It’s here!!! We made it! The weekend is back again! It’s so lovely the weekend returns on schedule for us…even if we wish it would come faster, right?! 😉 I hope you are having a wonderful week! We spent last weekend traveling so we are looking forward to a quieter weekend involving a dinner date, a morning coffee run, the dog park…and probably a little bit of school work. What does your Saturday and Sunday hold?
As always, I’m sharing the moments that made my everyday extraordinary this week, both in life and links. A special edition this week means I included a few of my favorite pictures from our D.C. trip! I’d love to hear what’s making your everyday extraordinary – feel free to share in the comments!
Life Lately
Blue Skies & Sunshine. D.C. delivered on the weather this past weekend! It was chilly — 50s — but nothing like what you would expect in February in the Northeast! Such a treat!
Home Away from Home. We used Air BnB to find a place to stay in D.C., and I’m happy to report we were not disappointed! This is the second time we’ve used this service, and we’ve had excellent experiences both times. We were able to be close to the city, get more for our money, and feel more at home in a cozy space versus a standard hotel room! (It’s also my big tip when traveling gluten free — always try to get a refrigerator or better yet a kitchenette so you can make some of your own meals and bring your own food!)
World’s Best Cup of Coffee. No kidding! This may have been the best Mocha Latte I’ve ever had! I was tempted to detour out of our way on Sunday just to get another one, plus the Cafe we got it from was adorable! If you’re in the Capitol Hill area, check it out!
Sightseeing with my Love. We had both been to Washington D.C. separately, (Ten?!? years ago for me on senior trip) but it was extra special to see the historic sites with each other! A lot of my memories had faded except for certain places, so it was fun to take it all in again.
Gluten Free Croissants. Can you believe I even just wrote that??! It’s true!! They exist! And once I found this out, I knew we couldn’t leave D.C. without trying them. Rise Bakery is responsible for the goodness pictured above, and let me assure you — they tasted even better than they photographed. (The cinnamon rolls were amazing too!)
National Pride. There’s something about walking where our Founding Fathers did — seeing their monuments as well as the memorials to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country that gives me hope again. Hope that we as Americans can choose to put aside our differences and work to build unity with one another again after such a devastating year filled with so much hate, anger, and disappointment.
Dallas the Dog Picture of the Week
Dallas wondered where his Valentine’s Day flowers were this week…so he tried to eat mine! 😉 He had a good weekend at “doggie camp” while we were out of town. Thankfully, our favorite pet sitter/trainer was available for the weekend so she was able to give us some recommendations for our puppy teenager. He’s had a better week, and we are all much happier! 🙂
Links Lately
“When the world is noisy and feels like it’s emptying us, God meets us in the quiet and slowly fills us back up.” A deep cleansing breath of quiet for your weekend by Aliza Latta for (in)courage: If the World Feels Too Noisy
“My feelings of love are birthed out of my acting in love. And scarily enough, the opposite is true, too. We so often wait until we are feeling the love before we act in it, as if we don’t already know the loving thing to do. We’re so caught up in waiting to feel something that we never get around to doing anything.” Challenging yet beautiful words from Jay Wolf – Do We Need New Love Songs? If you’re unfamiliar with Katherine and Jay’s story — check out their ministry – Hope Heals – and their book with the same title. Inspiring and life changing.
“I reap grace for others, to excel at what God called them to do in all the excellent ways He’s gifted them. To allow others to own their gifts and calling without resenting being passed over. They are running their own races. No one can outpace me when my route is different. I surrender envy and find the deep exhale of enough being poured over me like an anthem.” I am thinking about posting this whole entire article — An Anthem of Imperfection by hope*writer Alia Joy for (in)courage — on my refrigerator. She captures so many of my feelings as a perfectionist…yet leaves me with so much hope.
Lastly, I have to share this absolutely adorable video of Loubie, the hugging dog! I’m a bit partial to golden retrievers, as y’all know, so this sweet video put a huge smile on my face. I hope it does the same for you! 🙂
Yummy Link of the Week
If you haven’t had enough chocolate yet this week – these crunchy chocolate strawberry truffles from the Fitnessista look delicious, easy, and for a dessert fairly healthy! 🙂
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Gluten free cinnamon rolls?! Be still my heart!
Right??! They were absolutely delicious!