Permission to Rest & Recharge

A list about life lately :)

Happiest of Fridays to you friends:) I hadn’t planned to post anything this week, giving myself permission to rest and recharge so to speak. It’s been a stressful week professionally and personally (no worries, job is secure, and personal life is happy;) with a lot of ups and downs emotionally. But then I started reading soooo many of your essays and I was so inspired. This truly is the best place on the internet, in my opinion! You all brought me out of my funk and for that, I am immensely grateful …

Thank you!

This weekend I’ll finally get around to finishing the edit on our honeymoon pictures…. I have so much content to share from our 2 weeks in Europe. We also plan to tackle the attic tomorrow, a project that is long overdue. In between all that, I’ll hopefully finish the book I’m reading (it’s SO GOOD!) and start a new one. Next Thursday, we are flying to Phoenix for a friend’s 50th birthday and plan to drive to Sedona for a day. I’ve been there before, but this will be the first time I take film with me and I’m so excited! I’ve also rented a Fujifilm X100VI. I need to buy a new digital camera, and I think I want this one. They are hard to find as they are so popular, so next week will be a trial to see if it’s really what I want and then comes the hunt for one :)

Below is a more comprehensive list of what’s going on in my life…would love to hear your answers to some of the prompts below!

MAKING - The BEST chocolate chip cookies! Here is the recipe!

CRAVING - S P R I N G flowers!

PLAYING - Monopoly Deal. I’m pretty cutthroat to be honest ;)

LISTENING TO - Yacht Rock Radio on SiriusXM. I’m a child of the 70’s so it’s part of my DNA!

READING - Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. Folks, this book is so good. I’m 3 days in and almost 60% finished. That’s a record for me, the slowest reader on the planet!!

WATCHING - The Night Agent; Season 2. We are really enjoying this series…after this it will be season 2 of 1923!

LEARNING - To develop my own film! This is something I’ve wanted to learn since I started shooting film more than digital. It’s an expensive hobby and if I can bring down the costs, I’m all for it. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming months!

GOING TO - Arizona!! Visiting AZ feels like a trip to Mars for me. I remember the first time I went there, and I was utterly amazed by the number of cacti and the fact that they were growing out of the ground!! Super excited to shoot film there for the first time.

WORKING ON - My health. I lost a lot of weight 8 years ago, put a lot back on over the years and now I’ve lost most of that regain. It’s a lifelong struggle for me. Something that I will always have to battle. But also, something that I will always put first for myself.

OBSESSED WITH - Orchids! I have 10 in my kitchen window, and I’ve {somehow} managed to get them to bloom all year round. Each one is my baby and I’m hoping to add to the brood this Spring:)

PLANNING - To put up some floating shelves in my home office to display all my vintage cameras! I have quite a collection and want to showcase them!

EXCITED FOR - Warmer weather. I’m truly a Fall girlie, but the older I get… the more I’m craving warm temperatures. This winter has truly wrecked me!

HOPING - This next spin around the sun is healthy and happy. I turn 55 in 2 weeks and am realizing there are more days behind me than ahead of me. I plan to make the most of this year and years to come!

STARTING - To think and plan for retirement more seriously than we ever have. Marty and I hope to retire outside of the US (Spain, Portugal, Italy) and we have a financial planner who is guiding us and helping us to make the right decisions so this can become a reality for us!

FINISHING - This week tired, but happy. It’s been a rough few weeks for our country and being the INFJ, emotional person that I am…I’ve taken it very seriously and let things worry me. I’m not saying I won’t worry anymore, but I feel more in control of my emotions today. Tomorrow…. that’s another story:)

black & white images from our big trip to AZ in 2022

I hope you have a great weekend! I feel like spring is really just around the corner…and I cannot wait for all the color to show up. I desperately miss the color!

Till next time,

Jenn xoxo