Week Notes / 3

This week was rough. Like a daily struggle. I got hit hard with a killer horrible migraine on Monday. Spent my entire Tuesday hiding from light and sound. And then Wednesday it got better to a manageable level. Migraines are the worst guys. I would not wish them on my worst enemy.  But a week in bed did mean I got some serious pinning in and some much needed mini and me cuddle time. Dogs are the best when you don't feel well. I don't know what I would do without my littles.

Links
I love this quote by Hafiz, definitely need to make it a part of my mentality.
Saguaro cacti are such a striking part of Arizona and this picture captured their beauty perfectly. 
I'm getting excited and inspired to gift and these wrapping ideas are perfection 1/2
I need to pack this outfit when I go to CA in November
This one too

xo Sam

Fall To-Do List

Fall is officially here in Northern AZ. This last week has been rainy and chilly. Which we're loving! To celebrate one of my favorite seasons I put together a little fall bucket list of all the things I love about this time of year in hopes that I remember to fit it all in before winter truly hits. All the true born and bred locals this year are saying its going to be a cold one and I am so not prepared.

1. Host our first friends-giving.
Every year I always plan to throw one and then I somehow get busy with other things. Working retail it's pretty much a done deal that I will not be able to attend Thanksgiving with our family. Black Friday is more like Black Thursday now a days. And guys it's the worst. However it has made me so much more determined to actually host friends-giving this year! And I'm so freaking excited.

2. Take a family Christmas card pic, with Mini and Fletch.
Last year I procrastinated hard core and we ended up taking our picture in front of a pretty tree near our apartment. Luckily the picture turned out wonderfully but the last minute crazy stressed me out and I intend to be much more on top of my game this year. I'm hoping to have our Christmas cards chosen and ordered by mid-november.
 
3. Bake ALL the mini pies.
Pumpkin pie is my favorite. But I have never made one! Which is beyond silly because baking is one of my happy things. Mini pies are one of those recipes that fill my recipe board on Pinterest. This year i'm going to actually bake a few of the ones I have pinned.

4. Create some holiday traditions.
Joey and I have been married four years. And guys those years flew by! Sometimes I still feel like we just got married. Anyway because Joey was serving in the military for the first three years of our marriage, we didn't get to spend many holidays or even holiday seasons together. This fall I want to start creating some traditions that we can really cherish and look forward to every year. Do you have any fun traditions in your family?

5. Visit a real pumpkin patch.
We carve pumpkins every year. Joey is actually really good at it and it's a fun tradition but we've never been to a pumpkin patch to get one. Partly because we never found the time but mostly because Southern California so does not have any kind of traditional fall. Flagstaff on the other hand has seasons and this year it's happening for sure.

6. Finish Decluttering by Christmas.
In the last month I've begun working on simplifying our home.  Ive been sharing the process in a Living With Less series and I would really love to be done by then so I'm better prepared and less distracted for the Christmas season really sets in.

7. Get one last camping trip in.
I love Sedona in the fall and we're hoping to get one more camping trip in before it really starts to get cold. Camping is my favorite part of summer and I'm super bummed winter is coming and putting an end to campfires, s'mores, and our favorite little getaways.

8. Take a million pictures.
Because fall colors make my heart happy. And any excuse to play with my new camera is a good one.

9. Visit the farmers market as much as possible.
Because it closes for winter and I'm so bummed.

10. Don't stop running outdoors.
I still haven't figured out how to run in the cold. It's so hard. I'm hoping that if I ease into running as the weather changes it won't be as much of a shock when the snow and freezing temps really kick in.

11. Perfect my at home lattes.
I've been making some pretty yummy Chai lattes at home. But I've been cheating with some chai concentrate. Which is not nearly as good as the homemade variety. I've been playing with a few from scratch recipes and so far I haven't found a perfect mix but i'm almost there.

12. Slow down
I feel like time is always flying and we don't really sit back and enjoy. This year i'm focusing on taking the time to relax and enjoy all the little things that make fall so special.

xo Sam

Fitness Journey / 1

Growing up I was always kind of tiny. My sister, who is an almost six feet tall amazon woman, still introduces us to people as "Taylor tall, Sammie small." I was always referred to as the skinny girl. In the fourth grade I was bullied for my size. In junior high I was pulled into the office by the nurse because girls in my dance class had started a rumor saying I had eating disorders. Now as an adult I have strangers and coworkers make rude comments about my size. Most recently a woman grabbed my arm and said "so skinny!! don't you eat?!" Why is it okay in our world to make that comment but completely rude to make similar comments towards an overweight person? Skinny shaming is equally hurtful. But that's a whole different post for another day.  My point is that everyone is different. I don't necessarily struggle with my weight, but that doesn't mean i'm healthy or in shape. I do not own a scale. And I have absolutely no idea how much I weigh right now. At my last doctors visit I was at 100 pounds and I have to admit I couldn't care less about the number on the scale. My weight in the last 10 years has fluctuated between 95-110 pounds. At five feet six inches tall that puts me just under the accepted body mass index and generally excepted as underweight. I'll also add that I  have never ever even considered doing any kind of weight loss diet. I love food. I eat whatever I want. Eating is not my problem. I do however have a few minor health issues that make weight gain very difficult. The first of which being a lightning fast metabolism.  I have to eat something every couple of hours. If I don't my blood sugar plummets and I faint. Talk about embarrassing, once when my husband and I were dating I passed out in line at subway and woke up with him and my entire volleyball team surrounding me. He now carries snacks around like he's a soccer-mom. Granola bars and apple sauce packets live in my purse/car/gym bag. I'm also slightly anemic which is just low iron and easily fixed by taking an iron supplement. These issues mostly affect my energy levels and often leave me feeling pretty lethargic. Exhausted grumpy me is not very good at taking care of myself. Instead of choosing healthy foods that will make my body feel good I opt for the easy and usually unhealthy choices. And instead of doing a workout I end up passed out on the couch.

These super unhealthy habits are a relatively new thing for me.  When I was a kid I was in a very active family. We spent our weekends riding dirt bikes and playing family ultimate frisbee games.  In high school I was a three sport athlete and in college I worked at a gym. After getting married and moving to CA I was thrown into a very active atmosphere. Fletcher was the most hyperactive puppy on the planet and I loved waking up to him adorable little pup face begging me for a morning run or hike. If you ever need some serious motivation to get some exercise adopt a cattle dog puppy. Not even slightly exaggerating I almost never missed a run back then purely because I couldn't bare to let him down.

Since moving to Flagstaff I've struggled in quite a few different ways. My life was complete chaos for a little bit and my fitness goals all but disappeared. Part of that was going from year round summer weather to freezing cold wind and snow. Another huge obstacle was the elevation change; sea level to 7000 feet is no joke. Fletcher and I had a pretty big shock on our first run up here. We made it maybe half a mile before we absolutely could not go on. I thought my lungs were going to implode. And my dear Fletchy laid down in the middle of the path and refused to go on. It was a lot  to get used to.

I'm ashamed to admit that right now i'm in the worst shape of my entire life. No I haven't gained any weight. If anything i've lost weight because most of my muscle mass has disappeared. But there is more to being healthy than being a size zero. I've been feeling pretty unhealthy and just plain weak lately. And i'm over it. I'm so tired of not feeling my best and I'm absolutely ready to get my life back. So i've challenged myself to make some serious changes. I am absolutely not trying to lose any weight. My goal is to be strong and to feel healthy. From now on I will make taking care of myself a priority. That means I will get enough sleep, drink enough water, fuel my body with yummy healthy food, And live an active lifestyle that I actually enjoy. I'm also going to hold myself accountable by posting about my journey every single week. Hopefully these posts will help me stay on track and maybe i'll be able to connect with other people who are on fitness journeys of their own. I'm excited to look back at this post in the future and I hope that it will act as a reminder to me never to let myself go ever again.

Do you have any tips to stay active/healthy with a busy schedule? If so I'm all ears!

xo Sam

Word / 1

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Lately I've really felt myself neglecting my relationship with Christ. I could make one thousand and one excuses (moving away from the best church ever was tough for sure), but if I was honest with myself I'm really just not taking the time to focus on the important things. Which is so not okay. And I can feel myself losing my happy. In September I had the BEST TRIP back to San Clemente to shower my favorite soon to be mom and to get some quality best friend time in. During my visit I was reminded of some of my old habits that added so much to my life. And now I finally feel motivated to make some serious changes. Moving to Flagstaff has been such a blessing and I do not regret our decision to move one bit. However, I think part of me is still mourning some of the amazing things that made SC our home. I miss living next door to my person. I miss our church. I miss walking my dogs on the beach trail and lazy days in Laguna. I miss the food; bagels, tacos, and pizza are not the same in Flag. Unfortunately I've been focusing too much on the things I miss about our old home and not enough time or energy on falling in love with new things here. That ends now.

First step is dedicating a small part of everyday to reading my bible and starting a prayer journal. I have never had a prayer journal before. (inspiration below)

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Pinterest has been throwing some awesome ones into my feed and i'm super inspired by the idea. For now i'm searching for the perfect journal with not too thin paper and looking for a good bible study to follow along. Anyone have a good bible study that they follow? If so i'm all ears. I'm sure i'll post updates soon! 

xo Sam

Week Notes / 2

What a week guys. Seriously one for the books. I spent the first part of my week in CA. One of my best friends is having a baby and I helped throw a seriously rad shower for her, then I drove down to San Clemente to have some beach time with my other best friend. She took us to this amazing little cove in Laguna and I never wanted to leave. But after some much needed bestie time I went back to reality and got hit hard by a super gross flu. I'm very grateful that it didn't start until after I got home. My husband is the best and took very good care of me. I'm pretty blessed to have that guy around. In sickness and in health is no joke. Particularly when you get home from being gone for 5 days and immediately get sick. He was such a trooper. Also Mini and Fletch are the best when we're sick, my house turned into a big cuddle party.

Links 

French Press Mornings killed it with this beautifully done verse.

Every year I print out a calendar to put on my fridge, I can't decide between these for 2015. 1/2  

This makes me want to go get a black bandana. Like right now.

Black on black is my favorite.

This watercolor map is beautifying my macbook.

I may have to dye my hair like this soon. 

Making soup and baking are my favorite this time of year, and I think these cookies are up next. 

Stumbled upon a beautiful pic of San Clemente on pinterest and got seriously homesick.

Have an awesome weekend!

xo Sam