Hi, friends! Today we’re going to try something a bit different. For those of you who don’t know, I started this blog when I was in college as a way to keep my grandparents and other family updated on my life. Back then, I wrote mostly “weekly life updates” and the occasional humorous story about something I’d experienced. As a sort of homage to those original posts, I want to introduce a new kind of life update post. You can expect to see these “photo diaries” about once a month. This month my focus is on appreciating where I am now.
It’s really easy for me to get caught up in the past or to spend way too much time wishing for the future. I want to do a better job this year of enjoying life in the moment and appreciating where I currently am. I’m hoping by showcasing some moments from my current life, I’ll be able to better do this.
The Kittens Say Hello
Timothy and I adopted two kittens from our local animal shelter back in October. You may have seen them floating around my Instagram, but this is the first time they’ve made it on the blog. They’re doing really well! Jaskier (black cat) is our chaos bringer. He likes to play and run around at all hours of the day, occasionally stopping for some pets. Ciri (tabby cat), on the other hand, wants to be pet all day long. She likes to sit in her cat tower and scream until Timothy or I get up to give her some love.
These cats are chaotic, but they make our lives so much brighter with their love and personalities. I’m glad we get to have them in our lives. Before we know it they’ll be adult cats. If you want to see more of them, I post about them often on both my Instagram and TikTok accounts. I’ll link those at the bottom of this page for anyone interested.
Bookstore Runs and Date Nights
This year Timothy and I decided we’d try to have more date nights. We’re pretty good about spending time together in our day-to-day lives, but we wanted to set time aside to do something special. This month we took a trip to our local bookstore and had a fancy pasta night. My parents gave us a bunch of nice pasta, sauces, and olive oil for Christmas back in December. We used some of that to make chicken and pasta. We also made some bruschetta as an appetizer. It was super easy, but it was a bit more elevated than our regular pasta dinners. I highly recommend doing this. You could even make your own pasta if that’s up your alley.
Our bookstore date was also really nice. We both received some gift cards for the holidays, so we didn’t even spend anything out of pocket. It was nice to walk around the store with each other and talk about book covers and what we want to read. Timothy and I try to visit the bookstore every couple of months since we both enjoy it so much. We don’t always buy something, but it’s nice to look.
Between this time and the last time we went, I’ve picked up a decent stack of books. I haven’t read any of the ones pictured yet, but I’m excited to get to them soon. The downside to working at a library is my tbr list is so much longer than I can actually get through. Hopefully I’ll be able to read it down a bit over the next few months. Either way, I’m excited for more cozy reading nights as February continues on.
No More Comparison Games
Lately, I’ve really been working on not comparing myself to others. I spent so much of my life so far worrying about validation from people I barely even know. Now I’m focusing on being the person I want to be. I shared a post last week about learning to love yourself more, which was inspired by my own current journey. I’ll link that below if you’re interested in reading it.
For me, this has looked like being kinder to myself when I’m having bad physical or mental health days. It’s looked like drinking more water and doing my skincare, not because society says to but because it makes me feel good. It’s looked like embracing all the quirky and unique aspects of myself and appreciating the people who love those parts of me. Overall, it hasn’t been easy, but it has definitely been worth it. I can’t wait to see where this journey leads me.
What have you been up to this past month?
Thanks For Reading,
Elliot J. West
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