*Hello, it’s me* (sung as Adele, of course ;))

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve said hello on the blog – so hiiiiiiiiii! The last few weeks have been busy, and while I felt a little pangs of guilt for taking a breather from the blog, I had to get the rest of my life in order a bit. Did I end up getting my life in order? Definitely not. But I did I get a few baby steps closer? Possibly 🙂

I’ve been spending the last few days in California, hanging in Lake Tahoe and enjoying what it’s like to actually live by the mountains. It’s been beautiful, sunny, and I got to go downhill skiing for the first time ever. Thank goodness for lessons and very patient and talented ski instructors, because otherwise I would have been completely and utterly useless! But after a morning of lessons I felt pretty good going down some the easy baby runs by myself. Turns out you’re never too old to learn a new trick (at least when you’re 32!)

It’s been nice to get away from Chicago a bit and soak in a few days of vacation – you never really realize how much you need it until you step away and see how good relaxing feels. I can’t believe that the first quarter of the year is almost over, and beyond work being a little crazy, there’s been so much personally happening with life that have made this time a bit more stressful than usual. Between furnishing a new place, selling my condo (and now coordinating the second move of my stuff out of there), taking care of a truly wild little puppy, it’s been a wild but fun first part of the year. But damn – I really needed a few days off – and could probably use a few more after this too.

But I am excited to come home and get back into a routine – especially now since spring is right around the corner. I ordered patio furniture (!!!) so I can enjoy sitting out on the patio once the warmer weather officially settles in, and I’m excited to start to feel like things in Chicago are starting to open up a bit again – from farmer’s markets being back, to boating trips, to (maybe?!) some socially distanced street festivals, and patio season, summer in Chicago feels like it’s right around the corner and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to take Milo to the dog beach for the first time, make pitchers of margaritas on my new patio, and soak in some much needed Vitamin D. We could ALL use a little win these days (I think I speak for everyone when I say that the last few months felt like a total grind), so I’m getting a little more optimistic that things are going to be OK.

In other things to file under “things that are making me happy” – Foxtrot has been gracing us all with new goodies, including a new make your own cookie collaboration with Mindy Segal (the Chicago QUEEN of cookies). I am definitely an aspirational baker who A) is usually missing one key ingredient, or B) swaps the measurements for two ingredients together – which naturally creates the world’s saddest cookies of all time. So I’m thankful I can try to impress my friends by pretending I’m a real baker – with some major help from Mindy. I’ve also been recently obsessed with their Minor Figures Matcha Oat Milk lattes (they’re only $3 and are absolutely delicious), and they’ve been a nice upgrade to my morning coffee routine. And now that it’s warn enough for iced Matcha, they’re even better.

Alright, that’s enough rambling for one day from me – but hope you all have a nice and productive week. I’m spending the beginning of the week in SF, and then headed back to Chicago on Wednesday to get back into a routine again (which I’m very much looking forward to, especially to see Milo)!