TEN SIMPLE THINGS || HALFWAY

monday, mitch and I celebrated our halfway point here on the island! we celebrated with a hurricane, but at least we celebrated. it's crazy to think that we have been occupants of this beautiful island for ten months already. I feel like I have learned and grown so much in such a ( relatively ) short period of time. like, no matter where you are, there are good people all around. people who do what is right no matter what. people who go out of their way to brighten your day. people who inspire you. I feel so blessed to be a part of this great, big world. it really is wonderful, isn't it? 

this week was an interesting one. mitch had two days of class canceled because there was that little hurricane at the beginning of the week. I've scrubbed the apartment top to bottom because there was that flood in our living room due to said hurricane. and we got a whole day to decompress after it was all over. we headed out to the beach for some much needed catching up. mitch reminded me that he really is a little boy at heart by digging holes in the sand just for the sake of digging holes. it was really rather adorable and I am seriously considering getting him a tonka truck for christmas. what say you? you can get back to me on that. in the meantime, let's knock out this week's ten simple things...

001 :: gilmore girls hitting netflix. and boy, was it about time? I remember watching it on abc family after school growing up and it is seriously taking me back to the days of doing homework in front of the tv whilst recovering from a most likely very troublesome bus ride.

002 :: the new issue of porter out in stands. I get it delivered straight to my ipad and cannot wait to delve into it this upcoming weekend.

003 :: a full freezer. I was attempting to eat everything in our cupboard before I made my way back to the store, but finally caved when a certain husband complained that soup three days in a row was a little much. and I have to say, it is quite nice to go and have a look at all those freezables. it's a gentle reminder that we won't starve for at least another week.

004 :: a super delicious chocolate cake in the fridge. late at night. because that is my all time midnight-snack wish come true.

005 :: mitch rearranging the furniture. it's funny, but I was 100% positive that the way I had the couch with the chairs and the coffee table was the coziest possible layout for our comes-with-rental furniture. turns out, I was wrong.  mitch's way is much better. it's not something I admit very often, so  it's a good thing he got it in writing.

006 :: finishing the fifth harry potter book. I know what you're thinking--wasn't she supposed to do that in, like, july? why, yes. yes I was. however, that book sort of depressed me there in the middle, so I'm just happy to be moving onto to book number six.

007 :: cooler temps. after the hurricane blew its way to puerto rico, it left cooler temperatures in its wake and I, for one, am not complaining. it was about time. it is october, after all.

008 :: walking > driving. because the weather has been substantially more mild, mitch and I have begun walking again and it has been so nice to spend a little more time with him going here and there.

009 :: a seriously intense workout. it felt so great to say, "ummm, I think I can do more." however, I am also feeling the brevity of that decision all the way down to my fingers which are also sore for some reason. it's tough being buff.

010 :: a salad full of spinach, feta, apples, and couscous. topped with the most amazing poppyseed dressing. even mitch went back for seconds, which is unheard of where salad is concerned. he even stopped a few bites from being finished to announce that he was full. whoa.

I hope all of you have a festive weekend planned. I've set a goal to go to the beach every single day, which I realize is not very festive, but still kind of amazing. thanks so much for reading!

definitely give these a read :: 

five ways to keep your chin up during the winter months by cider with rosie

cozy in the mountains by pink peonies ( because I'm an enormous ugg australia fan )

setting the fall table by camille styles

love, arielle