It’s 11AM on Monday + I am still in my pjs, sipping coffee, blogging, and celebrating my first official week of vacation!
So, here’s the thing: last week ended up being half work + half vacation. And that was not at all how I expected things to go. You see, I suddenly + unexpectedly found myself on vacation a few days earlier than I had planned! So, now I am in full-time vacation mode – and it feels amazing! And I had a fantastic, extremely social week to get things started off on the right foot. Here’s what went down… and a song to capture the mood of each day as I transitioned from working girl into I’m-on-vacation-for-FIVE-WEEKS girl!
Welcome to the songs for week 27:
Day 177: Monday 26 June // Beautiful Life – The Sound of Arrows
Monday. Workday. I worked 8-5, as usual. But I had an incredibly hard time focusing. Hehe. It was only my boss + me who were at work, so it was super quiet. We kept to ourselves, stopping by each others’ office every now + then to just say hi or take a break. I finally accomplished a few things, but much of the day I worked hard to fight the urge to simply watch YouTube. It’s not like I didn’t have anything to do, it’s just that I have been easing into vacation mode for a while.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the slow day at work. I absolutely, totally, completely love these slow, summer days at the office. After work, I came home, made dinner and cozied into bed (as it was a summery, stormy evening) to catch up on the latest This is Us episodes. And, oh dear lord, how I cried.
So, today’s song was perfect for this ordinary kind of day: just beautiful.
Day 178: Tuesday 27 June // Save the World – Shovels & Rope
Happy 4th of July! Of course, it was a regular work day for me. Well, not regular, as you know. But, a work day. No holidays over here, and no real acknowledgement by anyone except my wife, who played the Star Spangled Banner for me in the morning and my in-laws who sent me a text wishing me a Happy 4th of July. Cute, huh?!
At work, I kicked ass. I had bounds of energy and I cleaned and organized and got rid of shit. I’m moving offices (just down the hall) when I get back from vacation, so I wanted to be sure to have everything ready to go. Plus, I need to file away some papers, organize some notebooks, and prepare some things for the next school year. So, all of this effectiveness made up for Monday’s ineffectiveness. Hehe.
In then evening, my love + I gathered in the kitchen for a dance party while I prepared a dinner of burgers + fries. Unfortunately, it was a chilly day, so there was no grilling. But, that didn’t stop us from popping open some American beer + bee-bopping all over the kitchen to classic American tunes. It was a super great 4th anyway, if I do say so myself.
Day 179: Wednesday 28 June // Wine – Tangle with Care
Back to work on Wednesday – and my last day at the office. The plan was to work from home on Thursday, so I had to make sure I completed everything on my to-do list at the school. Midday, I snuck away with my boss to have lunch, which was super fun. We had a great time talking about everything under the sun but work… again, we were the only ones at work all week, so it was a fantastic opportunity to have a slow, long lunch together.
In the afternoon, as I was headed out, I stopped by my boss’s office to say goodbye (since I’d be working from home on Thursday). She suddenly told me that when she looked up the extra hours that I had available, I had more than I thought, so my vacation started RIGHT THEN! No need to work at all on Thursday!!!
To celebrate, I had already booked in a wine night with my friend, so I walked over to his place and we hung out on his balcony for a few hours, sipping red wine and sharing stories. It was a perfect way to officially start my vacation!
Day 180: Thursday 29 June // In the Summertime – Stinson Beach Sessions – The Head and the Heart
Well, unexpectedly my first vacation day. And it was fabulous. Slow and long in the morning, and filled with lovely people and a long fika in our backyard in the afternoon. Such a fantastic summer day.
Day 181: Friday 30 June // Feel Free – Bearfoot
On Friday, i just felt free. I met Lina for a beer downtown and we stayed for the entire afternoon. Later, back at home, we prepared some dinner and the had a cozy, quiet night on the sofa.
Day 182: Saturday 01 July // Everything Now – Arcade Fire
Fun plans were in store for Saturday, as we had a friend arriving from out of town to hang with us until Sunday. We drank beer, toured the city, ate tapas, visited Miss Voon, the cocktail bar, and ended the night with a long, cozy talk around the kitchen table until the wee hours of the morning.
Day 183: Sunday 02 July // The Benediction – The Dirty Guv’nahs
Sunday was a lazy day… exactly as it is supposed to be. We woke late and enjoyed a very long breakfast together, covering all topics from friends to feminism to vacation to ev-er-y-thing. When we finally decided to get dressed and make a move for the day it was mid-afternoon. We headed out and took a little walking tour of Uppsala with our visiting friend, ending up in a cozy cafe for lunch/fika. And, then we did a tiny bit of shopping at the funky, awesome, organic body care store Lush.
Soon it was time to drop our friend off at the bus station and say goodbye. Lina + I headed home, plopped down on the sofa, and caught up on Fear the Walking Dead. And, damn. Season 3 is gooooood.
So, I am officially on my amazing Swedish vacation of 5 weeks. It still blows my mind that I have five paid weeks of vacation. What a blessing to live here.
Stay tuned for all of my vacation posts – coming up soon! (We travel out of the country in less than a week!)
Wishing you all a beautiful week; and sending out lots of love and peace to you all. I’d love to hear how you are doing, so leave me a comment or contact me on social media. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to the playlist → here.
Happy Monday, lovelies! xoxo. liz.
