Monday, January 4, 2021

Step Into My Week 1.4.20

 I usually start these posts with a “Happy Monday,” but my fingers are telling me to do otherwise since it’s been quite a while since I last saw 5:30 with an a.m. beside it. It’s back to work for me today, and I left myself a few tasks I hate doing (my expense report) for the first day back from vacation, which I don’t recommend. Fortunately, I am working from home today, so I can accomplish it with pajamas on and a new candle burning. It will be nice to find a routine again after so long off, but the past week has been the perfect taste of relaxation without a routine, so it’ll take some easing back into! 

It was back to work on Monday morning for my parents, so we were all up early since my brother and sister-in-law were headed back to Jacksonville once my parents went to work. Once they left, I did a Peloton workout and then showered. I wanted to use most of the day to get ahead on blog posts for January and was able to do just that. My dad came home to workout around lunchtime and left our back door open since the weather was nice so that Scout could go in and out if she wanted. She didn’t really take him up on that opportunity, but a bird did and flew in while I was getting work done at the kitchen island. I immediately went upstairs to get my dad’s help since I’m not a fan of birds and was pretty much useless in that situation. After it flew through the house and hid in the Christmas tree, my dad was finally able to get it to leave through one of the front doors! Needless to say, my adrenaline was up after that. I eventually ate lunch and continued to write posts to publish this month so that much of my blogging time could be spent getting ready to have everything on a new site (which has been quite the project). That night I took a bubble bath to unwind before making dinner with my parents and hanging out with them. 

shop these leggings here

I slept in for the first time since being home on Tuesday (that was a bit of a challenge with a puppy in the house) and woke up fully rested around 8:30! I did a bit of blog work on my computer while drinking coffee before riding the Peloton. I completed Ally Love’s last Sunday’s With Love ride of the year, and the amount of time spent climbing during it made it an especially great workout. After that, I showered, dried my hair, and folded my laundry before revisiting my laptop and eventually eating lunch. I got ahead on content until around 2:30 when I changed and met my friend Bowen for a walk. We walked longer than we had anticipated since we were catching up! Afterward, I came back home, attempted to pack up, and took a bath (one of my favorite at-home treats). We had burgers for dinner and started watching The Crown on Netflix. We only made it through 2 episodes before deciding it was time for bed. 

shop these leggings here

Wednesday was the day I was set to finally head back to Birmingham after being home for the holidays. I got new tires in October, and the alignment has seemed a bit off, so I had an appointment scheduled to get that looked at around 10:30. I woke up early that morning so that I could say bye to my parents before they went to work. Afterward, I typed some blog posts and eventually loaded up my car and got ready. I left the house around 10:00 and waited at the car dealership until they had finished looking at my car. I was there until 2:00 and impatiently eager to get on the road. A quick stop to get lunch, and I was driving back to Birmingham after a nice stint in Fairhope. Nell and I caught up on the phone, which helped pass the time, as did listening to the new episodes from Crime Junkies. I got back a little after 5:00, unloaded some of the stuff from my car, and quickly changed. I wanted to see the Birmingham Zoo lights since they were put up but didn’t end up going before Christmas. On my birthday, my friend surprised me with a screenshot of tickets to go on Wednesday night. We grabbed dinner at Taco Mama and then made our way to the zoo. I really enjoyed it, and luckily the weather wasn’t too cold for walking around outside! Afterward, we returned to my house and watched a couple of episodes of We Are The Champion on Netflix. If you need a good laugh, the cheese rolling and dog dancing episodes were especially amusing. Not long after that, I went to bed.  

shop my outfit here

I slept in a bit on Thursday morning and stayed in my pajamas for a while before my friend came over, and we played backgammon while trying to figure out what we were going to do for New Year’s Eve. We ultimately settled on heading to our friend’s house to cook dinner and play games. In the afternoon, I showered, unpacked from my time in Fairhope, and did a bit of laundry before getting ready. We made a quick pitstop by Publix on the way and arrived at Macy and Drew’s house around 6:30. Our friend Sara and her fiancé, Charlie, showed up shortly after, and we all poured a drink while the dinner finished cooking. We had baked chicken (which was cooked whole, something I’ve never done), baked rice with leeks, and a side salad for our meal, and chocolate-covered strawberries and vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. I am such a big fan of New Year’s Eve spent at home, especially after playing a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity with a fun playlist going. It was a bit of a shock we all made it to midnight, but such a blast! 




Friday morning was very relaxed after being up until midnight (the latest in a while for me) and complete with leftover sausage balls my mom sent back with me on the couch with a cup of coffee. In the afternoon, Hunter and I went over to his parent’s house to watch the game. His mom made gumbo and a charcuterie tray, which were delicious, and it was comfortable enough to sit outside on their porch with a fire to watch Alabama secure their place in the National Championship game. We went back to Hunter’s house to watch the Clemson and Ohio game and ate some leftover chocolate pie he had there. I couldn’t stop yawning, so I left to go to bed around 9:30. 


Although it seems like all the days between Christmas and going back to work have been lazy, I think Saturday was my laziest. I didn’t have any plans until that evening, so I had a slow morning after sleeping in before eventually showering, doing a bit of organizing, and mainly watching Bridgerton in bed. I think I’m on episode 4 now, but so far, it has lived up to the high accolades everyone has given it. Eventually, I got ready for dinner, which I thought was just going to be Hunter and me at an Italian place in Pepper’s Place, but he and my roommate had been scheming, and it turned out to be a belated birthday dinner with a few of my friends in town. I don’t think I’ve ever had a surprise birthday “party” and was genuinely shocked. I didn’t have the slightest idea something was up until Hunter told the hostess we were meeting people there, and we walked to a table with my friends waiting. It was so fun to see friends after being apart for the holidays and definitely made up for the fact that I didn’t do much for my birthday while in Fairhope. We finished the dinner with cake before heading home. 





shop my outfit here

Sunday was the first time in a while that I felt like I had a certain degree of the Sunday scaries. After so long of being off, it would’ve been impossible not to feel a little bit overwhelmed preparing for a five-day work-week. I tried to get some general things done (like laundry, cleaning my room, going to the grocery store, and cooking) to make things easier for me as I ease back into work. In the afternoon, I went for a long walk and talked on the phone with my parents before making it home to shower and make a to-do list for the next day. Hunter came over that night to make dinner, and I finally used my air fryer on the brussels sprouts we ate. After we ate and cleaned up, the left, and my roommate and I hung out in our living room watching Crazy Rich Asians before getting in bed around 9:00. 

shop some of my room details here

I’m currently wishing I had a couple of more days off to get some of the stuff done that I told myself I’d accomplish while on vacation, but I know getting back into a routine will be good. I hope that those of you also easing back into the working world today can do so in a semi-relaxing way! 

No comments :

Post a Comment

Blog Design by Get Polished