All The “ings”

Let’s kick it old school with a blog post that feels a little more “2011,” Lol.

Boy, that was the heyday of blogging!

Everyone was posting regular content, Instagram was barely a twinkle in her mother’s eye, video hadn’t taken over, I was going to annual blogging conferences like this one and this one and this one.  Blogging was all the rage and we shared all kinds of random things like Steppin’ Out Saturday, High On Thrifting Thursday, house tour link-ups, working mom vs. stay at home mom drama, etc.

It was so fun.

Many blogs I loved following back in those days have closed up shop and share most updates through Instagram and Facebook now. *Sigh*

Daily Rebecca is still plodding along and I thought it would be fun to share all the “ings” around here lately!  I did this a couple years ago and it was so fun to look back and see how my life has changed.  Wow those baby years are HARD!

Reading

I’m pretty late to the game, but I decided to finally read the Harry Potter series and I’m currently on Book 3.  It’s not my normal genre, but I know these books are a cult classic and Andy has read them all through about 8 times.  I figured it would be nice for me to get to know Mr. Potter for myself.  We’re watching the movies as I go along which is fun for both of us.  Can’t say I’m tearing through them yet, but I’ve heard things really take off in book 4 so I’m excited!

Smelling

Andy has been bringing flowers home lately.  My romantic heart loves this small gesture and I smile every time I pass by the fresh bouquets.  These star gazer lilies are a real show stopper!  They are big and beautiful and FRAGRANT.  They blanket the whole first floor with their perfumed aroma.  One of my Instagram friends suggested trimming the orange anthers from them to prolong their life and soften their scent.  I did that this morning, so we’ll see how it affects them.  They really are pretty…

Watching

My friend Ramona suggested I watch Jane the Virgin on Netflix and, although the title makes me crinkle my nose, I gave it a try.  The premise is a young virgin (Jane) gets accidentally artificially inseminated and all kinds of drama ensues after that.  It took me a few episodes to get hooked because it can come off as kind of cheesy at first, but then there are all kinds of dramatic cliffhangers!  Murder, mystery, crime, love, family dynamics, strong female characters, humor, tragedy.  This show has it all and now I’m a super fan!  The stunning cast of Hispanic actors and actresses are fantastic.  Lot’s of Spanish is peppered throughout each episode and it makes me want to revive the 3 semesters of college Spanish I have buried deep in my mind!

Listening

We rented The Greatest Showman a couple weeks ago for Friday Movie Night and we all loved it! It’s such a beautiful and inspirational movie with an incredible soundtrack!  We’ve been listening to the songs on repeat and having fun dancing and belting out the lyrics!  Plus, I was ready for a break from Moana and Sing music LOL

Here are 2 of our favorite tunes from the movie:

Eating

Warm weather has descended upon southern Maryland and we’re loving it!! The sunshine and warm temps have made Andy and I crave burgers and bbq food.  Twice in the last week we’ve had burgers with summery sides like corn on the cob, baked beans, roasted potatoes, and green beans. We are both working toward some fitness goals so it’s important to keep our carbs in check.  Skipping the burger buns is a great way to do that and the kids are all on board too!  They usually discard their bun at a restaurant anyway, so it’s working out great.  I posted a bunless burger “recipe” on the blog a while back that may be fun to check out.

Wearing

Finding the perfect jeans is like finding a magical unicorn, am I right?!

Men have it so easy.  They pick their length and width then go about their day.  Women have to consider rise, inseam, stretch, length, pocket placement, wash, hip to thigh ratio, style, brand, and about a hundred other unspoken nuances when finding a pair of jeans that feels comfortable and looks great.

When I was turned on to Wit & Wisdom’s Absolution jeans last year, I was immediately sold!!  These jeans have a hidden wide elastic waistband inside which keep them from falling down or pinching my love handles.  They are stretchy throughout the leg without being too tight.  They wear beautifully and have been such a game changer for me!!  They’re a little pricey, but Nordstrom has free shipping and free mailing returns so you can order a few sizes to find your perfect fit and send the rest back hassle free.  That’s totally worth it to me!  Plus, dividing the cost of these jeans over the number of times I wear (and love) them makes them a great value.

Wanting

I’m itching to start planting colorful annuals outside!  We are finally living somewhere long enough to make gardening worthwhile, and I’m ready to get started.  I just love colorful flowers in front garden beds and I’ve been trying to figure out my strategy for this home.  We have a long garden bed along our front porch.  It needs a thick layer of fresh mulch and I’m hoping a fluffy row of impatiens will bloom nicely along the edge too.  I’m a sucker for hanging ferns, so I’m planning on a couple of those as well as a brighter wreath.  This is what we have now:

This is what I’m hoping to do in the next few weeks!  (I had way too much fun digitally landscaping! LOL)

Feeling

Honestly I’m feeling nervous about starting the foster care approval process.  You see, about 6 years ago I had a moment.  My heart broke and I decided on the spot I had to do something about the orphan and foster child crisis.  You can read all about it in this post. That day, for the first time, I felt open to adoption.  But since then, the fire in me to help and serve children in need has grown and expanded.  The foster care system in America today is riddled with problems, but is also in desperate need of loving families to care for displaced children.  Andy and I are in agreement that we should be a part of the solution.  Now that we’re staying put for the next 3 years and Drew is a little older, we plan to start the foster approval process.  I’m scared, but nothing great ever happened without a little fear.

Those are my “ings” but I’d love to hear a few of yours in the comments!