Simple Joys of the Week, February 12th Edition

Happy Friday and happy Valentine's Day weekend, everyone!  I hope you have some exciting plans to celebrate love, self-love, friends, family, whatever this weekend--and that those plans don't involve being bamboozled by the Romantic-Industrial Complex (sorry, had to go there). 

I also hope that wherever this weekend takes you (I think it's taking us straight down to the hardware store to buy supplies for our next home improvement project!), it's full of simple, sensory joys and lots of gratitude.

Speaking of, what brought you happiness this week? Some of my SJOTW are below...

HEAR: All of the congrats + baby love (and the emails, blog comments, texts, and social media notes from all of you!)
Going public with our baby announcement on Sunday was really scary, but it also made this a very special week. It's been so nice to have this big secret out in the open (so I can stop with the weird white lies and excuses!) and I have been overwhelmed by the supportive response from students, colleagues, friends, and all of you, my online family. Thank you for your advice, recommendations, words of encouragement, and congrats. I just passed 13 weeks on Wednesday, so that's exciting, too <3 

SEE: Mad Men Season 7, Part 2
Part 2 of the final season of Mad Men finally hit Netflix last weekend (almost a year after it aired)! And I was over the moon to be reunited with some of my favorite (but very flawed) TV characters; I missed them SO much. We've got just a few episodes left before we're done with the show forever...it's very sad but I'm trying my best to just soak it up and enjoy it.

TASTE: Balsamic Vinegar/Vinaigrette
I think this must be a pregnancy thing, but ALL I've wanted to eat this week is salad with balsamic vinegar on it. I've been making homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette by the vat-full and putting it on my quinoa, my salads, my everything. In fact, I could go for some now (at 6:00am)! The good news about this craving? It's got me eating tons of greens ;)

SMELL: Homemade cookies baking in the oven...
I'm trying to avoid sweets and desserts as much as possible during this pregnancy, and so far I've been doing pretty well with my one-dessert-a-week goal (especially in January when I gave up all sugar for the month; not so much in December). That being said, this goal becomes VERY challenging when your husband bakes homemade cookies from scratch for the Superbowl and then eats the leftovers on the couch next to you every night. {Sigh.} At least they smelled delicious while baking and I got to enjoy two as my treat last weekend!

TOUCH: New Vitamix
We finally got a Vitamix! I know many of you out there already have one (you told us to just suck it up and get one after hearing my blender-parts-cleaning #firstworldproblem on the podcast last year...), and let me tell you, everyone was right: game-changer. I've only made one smoothie in it so far (we got it Wednesday), but wow, was it incredible to work with. Exciting stuff. 

​Other SJOTW? Our pantry revamp is done! We're using it and it's incredible! Before + after coming very soon. Also, eating Super Bowl snacks on Sunday + spending time with good friends, taking a few amazing yoga classes, Monday's snow day that shut everything down and allowed me to get caught up on a bunch of client work + commissions, and getting a much-needed haircut from the amazing Kate Scott...

Hope you had a great week, too! And again, happy Valentine's Day--whether you celebrate this silly holiday or not ;)