It Snowed!

It did. It may have only been for about 15 minutes, and didn't even leave a dusting on the ground, but gosh darnit, it snowed. I hadn't been this excited to [finally] see flakes fall from the sky, since I was like 10 and routinely & fervently prayed for school to be cancelled. Saturday morning flurries marked the perfect end to our little stay-cation this past week, before heading to the airport to pick up the in-laws from their real vacation.

Some unrelated updates: after a 6 hour stint of computer repair attempts, I've managed to get my laptop working again. Sort of. You have to be patient and talk nice to it, but  at the moment I can (knock on wood) bang out a post or two before it goes into thermal shutdown. I've been having problems with it for a few weeks now, so bear with the lack of frequent posting, please!

Also, you can expect another "Diary of a Diet" post soon, because today marks my return back to the gluten-free world. Long story short, there have been a lot of signs pointing to gluten as the root of some recent health issues, and I really feel like it's time to kick it out again. Like I said, more info on this later in a separate post!

Last but not least, keep your eyes and stomachs tuned into Street Cred this week, because I've been saving up some yumtastic new recipes to share!

Have a great Monday and a fantastic week!

Currently

I was inspired/motivated to do this post by When At Home; it's basically a little blurb about what I'm up to today and lately. Feel free to do your own in the comments below, or by linking to your own post!

Thinking about: Jobs. Steve is at an interview as I write this, and I'm praying really, really hard. Not so much that we'll fall flat on our faces without it, but because he's seemed a little discouraged lately by not having started working yet. I'm trying to worry less, and that in itself is a job for the day.

Reading: Catching up on approximately 654 blog posts from the past couple of days. Usually I sit down first thing each morning with my coffee, and I read through my Bloglovin' feed - unfortunately, that hasn't been the case over this past 3-day weekend. I'm really enjoying a relaxing morning of catching up on what all of my fellow bloggers have been up to.

Listening to: The rain. For the most part, the weather has been great since we arrived, albeit a little chilly. Yesterday brought the rain, though, and it hasn't stopped since. It's not heavy, stormy rain; it's a slow, steady drizzle that's just a minor inconvenience. I need to get some things done indoors today, so I'm a little bit grateful for an excuse to stay in. 

Thankful for: Grandmothers. I have the most wonderful memories of all four of my grandmothers, but they are no longer living, and that's left a big void in my life. I'm thankful for my husband's grandmother, whom I spent yesterday talking, knitting, and cooking with. Grandmothers are just the best, aren't they? 

Photographing : Little bits and pieces of what I'm up to on this rainy morning. I'm going to be mainly taking them with my iPhone today, because the lighting indoors isn't so great for my camera. I think this afternoon, though, instead of photos I'll be doing some painting, and I'm really excited about that. 

On Comfort

A little over two weeks into our big move across the pond, and I'm beginning to settle in. I think.

At least, I feel comfortable. But a lot of things in life right now are kind of uncomfortable, and I'd like to expand on that. I know that my mother's birthday is tomorrow, and it makes me even more aware of the 3000+ miles between us. It's not easy, and I think I underestimated that. I've lived hundreds of miles from my hometown for years now, so I didn't think I'd be as phased. And I'm not, really. It's just sometimes you miss the little things. 

I don't really have any friends here yet, but that's not a biggie. I was used to the hectic work schedule and daily life of NYC that, for the past few years, had put a damper on my social life. My husband's friends have been, for the most part, really welcoming and fun here in England, and I'm thankful for that. My in-laws are wonderful, wonderful people, and their home feels like my home. Female companionship, though, is sort of limited at the moment. And "artsy" companionship. I dealt with that, even when I was still in New York, when my longtime creative partners in crime were separated by the states between us. I think I have yet to fill that void, but I'm faithful that it'll happen soon. Soon enough, at least.

I'm a little uncomfortable with being photographed these days, but I'm trying to push myself to get back into it more and more. I'm planning on dedicating a lot more time to this blog, and a few other online endeavors, until I can get a visa to work here. I don't currently have the luxury of anyone handy with a camera at my disposal, so I've enlisted Steve to wield my iPhone whenever I see a photo op. He's always willing to help out and give it his best try, so I have no complaints there (even when I do). Our current strategy is to snap as many photos as humanly possible and cross my fingers that one comes out alright. I  jokingly blame him for my discomfort on the other side of the lens, since I've put on some weight since we got married last October; someone likes his meat & mashed potato dinners, and I've obliged to cooking (read: eating) them. I don't really blame him, though, and now I'm getting back on track to being a healthier, better version of me. 

So, it's been good. It's been really, really fun so far. I feel like I'm having one of those life-changing, self-evaluation, "finding myself" experiences thanks to this move. And I think that's a good thing.

Dress: Target

Cuff: Forever21

Bun... Thing: H&M