We are constantly being pelted with a barrage of content and so I have gathered some of the articles and videos from the past couple of weeks that I have found inspiring, informative and downright funny. I'll be sharing these types of posts periodically.
Living in small spaces for the past five years has led me to appreciate the helpful insights and design tips from Apartment Therapy.
I don't live in a house, but many of these cold weather prep tips apply to apartment living too. At the very least read these 7 things to do now to prepare your home for winter just to get some design inspiration from the pictures!
Brad Pitt + Zach Galifianakis = laughs for days. That's all I have to say about the latest episode of Between Two Ferns.
I journal every day for at least 15 minutes. All of my goals, hopes, and prayers go into a journal or moleskin as I try to grow personally and professionally, which is why I was excited to read an insightful article from Contently proposing that journaling the past can help you work smarter in the future.
Even if you don't consider yourself a great writer or enjoy writing, the beauty of journaling is that it doesn't need to be pretty or even make sense, it just has to act as a road marker so that you can look at it later and reflect on how much you've grown and how you can improve moving forward.
Jim Carrey hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend and while my husband and I rarely stay up as late as 1 AM we decided to risk being sleepy the next day to watch the comedy legend at his best. The episode was amazing by the way.
Watching Carrey in action reminded my husband of another skit that he had seen him in a long time ago and he made me watch it. If you are a fan of Jim Carrey at all you will not be disappointed. I was cracking up when he showed me.
I hope you are feeling more inspired or at the very least have a smile on your face after watching Jim Carrey try to rescue Will Ferrel in a jacuzzi.
Cheers,
Hannah
10.28.2014
10.24.2014
Pacific Northwest Pro Tip: Fall at The Farm
Look at this cute bakery and giant cinnamon roll:
Now imagine yourself taking a big bite of this gooey cinnamon roll while watching a duck race and enjoying the smell of roasted corn and apple cider donuts. This doesn't just have to be a dream, friends.
This was my weekend. Sunday was one of the coolest days I've had in a long time (not literally, it was actually pretty warm). We went on a little adventure with some pretty amazing people to The Farm at Swan's Trail in Snohomish.
If you are looking for a fun fall activity look no further. This adorable farm just an hour Northeast of Seattle is pretty much a pumpkin patch on steroids. The corn maze, apple orchard and pumpkin patch are all on site. Everything from pig races to a petting zoo to just about every Fall treat known to man is all contained on this beautiful plot of land just outside the city.
We picked out a gorgeous pumpkin which we carved later that night and got to touch baby animals! What more can you want?!
Here are a few pictures from the day:
Now imagine yourself taking a big bite of this gooey cinnamon roll while watching a duck race and enjoying the smell of roasted corn and apple cider donuts. This doesn't just have to be a dream, friends.
This was my weekend. Sunday was one of the coolest days I've had in a long time (not literally, it was actually pretty warm). We went on a little adventure with some pretty amazing people to The Farm at Swan's Trail in Snohomish.
If you are looking for a fun fall activity look no further. This adorable farm just an hour Northeast of Seattle is pretty much a pumpkin patch on steroids. The corn maze, apple orchard and pumpkin patch are all on site. Everything from pig races to a petting zoo to just about every Fall treat known to man is all contained on this beautiful plot of land just outside the city.
We picked out a gorgeous pumpkin which we carved later that night and got to touch baby animals! What more can you want?!
Here are a few pictures from the day:
10.21.2014
Opting for Adventure
The end of September marked five years since my family and I made the 35 hour trek in our PT Cruiser to move me to the Pacific Northwest. September also marks five years since my husband and I got together.
The week I moved to Seattle was a whirlwind. Besides moving across the country, I was trying to adapt to college life and meet new people. Everyday was exhausting!
The night JD asked me to be his girlfriend he took me to his favorite coffee shop, Zoka, where he sat me down and pretty much told me that he had come to the realization that he was in love with me. I was in shock to say the least. My husband was and is a passionate guy. It's part of what I love about him. Not many guys would tell a girl that he loves her on the first date.
Life continued to be crazy that year. I threw myself into my school work, while dating a guy who was finishing up college when I was just starting. I was also bouncing back and forth between San Antonio and Seattle and feeling homesick. A lot.
It felt scary moving away from friends and family to try to brave college on my own. It was really hard at times and there were days I wanted to catch the first flight home and leave the rainy weather behind me. But it was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I'm so glad I opted for the adventure instead of comfort.
The week I moved to Seattle was a whirlwind. Besides moving across the country, I was trying to adapt to college life and meet new people. Everyday was exhausting!
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| Hello college and a brand new life! |
Life continued to be crazy that year. I threw myself into my school work, while dating a guy who was finishing up college when I was just starting. I was also bouncing back and forth between San Antonio and Seattle and feeling homesick. A lot.
It felt scary moving away from friends and family to try to brave college on my own. It was really hard at times and there were days I wanted to catch the first flight home and leave the rainy weather behind me. But it was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I'm so glad I opted for the adventure instead of comfort.
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| Mine and JD's first picture together back when he wore earrings more often than I did |
10.17.2014
Anticipation for Fall and Summer in Review
Summer is over and along with it my desire to fly by the seat of my pants every day and just take whatever life throws at me.
Isn't it neat how the seasons and the weather frame life's rhythms? That's at least how I have come to think about it. The Fall is my favorite time of year. When I was a student I always looked forward to the beginning of a new school year, new classes, new opportunities, a fresh start. Maybe it's just because I'm only a year out of college, but I still think of the Fall as the start of a "new year" even though technically January has dibs on New Years and new year resolutions and all that stuff.
Since moving to Seattle I've had to adapt a bit to a different way of life. We get rainy/grey days for much of the calendar year, (typically November through April or May) but in return we get some of the most beautiful seasons. Summer and Fall are by far the best though.
After losing my job in June I decided to take a couple of months off to recover from a long tiring season and just enjoy the weather, the beautiful city, and my friends. My days were mostly filled with house projects, visiting with friends, and laying out in the sun. It was pretty fantastic.
After August came and went I dove headlong into job searching while still keeping a few side jobs on my plate. Mostly blogging and a bit of account management for a friend's startup. Job searching might be one of the worst necessary evils that exists. Especially for a young professional who wants to work in marketing. It turns out that everyone and their mom wants to work in marketing. Who knew?
Thankfully my husband landed an incredible job right around the time I lost mine and so I have had a lot of freedom to take my time and find a job I really want. I have emailed and met with a lot of people over the last few weeks trying to figure out what God has for me in terms of my career, but nothing has turned up and for a while I was really anxious about it. Finally after about a month of searching I came to the realization that I don't need to drive myself into the ground trying to find something. I can see this as an opportunity, not a burden.
Around the same time I had this realization my good friend contacted me asking if I could watch their one-year-old son a couple of days a week. They were in serious need of help after their child care option fell through at the last minute. Even though babysitting hasn't been at the top of my "dream job" list I felt like it was the right thing to do. I still have time to find a permanent job, but I get to hang out with an adorable little boy and help my friend in the process.
So, my Fall schedule is starting to shape up and I have a lot of peace about what the next few months will look like. I am really excited to see what is in store.
I took some time off from blogging as well to revamp my blog: change the design and refocus my goals. I am really happy with the design changes and rebrand! I feel that the new title is a better reflection of my life and what I want to write about (check out my About Me page!) I hope to write more often and continue to make improvements to this blog as it is much like the rest of my life: a work in progress.
As I mentioned, my summer was a blast and there were a few highlights that I want to share. I can't wait to jump into the Fall and enjoy all it has to offer, but before I do that, here is my summer in review...
I ate a lot of this:
I saw a lot of my favorite people:
I visited the beach and the mountains:
My sister came to Seattle!
I celebrated my 24th birthday with kayaks, paddle boards, and smooches from my hubby.
I reconnected with old friends and JD made a new one:
Isn't it neat how the seasons and the weather frame life's rhythms? That's at least how I have come to think about it. The Fall is my favorite time of year. When I was a student I always looked forward to the beginning of a new school year, new classes, new opportunities, a fresh start. Maybe it's just because I'm only a year out of college, but I still think of the Fall as the start of a "new year" even though technically January has dibs on New Years and new year resolutions and all that stuff.
Since moving to Seattle I've had to adapt a bit to a different way of life. We get rainy/grey days for much of the calendar year, (typically November through April or May) but in return we get some of the most beautiful seasons. Summer and Fall are by far the best though.
After losing my job in June I decided to take a couple of months off to recover from a long tiring season and just enjoy the weather, the beautiful city, and my friends. My days were mostly filled with house projects, visiting with friends, and laying out in the sun. It was pretty fantastic.
After August came and went I dove headlong into job searching while still keeping a few side jobs on my plate. Mostly blogging and a bit of account management for a friend's startup. Job searching might be one of the worst necessary evils that exists. Especially for a young professional who wants to work in marketing. It turns out that everyone and their mom wants to work in marketing. Who knew?
Thankfully my husband landed an incredible job right around the time I lost mine and so I have had a lot of freedom to take my time and find a job I really want. I have emailed and met with a lot of people over the last few weeks trying to figure out what God has for me in terms of my career, but nothing has turned up and for a while I was really anxious about it. Finally after about a month of searching I came to the realization that I don't need to drive myself into the ground trying to find something. I can see this as an opportunity, not a burden.
Around the same time I had this realization my good friend contacted me asking if I could watch their one-year-old son a couple of days a week. They were in serious need of help after their child care option fell through at the last minute. Even though babysitting hasn't been at the top of my "dream job" list I felt like it was the right thing to do. I still have time to find a permanent job, but I get to hang out with an adorable little boy and help my friend in the process.
So, my Fall schedule is starting to shape up and I have a lot of peace about what the next few months will look like. I am really excited to see what is in store.
I took some time off from blogging as well to revamp my blog: change the design and refocus my goals. I am really happy with the design changes and rebrand! I feel that the new title is a better reflection of my life and what I want to write about (check out my About Me page!) I hope to write more often and continue to make improvements to this blog as it is much like the rest of my life: a work in progress.
As I mentioned, my summer was a blast and there were a few highlights that I want to share. I can't wait to jump into the Fall and enjoy all it has to offer, but before I do that, here is my summer in review...
I ate a lot of this:
I saw a lot of my favorite people:
I visited the beach and the mountains:
My sister came to Seattle!
I celebrated my 24th birthday with kayaks, paddle boards, and smooches from my hubby.
I reconnected with old friends and JD made a new one: