The Weekender

friday-family-work-day

Here is a weekly review of my thoughts and findings from the week.

Coffee: As a new mom, I am desperate for a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. It’s usually the only cup I drink in the day so I try to savor every sip. We keep one container of medium roast beans and one container of dark roast on hand and we grind it up each morning. We prepare pour over and drink it as black as can be. My current fave is Verve’s 1950’s Blend which we purchased from our favorite coffee shop across the bay, Cafe 4. I soooooooo wish we lived closer and could enjoy their space more frequently.

Life Hack: Vitaliy and I are on a mission to live a slow cooked life. That’s a post on it’s own which I hope to write about soon. Actually I hope Vitaliy will write about it because it’s really his concept. But think slow, savoring, and peaceful. A bit of trial and error to achieve these. This week we’re trying something new in our daily routine and so far it has been perfect for us. We found that our evening routine was just too busy and overwhelming. Trying to prepare a big home cooked meal while also trying to get Rose fed, bathed and ready for bed felt all consuming and exhausting by the end. So, we decided to change things up! A big lunch, nightly routine for Rose, followed by a snacky type dinner and rest for Mom and Dad. Win, win for everyone! I realize this won’t work forever, but it fits for this season and I feel like I’ve cheated the system and come out on top.

Small Home: We are still living in our 350 square foot in-law unit with our 6 month old baby daughter. I remember when we first moved into this space we weren’t sure we were going to be able to make it work with just the two of us. We’ve now been living there for almost 3 and a half years and we’ve added a baby. It’s crazy, but we make it work! Unless you live in the bay area, it’s hard to understand why or how. And don’t get me wrong, there have been many days these last few months that have been consumed by discontentment or envy. But I’ve been working on my thought life and my heart and I have a new fondness for our little home. So, I was super inspired when I came across fellow entrepreneur and small home living Sonnet James founder Whitney Lundeen’s apartment tour.

Date Night: We’ve got quite a few work events coming up that we need babysitters for so we’re trying to save babysitter requests for those. So, this week we went to a local outdoor movie in downtown Redwood City, Movie On The Square. First up, it’s free! Secondly, the movie plays at sundown which correlates with Rose’s bedtime. It wasn’t perfect, Rose did wake up twice during the movie. But it was a statement. I wanted Vitaliy to know that I still valued adventures with him even though we have a baby and can’t be quite as adventurous as we once were. We held hands and enjoyed a beautiful night together.

Crafted: Earlier this week, Vitaliy enjoyed a night out with the boys. I wanted to relax in front of the TV, but didn’t feel inspired by the usual run of shows. I was in the mood to learn something and felt drawn to watch a documentary. I scrolled my Amazon prime options and found a short documentary called Crafted. 25 minutes long, perfect! I rarely can last longer than an hour these days without falling asleep. It was just what I was looking for! Three stories about fellow creative entrepreneurs. As a small business owner, I felt so inspired and encouraged. Three takeaways that I could totally relate to: 1. Running your own business is hard, some days you will just want to quit. 2. There is always a level of dissatisfaction in the creative process. 3. You don’t do it for the money, you do it for the joy and the lifestyle it affords.

There you have it! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Photo: Friday family work day