Early last week we visited an ice cream shop near our beach house. The girls loved every drop of their frozen treats and I had fun snapping a few pictures of them enjoying themselves :)
dishing up a little bit of everything
We spent last week in sunny Litchfield, South Carolina, and it was wonderful.
Having Andy around all the time, spending each day at pool and beach, eating delicious food, getting dozens of hot Krispy Kreme donuts, reading book upon book and soaking up all of the warm southern weather and hospitality were just what the doctor ordered.
It’s like a little taste of heaven on earth down there.
It might even be one of my favorite places ever.
And if you know how much I love New York City, that’s really saying something :)
We talk about how we should probably branch out and vacation other places…see new towns and beaches. But Litchfield has a piece of our hearts and we just want to go back there year after year.
I’d love for my girls to have memories upon memories of summers spent there playing on the soft sandy beaches and doing all the traditional things we do. Eating crispy hushpuppies at Lee’s Inlet Kitchen, getting a dozen hot donuts after spending the evening at Broadway at the Beach, browsing around the Hammock shops, picking out an annual family Christmas ornament, dining at the Island Deli, walking on the boardwalk by the Lazy Gator, looking for sharks teeth along the beach, having breakfast at Eggs Up Grill.
I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to see other places, but this is one that I want to revisit year after year for sure.
Vacation is always weird for me. It makes me want to change my whole life around. Come home and repaint the whole house, get rid of everything and downsize, take more day adventures with the girls, spend more time exploring the pretty places in Michigan, disconnect forever from social media and quiet my life down.
It’s like being somewhere else opens my mind up to all these options that I forget exist when I’m tucked away inside my little house everyday. It makes me feel like more is possible than I realize and the limitations I place on myself and my schedule aren’t really real. I can’t even explain it, but I feel exhilarated by it.
I’m glad to be married to a man who can keep me grounded but who is also up for the idea of repainting the whole house ;)
We’re not repainting by the way.
On our very long car ride I thought a lot about the blog. Trying to figure out why I don’t feel inspired to write much these days. I still love writing, I still love cooking and I still love taking pictures. I just don’t feel like blogging it out.
And this is SO WEIRD because I’ve been passionate about blogging for nearly a decade. I’ve loved the creative element of it, I’ve loved the connection with other people and I’ve loved the documentation of my life.
But lately I’m all, “Who really cares? Why am I doing this? What kind of blog is this anyway? Do I want to be a food blogger? A faith blogger? A mommy blogger? Am I afraid of leaving it behind? Am I afraid of moving it forward?”
I really don’t have answers to any of it.
I’m still wrestling with the shift that occurred a few weeks ago. From feeling alive and purposeful everyday to wondering what the heck happened to all that and feeling ambivalent and frustrated instead.
I choose to believe that God has just as much purpose for me when things are feeling awesome as when they feel murky as all get out. I know He has good plans for me and that this time and space isn’t wrong it’s just different. I’m trying to stay open-minded and more importantly open-hearted.
I’ve been wanting to listen more than I talk to Him. I’ve wanted to be more open and willing than stubborn and self-assured.
But boy is it uncomfortable not knowing.
This week I’ll keep thinking and praying and maybe even journaling to see if there’s anything that is stuck that needs to come out. Writing does that for me which I love.
I’ll also replay the sweet memories of last week over and over in my mind. It was such a sweet reprieve from the regular grind.
We spent last week in Gaylord, MI.
Some of the time we were conquering it and some of the time it was conquering us.
Overall it was a good week and I’m happy we went. Being away from Andy for the whole week and imagining him there by himself all week is just sad.
The girls and I appreciated getting away from the house since this winter has been so brutal. We mostly see the 4 walls of our living room day in and day out, so it was a good change of pace to see the inside of the hotel room instead.
Although sharing one room all day and all night for a week is for the birds!
Lol.
I give Ma and Pa Ingalls a LOT of credit for having 3 children in that little log home. I don’t know how they had any subsequent children at all. Ha!
Gaylord was hit hard with snow on Friday night, so much so that I could barely see the road when I headed over to Applebee’s to pick up dinner ala Carside-To-Go.
Saturday morning we battled the weekend winter sports crowd in the hotel dining room and scarfed down a quick breakfast before packing everything up and hitting the road.
I-75 South has never looked so beautiful.
The farther south we drove, the better the weather became, and by lunch time I was nearly sweating from the sun shining on me. It was glorious!
We made it home mid-afternoon and I miraculously set about unpacking immediately. Before I knew it I had everything put away and laundry started.
The Rebecca Gould of even a year ago would have “unpacked” by grabbing things, as needed, one by one out of the suitcases for weeks on end.
Laundry wouldn’t have even been on my radar until someone was out of clean underwear.
I must say that being proactive is the way to go! It was incredibly satisfying to sit on the couch with a glass of chardonnay and a good magazine while the girls played with all the toys that suddenly seemed new again after a week-long absence.
I was also shocked at just how happy I was to be home. It’s like something inside me took a big sigh of relief and peace washed over me.
Familiar smells, comfy couch, home-cooked meal, my own bed.
I couldn’t have been happier with a royal spread.
My heart was full of joy at being in my humble little house.
Watching Netflix on the couch with Andy that night felt downright indulgent. Sleeping in our own room without the girls, even more so.
Waking up after sleeping better than ever in our own beds and coming up with a creative breakfast despite a barren fridge were awesome too.
I may think it would be nice not to have to clean or cook. To eat out often and lounge around in a hotel bed throughout the day.
But the routine of taking care of my family in my own home. Making the beds, changing the towels, and cooking dinner day in and day out brings more joy than I realized.
It’s good to be home :)