You guys, it’s currently 10:14am and I haven’t checked my email since 3:30pm on Friday. THIS IS HUGE. I don’t think I’ve ever gone that long without obsessing over my inbox! I can’t believe how restful it was over the weekend to take an absolute break- I didn’t open my laptop once. For a recovering e-mail addict, that’s a big step!

I’ve found it’s a LOT easier to step completely away from work when we have weekend plans instead of just hanging around bingeing on Netflix :). On Friday night, I went with my friend Ali to see ABT’s Romeo & Juliet, and it was breathtaking. It’s a ballet I’ve been wanting to see for years, and they absolutely blew it out of the water. I’ve seen Misty Copeland before in Don Quixote and didn’t quite get the hype, but after seeing her dance as Juliet, I’m fully on board the Misty Copeland train. Her abilities as a ballerina AND an actress sold the role so well, and the ballet was exquisite from start to finish!

And then on Saturday, I got to hang out with my best friend Sarah and see her parents’ farm! IT WAS SO COOL! We got to feed chickens straight from our hands, which was sort of like getting gently stabbed in the palm with a chopstick (those beaks are no joke!). And then we made bread & butter pickles with cucumbers from the garden, and pulled up several ginormous carrots that were so perfect that they looked like they belonged on a cartoon. Seriously- I didn’t know carrots could look like that in real life!

As always, lessons learned/events that transpired over the past week:

• Last Thursday marked seven years of dating Matt! So he made treacle tart and I made butterbeer and we sat down and watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in honor of the fact that Matt asked me to be his girlfriend while standing in line for popcorn at the midnight premiere of that very movie 🙂
• Speaking of Harry Potter… WHO’S EXCITED FOR THE NEW BOOK RELEASE?! Don’t worry- I’ve already called ahead to our closest Barnes & Noble, and yes- they ARE having a midnight book release. And yes- we WILL be attending, potentially in costume. I can’t wait!!!!
• We’re giving Hello Fresh a try! I love cooking but a) I’m really slow, and b) I loathe shopping for groceries. So Matt makes most of our meals. My sweet friend Natalie sent us over a trial week of Hello Fresh and we’re so stoked to give it a whirl!
• I don’t get the Pokemon Go craze. I mean, I loved Pokemon on Gameboy as much as the next sixth-grader, but is it REALLY that addicting on your phone? We’ve resisted downloading the game because I’m worried I’ll get sucked in. It’s hilarious going to Reston Town Center because like 90% of the people walking around are playing the game.
• And I have a hard enough time not walking into things when I DON’T have my face in my phone. So that’s another argument against playing.
• We went to the gym FIVE TIMES in the last week! I’m so proud! Now if only I could master the art of not ingesting all the calories I just burned doing cardio. It’s the old runners’ mentality- “I just ran eight miles, so I can definitely justify eating an entire pizza.”

And because I didn’t pick up my professional camera last week, some iPhone snaps :). First, the largest carrot I have ever seen in my life.

Second, finals bows at the end of Romeo & Juliet- we were in the THIRD row!!! Also, Lily looking super suspicious.

Lastly, butterbeer. Because YUM. (here’s my recipe, in case you want to make some for yourself!)

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