Necessary

It's been a while again since I showed up to this little space. Every time I think I'm going to be able to come up for air, the busy season continues. I am beyond burnt out, and my mouse pad in my office that says "I need a vacation" could not be more true right now. Between my full time job which I work way more than 40 hours a week, freelance gigs with local businesses, blog campaigns and being a mom, wife, sister, friend and daughter I have a lot on my plate. Social media never sleeps, so my brain is just always on. 

I've fielded a lot of questions from family and friends about how I do it all, and the truth is I don't. Not even close. Wife and Mommy are by far the two most important titles I have, and it saddens me when I'm not fully there for them and they deserve the world. I'm making more of an effort to be there for friends, family and also myself. I need self-care and unplugging even if it's just going to get my eyebrows waxed or my hair done or a barre workout or cooking for my family. It's necessary. 

Also necessary - date nights. It's SO important to have one-on-one time as a couple even if we're grabbing a quick dinner. Having an adult conversation without being interrupted every few seconds - priceless. Last weekend we dropped Lil' Miss off at gymnastics for their monthly "Parents Night Out" (watching parents peel out of the parking lot on a mission each time is my favorite part - you can almost hear them saying "GO GO GO!!!"), and we headed to a new to us local spot for dinner that is an old jailhouse converted into a restaurant. The food was delish, and we then ventured over to a hidden tiki bar for a night cap before heading back to get our sweet girl. 

Twisted OTS Sweater {only $24} | Lace Bralette | Super Soft Skinny Jeans | Ankle Booties | Barrettes | Camera Bag | Lipstick in Twig

Also necessary - time with "framily". We hadn't gotten together in far too long. I had seen her for a birthday dinner in November, but didn't get to catch up much and hadn't seen her since. It had been so long that she was asking to see all my photos from Vegas, Venice, Panama, Brazil and Dubai (my work trips throughout the fall). 

We went for a wine tasting at a new local spot, then came back to the house for grilling and hot tub time with our husbands and the kiddos. Oh and of course s'mores. Lil' Miss fully approved. 

In other news - we had a global marketing summit at work, and I spoke on our social media strategy. Our local department was in the room, but it was streaming to our team members around the world which meant we started each day at 6:00 a.m. to respect the time zones in our Asia-Pacific region before they went to bed for the night. The exhaustion was real, but it was fun to make waffles together in the café before we got started for the day. And even though I spent far too long over analyzing my PPT, and let my nerves get the best of me I feel it went quite well. It's been amazing to see our counterparts around the world already adopting some of the tools and strategies I mentioned, and I'm excited to watch them grow. 

Side note - I forgot how uncomfortable work clothes are. Sitting all day in work pants and heels was not for the faint of heart. I could not be more thankful for remote work for so many other reasons, but this is just another bonus. 

I mostly cook our meals, and we don't eat out or order takeout much except on Saturdays when we try to head out and do something fun. So, I got a little teary eyed when opening up my recipe book recently and a card with my grandmother's handwriting fell out. Needless to say I tried her recipe that week, and it was nostalgia fresh from the oven. Man I miss her... and her sass! 

And last, but certainly not least! I took Lil' Miss to dinner last night to celebrate one of our "framily" members birthday. About 20 of us surprised him, and it was SO good to just all be together. We try to get the girls together for brunches or dinners here and there (and the guys get together too), but it had been way too long since we all came together including our kiddos who were also excited to see each other. Perfect way to celebrate one of our best friends! 

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