Mid-April. What the heck? Just when I think that things are going to drag on, time keeps right on flying by. And suddenly I find myself at the beginning of my long-long-looooong-awaited Easter/Spring break. *deep sigh*
So, to celebrate (and take a little pause + a breath) I’ve pulled out on of my oldie, but goodie, list posts. It’s the perfect way to reflect a little on how I’ve been spending my time + to share with you what I’ve been up to since I haven’t been posting much on this website. However, I have been tweaking + adjusting the whole new website look a little. And it’s feeling really good to me. How do you like it? Anyway. On with my April list!
reading // Our new Curaté cookbook. Lina + I have a favorite restaurant in Asheville – like we truly, truly love it – and it is not like any other place. It’s the only one. It’s tough to get reservations, but possible. And we do our best to eat there at least once a year. The world-renowned chef, Katie Button, has now published a cookbook with all of our favorite tapas recipes! We’re already tried 3 of them and they were pretty damn near perfect, if I do say so myself!
planning // Our next steps in life. No, we’re not moving into a house. We’re not even moving. But, we’re dreaming, thinking, planning. Getting our minds around what our souls are telling us that we just might have as a next step over the next few years. Creating a vision. That’s what we’re doing.
watching // Game of Thrones. We’re making our way through all of the seasons + episodes + falling in love with the series more and more as we go. But, what’s with all of the sudden deaths that shock the living hell out of us?!
trying // Not to be angry about our tree. Ok. So long story short. Our little villa apartment building community has decided to build balconies for the 6 apartments. Yay! The plan is also to expand the parking spaces. Also yay! But, the architect’s drawing shows the parking spaces wrapping around the building to behind our living room + planned balcony. Which means our view will be f-ing gravel + cars. And our trees will be cut down. This parking plan is absolutely not necessary. And we’re raging.
cooking // Spanish tapas. Lina + I are cooking those aforementioned recipes and we cannot wait to dive deeper into the cookbook to explore new things! Plus… grilling season is coming up!
eating // Filipino cuisine. Last weekend, in Norrköping, we went to a restaurant that I wasn’t so excited about. Turns out, they had some Filipino street food on the menu. And we ordered a bottle of wine. So, Lizzie was a happy girl.
drinking // Beer flights. We’ve got a brewer friend who invited us to his tap takeover/premier, so after work one day, we headed to a cozy bar under the cathedral to taste his beer. He brewed some stouts (a beer I have a hard time with, to be honest with you), so we grabbed them + 2 more, and made a whole flight night of it. Cuz we can.
thinking // About my babies graduating. Gaaaaah. Another graduation day coming up. And I am a total wreck when I have to send my sweet lovelies off into the real world. I’ve been this class’s mentor + guide for 3 years now. And there’s less than 2 months left!
pinning // My own pics. That’s right. I’ve stepping up my game. I’m not really trying to work Pinterest in a business way, but I am challenging myself to create Pinterest-worthy images just to see what happens. I’m thinking of it as a little experiment.
crafting // My new website. Still tweaking. Still adding. Still loving this new look. Now, I’m also crafting content for all of my belovelive website stuff. I could totally do this full-time. Like, totally.
loving // Norrköping. Years ago, when I first moved to Sweden, Lina + I lived in Norrköping. Lina’s hometown. We spent 3 years there + made a lot of memories. Since moving away 6 years ago, Norrköping has changed a little. It’s cozy, cool factor has definitely gotten a boost. New, funky apartments, restaurants and pubs are popping up everywhere. Last weekend we visited Lina’s parents + spent our whole Saturday exploring old + new places downtown. And, I fell in love all over again!
dreaming // About late summer sunsets. It’s not long now! But, the sun is already setting after 8 and it makes me so freaking happy. Now, if we could just have more sunny days + a serious rise in the temperature (we’re still averaging around freezing here!).
feeling // Spring Break vibes. Lawdy I am tired Totally exhausted. And I need a change of pace. I need to not have to work for a few days. Lucky for me, Spring Break starts with this weekend. Oh, I’ve got 2 workdays on Monday + Tuesday, I’ve also already got those vacation vibes. Wanna know what I’m doing? Staying home! And I cannot wait.
listening // To Michelle Obama. That’s right. Lina + I went to Michelle’s (I like to call her Michelle because I feel like we would be best friends) book tour stop in Stockholm this week. And, gurl, it was awesome. I still haven’t finished the book, but now I want to even more!
celebrating // Buds on trees. Oh my god. April may be moving quickly, but spring sure ain’t. It takes foreeeever for the trees to blossom here. But, the buds are out! The buds are out! The buds are out! It will happen. And fairly, kinda, sorta soon!
improving // My spiritual practices. Another thing I’m working on are my own spiritual practices. Not in the sense that I need to do them, but in the sense that I want to create them. I have plenty of wisdom + experience, it’s time for me to pull out, create, discover, make, and teach my own disciplines instead of always relying on others’ meditations, podcasts, videos, books, or ideas. So, I’m creating my own stuff now. Damn straight.
Well, now you’re all caught up on what I’ve been up to for the past few weeks/month + I’ve got all of my stuff documented. Feels good. Now, I seriously hope to have the time + energy to spend some more time in this space. Creating, curating, and connecting with you all.
In the meantime, how are you? I hope that the season is treating you well. I hope that you feel a sense of balance + calm + meaning. And, if not, then the best place to start is to just breathe. That’s what I’ve been doing all these weeks as I’ve moved through a few tough moments. Breathing not only calms us down + re-centers us; it also gives us perspective. It helps us find the inner strength we need to help us through + the passion we need to inspire us onward.
Happy Sunday, wild souls.
xoxo. liz.
Hey Liz. I see that you recently had a blogging anniversary. Congrats on that. We started blogging in 2011, so we had an anniversary as well. I still can’t believe we’re still at it after all these years. I see that you still write insightful and thought-provoking posts and live a fun life full of change. Good news all around. Our blog has grown beyond our wildest expectations, and honestly, it’s hard to keep up with old friends. Glad you and Lina are well and I’m happy you stopped by our blog. All the best. ~James
Happy Anniversary to y’all too! We’re celebrating the same number of years in the blogging world. Feels so good to share a space + an anniversary with you and Teresa. I am so grateful for your inspiring, informative posts as you share the world with me + your followers. Wishing you continued blessings as you travel and wander and educate. Love to you both. / Liz