Attempt at slowly catching up...

I've been slowly writing this, but haven't had much energy to do anything, let alone spell check, proof, and post (or upload pictures...) but here we go. (On a side note - I think my cold is gone!)

June 8 - What are your favorite decorative items/household pieces?


I'm still, slowly, building my home. And knowing that we probably will move again, and again, and again before settling into our own home makes this a little more complicated. But, I have a few pieces that I will look for a home for everywhere we move.

This chair is ridiculous. It can fit me; my dog & me; my dog; my cat; or (most importantly) me & my coffee & a book.

This print is of Brandon's favorite vacation spot. It's one to highlight, so it always gets an up and out of the way location in our apartment - we love it.

This table was our first piece of furniture we bought in Chicago, and we love it. It's the perfect size for just a few items, and accents well with our other furniture. (I guess I also have to shout out to my Scentsy warmer, which I also love.)

This is my favorite painting in the world. It's by my uncle, and it is awesome.

I think in my future life, I'll have throw pillows everywhere. For now...no throw pillows.

June 9 - What skill have you learned in the past year that you are proud of?


This past year has been a challenge for me - learning to let go, to move on, to accept that some things you can't change. But recently, I've gained a (very useless) skill that I hope I don't have to use again.

I decided, with 15 days to re-sign a lease, to start looking at apartments. I can now describe any apartment/condo to you before seeing pictures based solely on the text. Examples...

cozy - small. Generally about 400 sq ft smaller than you think it should be.
vintage - dark wood (peeling wood) with old, white cupboards and paint
view - if they are using this as a selling point, it is a view of a parking lot.
large living space - most of the square footage is the living areas. SMALL bedrooms (possibly closet sized.)
comfy - again, small.
cheery - white. EVERYWHERE.
sunny - ground level unit, a lot of windows. (this can be a good thing.)
garden - underground, there will be small windows.

So, I wouldn't say that this is a skill to be proud of, necessarily, but will probably be useful in a year-ish when I decide to move. Or, maybe you bookmark this to help you when you decide to move. Who knows. All I do know is that I'm pretty certain that I will just be re-signing my lease. Hopefully this newly acquired "skill" will be to plan ahead.

June 10 - What was your hardest partner moment?


Our biggest challenge in general is communication. There isn't one specific example of this, but all of the discussions/arguments we get into stem from just not communicating well.

This is a hard one to fix. I talk SO MUCH (at work, at home, etc.) that I assume that he knows what I'm thinking, or that I've already told him something. (Example: It took me 2 weeks to tell him that the bank sent me a new debit card, because I thought I'd already told him. Not a big deal, but 2 weeks is a long time.)

He, on the other hand, can keep things to himself. While we make an effort to talk through our days, our plans, and our life, sometimes he just keeps things in, or I don't think to ask the right questions.

It's been a challenge, and almost six years in, it's one we still battle with. But, I think we're moving forward...

June 11 - If you were to play hooky from work today, what would you do?


Go to the beach with Ellie.

Ellie (my dog) and I have been together nearly as long as Brandon and I have. Living in Chicago has been hard - no lunch walks, no runs outdoors, and no quality time. It kind of appears that Chicago doesn't like dogs. I know this is not the case, but living in the city with a dog can be quite the challenge.

If I could take the day off, I'd go hang out with her there. In fact...that might be what I do with my Friday. Thanks for the mini-vacation idea, Broads.
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