I took a lot of photos last week so that’s a plus. I still need to remember to pay attention to composition and take my time but at least I’m getting comfortable with using a camera. Here’s what I was up to last week:

MONDAY

A very typical start to the week. After work, I decided to start organizing some cleaning and DIY tasks for around the house. Slowly but surly, everything is finding a place and I’m working really hard to get our current space clean.

Whenever it’s a bright sunny day, I think about using my Polaroid. I took this quick snapshot of my two favorites after a back yard tag session. (Now we match.)

TUESDAY

I finally finished putting together my capsule wardrobe post and shot a few quick photos to include with the write-up.

I took a few pictures with Ellie (with the intention to illustrate how lifestyle affects wardrobe) and she was being a real ham thanks to the treat I had waiting for her just out of frame.

WEDNESDAY

Ellie finally got to see her best buddies again! I tried so hard to catch a good photo of little Luna on our walk but it was way too hectic! Three dogs are fun but demand your full attention.

Later that night, Ellie was being the perfect cuddle buddy while I worked on some posts.

THURSDAY

I have a short list of things I’ve been searching for recently so we set aside a day to check out some thrift stores last Thursday. I didn’t have much luck except for finding a few great books (and another plaid blanket I don’t need but let’s not talk about that.) How great is this cover and book spine?

After we were done at the store we decided to try out something new for dinner and ended up at a tiny Filipino restaurant – James Fiesta Grill. I tried the BBQ pork and Jason went with the lechon kawali meal. Both tasted great!

FRIDAY

Before drowning our weekly sorrows at the bar, we met up with Jess and Rob for some dinner at my favorite Thai place – Mayuree Tavern. If you go, you gotta get a Thai iced coffee.

SATURDAY

I couldn’t wait to get outside on Saturday. In fact, I was hoping to spend the whole weekend out among the stars but camping wasn’t in the cards. Instead we headed over to Patapsco Valley State Park for a little hiking and biking. Ellie was grooving on the car ride.

We parked somewhere different on this trip to the park so it was neat being able to explore a new area.

Jason and I split up so he could mountain bike for a bit. Ellie and I decided on an uphill hike that was populated with beautiful mossy trees and boulders.

After travelling well past the summit, I decided it was a good point to turn around meet back up with Jason. Well about 30 seconds before making the U-turn, I rolled my ankle on a small loose rock on the trail. It wasn’t anything particularly unstable but I must have hit it just right because I let out a bellowing “OW!” before landing on my butt. Luckily, I was able to put a little weight on it so I proceeded to travel back down the trail cautiously.

I met up with Jason and he took Ellie on a nice long bike ride while I rested my ankle. I was super bummed that my day had been cut short but it was nice to just relax by the water in the warm weather.

While I was out of commission for the immediate future, Jason had successfully worn Ellie out for the rest of the day.

I wasn’t able to get much done around the house but later in the evening we met up at a friends house for dinner. Fried chicken and waffles and the best macaroni + cheese on the planet. (Mac and cheese not pictured because the photo I took was pretty terrible but just trust me here.) Thanks again to Marc for having us over!

SUNDAY

My foot was feeling rough (and looking mighty bruised up) in the morning but I was determined to not lay around again. I rested it for a bit but eventually was feeling confident enough to move around the house. Jason and I spent the day organizing and getting rid of junk. So far, so good – I can’t wait to be finished though!

Later that night, a group of us got together to watch the Oscars like we always do (no matter how unenthusiastic we are.) This year’s show was alright, Kimmel was a decent host but MAN was the show stupendously long this year. Right after they announced La La Land for Best Picture I turned to Jess and said “I don’t think I’ve gained anything from watching this year. No real surprises, no huge complaints.” Then immediately after that they revealed that the wrong film had been called (Moonlight was in fact the actual winner) and I was happy I stayed up through the entire award show so I could personally witness the biggest fuck up in the history of the Academy Awards.

Please enjoy this photo of our mid-awards-show slump:

And this photo of the tasty donuts from the local Chinese takeout place.