Day 14: Dinner at Lauren’s

Alternate title of this post: We Didn't Have to Make Dinner Last Night!

But we also got to see some family that we just don't see enough. We went to dinner at our cousin Lauren's house to eat with her husband and two precious little girls. Lauren and PJ were best friends growing up, being first cousins and in the same grade, they were more like siblings, and have been through everything together.

She made us this delicious creamy pasta that we've been preparing for by eating well all week so that we could splurge last night. It's all about balance, right? She also made these rich and decadent chocolate cupcakes and again, balance. :)

Lauren and her family live in her and PJ's grandma's old house, set on this HUGE lot/farm with all of these cute little trails and areas to enjoy, like this one which used to be a pond with a little waterfall where all the ivy is pouring out of:

 It was fun hearing PJ recollect where stuff used to be on the land, how his grandma used to be, and how much stuff she grew in her garden back in the day to feed the whole family. Learning about each other's families never gets old, and after 8 years we're finding there's still so much to learn, and maybe that's what it's all about and we'll forever be learning new things about each other. 

That's kind of exciting to think about, isn't it? xx

Day 13: Hardworking Husbands

Hi, Thomas here today.

I just want to take a moment to appreciate all of the hardworking husbands out there. The ones who never give up, never stop doing their best, and never stop working as hard as they can. I have a husband like that and I'm proud of him. 

I came home yesterday to a loud and obnoxious noise coming from outside. I go out on the back deck and find PJ tilling up the dirt in our side yard. Enclosed by the fence he built earlier this year. Do you see where I’m going with this? How. Does. He. Do. It. Sometimes I get tired just looking at him. 

When PJ gets an idea in his mind, he wants to start it immediately, and doesn't stop until it's finished. When people ask me what I love most about PJ, I always say it's how hard he works and how much effort he puts into things. I look up to him so much in that respect and find myself, in certain situations, asking "what would PJ do in this instance?" I know it's cheesy, but I'm a cheesy person and way too sentimental, and I like talking about my husband (if you haven't noticed) so here we are. How did I get so lucky? 

He's always working on something. Always. If he's not, he feels like he should be. It's just how he is. Today I am feeling thankful for a husband who works hard to make this house a home. He's not perfect, and we disagree/argue just like the next couple, but to me, he is perfect. With all his flaws and quirks, I feel confident I married the perfect man for me. Someone who inspires me to work harder and be the best version of myself everyday.

PJ McKay, what would I do without you?

-T

Day 12: One of Those Days

Admittantly, nothing extremely interesting or exciting happened on day 12 of our 30 day challenge.

We were waiting (sadly) for a day like this, where it’s just a boring old normal day. We feel somewhat disappointed in ourselves for not being able to single out the most beautiful thing that happened. We went to the grocery store, stopped by the farmer’s market, went to the office, uploaded some pictures for a listing PJ just got, took Alyster to the vet (finally), made dinner, and watched a movie. And that was it.

Should we have tried harder to make the day more beautiful or extraordinary? On the other hand, if we did try harder, would it have only been because of this challenge and the fact that we’re writing it for people to see, and not just because we wanted to for us? At the same time, the point of this whole challenge is to find the beautiful in the normal, mundane, everyday. So, in the end, maybe we should have just looked a little harder.

In any event, we did make dinner and watch a movie together, which was nice enough to mention here. The movie was so good. The dinner? Not so much. We made vegan Alfredo sauce, well, tried to make it is more accurate. We followed the recipe exactly but it just wasn’t good for some reason. Maybe we’ll just bite the bullet and make our regular, tons of fat and calories Alfredo sauce from now on and only have it once a month, as opposed to once a week 😊.

You know, after writing this blog post today, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s okay to not always have good days, at least good enough to write in a 30 day challenge. It’s okay to not always find the bright and beautiful in each day, otherwise we might not appreciate them so much. It’s okay if you’re not happy with the way the day went, just as long as you promise yourself that tomorrow will be better, whatever that may mean to you. Life isn’t wonderful and great all the time. And that’s okay. We’ll all make it through together. 

We hope you had a good day yesterday, and if you didn’t, we hope you have the strength to make today extraordinary.

xx

Day 11: New Friends

We met two new friends last night for dinner in Cleveland. 

Guess where we originally met them? Instagram! It's honestly where we've met almost all of our good friends lately. Who would have ever thought? One little app could lead to so much.

Maddie and Alyssa are HUGE Taylor Swift fans, and we talked for hours about our favorite songs and albums of hers. Thomas is a closet Taylor Swift fan, so we had a lot to talk about. We're actually going to her concert in Atlanta in August! Maybe we'll see you there?

It's such a good feeling to meet people and instantly connect with them like you've known them forever. We're thankful for those two girls up there and for an app that connects people from all over. What would we do without you, Instagram?

xx

Day 10: Tomato & Basil Pasta

We've been craving pasta lately, probably because we've been watching too many cooking shows on Netflix (hello Chef's Table), so we decided to just go for it and make some for ourselves tonight.

We wanted something light and fresh tasting, something that would go well with red wine and French Cafe Radio on Pandora because you know our feelings about getting the mood just right to enjoy a good meal. We weren't sure what we wanted to make, but we knew we had a tomato we needed to use up, so we started there.

Thomas' mom grows basil so we picked up some from her house and thus, dinner tonight was born. To be honest, we didn't measure anything and just kind of through it together, but here is a similar recipe to what we made tonight.  Here's the breakdown:

Ingredients:

• Pasta of your choice (we used whole wheat)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (we used 2 whole tomatoes, diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• About 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved (we didn't use this but it sounds delish)

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; place pasta in a large bowl.
• While pasta cooks, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Add tomatoes and salt; cover and cook 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in basil and pepper.
• Add tomato mixture to pasta; toss well to combine.
• Top with cheese (optional)

It took 15 minutes to make and filled us up for the whole night. Something about fresh ingredients, French music, a glass of wine, and summer nights after it just rained makes us nostalgic for a place we've never been before. Maybe Italy. Do you know what we mean? At the same time, it makes us appreciate being home and gives us that comforting feeling of being completely content in the moment. 

We hope you've had a good weekend. Here's to starting the new week off right!

xx

Day 9: Getting Our Hands Dirty

PJ still isn't feeling that well, so we didn't really do much yesterday but work around the house and sort paperwork.

But, we did manage to drag ourselves out of the house for a little bit and head over to Thomas' mom's house to drop off a piece of furniture. While we were there she asked us to help her pot a few plants she had been meaning to do for a while now. If you know PJ, you know his feelings about plants and potting and how he's completely in his element when he's getting his hands dirty. He grew up on a farm and was always planting trees and flowers all over the place. His parents didn't mind, so he was able to stretch his creativity as far as he could. Now, any opportunity he has to work with plants he takes it and runs with it, which worked out well for Thomas' mom.

Sometimes it just feels good to get your hands in the dirt and get them a little dirty doesn't it? It can be therapeutic in a way that a lot of other things can't, and most of the time, it's completely free!

Also, we came home later that night to find this scene. Love that they all get along so well because it could have gone the complete opposite way. 

Hope you had a good Saturday! xx

Day 8: TGIF

We found a lot of beauty in our Friday, y'all.

The morning was slow, just the way we like it. There was some reading, coffee, dog walking and plenty of podcasts to listen to thanks to all of your recommendations!

We went to take photos of a house PJ is listing which happened to be close to our land, so we took a quick trip out there to walk around. We can't explain the feeling we get when we're there. It's like a whole other world to us. So free and open and it's like anything is possible out there. We can't wait to show you our plans for it.

Back home, Alyster was being ridiculously cute (excuse him) all day and we couldn't stop taking pictures. He was extremely cuddly and was giving PJ little baby kitten kisses because he could probably tell PJ hasn't been feeling too well the past couple of days. We're not sure what it is. Maybe a cold? He's been to the doctor twice and got some antibiotics to hopefully help.

Then we had a mini photo shoot with Alyster. Without him knowing because he was asleep. We don't think he would mind, though.

We are so obsessed with this cat, y'all (like you couldn't tell). 

Later that night we did what anyone would do on a stormy night that called for a possibilities of tornadoes: order takeout, drink some wine, and finally start Damages. Luckily, there weren't any tornadoes in our area, just lots of rain and wind that knocked a tree down in front of our neighbor's house, but everything else seems to be fine.

So there was a lot to be thankful for on our Friday and we want to remember each one. Hope you had a good start to the weekend, too. 

xx

Day 7: Cozy Rain Storm

Suddenly this blog has turned into nothing but pictures of our bedroom. Totally unintentional. And we apologize.

But last night after we got home, and once we settled in, it started raining, no, pouring, like it hadn't rained in months or something. It came out of nowhere but we welcomed it with open arms. If you've been following us for a while, you know that dark, rainy weather is our favorite, especially if we're home with  nowhere to be. 

Alyster seemed to be loving it too.

Maybe it has to do with that feeling of home we're always talking about. You know, the safe, warm feeling you get when you're relaxing with your love, or baking cookies in the fall, or drinking your morning coffee on the couch. It's that overwhelming sense of feeling completely content in your space, regardless of what's going on outside your four walls.. 

Do you know what we mean?