Where did May go? I swear I was just meandering through the park and soaking in the spring blooms and now it pretty much feels like summer! I’m def not mad at it, just in awe of how time truly does fly. Or maybe it’s that 2020 felt like such a slog so 2021, despite her flaws, seems to be bigger, brighter and busier. Either way, I have so many updates! And while this is technically supposed to be for April, I’ll probably pepper in a few May moments, too.
WORD OF THE WEEK | Be. This sounds random but I swear I have a point. I have been slammed at work lately – it has been exciting, don’t get me wrong! – but as a result I’m feeling so scattered and like my brain is going in a zillion directions. When that happens, sometimes I forget things or drop balls and then I feel horrible. So I’m taking today, tomorrow and Monday off and I’m really going to try to step away from work because… MY PARENTS ARE HERE! I I haven’t seen them since January 2020 when we went to Florida for my MIL’s birthday (photo below). We were supposed to visit them for Thanksgiving but alas, COVID was raging in Chicago and we never got to go. Now that we are all fully vaccinated they are visiting all of their kids and we, luckily, get them here for a whole week! More on this below, but my point for this word, be, is that my goal for this week is to be present with them and simply soak in our time together.
LOOKING BACK | April in the city was a delight! In my last review I mentioned how excited I was for spring and man, the season did not disappoint! I recognize it is still very much spring, but I always associate spring in the city with the April blooms. Sadly the window is quite short, but it is oh so glorious. I spent pretty much the entire month on cherry blossom watch with my friend, Harrison, and we bopped around to all of the UES parks waiting for the best blooms to burst. We hit up the Central Park Conservatory Garden (so glorious and a must visit if you’ve never been) and the pink pathway on the west side of the reservoir. C and I had a glorious picnic and utilized our cooler basket (which would also be great for the beach). I spent a day in Philly to get my haircut and explore the quaint city streets, and spent a few weekends in NJ. We finally got to see rural NJ during it’s blooming season, which I honestly don’t think we’ve ever done together! Overall, we made a lot of really special memories.
ONE THING I LEARNED | I’m still dealing with a lot of complex emotions surrounding COVID. April was a big month for us because we both were fortunate enough to get the Pfizer vaccine, shortly after NY opened it up to our age group. I’m beyond grateful that the process was easy for us – both making the appointments and getting the shots – and that we both pulled through with relatively little side effects. I’m grateful that we feel a bit safer and that we can see and hug our families. We were able to celebrate C’s grandfather’s 90th birthday, hug our friends and book flights for a wedding we have this summer. Look, I know that the vaccine isn’t the only solution to this global problem, but I still felt a tremendous amount of relief post-shot. That being said, as the US starts to open up again, that comes with an entirely new set of feelings and emotions. I love being able to take my mask off for outdoor walks, but I still feel anxious when I pass people, or if I hear someone cough or if I sneeze. It’s almost like I had this idea that the virus was lurking around every corner, ready to pounce on me. I know that there’s a lot of fear and trauma that we all need to work through, some way more than others. And while this is a global situation, it’s also very personal, so I’m doing my best to work through my feelings, set boundaries and honor the feelings and boundaries of others. Now more than ever, I’m focusing on compassion towards myself, those I love, and heck, even strangers.
ONE THING I’M PROUD OF | We are ALMOST done with our apartment! By done, I mean that 99% of the furnishings have arrived and are in place. I literally cannot believe it. Sometimes I just sit and look around and am like woah, this is our home. WE LIVE HERE. I mentioned this last month but investing in our space and creating a home that we love, even though we rent, has been a huge game changer for my mental health. Our friend and designer, Cara, is a genius, and did the most magnificent job turning my vision into a reality. I’ll share more about that process soon! We plan to do a Q+A, a full home tour, and I’ll update the blog with easy to find links 🙂 Here are a few sneak peeks!
WHAT I’M EXCITED FOR | MY PARENTS ARE HERE!!!!!!!!! They actually arrived on Tuesday night, and when they walked thorugh the door I was so happy that I cried. I’m very close with my parents so not seeing them for almost a year and a half was actually the worst. I am just so grateful that we are all safe and healthy and here. We have a lot of exciting plans, include a visit to The Botanic Garden, biking around Governor’s Island, a boat tour and meals at some of our favorite restaurants. There will be park walks and Bruce walks and bagels and dinners in and time spent snuggled on the couch watching our favorite show (NCIS, duh). They have been here quite a bit to visit us and have seen a lot of the “sights” but now that the city is re-opening we’re taking advantage! We’ll do a few things we know and love and a few things none of us have done! I love being a tourist in my own city and with this company, I know we’ll have a blast!
SNAPSHOTS | Some unedited #lifelately highlights from my camera roll…
My boyz in Carl Schurz – spring flowers in Central Park – MHN always
Philly streets – a photo I developed manually – selfies
Picnic time! – more city in the spring – Bruce snoozes aka my daily view
more Bruce! – my fave matching set (top and bottom)
setting the table – Jersey blooms – our church is finally open!
my new fave jeans (run tts) – C’s new favorite sweatshirt – laundry empties! (more on laundry here)
BROWSING, READING, LEARNING, LISTENING | I almost finished Downton Abbey – I just have the series finale left and have been waiting to find 2 hours to devour it. Also maybe I’m putting it off because I don’t want it to end? I just love the characters so much and am so sad it’s over. Thank goodness they are releasing another movie this year!
Since I’m extremely into period shows I also started Victoria (which was on PBS and is streamed on Prime) and Harlots (on Hulu) which are both excellent but very different. The first is about Queen Victoria and her reign, which was incredibly fascinating. It seems (to me at least) to be pretty historically accurate and the costumes and characters are fantastic. The second is about, well, harlots – and centers around a brothel owner and her family in 18th century London. The actress who plays Sybil on Downton is one of the main characters! I’m finding that the more period dramas I watch, themore the actors overlap.
I’m trying to get better about podcasts on my walks! I love Kelly LeVeque – her love her cookbook and her smoothies! – and this episode of her podcast with Dr. Ben Lynch, author of Dirty Genes, was a good one. It’s about epigenetics and how we can understand our genetic blueprint to be our best and healthiest selves.
I’ve also read a lot of books lately (for me at least!) but I’ll delve into that next month since technically most of that reading was done in May 😉
Okay that’s all for now, friends! Now we’re off to the botanic gardens. Have a lovely weekend!
Nora! This put such a smile on my face. You are JOY! I am so happy for you so many wonderful changes and completely relate about covid anxiety and emotions! Enjoy enjoy enjoy your parents!!!
Oh my gosh Molly thank you! We really had the best time – I am so grateful we were able to have a whole week to catch up. Thank you for commenting and for being here – I appreciate you!