One Week in our new home, and things i'm loving lately….

We've lived in Northern California for one week now. It's been beautiful and overwhelming all at the same time. As you saw on Friday, we bought a house. And as exciting as that has been, owning a home also comes with it's own challenges. When something's broken, you don't call the landlord…you fix it, haha! So, we've been filling our house with furniture (yeah craigslist!), and hooking up appliances, and washing clothes and linens to put away, and of course fixing leaks:)  Amazing, but time consuming.

I also decided to go off Facebook this last week. It's an idea i've been toying with for a while for a number of reasons. I'd say the biggest one is that I wasted a lot of time just scrolling the newsfeed, and never feeling necessarily the better for it. My desire with my life is that it is intentional, filled with real relationships where I am connecting and loving and being loved in return. I also have found that FB has become less and less personal. I want the people in my life to feel special because i'm sharing something sacred with them, and only them, as opposed to the hundreds of people online. So my goal is that every day I will have made one good and personal human connection filled with love and intentionality. This might be a hand-written card, a walk in the park, a phone call, coffee date, or even a text that I love them. So that's that:)

In a lot of ways the last week has felt like a warm and familiar embrace. So many people have stopped by our house to say hi and bring cards and flowers welcoming us back to town. We've had so many invitations to dinner in the last week as well as numerous texts of people asking us out to coffee. My sweet dad put together a women's basketball league at our church, and it's been a blast playing on his team the last 2 Sundays. It has just been so so good and filled with the connection that my soul was made for. I'm so eternally grateful for this sweet town and the incredible community that has already surrounded us, and look forward to so much in the future.

A few things i'm LOVING lately:

This Jacket: The jacket i'm wearing in this post is from SheIn. I literally have worn it 3 times this last week because I don't have to compromise style for warmth! It's both warm and stylish.  It's such a great piece because in the winter months it can be worn over a sweater as a jacket for more warmth, and in the other seasons can be worn with a light tank or t-shirt. The other great part about it is that it's only $24! Score! I'm just generally a fan of it's cheery color in these rainy months!

The Nightingale (by Kristin Hannah): Ummm…. have you read this book? I took it on our most recent trip to India and Nepal, and could.not.put.it.down. Ladies, this book is crazy addicting. It's about two sisters during WWII that in their own way helped the French resistance. The story line will keep you up into the wee hours of the night with a flashlight…or maybe that was just me? But to it's credit, it has a 5 start rating with over 17K reviews!! That means a LOT of people feel the same way as I do!

Serial (Season 1): I know, I know…i'm like 2 years late on listening to this podcast. But if you're a little behind the times like me and haven't listened to the podcast called Serial, you must. Kevin and I listened to it when we made the LONG drive from Southern California to Northern California, and we both agreed it was the fastest trip we'd ever made because time flew listening to the gripping tale. It's a true story and very interesting.

New Morning Mercies (by Paul David Tripp): This might be one of the best daily devotionals i've ever gone through. The author someone manages to take you so deep even in just a one page devotional. He's made me think about things in a different way, and i've truly hungered after the Lord in a more intense way after reading it each day. Absolutely worth purchasing:)