The Little Things No. 30

The little things really do add up, which is why every Friday I end the week on a positive note with appreciation for the little things in my life that make up a greater sense of joy. I hope you join me today in appreciating the good, no matter how small. I will also be sharing links from time to time about things that are inspirational, funny, beautiful, or important.

Because this is about appreciation rather than perfection, I’m not only including my professional quality photos, but some cellphone snaps as well. You can expect to see a more candid look into my life every week with my The Little Things blog posts every Friday.

Dear Friends,

This week has been full of ups and downs. It’s been so incredibly busy, mostly in the best of ways. I photographed my first wedding of the season last Saturday, which was beautiful! And my husband and I also put down an offer on a house…. which was immediately outbid by someone from New York City who called in without even seeing the house and put in a cash offer $20,000 over the list price. There is no competing with that. Matthew was absolutely crushed and I was pretty sad too. This little darling of a house had every item on our must list and our wish lists! If it falls through, we’re still in the running, but for now I’m feeling disheartened. House hunting is tough, especially in this crazy market.

On a brighter note, I’m practicing gratitude for our tiny apartment, although it was hard putting in an offer on a house thinking we might move in by the holidays. I also had a visit to my gynecologist, which is never fun, but definitely essential. I’ve been pushing back doctor visits due to the virus, but it was time to check in. It’s always important to make sure you go in annually, even when you feel great.

I also took Monday off from work for a mental health day. I edited photos from over the weekend and I also took time to go peach picking with a friend. It felt really good to spend a Monday outside and to be social after so much time isolating. Of course, we wore masks and kept a distance from other peach pickers. It was a really lovely day. What are you doing this week to take care of your mental wellbeing?

This week, the little things I appreciate are:

This beautiful wedding day. After rain all morning and a forecast of thunderstorms, the sky cleared up and we had the most perfect weather for the ceremony.

This purple sunset over Silver Sands beach. It really did look just like this! I did not edit the colors in any way.

This Dessert Essence hand sanitizer and lavender lotion. I like it because it smells really good and although the sanitizer feels really sticky at first, it dries up perfectly and doesn’t leave my hands all dried out. Like most of us, I’ve been using sanitizer about 99% more than I used to.

This new book, Crossing Boundaries. I’ll share more about it when I have finished reading it!