I Run Like A Girl

Thank god it’s Monday (said no one ever!). Jokes aside, entering this week feels more optimistic as Memorial Day is next weekend and there’s always that anticipation before a long weekend. 🙂

It’s been two weeks since returning from Hawaii, and overall it’s been pretty low key here. The first week back was mostly filled with jet lag, catching up on work emails, and recovering from the second COVID vaccine shot. By the second week, I felt myself again and started catching up with friends and also planning for the summer. Joe and I have lots of activities planned for June as well as some much anticipated travel coming up, including being digital nomads in Mexico in July. Hawaii definitely replanted the travel bug in me and I’m so excited to live my best (vaccinated) life this summer!

Joe’s birthday is this week, and so we threw a birthday party last weekend. We had a small group over in Joe’s backyard so this was also the grand debut of his garden! I wish I took more pictures of the actual garden because it has come together oh-so beautifully. The plants are growing so fast that I basically have an endless supply of fresh cut flowers for my apartment. How lucky am I? 🙂

Joe and I made a great team for hosting the party. Joe was focused on preparing the garden and setting up the furniture, while I focused on the food, drinks, and decoration.

Overall the event was pretty easy to put together as I believe simplicity is key when it comes to hosting parties. For snacks, I heated up frozen corn dogs and prepared BBQ chicken sliders (the chicken came prepared so I just had to microwave it). I also experimented with making moscow mules for everyone, which was super easy as it only required 3 ingredients. Also for the first time, I prepared a kava drink as a non-alcoholic option. I’ve cut back on alcohol almost entirely at this point, and so I’ve been experimenting with alternative social lubricants :). At first I just made the pitcher of kava just for myself, but it ended up being a big hit as several guests also knew about it and wanted to try! I was so thrilled to spread the kava love.

The crew was a fun one. We hadn’t seen several of Joe’s friends in over a year so it felt like one big reunion. We had a great time catching up and I think everyone was grateful to have an occasion to get out of their apartments. Now that we’re all vaccinated I’m hoping for more of these hang outs. 🙂

Of course, Susie Cakes for dessert. These are the BEST cakes in San Francisco and probably my favorite bakery of all time. I look forward to birthdays just for an excuse to have Susie Cakes. 😛

Happy birthday, Joe!! I’m lucky to have spent another year with this amazing human. Also fun fact, Joe has the same birthday as my dad 🙂

Have a great week!