A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

With a busy schedule sometimes it's hard to take a step back and appreciate the things that make you happiest. Luckily, I have a lot to look at when I do find time to do this so I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

Kyle
How could I even deal without him? He lifts me up when I'm down, makes me laugh when I'm crying, and seriously lives to make me happy. I've found a true gem in him and I can't believe I survived in this world for 23 years prior to stumbling upon him in a car dealership on a cold Thursday night. Such a light, my love.

Zoie
If you know me, you know my love for animals is so real it hurts sometimes. I'm lucky enough to have this little bundle of joy to sit at my feet and beg to throw toys for her all.night.long. She has the energy of a toddler that just never stops but she also loves a good snuggle. I don't think I've ever been around a dog with a personality quite like Zoie's. Maybe I'm a biased dog mom, but she truly is perfection to me. We've had some health scares with her tiny little body but for now she's thriving and, as long as she's still begging me to throw her toys, I think we're okay.

Family
Coming from a large family, I've learned to love having cousins and siblings as some of my best friends - and at times some of my only friends. Living in the same state as 50ish immediate family members definitely has its perks. We started at a young age doing family dinners every third Sunday of the month with my dad's side and I'm forever grateful for that. The fact that we all looked forward to it and it wasn't a chore to meet up really speaks to our bond as a family. Even when some of the adults were out of town, us "kids" still coordinated the gathering. Now that we're older and starting our own families, those dinners are a little more few and far between but it makes it that much more special when everyone can come together.

Happy Hours
Isn't this on everyone's list of favorite things to do? There's just nothing quite like a mid-summer evening happy hour in the late sunlight with a cocktail in hand, some chips and guac in the other, and a friend or two to shoot the shit with until it's dark. Though half of the time we don't make it to the restaurant until HH is basically ending, it's still fun to go for the company - even if our drinks are full price. Thankfully, Portland is a pretty affordable eating/drinking city in general and it boasts, in my opinion, some of the most delicious, quirky spots to meet up so I could really care less if it's actually "Happy Hour" or not. Just take me where the guac is! Can it just be Summer all year long, though? Something about the frigid/rainy winter months doesn't exactly scream "leave the house in a cute outfit for drinks" to me.

Sunday Mornings
With Kyle's crazy schedule, we don't typically get a lot of time to spend together. Somehow, he's finagled Sundays off - which, in the car business, is pretty unheard of. Everyone loves a nice, relaxing Sunday morning but my Sundays are way more special since I get to spend them laying around with Kyle after he's worked a 50+ hour week. When we first started dating, we both had Tuesdays off and made a point to do something fun every week whether it was hiking, going to the art museum, finding a new spot to eat, or just sitting at home listening to music together. When Sunday was thrown in to the mix, brunch was obviously a must-do. We spent months trying out - and waiting in line at - all the hot Portland brunch spots and my thighs definitely paid for it! Now we typically sleep in, cook breakfast at home, and just spend time enjoying each other's company which is all I could ask for before waking up on Monday to tackle the week all over again. A perfect recharge.