the unexpected domestic

happy wednesday y'all!

just a little bit of encouragement...sometimes the hardest step is the first step even when it's something you have to do.  quit putting off the necessary and everything falls into place! :)

Thinking Outside the Box

All of my life I've heard the phrase "think outside the box." And for the most part I was always like, yeah! let's do that! But looking back, I realize that I hardly ever thought outside the box like I thought I was doing.  I had these expectations for how I was supposed to be during my school years: play softball, be in band, get good grades, etc.  I strove to please everyone and keep them happy with me.  I remember being stressed out when things didn't go how I thought they should go.  I had a plan and I had a schedule to go along with that plan.  The ironic thing to me is that I thought I was more easy going than I actually was.  But really, isn't that how it is with everyone, we criticize and compare to others what is actually a characteristic we fail to see in ourselves.

A few weeks ago I read somewhere to have a set goal but keep a fluid plan.  Reading that statement was a total eye opener to me.  Kevin has always seemed to follow this saying and I have been trying to adjust to his ways for several years now.  Like, when we go to the coast this is usually how it goes in my head: "Oh, we're going to the coast!  But wait, we aren't going to take 98 and then 49 south?  Oh ok...then how?  What? We're going to just head south on back roads?  Well, okay then..."  And you know what?  It always works out. It took some getting used to, but not only do I know accept it, I embrace it!  It doesn't matter that we don't go the same way everyone else goes, I'm having a grand time with the love of my life! Plus, how else would we find beautiful fields or magical looking roads??

I am very glad that I have been introduced to "letting things go" and rolling with it.  I can't say it started out with me embracing doing this, but really, it makes life so much easier!  Sometimes I forget and it hits me that I can actually do things a different way than I imagined.  I don't know why, but it still surprises me when this happens, haha.  Now I know that some people may have this all figured out already but this was a huge revelation to me when I realized all of this.  Thinking it out this way has really cause me to understand more what it means to think outside the box.

I've been trying to apply this reasoning to more aspects of my life.  Which is sometimes hard because I am really a person who loves routine, so rolling with it can be difficult for me to do.  But remembering to keep my goal firm with my plan fluid really helps!

Weekend in Starkville!

This past weekend I took a quick trip up to Starkville to see my brother and my bestie!  It was a nice trip, I was able to take both of the dogs with me since they have a little bit more space for all of us.  I was not sure how the dogs would handle a long road trip but it turns out they are great travel companions!

I made it to Starkville late (for me) Friday night and we spent the rest of the night just hanging out and talking.  Saturday morning was spent drinking coffee and letting the dogs play together in the yard.  

Later Katherine and I went to town to go to a few shops.  There are several new places that were not there when I went to school there and it was exciting to go to those.  There is this place called Sprout that had a pretty neat entrance and front yard.  First of all, it's my favorite style of shop because it used to be a house and was transformed into a business.  But the best part was the rosemary bushes growing in the front! Katherine and I just ran our hands through the shoots.  Which resulted in our hands smelling like rosemary all afternoon.  There were also these raised garden beds that are going to be so beautiful when spring finally arrives!  That day they only had broccoli and kale planted.

We also went downtown to the coffee shop where Katherine works and to a neat store called Aspen.  They had a lot of cute knick knacks along with a lot of candles.  I found a couple of things that I wanted but held off.  I'm trying to be more deliberate about where my spending money is going.  Probably one of the coolest things I saw was at the coffee shop.  The entire back wall was covered in industrial baking sheets!  I love finding little creative aspects that add  to the overall feel of a place without being really obvious.

I was a little sad to leave my friends so soon but was very glad to be in my own bed on Sunday night!  Me and the dogs had a quiet trip back home.  They took turns napping and chewing on the bones I got them for the trip while I listened to the Creative Start Podcast.  I am looking forward to when I get to go back, but definitely not that drive!