Things I Love Thursday // 4.11.13

Here is a collection of some of the things I have been loving lately. Enjoy!

• Makeup tutorials by Tanya Burr on her fabulous YouTube channel. I've been watching and trying to replicate some of these techniques and "looks" for over a year now--sometimes with great success, even. The tutorials are step-by-step and so easy to follow. It's fun to play with makeup every now and then for special events and watching these help me remember to mix it up sometimes and get out of my daily ruts.
• Honey-sweetened Greek yogurt with granola for breakfast.
• This picture that I snapped of Linda and Piper during our recent trip to Asheville, North Carolina. It is beyond sweet and I love that Linda is rocking her beautiful, natural head. Cheers to beating cancer!

•  My crock pot. (There is a HIGH probability that my husband is rolling his eyes as he reads this bit.) Thanks to a detailed "nudge" from my friend, Gretchen, I have begun prepping and freezing some delicious meals in advance. I've done this on three different occasions resulting in about 15 meals. It is so easy to grab one and get is started mid-morning for a tasty, homemade meal come dinnertime. I look forward to sharing some of the most successful dishes with you soon.
• When the girls decide to dress similarly to one another. It's a very sweet and simple demonstration of the friendship that is growing between them.
• Our screened patio off the back of the house. It's a nice place to spend a weekend morning or any evening. From what I hear, I'm really going to appreciate it when those disgusting BIG southern bugs make their appearance.

•  Fresh-cut flowers. It's funny, despite the fact that a lot of the house is still in an awkward shamble (missing critical furniture elements, showcasing cardboard boxes, surfaces sprinkled with items that haven't found their new "home" yet) when I put a vase of fresh flowers on the countertop, dresser, or side table, I feel much more content in the space. I highly recommend picking up two or three of those $3-$4 "growers bunches" at the grocery store and getting creative with jars and vases. Happy Spring!
• Soft boiled eggs
• This lantern from a neighborhood store. I covet it. I actually visit it. It would look amazing in my dining room; It really would.

•  Tip-toeing back into fitness. I'm nowhere near my "Oregon routine" when it comes to weekly visits to the gym (Oh, how I miss Group Kick!) but I have made an appearance or two at our neighborhood gym and it has felt really good--and then really bad (in that awesome sore way that we all love).
• Reading before bed. 
• Having only one television in the house that is nowhere near where 90% of our "living" is done.
• Being within "riding distance" to the nearest grocery store.

• Rocking chairs on the front porch.
• Homemade bubbles.
• Routinely joining the girls at school to have lunch together at their classroom tables among their new friends.
• Having warm enough weather in early April to allow for some fun with the garden hose before dinner.

• Writing again.