Currently

Feeling all kinds of relief after finally turning in our mountain of visa paperwork to the Spanish government last week, which included a hot-off-the-press lease for our first tiny little apartment in Barcelona!!! (Can’t stop staring at this charming photo from our soon-to-be balcony.)  If all goes according to plan, we will be packing up the dogs and our suitcases and moving over there on October 15. Which is getting so close!  We’re definitely starting to feel all the feels about leaving Kansas City…but more than ever, we’re also just feeling so excited to finally be there. ?

Crushing hard on all of FashionABLE’s bags lately. They’re ethically made in Africa, and they are freaking gorgeous. I’ve been carrying around one of their camel totes (my specific model is discontinued) full-time for about a year and a half now, and absolutely love it. But I think I’m going to treat myself to a fresh new tote before moving to Spain. Now, the question is just which one to choose! ? On that note, I’m also…

Stocking up on a few other essentials from home before our move. We’re literally each only bringing 2 large suitcases with us, so both Barclay and I have been ultra-minimizing our clothes and shoes lately down to the most capsule of capsule wardrobes. But that said, I did just order a new pair of Girlfriend leggings (<– my absolute favorites, plus they’re ethically made), semi-matching pairs of Allbirds for Barclay and I (<– yep, totally going to be “that couple”, plus we needed some good new walking shoes), and two new supersoft dresses from Lou & Grey (<– because…comfort) to pack in my suitcase. Ha, we’ve realized over the past few months that most of our favorite brands do not ship abroad. So from here on out, get ready to hear about random finds we stumble upon in Spain!

Starting to try and learn more about best practices for bringing dogs along on overseas flights. We have all of Henry and Fiona’s international medical/legal paperwork taken care of by now. But I’m feeling super-nervous about their wellbeing on the actual flights themselves (one 3-hr flight to NY, one 7.5-hr flight to Barcelona), especially since Henry has always had terrible anxiety in kennels. ? Have any of you ever flown with your furry friends before? Any good tips?

Loving DuoLingo lately, along with my new favorite way to practice Spanish…by watching Netflix! Did you know that you can search shows to see which ones offer Spanish subtitles? (Or any language, for that matter, just pull the little dropdown bar to see your options.)  Turns out practicing Spanish is way more fun with Jim Gaffigan and Bridget Jones and Jessica James.

Researching options to create an album book from our wedding photos. I spent about an hour the other night looking at options on various websites…annnnd it was enough to make my head spin. Halp! ? Any great recommendations out there?

Marveling at this new little Moment wide-angle lens that I purchased for my iPhone. If any of you are wanting to kick up your phone photography game, I totally recommend it. It just snaps on and off of your phone whenever you’d like to use it, and gives you nearly 2x the viewing range in your photos. (And by comparison to wide-angle lenses for dSLRs, this puppy is a freaking steal. Just be sure to purchase a clip-on case to go with it to fit your specific phone.)  We’ve been tinkering around with ours on a few trips lately, and really love it.

Following along closely with all of the big grocery news lately. Google and Walmart joining forces? Amazon lowering prices at Whole Foods on Monday? I’m totally fascinated by how quickly our grocery industry is evolving lately.

Freaking out over the ending to House Of Cards.  No spoilers here, but wowza, that got dark. Annnnd totally hooked me in for next season. (P.S. A friend who’s online dating recently ran across a profile of a guy who said he was “looking for his own Clare Underwood.” Um, really? ?)

Listening through every episode of this podcast this week. So many of my favorites have been guests this past month.

Feeling very, very ready for fall soup season. I mean, if it were up to me, summer would last forever and ever. But I’ve been making a list of all of the new soups and stews I’d like to try next season, and they are sounding mighty cozy and comforting right now. (Also, as always, if you have any requests — I’d love to hear ’em!)

Continuing to read and watch and listen and learn as much as possible lately — and stretch beyond my usual new and information bubbles — to better understand the perspectives of everyone living in our country right now. (As well as those grieving in our country-to-be.)  Barclay and my friends and I have had countless conversations lately trying to learn what actions are actual helpful — and what actions are not — when it comes to standing up for justice and seeking to build unity in our communities. And goodness, we all have so much to learn, don’t we? Still, I’m so thankful for the brave voices speaking truth right now, and find hope in seeing the hundreds of big and little ways lately that I see humility and courage and kindness leading the way. More thoughts on that to come. ?