GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // JUNE 7, 2016

Gratitudes

Topping the list this week is this engagement session with Emma + Haleigh! These two graciously met me in front of Dean & Deluca at 6am last Wednesday to play in front of my camera. Georgetown was special to them as it was a place they frequented when they first started dating. When they look back on this special moment in their lives they’ll be able to remember Georgetown with the walks along the water, stops for coffee, late dinners and roaming the side streets daydreaming about what it’s like to own a brownstone. I haven’t seen a more obvious case of love in a long time, these two were smitten which made this session cake. I’ll be sharing a few more on Instagram later today so be sure to check in. I will say you don’t want to miss their engagement rings – two rings are wwwaaayyy better than one!

For the first time in over a month I practiced yoga. Since the move and the start of wedding season I lost my schedule and the motivation to get going again. Finding a new home studio is proving challenging so I ordered a dvd off of Amazon and decided to give home practice a try in the sunroom. I’ve always been amazed by those who practice at home, for me the community of the studio and collective energy in the class is what keeps my motivation levels elevated. I have to say though practicing at home was peaceful and fulfilling in a different way. I was able to focus on what I felt like my body needed instead of following along with the instructor. I was able to practice and hold Crow pose longer than I have before -yay! It was refreshing and I’m hoping to keep it up. New routines are always the hardest to start. Here’s hoping!

A dear friend of mine gifted me vintage pyrex cooking ware almost a year ago, but living at home I lacked the space to really do anything with them. I started a small collection a few years back from thrift store finds, but as I’ve mention before I’m no wiz in the kitchen. I finally found the perfect use for them! I planted a variety of succulents in four pieces (two large bowls and two smaller casserole containers).  With no place to display them properly in the kitchen the blue and white pattern matched the bedroom so upstairs they went on our bookshelf. I’m obsessed with them and can’t wait to start poking around for more.

There isn’t a polish change this week, although last Wednesday I did add a few coats of glitter to brighten up my mood – you’ll find out more about that below. The real reason is in two days I’ll be getting a mani + pedi with my younger sisters for Katlyn’s (sister 3) wedding on Saturday! So I’m letting the color and sparkles ride out until then! I’ll update you guys on my choice for the wedding as the bride has given us creative freedom and our dresses are tangerine orange!

Breakthroughs

My morning in Georgetown started out great, I got into town early found a great parking spot and prepped for my session without being crunched for time. I wrapped up the session and walked back with Emma + Haleigh as they had parked behind me. My car was gone. It was not in the spot that I had left it, right in front of their car at a meter. I was bewildered, said a few of my favorite cuss words and looked for my keys and a number to call. Thankfully, and I say that with a lot of sarcasm and a little gratitude, the tow truck driver was on the street and waved me down. He had moved my car down the street. I was instantly furious. I couldn’t understand in those few minutes how I got towed especially parked in front of a meter with meter times starting at 7:30am. Well, as he explained those metered spots Monday through Friday are not available and pointed to a sign at least 15 feet in front of the very first metered spot. No reasonable human being would get out in front of a metered spot and inspect in front of the first or the last spot to make sure it was safe to park, especially when the meter didn’t list the restrictions. So after saying good by to the gals, walking a bit of a distance for my car, packing up my equipment and grabbing the two tickets off of my windshield I had finally calmed down from that fight/flight reaction. The tickets total $200 which is a huge pain in the ass, but not the end of the world. I took a deep breath and at 8:30am decided I wasn’t going to let this small hiccup ruin my really great engagement session. And just like that with the power of positive thinking and a little Jay-Z radio on Pandora I moved on.

I continued my day with a trip to the grocery store, back home for a load of laundry and lunch before finally crashing around 1 for a much needed nap. Those 4 am wake up calls kill my productivity in the afternoon. I woke up probably 2 hours later because I’m a long napper to the sound of 2 bees buzzing up the window above the couch. It’s not unusual, the house we live in is a super old late 1800s early 1900s farm house. We have a variety of bugs that visit on a daily basis. I got up and walked to the kitchen to grab the little hand held vacuum to suck them up. I saw 4-5 more. The kitchen, living room and sunroom (where I practiced yoga this week) all connect. I turned around toward the sunroom and there was the deafening sound of buzzing and a swarm of bees on the windows. Panic set in, full on emotional panic. I grew up in the country, played outside for hours on end as a child and I’m not scared of insects. But, I have recently learned if you take approximately 100-200 bees and place them in your house… I am terrified. I called my boyfriend and pleaded for him to come home, as he made arrangements with his work I round up Ava and Tom and brought them upstairs to keep them from being stung. I came down stairs and entirely overwhelmed I started to cry.

We called the exterminator to set up an emergency appointment, but as I realized later if you’re calling an exterminator everything must seem like an emergency. We locked down an appointment between 8am-10am for the following morning. The nice guy on the phone also let us know that if the bees happened to be honey bees they are endangered and we would have to local a bee herder to have them removed. Um, excuse me? A bee herder? Where does one find a bee herder to remove bees from your home?! I panicked again, this time swearing I would never eat honey again and discussing the option of having to burn down the house.

Being the voice of reason, my boyfriend suggested we contain the bees to one room so we saran wrapped and duct taped the door frame and window opening into the room to try and contain the swarm. Hysterical but you gotta do, what you gotta do. I packed up and camped at my parents house, bug free. The exterminator showed up the next morning almost 2 hours later than expected and thankfully notified us that the bees here carpenter bees and he was able to remove them. He also gave us a free spray of the house for any other insects that might be lurking around since he was so late. I learned a few things from experience:

One // I am scared of insect infestations within the house.

Two // While I thought I was good under stress when it comes to the possibility of living with buzzing bees and locating a bee herder I panic and cry.

Three // Adding a sparkly top coat to your nail polish will definitely help lift your spirits during a disaster.

Four // In the morning after a good nights sleep, things aren’t nearly as disastrous as you imagined.

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.