I’m excited to be reintroducing my blog! Not only does it have a new look and layout, but I have spent some time learning more about blogging and photography so I can create content to keep you coming back! 

I hope this post finds you and yours healthy and happy. This has been such an unprecedented year; one for the history books, for sure.

Seems like I had just written a blog post about the excitement of 2020. I remember a time when I was looking forward to this new year, and anticipating all kinds of new events and programs to implement for work, places to travel with Chris, and all of the time we would be spending with friends and family. We had such a fun New Year’s Eve in Grapevine… so much hope for the new year…

We planned on buying a house.
Chris was going to get a new truck. 
We were going to celebrate our first wedding anniversary somewhere under a palm tree.

Then March happened. 

At first, there was a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what exactly was going on in the world, not truly knowing what we were up against. Now, months later, we have an idea of what we’re up against, but there is still so much uncertainty.

Being furloughed from work for four months was, surprisingly, a time for me to reflect, relax, get my heath/stress back in order. Did I miss working and all of my co-workers? Absolutely. Did I thoroughly enjoy waking up whenever I wanted? You bet. But a large part of me felt so guilty. So many people were without jobs with no prospect of money coming in, or there were healthcare workers whose job only got more difficult and stressful. It was (and still is, to a degree) such a weird time. We just took it day by day, and that’s all we could do. 

We’re now halfway through August, and every fiber of my being is grateful that I have been able to return to work, see my co-workers, and return to some sort of normalcy. And I never thought I’d say it – I has missed my morning commute to de-stress, think, and enjoy a giant travel mug of coffee. (Ask me again how much I still enjoy the commute once traffic picks back up, ha!) 

During our quarantine, there was a LOT of cleaning and reorganizing our home, trying new recipes and meals, taste testing all types of wines and craft beer, card and board games, plenty of playtime with Ellie (who probably wondered if we were ever leaving the house again), art projects, Zoom game nights and trivia nights with friends, and SO much Netflix and Hulu.

I’m still going strong with my New Year’s Resolution of “A Book a Month!” Check out the one’s I’ve finished since quarantine began…

June’s book

May’s book

May’s book #2

May’s book #3

April’s book

July’s book

Shows & Movies
Here are just a few of the shows or movies that kept us occupied

Favorite Beer & Wines
(& we tried a BUNCH… and we have photo evidence of one of the trips to Total Wine & More) 🙂

Beer – Just a few of our faves!

Unlawful Brewing – Plano

Shiner – Shiner, TX

Saint Arnold – Houston

Boulevard Brewing Co. – Kansas City

True Vine Brewing – Tyler, TX

Armadillo Ale Works – Denton, TX

Breckenridge Brewing – Colorado

Lagunitas – California & Illinois

Alesmith – San Diego, CA

Wine – There’s not many wines that we don’t like…

Lastly, here are some photos from the last few months – A couple of roadtrips, a family wedding, and getting out and about not too far from home – You can hover over/click on each photo to see the caption 

Floating the Comal

The Lamar Wedding

Louisiana State Line

We made it to Mississippi!

Before dinner in San Antonio (right before all of the rioting began…)

We bought a small palm tree!

Sailing S/V Verano from League City to Galveston

Ellie living her best life

My loves

Humble brag: I caught more fish than anyone

4th of July

We got to see Mom on her birthday!

Our Easter Ellie

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes from First Watch- BEST pancakes I’ve ever had

Pineapple Ellie on National Pineapple Day

Mermaid quarantine hair

Playdate with Ellie’s bestie, Darci

My MS flared up, and Ellie didn’t leave my side

Surprise drinks with Amanda

Ellie’s version of “working from home”

Our first meal out in public in months

Stumbled upon an Art District in Fort Worth

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to not take any day that we have for granted. Remember days that we could just go anywhere, not having to worry about masks, hand sanitizer, standing too close to someone, and even just hugging our loved ones? I can’t wait to get back to those times. My heart aches to get back to normal.

I spent some of the time during my furlough/quarantine thinking about what I’d do next with my blog. I’ve come up with some exciting stuff, and I’m thrilled to bring my blog back… on a regular basis this time! I’ve got two amazing digital cameras, and although I’ve always had an eye for photography and truly loved taking photos, I never truly learned about the mechanics and all of the capabilities of cameras, so I’ve begun my studying, hands-on learning, and growing my knowledge on photography. I’ve also been making videos from photos and video clips from past trips; mine and Ashton’s trip to the British Virgin Islands, the infamous Bachelor/Bachelorette weekend in Vegas, and most recently, our honeymoon video (dropping SOON!)

Recently, Chris and I got to enjoy a photo pop-up in Dallas called Museum of Memories, which was jam-packed full of Instagram-worthy backdrops and scenes, which were mostly 90’s themed. Totally cool. So, be sure and subscribe so you won’t miss out on my next post with all of the fun photos from that day!

Until next week, y’all have a great weekend… Happy Friday!