living simply & daydreaming of adventure

Our first Fourth of July in our home

Last week we officially hit the two month mark of being married (cue fireworks and sounds of clinking champagne glasses). Sixty days of love, learning and transition. I have learned more about myself in this short amount of time than I have in the last decade of my life. 

I have learned that time moves a lot faster than we want it to, 

and that every moment is invaluable.

When we returned from our honeymoon, we quickly slipped into a routine. We created weekly meal plans, went grocery shopping and worked on our budget. We had weekly date nights and had different friends over once a week. Our weekends consisted of movie nights where we'd drag our mattress out to the living room, and fall asleep to white noise and the air conditioner on full blast. 

This routine quickly became both familiar and exciting to us. 

We loved having our weeks remain low key and simplistic. 

Two months in, and I think we are in a place where we are craving more than just a simplistic routine. Don't get me wrong, we love our low key nights after a long day of work, but what if we wanted more? Time seems to move so quickly, and we don't want it to just slip right passed us. I want to soak in every moment of our marriage. I want to seize every opportunity to be the best wife I can be to Jamey. I want to experience all that life has to offer with my husband by my side. I just wonder sometimes, while we are sitting here enjoying our simplistic life, 

are we missing out on something grand and adventurous? 

These are just some of the random thoughts that take up space in my head. 

You know the ideas you spend daydreaming about? 

These are those thoughts. These are my daydreams.

XO,

Brenda

spontaneity v.s planning

I recently went from being part-time (30 hours) to full-time (40 hours) at work. 

This came at the most perfect time, being a newlywed and all. 

When I was part-time, I had Fridays off, so every weekend was extra long for me. 

Now, I am seeing how fast the weekend can fly by if you don't plan for it.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's necessary to leave room for spontaneity on the weekend, but I don't want every weekend to be empty on my calendar. 

This is where planning and preparation come into play. 

I just want to make the most of my time. I was talking to a friend recently (who is also a newlywed), and we agreed that since we have been married, 

time seems to just move so much faster. 

It's a bittersweet thing, to me. 

source 

Jamey and I sat down last week to get our budget in order. I will say, doing that was one of the most "adult" things I've done in the last 8 years of being an adult. I felt responsible and organized. There was a lot of peace and excitement after we finished our budget. I think the thing I loved most about it, aside from setting a plan to be (bad) debt-free by October, 

was being able to set aside money to plan for things. 

For unexpected emergencies, for fun adventures, for gifts, for date nights, etc. 

I can't wait to travel and explore with my husband. 

I long to experience more of this world, and taste different foods, smell different scents... 

I want to see how big God is.

Sure, we can do this with spontaneity, 

but planning and preparing will help us get further than we can imagine.

XO

Brenda

PS- If you're looking for a good budget tool/app, I recommend EEBA. 

That's what we are using, and it's really helpful!