unique baby boy names I love

Finnick 

Ross 

Canyon

Greyler 

Harrison

Bowen

Crosby

Collins

Miller 

Everson/Evren

Rhodes

Eliah 

Leeland

Arlo

Rhys 

Joah

Callahan

Food

 Some items on my To Make list are: 

a lot of these are based off of food I see other places!

    Tomato & Goat Cheese Croissant 

    Espresso Cardamom Buns 

    Chocolate Chip & Smoked Salt Cookies 

    Strawberry & Feta Salad 

    Cheddar, Herb, and Caramelized Onion Biscuits

    Pasta with Pea Sauce 

    Cheese Fatayer 

    Homemade Lasagna 

    Lavender Lemonade 

    Sparkling Blueberry Basil mocktail 

    Stuffed Pizza Sticks 

    Stuffed Chicken 

coffee house

 I am sitting at a table in my favorite coffee house. I got here early enough that it is not very busy, but it is quickly filling up with locals excited for the sunshine, tourists gawking at the artwork. 

There is a family sitting at the table near me...parents with two young boys. They are bilingual and quickly switch from English to I think Dutch. The younger boy is videoing every moment on his dad's phone and he takes probably fifty selfies and twice as many candids, but they don't get annoyed. 

A man whose name is Jeff gets an iced coffee. 

A lady named Amy walks upstairs after ordering and has to come downstairs when the barista plates her croissant. Then she goes back upstairs and has to come back for her daughter's hot cocoa. Then she goes back upstairs and has to come back down when they call her name for her drink. She tells them she ordered an iced matcha latte...not a  iced mocha. 

The baristas are talking to their friend as they make coffee after coffee. They're laughing. The baker makes her way through the throng of customers waiting for their drinks with a tray of fresh cinnamon rolls. 

Sunlight is filtering through the windows, people are taking their food and drinks outside to sit at the tables in this finally beautiful weather. 

Everyone is in a very good mood except for one older man who is trying to watch a video on his iPad, but the sun is too bright. 

I drink a black coffee and enjoy a day old strawberry jam scone. Soon, I have to go to work...in this weather and with the amount of tourists that crowd the streets, it's going to be busy. 

5 Ways to Wind down for Bed

 A good sleep schedule is so important, but it can be hard to fall asleep for me. So, here are five things I do to help me wind down before bed. 

1. Try to stay off screens as much as possible an hour before bed. 

2. Drink a mug of hot sleepy tea (the best ones have valerian in it) 

3. Get ready for bed (this consists of pajamas, brushing teeth, taking out contacts, washing face etc) 

4. Light my candle and cuddle my cat. 

5. Put on essential oils and/or hand lotion before bed. 

Also, I always turn on a white noise sound machine which helps me sleep! 

Working on my Dream Bedroom

 This is one of the goals I had for 2023...more specifically for my sweet sixteen. Not really my 'dream bedroom' but definitely closer to my ideas for it. 

I really wanted to make my room into somewhere I could enjoy and feel relaxed in. And slowly but surely I'm working on it. 

There's a five drawer felt dresser thing that someone is selling for $50 bucks that I think I'm going to buy...mainly because my dresser is old fashioned, large, and has a dark cherry-is stain that doesn't go with my room. Plus, it's too big for what I really need. This new dresser is very neutral, much smaller, and really cute! 

I think I'm going to also purchase a new desk. This is mainly for schoolwork purposes, and since I'm going to be taking five college courses over the fall semester, and four over spring semester, I'm really going to be needing it. My desk now is really small and old. 

I'm planning on tearing up the carpet from my room and painting the floor. I really wanted laminate wood flooring, but it's just not in my budget. I think this will make my room looks so much better! 

With the new floor comes a little rug which I'm super excited about! 

I'm going to keep updating about this...so stay tuned! 

5 Healthy Habits to Pursue this School Year

 It's almost that time of the year again.

Summer has flown by way too quickly and we have had way too few nice days. But I'm excited for the school year, ready for a set schedule and more days at home. 

Here are five healthy habits that you can pursue during the school year. 

1. Hydration - drinking water is so healthy and beneficial...I for one have a hard time of doing it in the summer. During the school year I like to use the rubber band system and usually drink an average of six glasses of water a day (yes, this includes tea!) 

2. Exercise - this one is harder for me in the school year because I like to take hikes and long walks so when the snow, ice, and darkness come around, I can't. But I also can snowshoe, and ski and ice skate...so there's that. I like to workout for thirty to forty five minutes a day and this is also a great brain break during the school day! Get outside for an added bonus!

3. Sleep - sleep is one of the most underrated life changers ever :)  Sleep is so important to your overall health and mood. Getting into a good sleep schedule is a great habit for the school year as well as waking up earlier. Personally, this year, 9:30 bedtime and 5:30 alarm is my goal for the school year. 

4. Limiting Screen Time - it's so easy to fall into a terrible pattern of spending lots of times on screens, whether that be watching TV, scrolling on social media, texting a lot, or online shopping etc. Putting limits on those kinds of things helps with health and productivity a lot. I put on a School Focus on my phone, where only certain notifications will alert me. Some other ways to limit screen time during the school year, are putting your phone in another room, muting it, working for one hour, break for ten minutes...

5. Devotions - Starting your day reading your Bible, praying, memorizing Scripture, listening to worship music, listening to a sermon are all great ways of setting your day off right. This is definitely an important thing to add to your morning routine...and it doesn't have to be complicated or aesthetic, you can even listen to the Bible being read to you! My goal is to have a very consistent daily devotion routine every morning. Make it a priority! 

That's all for now...stay tuned for more Back to School posts! 

Right Now

 Right now I am sitting in a comfy old recliner in the living room. 

A sleeping baby is laying on my chest. 

Outside is pouring rain and the wood stove is burning. 

My sister is baking banana bread and I am blogging. 

:)

rainy day activities

•  watch a movie 
• learn a new language
• read a book 
• bake banana bread
• make soup 
• learn a new song on an instrument 
• write a poem 
• redecorate/rearrange a room 
• start a blog 
• put together a meal plan
• paint 
• sketch
• call a friend
• work on a sewing project
• learn to knit or crochet
• look through old pictures
• bake brownies 
• make a Pinterest board 
• puzzle
• make a bucket list 
• create a family recipe book 
• clean out something
• play a board game 
• play a card game
• print out crosswords
• have a spa day
• indoor picnic 
• build a blanket fort 
• have a tea party 
• make homemade pizzas (and everyone can make their own individual)
• make homemade ice cream
• write a letter to your future self 
• journal (whether its bullet, gratitude, or junk journaling) 
• start a new hobby 
• experiment in the kitchen 
• learn sign language 

Book Review | Atomic Habits

 My most recent non-fiction read was Atomic Habits by James Clear and I have to say...I loved it. 

James Clear describes what habits are, the psychology behind them, the human reaction to habits, ways to build great habits, break bad ones, keep motivated, and more in a very clear way-broken down into four laws. 

I love that he doesn't only describe how to build the habits but how to sustain the habit. He brings so many things to light and gives you step by step instructions. 

I totally recommend this book to anybody who is looking for motivation and guidance making and keeping habits! It is 581 pages, so it's a longer read but definitely worth it! I use the app Libby for ebooks, and I was on hold for this book for months! It's popular for a reason! 

Zeb

 

look at this cutie.

 

one of the pluses to having to wait in construction every single day is getting to enjoy the views :)

what I'm listening to

 

 Happy Fourth of July!