happy

I'm sick. Other than that though, I've been having a really good week for a few reasons.

Jeff has been taking care of me. He made me soup and bought me two bags of Ricola cough drops and coffee ice cream.

It's January and it's been about sixty degrees outside. Perfect for bundled strolling.

I am getting to know myself a little better lately. It's nice to see that my procrastination, indecisiveness, laziness, mood swings, over-thinking, and disappointment over dumb things are all caused by the one thing: I'm a perfectionist. Now that I know the root problem I can change it! I can already feel a difference in the tiniest of decisions I've started making.

AND, this weekend I am going back home to be in a friend's wedding, then stopping in Wilmington to see my big sister, and then to Asheville to visit my family again! I'm hoping that I will not die on the road.

the chocolate lounge and weekend

One of my favorite parts about last weekend was when Jeff, Leah, Demetria, and I went for a late night visit to The Chocolate Lounge for hot chocolate (mine was called Love Potion and had almost every spice in it that I have ever heard of, but was still pretty subtle. It was perfect). Then we went home to watch Chocolat. I recommend doing these two things together to get the most out of each experience. The next morning I was talking about opening my own business. I made hot chocolate on the stove the other night after days of thinking about thick, rich, cayenne-y hot chocolate. It was not thick or rich (it was cayenne-y, but not in a good way) so I will be experimenting and creating this week so I don't go insane with my hot chocolate craving.

This weekend was incredibly relaxing with no plans, lots of movies, two pots of homemade potato soup, a movie date (The King's Speech. We laughed a lot. Everyone else in the theater was old...we laughed about that too) going to church after missing it for two months due to plans, semi-nervously giving Jeff a haircut by myself (my mom used to cut it for him, and she taught me how recently but I've never done it without her supervision. I had to call her with questions, but Jeff looks relatively normal!) an un-planned drive to Hinesville, talking about everything and nothing, and realizing things about myself that make me happy about the future.

new (old) things

First picture: beat up leather bag I bought at goodwill in Asheville. Perfect for carrying magazines, books, wallet, keys, phone, and candy.

Second + third pictures: old drawings by my dad (Kansas and Boston album covers. Rad.) that I framed and am planning to hang somewhere.

Fourth picture: a new thrifted lamp shade for my lamp that my grandma made me when I was younger.

Last picture: CHILL letters that my grandma handed down to me over Christmas. If I could just find an "o" and an "e" they could spell Chloe!

weekend in asheville

Jeff had a four day weekend from work so we drove to Asheville for a family visit. We got to play in the snow, eat lots of food, go thrifting, play with a kitty, have tea parties, eat candy, watch movies, and play in the snow some more. I'm really happy that Jeff is willing to make six hour drives on short notice whenever he has enough time off of work. The only thing better than long weekend visits with my family would be if we got to live near each other. Every time we visit Asheville (especially snowy Asheville) I kind of want to live there forever.

pretty sights and jenna

Yesterday I got together with Jenna for coffee in the Paris Market. We had never met in real life, only through our blogs, so it was kind of like a blind date but I felt like I already knew her. Well she's just as sweet in real life as she seems on the internet, and she was up for walking in the freezing cold around the squares even without a scarf or gloves. Our fingers were numb by the end of the afternoon, but I had a lot of fun and even saw some pretty sights that I had never seen before. Jenna, I'm sorry that the second sentence out of my mouth when I met you was "I have to pee really bad." First impressions are apparently not my forte.

(In the last picture, Jenna is holding a grass flower that we bought from a lady who was making them by hand).

oatmeal crisps

Jeff and I were craving something sweet after dinner the other night and I found this recipe for oatmeal crisps. The recipe looked so simple that I made them right then and they only took a few minutes to whip up. While they taste great, (butter + sugar + oatmeal + vanilla....how can they not taste good?) they are actually also fun to eat. Now I'm thinking of different things I could drizzle on top of them next time I make them.

pretty sights {from the car}

Jeff and I rode around the historic district Saturday morning to look at the houses and pick out which ones we want to live in (kids can dream, right?). With a latte* in one hand and a camera in the other, I snapped some pictures from the car. I love walking around Savannah, but there is almost nothing I love more than riding around in the car with the windows down looking at pretty houses.

*Even if you are a Starbucks hater, you should try their salted caramel hot chocolate. I need caffeine in the mornings, so I asked for a salted caramel mocha, which is also incredible.

weekend

I had forgotten how relaxing weekends used to be since our past few weekends have been busy with holiday plans and little trips. We definitely got a lot of relaxing in this weekend.

Jeff and I satisfied a burger craving at B&D with a blue cheese and onion rings burger. We got up early (8 a.m. is early for the weekend, right?) Saturday to get free spicy chicken biscuits from Chick-fil-a. We rode around with our biscuits looking at houses in the historic district. I made soup and we started a Bond-a-thon. Jeff threw the Christmas tree out, finally, and I had to vacuum for like thirty minutes. I danced and did cartwheels in our apartment. We didn't turn the heat on all weekend, so we bundled up with lots of blankets and ate things that made us warm inside. It's so nice to have weekends back.

Also, I wore my hair down for two whole days, which is kind of a big deal.

happy

These pictures are making me happy today...

...because this is an impromptu tea party that Demetria and I had while Jeff was asleep last weekend (with my christmas/birthday present to her: elephant tea pot!).

...because of how amazing the sky looked the other day on my drive home. I had to take a picture while driving...which is very safe.

...because I've been fantasizing about having short hair lately, but I'm not sure anyone would love me anymore if I cut it. Then I found this picture from last year, and I'm not sure I would love myself anymore if I cut it.

saying goodbye to christmas

Yesterday I took the decorations off our sad, droopy christmas tree. Don't tell anyone, but Jeff and I are planning on tossing it off of our third story balcony so it can rest in peace with some other tree friends. We have a little pine needle forest on our floor from when I took the lights off of the dry limbs, so I'm excited to get this apartment cleaned and freshened up for the new year.

I'm really excited for spring this year, which is strange considering how much I detested the heat last summer and wanted Fall to arrive more than anything else. Yesterday I smiled when I realized that it was January and I was wearing a jacket rather than a big puffy coat. Maybe I decided to be more optimistic about the weather this year. Don't hold me to that when June comes, though.

a foggy morning in beaufort

On the morning Jeff and I had to leave NC, we went to Beaufort for a goodbye breakfast at the Boardwalk Cafe with two of our favorite people. It was foggy and misty and breezy outside, and I would have been fine to stay on Front Street all day with a hammock and some tea. It made me miss my cottage days, but only a little bit.

I hope there will be lots of little trips this year, and lots of opportunities to catch up with our amazing friends.