
Hello Thoughts | What I’m Listening To. Music has played a major part in my life. And while I am not opposed to a silent car ride every once in a while, it’s very rare for a day to go by without hearing some of my favorites. If you were invited into our homeschool lessons, you would likely hear classical music on my jambox. When I’m cooking, I either listen to Jazz or music from the country my recipe is inspired from – Italian, Mexican Party Music, Japanese Zen Garden. You get the idea.
A few of my absolute favorite genres are classic rock, and hip hop + RnB. But, lately I’ve been into hip hop instrumentals like this one when I am trying to get my own work done. Listening to the lyrics just gets me in party mode and I totally lose focus.
HELLO THOUGHTS FAVORITES
My Favorite DIY. You need to make this homemade body butter! The girls and I are swooning. A little goes a long way, and you’ll have hydrated, glowing skin. Not to mention the cocoa butter makes you smell like chocolate. This DIY is swiftly replacing our usual lotion of choice.
Latest Amazon Purchase. Candle Wicks. I recently made my own candle! Something I’ve been dying to do for a while now. You would be amazed at how easy it is. And, that’s because there are only two ingredients you need to make a candle of your own. But, I will share more about that soon too. Stay tuned!
My Favorite Essential Oil. This one is for the ladies, ClaryCalm is an essential oil I never run out of. Just a few swipes of this over your abdomen will control those pesky monthly cramps. Trust me, this is a natural remedy you won’t run out of once you experience it for yourself.
