five simple things #23
Hello from the weekend! I spent yesterday going to the Farmer’s Market, planning with Mama Bear and celebrating my birthday early with family al fresco at my aunt’s house. Today was filled with chores in the morning and a nap with football playing in the background. It was a lovely weekend and I am going to soak up the remaining hours the best that I can. I hope that your weekend was relaxing and was a good reset for the week to come!
Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash
1. The struggles. I have had this article link for over a year. Fox sent it to me and I left it marked unread as a reminder to actually open the d*** link. Well, I finally took the time to read the article and I feel like I read it at exactly the right time. Within the past three months, I made a completely optional (rather significant) professional transition. I elected to learn a new system, meet new people and completely step outside of a comfort bubble for the past three years. While it has been challenging and exhausting, I feel fulfilled and dare I say happy. The article perfectly articulated what I have been feeling the past several weeks as well as gave me something to reflect on other aspects of my life.
2. Pumpkin Muffins. The start of pumpkin season is a bit of a debate. Some say it begins when Starbucks brings the pumpkin spice latte back to the menu while others follow a strict date of the first day of fall. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle with the start of September. Last weekend I woke up way earlier than expected and needed something to fill the morning hours. I found this Southern Living recipe for pumpkin spice muffins and happened to have all of the ingredients. They came together quickly and are packed with flavor. I am already thinking of my next batch, possibly with a smear of cream cheese frosting.
3. Macarons. As much as I enjoy baking, I never quite feel brave enough to tackle making macarons from scratch. I luckily have found a delicious shop that isn’t a two hour drive like my favorite Cleveland bakery, Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes. The flavor of the month is mint chocolate chip and it is divine- it tastes exactly like the real thing and has actual chips. Now if I can only make them last…
4. Happy Go Curly. I don’t remember when I first started following Ailsa (_happygogurl_) on Instgram but you should immediately follow her. She is a Certified Nurse Midwife and features Women’s Health Wednesday topics. Her energy and spirit truly shine through and she is very interactive with followers. I love seeing her show up on my feed.
Photo by Patrick Kool on Unsplash
5. Underwear. Not many people talk about the most basic of clothing items- underwear. We start off picking our underwear by the cartoon character designs to motivate our toddler selves to be a “big girl.” Not too many years after that we are introduced to granny panties, thongs, hip huggers, boy shorts, hi rise briefs, and bikinis. No one provides a tutorial and it is a painful process trying to find the perfect pair. I recently have been trying to find my new staple but have given up due to the endless options and need for trial and error. I now have a new resource thanks to Joanna of jojotastic.com. She recently embarked on an underwear thesis and I am totally on board. I’ve tagged it to read next weekend when I am a bit more time to invest.
“you have your answers. trust that you are the expert of your life.”
- alex elle
