Simple Joys of the Week, May 16th Edition

Me oh my, I leave for Costa Rica a week from tomorrow! This girl has got to get her act together. You know when you have a big event that is "months away" forever and then all of the sudden it's next week? That's me right now. Cray-cray in a very good way ;) 

How was your week? Full of simple joys, I hope? Here are some of the little things that brought me pleasure over the past 7 days...

HEAR: Birds chirping [while working outside]
Oh, you guys, this week has been INCREDIBLE on the Cape (weather-wise). It has been warm, sunny, breezy, and gorgeous almost every day, and therefore I have been doing my best to be outside as much as possible. I finally understand what everyone means when they say, "Wait until you experience spring and summer on the Cape!" This week I spent a couple mornings working outside on our back patio, and I couldn't get enough of the birds chirping and the breeze blowing--the sounds were so different from when I worked on my old patio to the sound of cars and buses rushing by! 

SEE: Kindness of strangers
This week was a rough one when it comes to Sayde. She got about 1 million ticks on our various walks (a downside to living on the Cape, for sure!), and since she has issues with letting us pick them off, we experienced lots of snarls and lots of time spent with Sayde hiding under the bed to avoid us. 

Then, when Ben was going to take her out on Wednesday night, she saw a rabbit in the front yard, bolted out the door, and for the first time ever, ran away into the darkness. Ben and I completely panicked. We were running around the neighborhood (which is bordered by conservation land--so lots of woods filled with Coyotes and who knows what else!) screaming out her name and using a flashlight to check the woods. I haven't been that freaked out in a long time, as my mind jumped ahead to every possible [horrible] scenario.

While we were searching, a couple drove by in a car and asked us what was wrong. We told them, and they said they would help, so they started driving around the neighborhood, searching with their headlights and scanning the streets. Sure enough, they found her! She was scared of them, but they called our names and we came sprinting to meet her. She was soaking wet, covered in mud, and of course, had a tick on her, but she was safe. Such sweet people who did not need to do that at 10pm on a Wednesday night. I'll be sure to pay it forward...

TASTE: Whole Wheat Pasta 
I hardly ever eat pasta. I've never been a huge pasta person, and then last year, when I went gluten-free, I only ate it once (a gluten-free version) over the course of the entire year. Since reintroducing gluten back into my diet in January, I think I've only had pasta once. Thus, when Ben made us a delicious pasta dinner on Monday night, it was quite an anomaly. But oh, wow, was it good. I gobbled that dish up, and then ate the leftovers again the next night, and then realized why some people [most people] love pasta so much. YUM. 

SMELL: Freshly-grown (not mown!) grass
As people who have always rented apartments (up until now), Ben and I have never mowed our own lawn. We don't own a lawnmower, and didn't really realize that this was an issue until about now, when our front yard started looking a little unkempt. Although one of Ben's big chores for the weekend is buying a mower and mowing the lawn, I have to say that I've loved spending time laying on the soft tufts of grass while playing with Sayde. It definitely looks a little crazy, but there's nothing quite like the smell and feel of bright green springtime grass ;) 

TOUCH: Sunroof
It's sunroof season! And I adore having a sunroof! All week long, I drove around with the sunroof down, the windows down, and the breeze whipping all around me. Crazy hair days almost every day? Yes. Totally worth it? Yes and yes and yes. The only way it could be better is if I drove a convertible (but then Sayde would probably jump out, so this may be for the best...). 

Simple pleasures, y'all. They're real. And notice a theme this week? It's been a week full of gratitude for nature and pretty weather, that's for sure. 

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and fantabulous weekend!