TEN SIMPLE THINGS

happy friday, everyone!

we all have those little things we are working on. for me, it's living in the present. I get so involved in where we're going to be next that I sometimes forget where we are now { ie :: how difficult it is writing this post when we are leaving for the states in less than a week }. that's why I'm going to start logging the simple things that I am grateful for. just little joys I experience throughout my week. that way, I can recognize the present for what it is and maybe whine a little less in my day-to-day life. mitch should appreciate that :)

001 :: one of my new friends on the island told me I had blake lively hair! I don't know if she reads this or if she knew what a compliment that was to me, but blake is pretty much my hair idol and I envy her golden tresses everyday. to think that someone else thought my hair even in the same category is just beyond belief.

002 :: watching the crabs skitter around down by the beach at sunset. a couple of evenings ago, the mister and I made our way down the winding staircase at our apartment to find some not so high tide. excited, I boldly walked closer to the edge to find so many crabs just skittering { away from me } into the crevasses of the rocks. I was so surprised, I edged closer to the water and then it hit me. no, literally. a huge wave just hit me right in the face, drenching all my clothes. mitch and I both just busted out laughing and I made sure to promptly give him a hug. 'cause I'm a nice wife like that.

003 :: getting to facetime with my amazing brother. he is everything a big brother should be. the kind that used to beat up boys on the playground for picking on me and indoctrinating me with his taste in music. I don't get to talk to him nearly enough and him taking the time to chat felt pretty awesome.

 004 :: mitch singing me a lullaby in serbian monday night after we turned out the lights to go to sleep. it was so sweet and unexpected and reminded me that even though I live so far from so many loved ones, home is ultimately where your husband is.

005 :: stila liquid eyeliner. I bought it during my last trip to pensacola, but hadn't been brave enough to use it yet. growing up, I always swore off the liquid line because I could never get it straight and because I wasn't sure I could pull it off { it never really fit that, "natural, girl-next-door" persona I was striving for }. but I think I've been outgrowing that for some time now and gave liquid liner another chance and I was not disappointed. a little bit of practice helped the cause, too ;)  picture :: lines all over my lids all the way up to my brows.

006 :: the bout of rain we enjoyed tuesday late-morning. and wednesday. and thursday. all at about the same time. it sort of reminded me a bit of home where it rains every afternoon at about 2 o'clock. plus, it cooled everything down just perfectly. however, it never takes long to heat back up. we live in the caribbean after all.

007 :: discovering p90x ab ripper. I feel like I am always the last { dead last } person to try things. maybe I have trust issues with the media or maybe I'm just lazy. but after countless crunches and counting calories my abs were still m-i-a. that is, until I tried the ab ripper by p90x. it hurts. oh my goodness, it hurts. and it might be my imagination, but after one week I feel like I can already see my abs peeking through. so worth it.

008 :: baking at sea level. after years of living 5000+ feet above sea level, I am so relieved to actually be able to trust a recipe again. back then, when a food blogger told me that those chocolate chip cookies needed to bake for ten minutes, I skeptically only put them in for six and reevaluated the situation after that. not down here on the coastline. all of my baking turns out perfectly and I'm loving it.

009 :: reaching just about 1800 pageviews on blogger. for some of you, ahem MOST OF YOU, this is no biggie. big blogs reach that in a day; maybe even a matter of hours. I wouldn't really know. but I am just so flattered and honored that there are people out there who read about my life  down here. 1800 pageviews worth in only two-and-a-half months.

010 :: this easter season! I'm in love with all of the easter crafts I've found on pinterest and am enamored by how creative some people are. I wish I had that gene. the bunnies and the baby chicks and the numerous ways of decorating a hard-boiled egg. but as I get older {and wiser too}, I realize that I love the meaning for this season even more. I got to take a stroll through matthew, mark, luke, and john { they were sort of blogging thousands of years ago, yeah? }, and found this inner peace that fits this time of year so beautifully.

favorite blog posts this week :: 
dark, chocolate covered, pomegranate seeds by cider with rosie
sequined easter eggs on lauren conrad { this is how we're doing our eggs this year, p.s. }
how to get great sleep the night before your marathon on fitsugar

happy easter, everyone!

love, arielle