What I've Loved: Summer 2018 Edition

Eating + Drinking

TELLING everyone about our new favorite hole in the wall, Chavez Mexican Restaurant. Their salsa is one of my favorites. I judge all Mexican restaurants by their enchiladas verdes though. Chavez delivers an excellent enchilada verde plate. It's hard for me to order anything different. I recently did talk myself into ordering the nacho plate, and I did not regret that one bit.DRINKING Westrock Coffee daily. East African is my favorite blend of theirs. It's a bit more expensive than our previous buys but for days when I need to grab a quick coffee and use my Keurig, these are k-cups that make for a good cup of coffee.JOKING around that ice cream is a vegetable. Really though, we've been absolutely adoring some small ice cream brands recently. We've loved Sweet Cup Gelato & Sorbet Originale that has pints in select stores in the Houston area. They have a fantastic coffee flavor. There's some thai tea popsicles that we've found in the Asian market near us that taste like the real deal. We've loved trying mochi, a type of Japanese ice cream, at our local Central Market. Rick loved the orange flavor, while my favorite was the green tea.STUFFING pizza in our mouths as often as we can since we discovered this New York style pizza place in Houston, Brother's Pizzeria. We absolutely love how big, thin and ooey-gooey their slices of pizza are. It's so good. My favorite is the sausage and pepperoni.SIPPING a cold brew infused red wine called Apothic Brew which is quickly becoming my favorite wine.

Listening + Watching

DISCOVERING The Dark Tourist on Netflix. This documentary made by David Farrier, a New Zealand journalist, is a rare look at places that most of us wouldn't necessarily go to or even know that they exist. Traveling the world, Farrier looks into a lot of local cultures and the darker tourism attractions like hanging with a hit man, African voodoo and a radiation-filled lake. It's a crazy, intriguing look into the world that we may not see otherwise.LOOKING forward to each episode of That Sounds Fun with Annie Downs. There's something so raw, authentic and thought-provoking about this podcast. I have really enjoyed the 2018 line up as a whole and where it has steered my own faith interests and drawn me closer to God.WATCHING the new Netflix version of One Day At a Time. I love this kooky Cuban family and their antics. I love the way that it brings up tough topics throughout the series with a perfect balance of tough and comical.

Creating , Admiring + Playing

PAINTING my toenails with bright turquoise-y/green nail polish. I've gotten them done twice now with this color and I absolutely love how they look, especially since it's not my normal go-to colors of french tip or a natural shade of pink close to my skin color.GETTING lost in the waves of Brynn Casey's art. Several of these fantastic paintings will hopefully find their way into my home eventually. She has captured waves in such an incredible way.SPEAKING of artists that I'm loving, Laci Fowler has captured my intrigue with her abstract florals. I especially love the beauty of the collaboration they did with She Reads Truth for 1st and 2nd Corinthians.CHALLENGING Rick in the board game, King of Tokyo. Rick's brother got us this game when he came to spend the weekend with us earlier this summer. We've played every couple of days since we've owned it. It's a simple game, but it's all up to the rolls of the dice. One of the best things is that it is a fast-paced game and several games can be played fairly quickly. Two other board games on our radar are Betrayal at House on the Hill and Sushi Go Party.I have been trying to get my handwriting to look a little nicer, especially for when I use my Happy Planner. After taking a calligraphy class last May, I have really started paying attention to my handwriting. Hand Lettering 101 has given me an easy way to practice and make my lettering look great for every day writing needs.DREAMING of getting our elephant ear plant to thrive on its own. It's been an up and down summer for that little one. We were able to prune it back so that it started growing again on its own. Unfortunately, it lost a few leaves by going unwatered while we were on vacation. Hopefully, the fall season will go better for the little elephant ear.

Traveling + Exploring

VISITING friends in Costa Rica this past week was a highlight of our summer. We got to spend a few days where I lived during 2011, and then we spent a few days at a resort. Rick and I explored the culinary delights of momones chinos, patacones and gallo pinto. We learned to make tortillas, ate burritos bombas and drank tons of fruit juices. We rested by the pool, played board games, read books and watched some fun shows.PACKING for almost all my summer trips in my Patagonia Black Hole Duffle Bag. It really does live up to the name of "black hole" as there aren't many pockets. I do wish there were a few more, but it's a really easy grab bag to pack a full week of stuff in. My favorite part is that it has backpack straps which makes it so much easier to carry it.

Reading + Learning

DEVOURING Rhythms Of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World by Shelly Miller poolside. I texted a friend last November about a thought on Sabbath that I had heard at a conference. She immediately texted me back with a photo she had taken of a passage from this book. I knew that it had to be on my reading list after that. Shelley ventures into some hard questions of what Sabbath looks like as well as the intentions behind it. She helped me break down not only my own desire to Sabbath, but also how I could start walking towards that as a rhythm in my life again.RESTING as much as I can. This summer has been exhausting, so I've been sleeping as much as I can. I struggle with napping so trying to go to bed earlier and sleeping in on days I don't have anywhere to be have been perfect little luxuries for me.MEDITATING on John 15:1-8 and Ephesians 5:1-2. Both of these verses have been huge verses that I spent a good portion of my summer thinking about. John 15:1-8 shows up in a variety of ways throughout the summer. Ephesians 5:1-2 was our camp verse for our student camp this summer.