I want to use this space to share more, be more open and vulnerable than on Instagram. So I thought I’d do a quarterly check-in (maybe more, maybe less) on how things are, taking inspiration from Bad on Paper’s Podcast Highs and Lows format.
Recents Highs
We are really cracking on with the house this past quarter. We’ve laid down the floors, skirting and paneling in the entryway and hallway. We’ve painted the two wardrobes in our bedroom. We’ve built the bottom of the mudroom shoe storage, Ian built the big bookcase, and I painted it. I finally unpacked the last of the four moving boxes (which were all books and trinkets) and organised the brand new bookcase.
I’m obsessed.
The work we put into the garden last year is really paying off this year. We added a vegetable bed and several hanging baskets for herbs and tomatoes, but my favorite thing is to sit in the sun, smelling the hyacinths as I read, drink coffee and cuddle with Finn on my lap. Every time I look outside, something else in the garden has grown and changed. I can’t get enough of it, and I’m so proud of the work we did last year.
In a first for all of us, Ian, my parents and I went to Portugal and Spain together for nine days in March. The weather was incredible - warm during the day, requiring a light jacket at night. We started in Porto, moved on to Lisbon and ended in Seville. Mom and dad then went on to Barcelona. Some highlights for me: the orange blossoms in Seville, listening to Fado music in Lisbon, the labyrinth of streets in the Arandel district of Lisbon, watching in the sunset in Porto, lunch on the beach near Faro, tasting the oranges off the tree (not advised!), lunch at Ceviche, trying cheeses at the market with mom, enjoying wine and some meats at this tiny place in Seville, a port flight in Porto, the whole Vila Foz hotel experience in Porto.
Cracking on with the work on my book. As of writing this, I’ve written 34,706 words of my first draft, have built out a character matrix, and drawn the world I want this to be in. I have a goal to complete the first draft and world building by this year, revise next year, and find an agent in 2025. Wish me luck!
Recents Lows
There have been some health struggles within our family and friend group that are very serious. It’s not my place to share the details, but it’s reminded me about how fickle life can be. It’s also made me hold Ian and Finn just a bit tighter than usual.
With work, I’ve been struggling with how to be content in a learning phase. I moved into a new role almost a year ago, and while I really enjoy it more than my previous role, it also makes me really uncomfortable at times. Uncomfortable because I don’t always know the answer, but I feel like I have to have it all figured out. My comfort blanket is control, and while there are certainly things I can do in this role to help get us to the overall goal, a lot of it is also out of my hands to a certain degree. My little “Not Good Enough” monster is constant and it’s taking a lot of work to quiet her down.
Last weekend, I painted the hallway pink, or more accurately “Marshmallow Cocoa”. Despite the fact that I’ve tried about ten paint swatches on the walls, and I was so excited about this one because it does match the entryway colors…it has turned out very pink. With cornicing, skirting, shelves and artwork, I know the pink will be toned down, but I can’t visualize the end (and I can always visualize the end of our home projects). I feel at a loss with this hallway - there’s almost no natural light so everything goes a bit yellow because of the lights. I could change the color of the bulb, but I equally don’t want bright white-blue light for the hallway. I want something cozy, but it needs to connect to the entryway which I want to be bright and cheerful. So far, no white did it, and neither did the pink. But, I think we found our winner with F&B Pavilion Grey!
Looking Forward
We are also starting ovulation tracking this month! We’ve been trying for a bit with nothing happening, so hopefully something will happen soon. I don’t have a super amount to say yet, but coming off birth control is wild. Like my body has shedded its previous version and after thirty-two years, I’ve had to learn how to read a new one.
The light outside is just *chefs kiss* now. Daylight is now 14 hours long, creeping up to its peak 20 hours in June. Once the clocks are turned forward, we officially close the Book of Winter and worship the sun. It’s still chilly - it is Scotland after all - but feeling the sun on my skin and driving home in the daylight after work makes the day feel longer in a good way.