5 On Friday

Happy Friday, everyone! This week has kind of zoomed right on by since I’ve been keeping pretty busy. No complaints from me on that! I tested out some great new recipes this week, photographed a few others and hope to share them all right here in the next week or so. I’ve also been enjoying the seemingly endless sunshine and had two dinner dates with friends. Needless to say, I’m excited for a weekend of some relaxation. It’s been awhile since I shared a 5 on Friday post, so let’s dive right in, shall we?

1. Last Saturday the first floor of our house flooded thanks to a pipe bursting overnight. Oddly, it was the exact date we decided to list our house for sale last summer. Kait —wtf does that have to do with anything? When we sold our house, the new owners bought almost everything inside leaving us with random chairs and a coffee table. We thought we would be leaving Hawaii shortly thereafter so we never replaced the furniture and have just sort of made it work in the meantime, laughing about how nomadic our home appears when we sit on lawn chairs in the living room. When the flood came yesterday, it would have easily destroyed every piece of furniture we owned; but you can’t destroy what you don’t have! So as I made a joke to a friend about playing Noah’s Ark + watched the dogs slip and slide down the hallway, I couldn’t help but be reminded that everything in life truly does happen for a reason even when it’s not clear in the moment.

2. I’m not purchasing anything from the Nordstrom sale and my computer kept freezing for Amazon Prime Day, so I shut it down and took the dogs for a walk. You didn’t have a heart attack did you? My eyes have been majorly opened during this “sale season” and it kind of scares me. People often ask me how we afford to travel as much as we do and to be frank – it’s because I’m not shopping all the time for shit I don’t need. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy shopping, but this year I just feel so overwhelmed by the incessant pushing of “things”. In the midst of sale sharing galore, remember that it’s only a good deal if you need it and it’s okay to collect moments, not things, in life. Is anyone else feeling this way?

3. Bill and Judy got a package of treats from our friend in Korea and Bill was over the moon! I mean, just look at this face when I let him have the box to play with (his absolute favorite thing) for a few minutes!

4. I love watching the ESPY Awards each year and one day I really hope to get the opportunity to go. There is just something so emotional about the entire evening, but I was a puddle of tears when the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage was given to the 140 gymnasts who are survivors of abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar. The entire presentation, the gymnasts taking the stage — all of it was just so moving and I bawled like a baby. You can read more about it here.

5. It’s that time of the year again – my reader survey! I love putting out a reader survey to see what everyone here is interested in seeing more of, less of and everything in between. It’s really short and would mean the world to me if you could pop in and take it. It’s completely anonymous so no need to worry about that! My reader survey helps me shape content for the year and gives me a better insight into what you’re loving and what you could do without. You can access it here. THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Here is a quick snap of Bill’s idea of working in the office. That’s my notebook and various hair ties on the ground thanks to him thinking he needed to sit in my desk chair. He’s all “sorry ma!”

On that note…have a wonderful weekend, everyone! ?  Linking up with 5 On Friday, A Little Bit of Everything & High 5 For Friday