I Love Weekends

I love Fridays. I love how fast the work days go, knowing that they are last one of the week. I love the opportunities they bring to do something fun and relaxing. Last night, Keagan and I went to A8, a Chinese restaurant in Orange City. As we sat there, we had one of those moments- a moment where you feel like everything is just...right. We ordered  Egg Foo Yung and Moo Shoo off the menu (just to finally figure out what each one was). We were sitting, enjoying our meal, when we noticed that the funky, instrumental song that was playing, was "I Believe I can Fly." Seriously wonderful. The chain of songs to follow did not disappoint. We sat, enjoying our meals, the company, and the hilarious mix of songs that should not have been instrumental dinner music, but were incredible just the same. We finished the night off with a movie and...jello. Perfect.

I love Saturdays. I really, really, love Saturdays at home with no solid plan or agenda. Some people hate cleaning, some people hate organizing, and some people hate meal planning. For me, that's what I fill my Saturdays with, and that's what I thrive off of. I feel accomplished when I tidy up the house. I feel creative when I think of new and more appealing ways to store and organize items in our house. I get excited thinking about what kind of food I get to put on our table for the next week.I love doing it all leisurely, with breaks, and getting to the end of the day having everything ready for the next week. I love Saturdays.

Today we:
Enjoyed our usual mac n' cheese lunch (we keep things easy for meals on the weekends). Cleaned the bathroom top to bottom.  Dusted everything in the living room that needed it. Pulled the loveseat cover off and vacuumed up the gross crum collection. Got all of the laundry washed and folded. Did the dishes and disinfected the counters. Planned meals for the week and made a grocery list for shopping tomorrow. Paid off a big chunk of a school-loan! yay! Wandered outside to get the mail, take a silly picture, pet the cat, and empty the collected compost. Put clutter back where it belongs. Experimented with a few camera settings and brainstormed the picture book of our home I will be making. Started my recipe-organizing project.

We also enjoyed a little bit of rain.

Because My Mother Told Me To

What has been happening here lately?

I was going to blog about last week- about my friends visiting and my trip to Florida, but then I wasn't, because honestly, blogging about my own life is kind of hard to do. I feel like nobody really cares what TV show I watched Friday night, what kind of chicken I cooked last night, or what my cat did that made me laugh. But then, I decided I'd indulge and do it anyways- because when your mom tells you that your blog makes her feel better about you being out of her house and that she can't wait to read about your week...you do it. (I love you, mother!) 

So what has been happening?

Well....a lot. Two of my best friends came to visit and then the Hicks family packed up and went to Florida! Let's start with the friends- two girls that made my family's move to Mt. Lake nine years ago one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Two friends who were always okay with singing Disney songs, talking endlessly about silly things, and never hesitant to pull out the Anne of Green Gables movies.

Karen and Petra showed up on Friday night. It was a long overdue visit as the three of us haven't gotten together since my wedding in September. We enjoyed omelets made by my patient husband (who also had to listen to us girl-talk and babble all night). We played pool in our basement and chatted non-stop.We looked at old photo albums, laughing, smiling, and wondering, "what in the world were we thinking??" We talked about our struggle with hairspray use throughout the years- the times we didn't use enough and the times we used waaaay too much (a suprisingly common conversation). Saturday, we enjoyed pancakes (again, from the awesome husband) and drove to the city to shop. I picked out some cute new tops, new black flats for work, a suitcase for our coming trip (it's purple!), and after a long, seemingly hopeless hunt for a pair of boots bigger than size 6 and smaller than size 9...a pair of boots. I rarely go shopping- so this was a fun addition to my increasingly aging wardrobe.

Best pick?? This blouse. I got it in pink. Florida tested...and oh so approved. It was so comfortable and fun to wear!

We wrapped up the visit in a tiny little Iowa town, with some of the best pizza I've ever tasted. If you're anywhere near the Orange City, IA area...don't miss out on this fun little place. They cook wood-fired pizzas with fresh mozzerella, herbs, and crushed tomatoes vs. sauce. You could always go the pepperoni route too! Simply amazing. I want some more! The atmosphere is fun and unique- something different for your evening dining. You can check them out on Facebook right here.

The worst part of the quick visit? Forgetting to take a picture. Can you believe it? Guess you ladies will have to come visit again!

Up next? Florida: Places that We Visited.