Ah, Friday. Windows open, sun shining. Little things, more than ever, as ever. Since I last wrote, I deleted my Facebook page, so it’s entirely possible the small number out there reading this has decreased significantly. Deleting Facebook was strange at first, and then not really strange at all; I interact with many of those people on various other social media already. I have been surprised by the number of people who said “oh I’m so jealous!” or “I wish I could do that!” after I went for it. I wasn’t really expecting that. Other than getting lives in Candy Crush saga, I haven’t missed it much; if anything I feel a teensy bit more free.

We’re still house hunting, technically, although we haven’t seen any houses in person in two weeks or so, with the combination of Dan’s week-long business trip and then dueling sinus infections. We’re getting a lot of encouragement – “it’s so much fun!” “so many ups and downs!” but to be 100% honest? It has been frustrating and far from hopeful so far. We haven’t had any ups. I get angry watching House Hunters now, at people who sneer when there’s only one sink in the master bathroom, or that the appliances are WHITE I mean, heathens, amirite? I’d be perfectly freaking happy with white appliances, because some of the appliances we’re seeing are pre 1990. And with a master bathroom that (a) exists at all or (b) wasn’t so small as to require a special and miniscule (and green) sink. It’s still early, of course, and we really haven’t seen very many houses. I’m hoping we’ll get to see some more soon, and that it will feel more like “of COURSE we’ll find something we love in a town we don’t hate” instead of “maybe we’ll find something that isn’t TOTALLY AWFUL”.

I’m kind of discouraged and whining, of course.

But there have been some really fun times lately, including a capital Q Quest for a maxi dress (because I suddenly became convinced that I NEED one?), s’mores over a camp stove on Mother’s Day, a beer festival in the forest, pb&j at work for lunch (now that it’s summer and I’ve got the place to myself), and a new lens. And it’s finally warm enough for sandals again. And perhaps best of all, the countdown to our real, actual honeymoon is currently at 15 days. The weekend is great stuff, but an actual vacation? I can’t WAIT.

Happy weekend, dudes. Here’s a song I can’t get out of my head (the whole album, actually)

Spring did, in fact, arrive this week. For a few days, it actually seemed like we skipped straight to summer. Being on a college campus on the first really nice day of the year is something else – the students act as though it’s the fourth of July, breaking out their summeriest dresses/shorts/flip flops, driving past the office with music blaring through open windows, and throwing impromptu parties on their front lawns, complete with inflatable pools. I make fun, but isn’t that how we all feel on that first really beautiful jacketless day? Like drinking a beer on the front lawn while listening to loud music and shouting with your friends? Metaphorically, at least. You know.

We saw a few houses last week, and learned that there’s a pretty huge difference between a house built in 1800 and one built in 1915. Very old doesn’t necessarily always mean the same thing, obviously. The charm of a house that old can be hard to resist, until you’re standing in the house and realizing what owning it might actually mean in real life. I’ll still want to see every cute one that comes along, but the chances we’ll end up in a cute old house are probably not very high. We have a few more to see this week, and I’m glad about that. Touring houses feels so much more like action. Even if it’s not necessarily action, but process, still.

I’m so behind on Project Life, it isn’t even funny. I have been printing photos and planning out my pages, but I haven’t put anything together in weeks. I don’t really know when I’ll get a chance to work on it again, but I suppose I’ll keep planning and printing and get there eventually. Life seems to get in the way, and that’s okay sometimes.

Here’s the song I’m listening to on repeat this week. The Postal Service sends me back in time to 2003 like few other things. Ten years ago, when I was freshly graduated from college, working at a bookstore and trying to figure life out, and could never have predicted where I’d end up.

They said it would rain today, and instead it’s sunny and warmer than it’s been in what feels like forever. This has been a winter of celebrations and big changes, changes that are exciting and have made me so happy, but still. The idea of warmth and longer, brighter days and the fresh start that spring brings is irresistible. Even if it’s been anything but spring-like up until, you know, today. I’ve got my gold shoes and my rainbow pants ready, so it had better stick around.

I’ve been feeling kind of … totally overwhelmed the past few weeks, with all of the Life Thinking and Planning Dan and I have been doing. It’s amazing to be talking about things and have them be so much closer to real, rather than just “one day in the future after we’re married”, and it’s so exciting… but it’s also kind of completely nuts, too. I am and have always been someone who thinks WAY TOO MUCH, and wants to be able to plan everything as much as humanly possible. Maybe more than that, even. I think the hardest part about it is that Dan and I just spent an entire year planning a wedding – a day in which every detail can and will be planned out down to the color of the napkins. And now we’re talking about buying a house and maybe having kids eventually, and neither of those things are all that plan-able, other than deciding how much you want to spend and where you hope you can find a house you both like, and hoping it’s not too difficult to get pregnant. (And then you realize you just said the word pregnant on the internet and you feel even WEIRDER. I read about this stuff on other blogs, not mine.)

So, you know. Life. And stuff. Gold shoes and baseball and hoping everything blossoms soon so I can go take some photos is just so much simpler. But it’s sunny and warm today, and we’re going to look at a bunch of houses tomorrow (it’ll be like House Hunters! Except in real life! Should we be bitchy and unreasonable about granite countertops? Or stainless steel appliances?) and I think I’ll take a walk and feel the breeze.

(here’s a song that makes me happy:)

Can you believe Daylight Savings is this week? I took this photo from the parking deck on Monday as I was leaving work, just to compare with next week’s sun at that time. I am not a creature of winter, and I can’t tell you enough how excited I am to have the sunshine back in just a few days. (Even if it is snowing outside as I type this.)

I have been feeling a little bit lately like I imagined our wedding. Real, everyday life has been so … normal lately, with its normal stresses and our normal weekday routines, and I already don’t notice that it’s weird to be wearing two rings instead of one. (The name thing reminds me, of course.) It was only a little over a month ago, but it seems like ages.

But the awesome thing is that we’re going on a mini honeymoon this weekend, and both Dan and I are very much looking forward to a few days away together. (We are still going on a real honeymoon, but we can’t do that until the middle of June, so this weekend away feels like such a bonus.) So after another hour, I’ll pick up sandwiches and we’ll be on the road, driving away from this weird wintry March weather and toward some history, museums, astronaut ice cream, fresh air, and relaxation. Together.