Being Outside.

It's no secret that I adore the warmer months of the year.  Being a bit of a cold soul, winter is the bane of my existence and it's felt like I haven't been warm for the last four months.  Finally, spring is in the air and here to stay and I'm loving every second of it; just the other day, it was warm enough for me to go out in shorts and a t-shirt and I did a little happy dance.  It's such a joy to not worry about wrapping up in layers and to soak up the sunshine.

Now that Pearl is all vaccinated and ready to go, we've been taking her out for lovely long walks.  Taking her leash down from the coat hook is enough to send her into a tizzy of excitement and her joy is infectious.  I admit, I'm a bit of a homebody; I can stay inside for days at a time and not even start to go stir-crazy.  Since we've been taking our walks, I feel like that's changed somewhat.  I look forward to our little adventures around the neighbourhood, exploring new streets, meeting new people and their pups and taking the time to breathe in all that fresh air.  Plus it absolutely tuckers little Pearl out and there's nothing cuter (and quieter) than a snoozing puppy!

The tree in our back garden finally has leaves on it!  It seems like it happened overnight, I glanced out of the kitchen window and boom, leafy green and full of life.  So much nicer to look at than a bare, barren bundle of sticks.

Are you enjoying the weather?  Is it getting warmer where you are or is it starting to cool down?  I hope no matter what it's a beautiful day for you and you've got lots of awesome things going on.

Love, K.

An Update.

The first four months of this year have positively flown by.  It feels the same every year, with every new month - I always find myself asking where the time has gone.  Since we're a third of the way through 2014 and easing steadily into warm weather and sunshine, I thought I'd do a little update regarding the goals I set myself all the way back in January.

It feels a little overwhelming when I look at them and see how small the dent is that I've made.  So far, I've read three books, made two new recipes and only completed one home craft.  Yikes.
My goal to exercise for three hours a week vanished from my radar completely until recently; now that Pearl has had all of her vaccinations, she goes out for walks twice a day and I'm easily getting three hours of brisk walking in per week.
Getting myself into a good skincare routine has been difficult, since I'm still trying to figure out which products work best with my skin.  But I'm getting there.
With what has been mostly horrible weather so far, we haven't been able to take any trips, whether to go on a little holiday or a visit to the beach or organising a concert to go to.  I know that as the weather improves we'll be able to accomplish these things, so they give me something to look forward to.
I thought I'd have finished 'Breaking Bad' by now, since I was so set on completing it at the start of the year.  I got caught up watching 'Bob's Burgers' and 'Boys Over Flowers' though, and since I have access to it all I really need to get cracking.
The thing I'm most disappointed with is not writing a single letter yet.  I'm not quite sure what's holding me back on getting out my pens and papers but I need to motivate myself to sit and write to someone.  I know how much a letter would brighten my day and I want to do that for someone else.

Knowing that a third of the year is over already needs to be my push to get my goals accomplished.  S and I had some news recently which put a lot of things on hold, since we needed some time to adjust and figure things out (I'll be telling you guys all about it soon) so now that we're focussed on our future I'll be able to really get stuck in and plough through these goals once and for all!

Did you set goals for yourself this year?  How are they going?  I know that posts have been few and far between lately but I definitely plan on posting more frequently now that things are a bit more settled here.

Love, K.

Hooray For Spring.

We've had some beautiful weather here in NJ the last few days.  After the ton and a half of snow and the bitterly cold temperatures, I think we were long overdue it.  I have been soaking up the sunshine, sitting on the deck and hoping that the warmth is finally here to stay.

Look at these ridiculously huge strawberries!  I thought that since they were so huge, they might not have much flavour but they tasted absolutely divine.

Warm weather means lots of fresh veggies, hard-boiled eggs and the occasional helping of waffle fries.

Flip flops and a flopped dog.  I can't believe how big Pearl is getting, it's like she's blooming before my eyes.

I've been a little MIA over the last few weeks, mainly due to the regular humdrum of life that doesn't inspire me to write.  S has been training hard to get some extra certifications at work so that he can hopefully move up in the company and we can hopefully move a little further south in the state!  We've not been especially busy or up to anything overly exciting, but I'm hoping to change that up pretty darn soon.

I hope you've been well and full of the joys of spring.  Fingers crossed it's really, truly, finally here!

Love, K.