What I've Been Up To Lately…
Happy Hour Chat #001. Things I've been loving, recipes, micro-leanings, and dealing with a slower summer.
Welcome to the inaugural Friday happy hour at The Sunporch. Grab a chilled glass of orange wine and join me for a fun patio chat and bestie catch-up. I'll update you on what I've been doing, reading, and eating, along with recommendations on things I've been loving (or hating).
It's August, the turning point of Arizona's summer heat. Mornings are becoming a tad nicer, and the monsoon season is in fuller swing (hello, Haboobs!). We're eight months into the year — a perfect time to reflect on where the time has gone and to check in on our yearly goals. Full goal list below.
Life is beautiful and slow—super slow. I'm learning to embrace this precious time with my family and my 5-month-old baby, savoring every minute and wishing she could stay this young forever.
I've been cooking more, gardening more, perfecting the cozy details of our home, and staying inside to escape the nasty, sticky heat. I'm reading a book to my little lady every single day, excelling at work, and keeping the house super tidy and smelling like fresh Palo Santo. It's been fantastic. But it's still pretty slow.
This is the first summer I'm not traveling somewhere cool and abroad, with no extreme hiking trails or road trip agendas. Time with a baby truly means taking things by the hour, soaking up all the once-overlooked pleasures of daily existence. It's wanting to be in bed with my snuggly, smiling baby while also dreaming of partying like Alix Earle in the streets of Paris (I love her energy, lol).
But you know what — I've been drunk in the streets of Paris before, and I can honestly say my baby is better.
Even though I can be impatient and feel the FOMO of my friends visiting Europe or camping every weekend, I'm already mourning the newborn stages. Reyna needs me the most right now, and she's starting to sit up and hold her bottle without needing help. There will come a day when she won't want my help or to nap on my chest, and I fear that day is just around the corner.
Time is going by too fast, and it's starting to scare me.
What I've Been Eating
My fellow foodies would be so proud!
I've never been into cooking, mainly because my parents never taught me, and I tend to avoid things I don't know how to do. However, my love for gardening and delicious wine inspired me to stop being ridiculous and learn to properly nourish my body and feed my family. Since investing in our kitchen renovations and buying quality tools (like this Staub Dutch oven and this Le Creuset casserole dish), I've become obsessed with curating weekly meal plans.
Tuscan chicken bake
Coconut curry chicken bowls
Green chili chuck tacos
Spinach tortellini with homemade pasta sauce
Turkey meatballs with lemon noodles
What I've Been Obsessing Over
Cobra Kai! This is such a fun show that Reyce and I love to cuddle up and watch in the evenings after work. We laugh at the campy cheesiness and debate which dojo's principles are better. And, of course, House of the Dragon. It was temporary Sunday religion, but now that the season finale has aired, I'm begging for my other favorite show's seasons to come out.
I'm really loving these Bydee swimsuits. I wore one in Hawaii a couple of years ago and now want to invest in a few more. I still love my cobalt blue Triangl one for our family lake days.
Limewash paint for interior walls. We just did our dining room in this gorgeous Terra Rosa color at 50% strength and can't get enough!
Waking up early at 5 AM to get a head start on the day. These early moments are the only time I get a quiet hour before the baby wakes up! I go on walks, clean the house, meditate, or drink coffee on the back patio. It's perfect.
What I've Been Reading
Tons of children's books! My favorite is The Way to Start a Day by Byrd Baylor. I signed Reyna up for the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge at our local library, and we're already on book 20/1000. It's more of a challenge for Mama than for her, but I'm really excited about this fun goal to work towards together.
I downloaded Headway, an app that condenses over 260 best-selling nonfiction books into bite-sized summaries. Topics span self-help, leadership, finance, and more. I'm on a two-week streak of microlearning sessions every day, and it's been a nice little morning pick-me-up instead of mindlessly scrolling Instagram.
I scored Hunter by Tana French from the library. It's a slow-burn mystery novel about retired detectives, moody teenagers, and rural Ireland landscapes. I admittedly didn't realize it was a sequel to her book, The Searcher, so the context was initially confusing, but it was easy to pick up after the first 50 pages. It's dark, nuanced, and dialog-heavy for those who enjoy a good story.
What I've Been Doing
Y'all, this was a massive month for the house! Not only did we limewash paint our dining nook for a more beautiful and cozy touch, but we also started the stucco process on the entire exterior.
Since buying our home three years ago, we've been putting off all exterior renovations to focus on completing the interior for our family and new baby. We tore the inside down to the studs and revamped everything. That took most of our time and cash, especially with welcoming Reyna this year and learning how to become new parents. We're still not done with the inside (we need to finish the kitchen, lighting, and doors).
But we finally saved up enough to cover the stucco in full these last few months — and we're now doing the damn thing, baby!
Things I Hate
Drinking still water. Dear God, I sound like a wuss saying that, but I crave sparkling water over still in the summertime. I need my throat to burn.
110+ degree weather and hot seatbelts, but who doesn't?
People who lack media literacy.
Having to clean my stainless pan after cooking.
Things I Love
These ASMR-style Azerbaijani videos of a family living in a rural country making food. I put them on in the background while I work throughout the day and feel more productive, I swear.
Dried florals.
Candles inside, always.
I take super long walks in the early morning and fantasize about the world inside the abandoned farmhouses I pass by.
Glenn Powell in a white T-shirt and a cowboy hat.
My bestie is bringing over homemade iced coffee.
