Did March feel like the kick off to spring, or a long extension of winter?

While I tried to put my mind in “spring mode” most days the weather just didn’t cooperate here in Indiana! Yes…I am absolutely still ordering hot coffees 🙂

Even though there were still days with snow on the ground and chilly temperatures, Brian and I were lucky enough to go on a vacation with his parents (so fun!).  And… we had a trip that didn’t happen (made it to the airport, flights delayed and cancelled, and we were stuck in Indy…) but we were able to make the most of it.

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Things I’m Loving

We are in the new house!

The biggest news for us in a while is here! If you follow me on instagram or facebook then this is old news to you (we closed on February 15), but I am still excited to share 🙂

Brian and I are having a ton of fun putting the KonMari method to work in every nook and cranny of the house, and filling our house with things that make it feel like home to us.

This is a picture of my kitchen cabinet.  We don’t have a pantry, so I am trying to be pretty strategic about how I keep this space tidy and organized.  The plastic bins really help!

Our method is to pull everything out, purge anything we don’t want/love/need (give it to family, goodwill, friends, etc), measure the space, then order what we need from Amazon.  Thanks to Amazon Prime, the containers are there in a day or two and we have exactly what we need! It’s definitely been an investment as we purchase all of these containers, but I really feel like it is going to help us keep things tidy for the long run.

Last week, we had a stair runner installed and it is honestly one of my new favorite things. It really warms up the space and is so soft on my feet!

In this house, we actually have a finished basement space (the houses in our area are all around 100 years old, so the finished basements are few and far between).  The space we have is pretty small, but we wanted a comfortable place for sitting.  As we were wandering around Pottery Barn a few weekends ago, we stumbled right into this adorable settee.  It was a floor model, which meant we could take it home that day, and was on a crazy sale (over half off!).  Long story short…we bought it!

Cruise

Less than a week after we closed on our new house, we hopped on a plane to Miami to board the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas with Brian’s parents.  It was a wonderful getaway, SO warm and sunny (I realized on this trip that I NEEEEEED sun), and just so fun.

We stopped in Roatan Honduras, Cozumel Mexico, Costa Maya Mexico, and the Bahamas.

If you are planning to cruise in the near future, here is a tip: search TripAdvisor for tours and excursions not associated with the cruise line for an experience that is less crowded, less expensive and more customizable.  We did this at every port and had the best time.

Working on projects for Tara Rochford Nutrition

Now that we are in the new house, I can make use of the bright, white kitchen!  I had JD and Kelley from Skyler Creative come over to help me work on some projects for this space that you will see in the near future.  I have been working hard on improving my food photography, but getting photographs of other things or things with me in the shot is still in need of some work.  I am so thankful for JD and Kelley and if you are an Indianapolis local, I highly recommend working with them!

Shopping day with the family

My family lives in Fort Wayne, so a couple of weekends ago they came down to Indianapolis for the day to shop at spots they don’t have in Fort Wayne like Trader Joe’s, Penzeys Spices, and Warby Parker.  We shopped until we dropped, then we came home and I made some Thai dishes that we learned how to make in our Thai cooking class…there were ZERO leftovers 🙂

Recipe testing and balancing time

Throughout all of March, I helped another dietitian with a recipe testing project and absolutely LOVED every minute of it.  During this time, we were also settling into our new house (we still are!), I taught 2 in person cooking classes for One America in downtown Indianapolis (lots of prep involved), I had my monthly IndyStyle segment (also lots of prep involved), and I honestly felt a little overwhelmed by all of it.

I knew I needed to take a few things off of my to-do list, which is why I didn’t post in this space during that time.

Now, projects are completed, I am feeling more settled, and I honestly have time and space to breathe and think…and it’s pretty refreshing! I have always been the type of person to say yes and have a full schedule, and there is a bit of comfort in the push of getting so.much.done. at the same time, BUT I am realizing that I am not my best self outside of work and commitments when I overextend myself.  It’s a learning process, and I am trying to find comfort in the uncomfortable space of having free time.

Does anyone else feel that way?

I’ve had more of these moments lately that are kind of like “aha” moments where I end up calling my mom and explaining things like how I’m trying to settle into the discomfort of not rushing to get stuff done for deadlines I created, or how I realize I function best when I have space to think and be creative, or how it’s ok if I didn’t get picked for this thing that I really wanted because maybe the timing wasn’t right…and I think as I get older I actually may be getting wiser 😉

This month, I turn 3-0 and I don’t know how I feel about it.  I don’t feel bad about it or super excited about it, it’s more like “wow, I can’t believe I have been on this planet for that long and I can remember things from 15 years ago” kind of a feeling.

So, here’s to constantly learning lessons about ourselves, getting better with time, and continuing to make memories and focus on our own personal highlight reels.

Hope you have a fantastic April!