This past week was my first “real week” back to the swing of things! I’m finally in one place and I’m feeling settled back in with Alex, and I’m loving it! Although towards the end of this week I’ll be heading back to VA for a quick trip to photograph a wedding, I’m looking forward to the months ahead I’ll be in Florida. <3 It will be a time to refresh and work on behind the scenes projects in preparation for the 2020 wedding season. 🙂 It’s going to be a GREAT year!!! See how this past week was “sweet” and “bitter” — Of course, though, always sweeter because there’s so much to be grateful for each day we wake up. 🙂

COFFEE TALK

MOCHA MOMENTS
THE SWEETER MEMORIES FROM THIS PAST WEEK

1
MORNING ROUTINE

I cannot believe that I’m a morning person now! I look forward to my personal time, despite the fact that our alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. to make this happen… Although, the snooze button is very tempting to sleep an additional 15-minutes. 😉 When I first got Ollie about two years ago, I quickly realized in order to feel refreshed in the morning, I needed to wake up 30-minutes earlier than him to enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast. Just doing this slight adjustment gave me some personal time before my attention steered to him. Then after reading some books and listening to podcasts about routine, I came up with a plan in November how I wanted to run my day instead of letting the hours run me. Best thing I’ve done for myself and my business! I look forward to sharing more about that in the near future. 🙂

2
KICKING OFF THE 2020 SEASON

So far, 2020 has been good! I’ve been working hard behind the scenes working on a blogging calendar, selecting the best photos from the 2019 wedding and portrait season, and settling down in Florida. I have to admit, as much as I love traveling, I REALLY love being a homebody too. There’s something that makes my heart so happy when I have a consistent routine. I loved the places the end of 2019 took me and the people I got to see, but my body was wearing down. I’m happy to see that in just one week of healthy foods and working out, I feel SO much better. Nourishing the body is so good for the mind, body, and soul! 🙂

3
CHESS WAR!

SUCCESS! I taught Alex how to win a game of chess! And I also taught him how to lose … Although, he blames Ollie for distracting him. 😉 😉 😉 HA! It was totally in my plan. JK! I am going to hold on to the win forever because I have a feeling that Alex is going to get the hang of it soon!

4
1917

When Alex said he REALLY wanted to see the movie “1917,” I admittedly told him that I am not a fan of history (it was the only class in my career of school that I got C’s). But for him, I’ll “suffer” through the movie. HAHA! How pitiful of me to already assume that I wouldn’t like it just because it has to do with history! After watching it in the theater with some friends on Saturday, I am still BLOWN away. I encourage you to watch it because the cinematology was incredible. They filmed the movie as if it was one continuous shot which is fascinating to watch the behind the scenes! I won’t say too much, but I give the movie five out of five stars! Highly recommend it!!

5
VA VISITORS

I LOVE when VA friends of mine say they are coming down to Destin to vacation! I hope to see many friends come down to visit in the near future (especially when the springtime hits!). 🙂 One of my P31 friends from a while back came down with a friend over this past weekend, and I was inspired to sit down and write out a bunch of recommendations during their short visit. Spoiler alert: Blog post coming in the near future regarding things to do around Destin, FL!!! 🙂 After church yesterday, we got together at a place called, “Crackings,” in Santa Rosa Beach. After a couple of mimosas and the coastal omelet, I can say that I will be adding this spot on my list!!! 🙂 It was wonderful having a little girl time and catching up. It is so good for the soul to connect with like-minded women! 🙂

ESPRESSO MOMENTS
THE BITTER MEMORIES FROM THIS PAST WEEK

1
ONE SAD WEEKEND…

This weekend was a sad, sad weekend. It started by taking down the Christmas decorations… Thank goodness it doesn’t take very long to switch the house back to normal, but I was really contemplating how to integrate twinkle lights into the design. 🙂 Haha! Even though I didn’t like seeing the twinkle lights packed away, I love seeing the flowers around our house again. 🙂 It’s a new year which means it’s time for a refresh!

On Saturday, the JMU Dukes went to Frisco, TX again for the Championship game!!! I haven’t been since we won a few years back, but I was really hopeful JMU would take the title again, especially during the last minute! Poor Ollie was startled every time I yelled at the TV, but we had a chance to make it happen. 🙂 But hopefully better luck next time!

2
FREEZING CELL PHONE…

I’ve learned to just deal with a phone that freezes every once in a while… Until recently. I’ve been dealing with it for over a year, but I was convinced that it was due to the lack of storage from the 12,000 photos. Whoops! Ha! However, I spent last week dumping photos after backing them up and it hasn’t changed. The past couple of months, my phone got worse and now only works for about a minute before it freezes and has to be restarted. So I guess enough is enough and it’s time to make moves this week!! I cannot WAIT to have a working phone again!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Happy Monday, everyone!!