This week has been a little stressful, so a Thursday off did me a world of good before I even knew it. 

I slept in a bit, spent extra morning time in the kitchen (my favorite) with my mom, puttered around outside with bare feet, washed my hair in what must have been the longest shower ever, met a friend for coffee, ran to Target, took my dog for two walks, and had cocktails and ribs at home.

Rob lands in Roanoke later on tonight, and tomorrow morning we're hitting the road with my family to spend the week at the beach. My dad's brothers and sisters all meet up every other year, and usually it's on the West Coast, but this year everyone is heading this way. I'm so excited to catch up with everyone, and can hardly believe that Rob and I will be spending eight whole days together for the first time in a year.

Hoping this weekend gives you exactly what you need.

Rob and I had a weekend full of good food, cocktails, apartment decorating, IKEA, lots of episodes of House of Cards and a few skits from Portlandia, farmers' market wanderings, and an amazing Saturday evening spent on our patio with Thai takeout.

Now that there's a definitive date set for me to move in, this visit to the Twin Cities felt even more special than the other two. I packed a suitcase full of things and left almost all of them hanging in the closet or nestled in a newly-claimed drawer. I felt less like a tourist and more like I belonged, with a list of favorite places already. (Hint: one of them is the patio.)

This place is pretty amazing in the summer.

 

 

Hello from Minneapolis! It's so nice to be back and visiting Rob. He picked me up at the airport yesterday and we immediately went out for some Thai food on a patio! It's going to be a nice weekend.

Check out a few links I've loved over the past few weeks:

I loved the Google Doodle on Maurice Sendak's birthday a few weeks ago.

This killed me. Someone on Reddit asked their father for the names of Game of Thrones characters, and this is what he got.

These photos were so heart-warming. What a great week to be an American!

Grandmas from around the world posing with their cuisine. So cool. I want to go to their houses for dinner and hug them.

Love this little white dress. Maybe for a bridal shower or engagement party?

And this tea print dress is too cute. I need more printed sundresses in my life.

Some of these were awesome (especially with the dragon!). I just want to give Wendy Davis a high five.

Original Winnie the Pooh drawings come to life in a new app. I love that artwork and I love Winnie!

An Open Letter to Paula Deen, written honestly from such an eloquent man. I'm glad this came to my attention so I can follow Michael W. Twitty. So interesting.

Alison is just really cool. I can't get enough of her bright and awesome engagement shots she shared for her anniversary here and here.

Don't forget that all ad spaces are 25% off this week!

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I'm working from home today and then we're meeting some new friends for drinks! We also have a trip to Ikea in our future. What are you up to this weekend?