My 14 summer goals for beating the post-wedding blues.
I’m BACK! I’m finally breaking radio silence after a bachelorette party in Ocean City with all my favorite ladies, time catching up with friends in DC, and the BEST wedding I could’ve ever imagined to the man of my dreams! The 10 days I was home in Virginia were some of the best of my life.
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| Our first dance to ‘Crazy Love’ by Van Morrison. |
Yesterday I flew back Heidelberg, filled to the brim with love and fond memories but sans my lifelong partner while he wraps up a graduate degree in Boston this summer. So, yes, it’s the opposite of a honeymoon and yes, it stinks. On the flight home I didn’t sleep a wink as I wondered how I fair this summer without him by my side and just moments after being tugged away from my closest friends and family. Who am I kidding, this is a low point.
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| With some of the ladies at the bacherlorette! Aren’t my friends purrrty?! |
On that long flight, I promised myself that I would keep my head on straight. Stuart’s unending snuggles and the planned visits of one of my besties and my family are helping but I also know I need to keep myself busy, very busy. So, I put together a list of the things I want to accomplish before Dan returns on August 12.
1 | Learn a great toast. A long quote or poem to share at a special event to cause one of those “Hear, hear!” moments.
2 | Paint a picture of something I’m looking at in real life.
3 | Take (more) Skillshare classes. My focus is on Lightroom and DSLR photography. If you haven’t checked out Skillshare, do it here! It’s an amazing resource for everything you’ve ever wanted to learn. I’ve taken classes on calligraphy,map-making and interior styling, I love it.
4 | Make a pie. Instead of traditional wedding cake we had a pie bar at the reception. I kid you not, at the end of the night I ate the equivalent of 1/2 a pie, 5 life-changing-ly delicious slices. My favorite was called ‘Coconut Cheese’, a coconut cheesecake delight. I’ve reached out to the cafe that made the pies for the recipe, fingers crossed they share it with me! (Though I can’t fault them if they don’t!)
5 | Clean out my closet. Minimalism is the name of the game. While we were gone one of our rolling racks of clothes literally broke leaving clothes spewed out across the bedroom floor. If that’s not a sign I don’t know what is.
6 | Go to Paris or Lucerne alone to focus on photography or food. Both destinations are feasible weekend trips, I think going solo (well, with Stuart, of course) would be pretty cool. I haven’t traveled alone very much but have always been impressed by those that did, I figure, I might as well seize the opportunity while I have it, right?
7 | Complete Thank You’s for all wedding gifts. Oye! We were SO blessed by the generosity of our guests. We want them to know, promptly, just how much we appreciate their gifts.
8 | Read. Currently I’m between Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert and 7 Principles to a Successful Marriage by John Gottman (an excellent read about the psychological of a healthy relationship, I highly recommend it!) with plans to read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green once I’m done. Any other recommendations?
9 | Watch documentaries about European history. Living right in the thick of it, I want to be more aware of what happened here as I was with Virginia’s history.
10 | Jazz up the balcony. Our semi-enclosed balcony is a sparsely decorated, unused space. I want to add plants (my Mom is going to share her green-thumb tips with me during her visit), get a table and chairs and some all-weather decor. Is there such thing as weather-proof frames?
11 | Learn the basics of German. I have Rosetta Stone, now I just need to use it.
12 | Make hummus. I did this a handful of time over the years but I’d really like to perfect a unique concoction of flavors – cilantro basil lemon perhaps? Any suggestions?
13 | Plan trips for Dan and I for the long weekends through the rest of the year. Seeing Europe is one of the main reasons why we’re here. Since this time is fleeting we decided that we’re going to pack our schedule to the brim to cross off our bucket list. Yay!
14 | Paint this super cool herringbone pattern print for the living room.
What do you think? What are your summer goals?
Cheers to a fun summer ahead, even if it’s at a table for 1!
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| Recap on our amazing wedding (including this entrance dance) to come! |