A few of my favorite things from the month of May, and a little life update.

Been sharing bits of our house hunt on Instagram stories, and while I don’t think I’ve explicitly expressed my frustration with it, the much welcome and encouraging messages I’ve received to stay patient and that we will find our perfect home in due time makes me think maybe it’s obvious, or rather that it’s normal!  I’ve found it challenging to not feel like life can’t progress until we find a house with the space to grow, and in effect I’ve put other life things on hold hoping that would help make this transition happen sooner.  Like with anything you try to force and control so hard, it doesn’t create grounds for the most enjoyable time.  It’s essentially trying to live in the future at the price of missing what’s good about now.

It didn’t make sense to me to continue making our current home as home as possible without knowing how much longer we’d be here, but I also realized it doesn’t make sense to prematurely say goodbye to it either.  For a while it’s felt like I’ve exiled myself to this state of limbo and only very recently did I say HEY, you don’t have to do that to yourself.  So, no more holding life hostage, and I’ll need to better remember that this a process to enjoy.  All the wishing and dreaming about our future really is exciting, just to think that these things are possible, and I’ll probably look back on this time fondly as having been a simpler time of life!!

Been meaning to share more about our house hunt though I’m a little lost on how best to do that since there isn’t a ton of meat there at this point.  So far Instagram stories has been really fun for showing open houses we visit and talking about pros/cons and a home’s potential, so if you came here from there, thank you for your insight.  Would love to know from you guys what more you’d want to see on that if there is anything.

Carrying on!

WEEKENDER BAG (find it here)
This is the bag I use for short trips, weekends away, beach days, picnics, outdoor movies, anything where I need to carry a bunch of stuff.  It’s so spacious and surprises me every time how much it can hold, though that’s also part of what I’d say is the worst thing about it- when it’s full and heavy it can be uncomfortable to carry.  Thinking that the longer shoulder strap on the Deluxe version helps with that.  Still, I love that it’s both casual and stylish, sturdy, and has pockets and a bottom zippered compartment to help with organization.  Will be using it a lot this summer for sure.

MACBOOK CASE AND KEYBOARD COVER (find it here)
The previous case I had on my macbook cracked and broke on one corner a long time ago and I only recently replaced it because it finally cut me dangit!  A lot of what took me so long was being unable to decide on a design I liked, and usually I solve this dilemma by going with the simplest option available.  I love this plain white hard case even more than I loved the marble one I previously had, and the bonus is that this particular one comes with a screen protector and white keyboard cover (notice my keys are white!) that I didn’t even notice was a part of the package because the price was already so good and maybe it’s a little embarrassing to admit that I didn’t read the product title or description before buying.  Great surprise when I received it, and learned how dirty my keyboard gets and how much I appreciate having a cover for it.

TRADER JOE’S LIST- PEONIES
It’s peony season y’all.  Trader Joe’s still has them for the best price, though they’re $7.99 now for 5 stems and I swear it wasn’t that long ago when they were only $5.99…  still worth it.  If you cut them and place in water immediately when you get home and keep them in a warm spot, they should open up pretty quickly.  I’ve heard taking a blow dryer to them opens them up the quickest, though I’ve never tried this myself since I really like when they’re more closed up.

I still always always get asked where I get my flowers and I mostly get them from Whole Foods because their selection is consistently the best, but the prices are always better at Trader Joe’s.  Flowers at Trader Joe’s generally come in smaller bunches too which is nice when you don’t need that many stems.

TRADER JOE’S LIST- GREEN GODDESS SALAD DRESSING
My most favorite Trader Joe’s find as of late.  This dressing is incredible, but even more so knowing that it’s made completely from real food, nothing processed, and is only 20 calories for 2 tbsp- I’m not a calorie counter but I like to be aware of what I’m eating.  It has more of a tarty flavor (apple cider vinegar is a main ingredient) and a little goes a long way.  I eat a salad almost everyday for lunch so a good dressing that’s also good for you is very important to me.  It also makes a nice dip if you’re snacking on veggies or chips.  Salad junkies, you have to try this.

BOWLS (find them here)
I’ve been on a long search for perfectly larger sized bowls for things like ramen and big salads and even though we concluded that these ones are a little smaller than we’d like for those purposes, they’re pretty much perfect for everything else.  Not too big or small, roomier than they look.  I love the simple sleek design and that the bowls are curved instead of cylindrical like most of the other bowls we have, which is a much bigger deal than I was aware of before.  I want to replace them all with these because curved is simply better and more versatile, I’ve lived through it to know for sure!

NAKE PETITE HEAT (find it here)
I stick to neutrals with eyeshadows, but if I want color I’ll pick warm shades of orange/peach/red, especially for summer.  I always liked the idea of the Naked Heat Palette for this but knew I wouldn’t wear most of the colors since many of them are shimmery, which I don’t prefer.  The only shimmery shade in the petite version is the highlight on the furthest left and the rest are matte/satin.  I most often wear the second and third shades in my crease, or the fourth shade all over the lid with a light hand.  I love that there are darker shades to give me the option of a more dramatic look, which makes it complete enough for me to take this alone on trips, PLUS it’s compact and not a pain to pack.

THE PERFECT LOAFERS (find them here)
This is my first pair of classic, made to last, very comfortable but still chic loafers because it took me my whole life to find them.  A wardrobe staple, this is the perfect shoe to wear to work in a more formal setting, but personally this is my preferred footwear for going out in something that’s a little nicer but can still be casual.  It has the perfect amount of point in the toe and the extra padding makes them so wonderfully comfortable.  Probably not preferred with summer outfits, but I was reminded of them because they were on back order since winter and they just came back in stock.

BOOK- EDUCATED: A MEMOIR BY TARA WESTOVER (find it here)
I’ve been in a lull with my reading, having started and stopped multiple books that just didn’t hold my attention, and this is the first one in a while that I crushed through.  I stayed up till 4am on a Saturday night reading because I couldn’t put it down.  First, this woman’s story is incredible and I kept forgetting that it’s a real account about real people.  It opened my eyes to a world and way of life I didn’t know existed.  Second, this is also the first book in a long time that I found enthralling because I admired the writing so much.  I want so badly to be able to write even half as good, wow.  I won’t bore you with a summary, mostly because you can read that on the Amazon page which does a perfect job of it, but a couple of my takeaways are: it is possible to reinvent yourself through understanding where you came from, and I wish I hadn’t taken my education for granted.

QUOTE
I saw this in someone’s Instagram story and took a screenshot of it because I liked it so much.  I think I’ve traced the source to the book, which I already got and am planning to read, and will confirm that once I do.

“Please know that every challenge you will encounter hides a breakthrough.  Looking at every challenge as a meaningful opportunity to grow is a mindset that allows you to see–and interact with– reality in an empowered way.”