We survived Saola & went to the mall!

Move to a tropical island, they said. It will be sunny all the time, they said. Well, apart from the gigantic tropical typhoons that swing by occasionally and are a bajillion times bigger than said tropical island. We are on day 3 of our new life in Okinawa, and I have to say that things have already been quite exciting.

We have spent the last couple of days with our sponsors going to housing briefs, exploring the area, and stocking up on necessities for our temporary housing while we begin our search for a home. Honestly, it has been a complete whirlwind and it feels like we have been here for a lot longer than 3 days! Yesterday, I got my first (and hopefully last) bout of food poisoning from sushi but after 24 hours of puking we are good to go again. Although I may hold off on the sushi for a couple of days...or weeks.

Today, the weather as finally good enough for us to leave base and go explore, so after a big brunch at the Officer's Club we went to the local mall to see what was up! Since it's the weekend before halloween, all the of the local children were at the mall and dressed up in their costumes for special events happening there today (so cute!) We were excited to get off of the base and visit a giant, Japanese, 4 story mall, but mostly I was just super stoked to visit the Miyazaki store and bathe in a sea of stuffed soot sprites and totoros <3 I'm only like 13% kidding...

Tomorrow, as we enter in to our first full week here in Okinawa, we begin our search for our new home. I am so ready to be out of temporary housing and the realtor in me is itching to get into these houses and check them out! Two dogs, two people, and seven bags worth of stuff do not fit well in a 500 square foot hotel suite. Especially one where the fire alarm goes off randomly during the day, the bathroom ceiling leaks when it rains, and dogs aren't allowed on the furniture.

Hopefully in the next couple of days we will have a few homes to choose from, our cars will be picked out, and the end of temp housing will be in sight! And HOPEFULLY, I will be able to share some pictures of blue water, green mountains, and beautiful scenery with you all here soon. We just need these clouds to go away :)

One of THOSE days

Today was one of those days. You know the kind. The kind of day where you come back from being out of town and have a million, bajillion little things to do to catch up with work...and home...and chores...and your email.

The kind of day where you make yourself a cup of tea, forget about said cup of tea, locate it 2 hours later, and have to reheat it. Multiple times. 

The kind of day where you are trying desperately to motivate yourself to do a bunch of things that have been piling up but the weather decides to be rainy and cold, and all you want to do is read a good book under a bunch of blankets in your comfiest sweats. 

The kind of day where you come home from meeting with a client and you realize your dogs ate the homemade biscuits you left on the counter. All 12 of them!!!!

The kind of day where you are late to a closing because of a hailstorm/tornado watch and realize when you get there that you are wearing that gross pair of moccasins that should NEVER see the light of day. 

You know, one of those days. 

The kind of day where you really, really need to go to the grocery store because there is no food in the house but you don't feel like cooking so you decide to pick up Taco Bell instead. 

The kind of day where you accidentally quadruple book yourself and end up missing a hair appointment and a doctors appointment (BUT you make it to the important things!)

The kind of day where you decide to call your bank because the business checks you ordered STILL haven't arrived and they tell you that your order was never processed. 

So. Since it was one of those days, I am going to pour myself an extra large glass of wine (to drink with my Taco Bell), put Fixer Upper on T.V, and call it an early night!!

After all, tomorrow is Friday!!!

Post Christmas Update

I'm sitting here on my floor, back in our house in Florida, after an amazing, whirlwind of a Christmas. Spending a whole week with my family was incredible. Getting to be back in my hometown with my friends and loved ones was such a breath of fresh air and truly rejuvenated my heart in a way that I didn't know I needed. I think it's easy to get caught up in life and just fall into a pattern that allows you get by but does nothing to feed your soul or excite you. One of my big goals for this new year is to make sure I fight that easy, yucky pattern and do things that take me outside my comfort zone and allow me to live each day in a fulfilling and passionate way. 

I don't know if it was being around my family and friends, or getting out of Florida for a couple of days, but it took this trip up to NC for me to jumpstart my mental enthusiasm again, and I'm not going to let go of that! So, with my heart a little fuller, my mind a little clearer, and my ring finger a little heavier (!!!) I am excited to jump headfirst into 2016! 

This year is going to be another doozy for a lot of reasons, but the best one being that James and I got engaged over the holiday! I am so happy and pumped for our life together. We have already been through so much and built such an amazing partnership that I can't even imagine the crazy, awesome things that lie in store for us. I can't wait to take this next step together and continue down this winding road of ours :)

As I write this post, I have a huge load of laundry going, a pot roast in the crockpot, there are four sleeping pups covering my furniture, I'm looking through my new cookbook that my parents gave us for christmas, and the only sound is Chef's Table playing in the background on Netflix. It is heavenly. Our home has been a little crazy the past couple of days because two sets of our good friends are moving in the next couple of weeks :( I want to spend as much time with them as possible before they PCS so we've been a home base for all six of us, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. It will be so sad to see them go off on their next adventures but part of the beauty and sadness of the military life is watching your friends leave but knowing they'll always have your back. 

So, while everyone is off running errands and doing last minute moving things, I volunteered to hang out with the pups and have a few minutes of quiet time to reflect on the past couple of weeks and try to get our home in order so we can move into the new year seamlessly. It's always crazy to me when the end of December hits! Where did this year go?? So much has happened and changed but at the same time all of the important things have stayed the same. You know, the things that truly matter like family, friendship, and love. We're all a little older, maybe a bit wiser, but still the people we were this time last year, just better! 

I hope that everyone has a beautiful New Year! See you on the other side...

Christmas Tree Lights & Adorable Dogs

The tree is up! And after much debate about whether we should use the wrapping around method or the weaving up and down method, the lights are on the tree too! Our ornaments are en route from NC and should be here any day now. It is officially our first christmas in our new home :) I love spending our evenings on the couch, drinking hot tea, and watching Christmas movies in the glow of the tree. The whole house smells like the holiday season!

It's even getting kind of chilly down here in good old Florida! We actually had to turn on our heat yesterday, well, maybe we didn't haaave to, but in the wise words of a random female extra on New Girl, 'it's 65 degrees and I'm freezing!' 

But you know it IS December and I would really like to break out the cute sweater dresses and scarves. While we were unpacking I discovered 4 boxes that remained unopened from the last move and they contained all of my cold weather shoes, coats, pants, you name it! It was like Santa came early! Just one of the random perks of having to move so much I guess.

Here are a few photos of our holiday decor so far...and maybe a couple of random dog pics...

Getting our tree! They were all brought down from Boone NC!

Hooray for NC trees :)

Yes, I only put lights on the front of the tree because it was heavy, I didn't have enough lights, and I got a little bit lazy, oops.

It also might be a little crooked because I attempted to adjust it while James was flying, but Copper still likes it!

So does baby Tuck! (sidenote: look at his crazy horse legs!! So cute)

Alright, I'm done posting pictures of our dogs by the tree. FOR NOW! But you better believe this next month will have a lot more to come :)

What are some of your favorite tree decorating tips and traditions??

E

Easy Like A Sunday Morning

Rain pouring down outside. Chicken & wild rice soup on the stove. And apple pie in the oven. It may not feel like November outside right now, but inside our cozy, little apartment it sure does smell like it! 

I really do love our little life down here in Florida. Being far away from family is tough but its been so neat to grow as a couple on our own. It makes you really appreciate the small things like the times you DO get to spend with family but also the times where you only have each other to rely on. 

During the week we are so busy with our respective jobs that weekends have become our refuge. Maybe I'm just becoming an old lady but there is honestly nothing better than spending the weekend in your sweatpants, cooking good food, watching Mountain Men, and relaxing on the couch with a couple of dogs, my babe, and some coffee. 

Now we just have to work up the motivation to pack everything up for our move next week! I can't believe that this is our second to last weekend in our apartment, but we are both so excited to finally get into the new house. Moving is a huge part of the military life but it is still a big old pain in the you-know-what! Good thing we have such amazing friends to come help us get in gear...you know who you are...haha!

Anyways, change is in the air & the next couple of weeks will be pretty darn exciting :) Getting into our new place right before the holidays and being able to decorate, buy a huge christmas tree, bake in our new kitchen, and have friends over to celebrate makes me so happy. There is nothing better than being able to share these times with good friends and family and I have a feeling that 2015 is going to go out with a bang!

Happy Sunday :)

i like big cups and i cannot lie

Do you ever have those mornings where you just can NOT, to save your own life, get out of bed? You start thinking about ways to stay in bed just a little longer. It would be so easy to call into work sick and say you have some infectious disease or a broken bone. Maybe your cat caught a cold and you must take it to see a specialist in kitty flu? 

And as you run these insane dialogues through your mind the clock is slowly ticking to the point where no matter what you do, you're going to be late so you might as well stay in bed, right?? 

That was me this morning.

Unfortunately, I have discovered that I get my best sleep between 5:00-9:00am. And that is exactly when I am not allowed to sleep. My adorable, yet emotionally needy dogs like to go for a morning jaunt around 5:00am and usually if i suck it up and make a quick trip to the dog park they will let me go back to sleep for an hour or so. 

The good news is, it is now cool enough in the mornings that I don't immediately begin to sweat like a linebacker when I step outside at 5 o' clock am! In fact, it was super chilly this morning, which was awesome but did not aid my get-out-of-bed-round-two routine. 

However, as my good friend Indy hilariously reminded me via text the other day...

Pinterest Jesus has spoken. So, here I sit in my lovely little office emailing clients and helping people buy their homes. Definitely not a bad gig, and I'm VERY fortunate to have a job (especially one that allows me to use a degree I've earned) which can be very difficult for significant others of those in the military.

In these dire situations there is only one thing that can be done...

Time to bring on the epic, holiday pour coffee experience and get this day rolling ;)

CHEERS TUESDAY.

My Weekend In Asheville In Photos

This weekend I flew solo to Asheville NC for a friends wedding. The weather was perfect, the mountains were beautiful, and it was super therapeutic to get out of Florida for a couple of days. The wedding was gorgeous and I was able to spend time with my parents who were celebrating their 30th anniversary! 

We explored the shops, visited more than the necessary amount of breweries, and ate amazing food all weekend! That fresh mountain air sure did me good :)

It's always good to take some time for yourself but coming home to see my sweet babe and pups is its own kind of therapy, and I'm very thankful for our little life here in Pensacola.

m i d w e e k m o n t a g e

its wednesday. not quiiiite friday enough for me, but it'll do. I'm sitting here thinking about my to do list for this week while my kids are in tutoring, and realizing that netflix has been playing a major role in my procrastination recently...

even though New Girl isn't currently on. And I'm waiting on the new season of Scrotal Recall. Aaaand Candidly Nicole. Oh yeah, and Bachelor in Paradise (just because i love 'Onion Girl'). 

oh yikes, see what i mean...netflix is an epidemic! 

a wonderful, entertaining, watch-it-at-the-gym, or during your lunch break, or at night while you're cooking dinner EPIDEMIC. 

right now, the bf and i are binge watching Scandal, i know, were behind on the times with that one. But it is so addicting!

secretly i am watching the Bachelorette and hoping that Britt gets hit by truck full of glitter, and it explodes and showers sparkles all over the bachelors and their amazing abs, but its not looking good. however, i am only 37 minutes into the first episode so i think theres still hope. 

but back to this horrid to-do list!

right now i am trying to find a decent dog boarder in pensacola so that we are able to go on several trips this year without me having a conniption about copper and tucker the whole time. let me tell you this for free: 3 days before memorial day weekend is a TERRIBLE time to be looking for a pet boarder. TERRIBLE.

i finally found a place that had a vacancy left, but it was my 4th choice out of 7 potentials and I'm not thrilled about it. i know its only for a couple of days and that they will be under the supervision of professionals blah blah blah but it looks like a doggy jail in there! 

obviously this is more of a 'me problem' than a copper/tucker problem since they just want food, water, and lots of belly rubs. but i don't care if I'm a crazy dog person! i want constant video feed of my dogs while I'm gone (cough cough NETFLIX should get in on that business opportunity) and a direct line to their room so i can talk to them. okay, that sounded crazy...but I'm gonna go with it anyways. 

i mean just look at these faces:

how could i not worry about them? 

but they have been in the car with me way too much this year because of our move, and it wouldn't be fair for them to have to be crunched up in the backseat so we can drive all the way back to NC for the weekend. 

also, i really want to be able to go to the Wizarding World this year and i don't think they allow dogs in the theme park yet so this will be a good trial run. 

on that note, i have completed my last minute task of the day! so now I'm going to get as much Bachelorette in as i can before the kids finish their tutoring ...shhhh!

I M B A C K!!!

i have been a huge slacker with the blog these last few weeks, and truly there is no excuse other than: because life. on that note however, here are some pictures from the past few weeks to catch everyone up! 

we have been crazy busy down here in pensacola. i started my new job working as a nanny for a family of five and they are great. J has been busy studying and finished IFS within 2.5 weeks. he is doing amazing and even had his first solo flight. 

we have been spending time with great friends, getting to know the city, hanging out on the beach, and settling in to this new life :)

yesterday we went with some friends down to Destin to check out the outlets and go to the beach. the water down here is SO blue and the sand is a shade of white we just don't have in NC. its really beautiful!

for the next couple of days, even though i will be working, we are going to enjoy ourselves because J starts API this week and once that starts things will really pick up and get busy. so for now...its all about that brunch & beach ;)

b r e a k f a s t

i am excited to say that the homemade moisturizer i made yesterday did not do anything weird to my face over night. when i spoke to james on the phone last night and told him what id done he seemed pretty convinced that i would wake up with hives all over my face. but in fact, my skin feels amazing! i can't believe I've never put coconut oil on my skin before. you would think it would be greasy and make your skin feel like it couldn't breathe but it goes on incredibly smooth and absorbs in right away. my makeup went on much smoother than usual and a lot of the redness from my most recent breakout has gone away completely. not to mention it smells amazing! my dogs seem to think it smells good too because they were trying to eat my face all night...

one thing that goes hand in hand with this spring cleanse and my use of essential oils is eating healthier. i always step up my game before bikini season, but the older i get the more i realize that this should probably be a year round thing. after all, I'm not talking about eating rice cakes or waiting until you feel like your going to pass out and then eating one cube of cheese (Devil Wears Prada...). I'm talking about eating real, organic, healthy foods that taste amazing. also, eating smaller portions of those foods and drinking A LOT more water. 

some typical daily meals for me include;
breakfast: coffee, half a grapefruit or an apple
snack: frozen blueberries, peppermint green tea
lunch: toast with an egg and some avocado 
snack: hummus and chips or peppers
dinner: leafy green salad with salmon and glass of wine

i have pretty consistently been eating renditions of these exact meals everyday which can get old, but its much easier to grocery shop, and it saves a lot of money that i would normally spend on going out to eat and drink. hmmm drinking, thats the other important part of this cleanse. i am not drinking during the week with the exception of a glass of wine after dinner occasionally. and surprisingly, it has been incredibly easy to give up. 

now if i could just get myself to chug more water during the day...

s n o w m a g e d d o n

we woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. deep, fluffy, piles of fresh snow covered everything outside, weighing down the tree branches and making everything look like it was covered in heaps of powdered sugar. everything was so quiet and peaceful. the kind of quiet that can only happen when everything is muted by snow and no one else is awake and moving around yet. we made coffee and french toast, then layered on our snow gear to venture out into what we durhamites endearingly are referring to as, 'snowpocalypse 2015'. the pups bounded around like little rabbits, hopping into drifts and chasing each other in circles through the powder. they might have been more excited that i was, which is saying something. when we get snow in durham, everything closes down. i guess all TWO of our snowplows were busy elsewhere, which is fine with me! we walked over to the school playground and built a huge fort with a snowman inside, just like a couple of five year olds. its funny how easy it is to revert back to childhood with the right conditions! when we decided the snow fort was complete we trekked back to the house for some homemade pepper jack mac, perfect for a post snow excursion snack. can't wait to spend the rest of the day sipping hot tea and catching up on some reading inside, while everything turns to slush outside. even the doggies are pooped, and passed out snoozing on the couch next to us. so far its been a pretty great day. 

w o n d e r l a n d

its happening (again)! SNOW. we are expected to get up to 10 inches tonight which, for all of you northerners is a lot of snow down here. so, here i sit on my couch, with all of the windows open so i can continue to check how much snow is on the ground every 10 seconds without getting up...lazy i know. i am drinking a huge, holiday pour glass of wine, perusing pinterest, and snuggling with my pups while the bf plays destiny next to me. this is my kind of cozy, peaceful night! i am determined to go sledding tomorrow, despite already not being able to breathe through my nose due to a cold that sprang up out of nowhere (aka I'm around children all day) and nothing will stop me! i don't think seeing snow fall will ever lose its magic.