11/25/2017 2 Comments My Favorite DevotionalLet's talk devos.
I don't know about you, but I love a good devo. For some reason it has always been hard for me to find one that I loved. They were either too short, too watered down, too fluffy, way over my head, etc. I probably sound like a terrible person criticizing devotionals...but I can't be the only one who thinks that.... When I was gifted New Morning Mercies (thanks Bets) I immediately fell in love. It was so good. Is so good. I still use it to this day, and its been almost 3 years! Now that's saying something. New Morning Mercies is written by Paul Tripp, someone who I have always admired, so I knew it was going to be good. It is written in your typical devotional format, one devo per day for every day of the year. It starts with a "tweetable" little saying up top that summarizes the devo. I say tweetable because when I first started reading NMM I think I tweeted the saying every day, and it always fit within the 140 characters. Always a good feeling when you can fit your inspirational message of the day in one tweet, amiright?? Smart move, Paul. You probably didn't have Twitter in mind when you were writing- but smart move. Anyways, after the little summary, it goes hard. I love that about this devotional. It takes advantage of the one page given. Paul constantly is addressing the state of man in each devo, that we are broken and in need of a Savior. I love that because I need to be reminded of that each morning. I can't do anything on my own and I need Jesus. He doesn't leave you there though. He doesn't remind you of your brokenness and leave you to your day. He reminds you of the hope, love, joy, comfort, and peace you have in the Lord. NMM is centered on the gospel, every single day. It's not a list of do's and dont's, it's not about behavior modification, but rather it encourages you center your heart on Jesus. He is constantly asking you to examine your heart through questions, statements, scenarios, etc. After the devotional, he also directs you to Scripture, which I love. Some days I flat out don't know what to read. Like, guess I'll flip to Romans.....I swear I have read Romans a million times because of that. Ha! The Scripture obviously coincides with the devotional, which always brings home the message. Everything he says is backed up by Scripture, and that's a sign of a good devo! New Morning Mercies is $20 and worth every single dollar you spend. I sound like I am being sponsored, which we all know I am not, I just love it that much. If you decided to get it, let me know what you think! xx Hill
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11/22/2017 1 Comment Anniversary QuestionsCELEBRATORY DATE NIGHT TONIGHT!! As I mentioned in my last post, we have been married for a whole three months now! It has been an incredible three months married to my husband. There has been change, ups, downs, celebrations, excitement, moments of tears, and everything in between. Tate and I are very intentional people, and we have based our relationship around intentionality from the very beginning. I mean, when 70% of your dating relationship is long distance, you have to be! (and when I say long distance I mean different countries*) TALK ABOUT TOUGH! But we did it! Obviously. We both agreed that our relationship developed so quickly due to our commitment and desire to be intentional. We asked thoughtful questions, figured out if our dreams and beliefs aligned, talked about the hard stuff, and answered vulnerably and 100% true to who we were. We are still firm believers in that! We want to continue being intentional for the rest of our marriage. So we decided that we would come up with a list of questions that we would talk through every anniversary. For the first year of marriage we would go through them on every month anniversary, and then from there on out we would go through the list each year. Obviously we have other conversations daily, and we aren't just talking about this stuff once a month, but we wanted to have a specific "list" for anniversaries. It will be so fun to look back and see how we have grown individually, grown as a couple, how we have changed, the joys of life, and how our love has grown deeper. We went through them tonight and it was so rich! It was so good for us to reflect on our marriage, our relationship from day one, and all the Lord has done through us. I believe that thankfulness is the key to a joyful heart, and after we spent the evening dwelling and reflecting on our thankfulness for the other, we left with very full hearts. So here is the list of questions we came up with while we were waiting in the doctor's office ;) We might change it a little here and there, or add to it the next couple months, but this is what we are starting with. Thought it would be fun to share with you all, and maybe you can go through them too! Questions:
I am curious to hear if any of you go through questions with your spouse? Any questions we should add to our list!? We are new over here! Also, incase any of you are interested, this faux leather skirt is $22! It's amazing. I don't like "tight" skirts, but when I tried this on I felt amazing. Actually I felt hot if we are going to be honest! Fit like a glove and fit in my shopping budget! Win win. Linking it at the bottom of the post! xx Hill the amazing skirt
11/19/2017 1 Comment Three MonthsToday is our three month anniversary!
I love that it's totally normal to celebrate each month you've been married during your first year. Maybe I will keep it up past year one. "Today is our 2 year and 3 months anniversary!" hahah just kidding. Maybe. WELL GUYS. Where to begin. When I married Tate, he was my best friend. However, our relationship grew exponentially the day we got married. I didn't think it was possible for us to be THAT much closer, but it is, and it will only continue to grow. Which is crazy awesome. Being married is so fun. I wasn't expecting it to be as fun as it is, and I had high expectations! You always someone there. I have someone to talk to, someone to just sit by when I don't want to talk, and someone who makes me laugh all the time. I have someone to take care of, and someone who takes care of me. I have a listening ear, and someone I can trust and confide in. I have someone who speaks truth to me and pushes me to be better. I have someone who makes me feel beautiful and cherished. I have someone who believes in me and values my dreams. I have someone who lifts my spirits up when they are down, and someone who holds my hand when I am a blubbering mess. I have someone who puts my needs before their own, and serves me even when they are tired. I have someone who leads me in all areas, someone who is confident and strong. I have someone who will swallow their pride and ask for forgiveness, even when it's not easy. I have someone who forgives me before I even ask. I have someone who loves me with their whole heart and I never ever have to question that. I have someone who loves the Lord and daily tries to reflect Him. I have someone who still pursues me, and continues to date me. I have someone who doesn't care what people think, and will do anything to make me laugh, even when we are in public and I am reallllly embarrassed. I have someone who makes life more fun. I have someone that I can't imagine life without, and I praise the Lord that this someone is TATE. I couldn't have asked for a better man. Truly! Well now that I have re-written our vows here....... I am always looking for a reason to use our DREAMY wedding photos, and three months seems like the perfect excuse. xx Hill 11/15/2017 0 Comments The Perfect Hot ChocolateI know what some of you are thinking, "it is way too early to be decorating for Christmas" and you are kind of right. I just couldn't resist!! We had a tree and decorations left in our apartment for us, and they have been calling my name since November 1st. I held off as long as I could! Tate was sweet and agreed to decorating early...after confirming that we won't decorate this early every year ;) I looooove holidays, specifically Christmas. It is just so cheery and makes everything a little more cozy and sweet! It is Tate and I's first Christmas together as a married couple, and because we are in a different country away from family and home, I want to make things fun and memorable. So while Tate was at practice, I put together a hot chocolate bar, got all of the christmas decorations out of the closet, and blasted Christmas music. I started out with the good ole classics and then switched to Ariana Grande and Destiny's Child Christmas albums...they just get you MOVING. We spent the evening putting together our cute little baby tree, hanging garland (that ended up being way skinnier than I thought), and hanging up our stockings! We ended the night by sipping hot chocolate next to the fire (pumpkin candles) and admiring our work. And by work I mean WORK. We had to use dental floss to hang the ornaments and push pins to hang the garland- reaaaally had to improvise. But hey, it worked! To get the ahhhmazing hot chocolate recipe- scroll down! NOW FOR THE HOT CHOCOLATE
I got the recipe off of Pinterest from The Frugal Girls...and honestly the word "frugral" is really what caught my eye ;) I honestly am not a lover of hot chocolate, and neither is Tate, but it just seemed cozy and Christmasy to make so I gave it a try. Needless to say, it won us both over after the first sip! Ok so it was SUPER easy to make and literally only three ingredients. Of course I just haaaad to buy whip cream, cookies, cute Santa napkins, and 5 different kinds of sprinkles to go on top...so it was more like 7 ingredients. BUT STILL! Obviously this was just for Tate and I, so I didn't go all out, but it would be so fun to make this a full blown hot chocolate bar. With marshmallows, candy canes, whip cream, caramel syrup, sprinkles, etc. The options are endless! Ingredients:
Cheers to decorating early and REALLY good hot chocolate! 11/13/2017 1 Comment On My MindIt's Tuesday morning and I am juuuust starting my blog- off to a great start this week! I sat down both Sunday and Monday night to write it, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It was a mix of feeling lazy and uninspired. And let's be honest, I just really wanted to watch Scandal with Tate. Our latest TV show/guilty pleasure! (Thanks Kelbs & Krissy) For a good solid ten minutes last night, Tate and I tried to recap our week and recall what we did, and we both couldn't remember A THING. Saturday and Sunday were only two days we were confident about. Ha! That means our week was pretty normal and some might say it was boring. I kinda love these weeks though! It means schedule, routine, and nothing out of the norm happened. It means a whole lot of Netflix binging, homemade meals, and time with my boo. With that, I don't have a crazy week update, and honestly I am going to spare you guys by not walking through each day! I will just give highlights and things we DID remember. :) I started Christmas shopping! My highlight of the week. I LOVE Christmas. But really, who doesn't?! All last week I have been asking Tate when we can start decorating for Christmas. We are a divided house. I am pro "before Thanksgiving" and he is pro "the day after Thanksgiving". He agreed to decorating early!! So you betcha we are starting this week. Stay tuned for the outcome. I also started researching for our Christmas getaway we are going to do. Tate has a game the day after Christmas, and then I believe the team will get a couple days off, so we are trying to do a cozy little Christmas trip! I love being able to research places, things to do, places to eat, where to stay, etc. Trip Advisor has been my best friend! I will keep you all updated on what we decide ;) Speaking of trips... MY PARENTS ARE COMING TO VISIT! I literally could not be more excited. I think about it every day. Literally every day. They are coming December 2 and will be here for the week!! I have missed my family so much and I wish each and every single one of them could come visit us. My parents and I are going to do a few days in Paris and then spend the rest of the week in Belgium! Tate and I are excited to show them our home, our routine, and introduce them to the people in our lives here! On Friday, Tate had a home game against Charleroi. It was such a clooosssse game, and the ended up losing by 3. Those games put you on a ROLLER COASTER of emotion. One minute I am jumping up screaming excited, and then the next minute I sit back down bummed. I even got stared (honestly it was more like *glared*) at by the man in front of me for screaming too loudly? Still am uncertain as to why I got the stare.... Anyways. Maria and I got dinner before the game, and I am CHERISHING my time with her here. She actually leaves the day my parents get here, and I am already begging her to come back to Belgium ASAP! Saturday was LOUNGE day. The day after Tate's game are always lounge days. He works so hard during the week, harder during games, and by the weekend he is pooped. It always makes me appreciate his willingness to travel on the weekends. This Saturday was a no make up, sweat pants, and chill kind of day. Except it was capped off by DATE NIGHT, which obviously made the day even better. We tried two or three different restaurants, but each one was full and couldn't take us, so we ended up at Ellis Burger. Which I love! It's becoming one of my favorite places. Date night went a little differently than we both were expecting. It started out great, and ended great, but in between that there was conflict. Looking back, I am laughing a little because it was one of those conflicts where midway through your "conflict" you're kind of wondering "how did it get here?? I'm not really mad, and I don't think he is either, but I am going to sit here in silence because I don't really have anything to say" Anyone know what I am talking about?? We got back home, still weren't saying much, and then we both sat down and humbled ourselves. We both said we were sorry, explained where we were coming from, we listened to each other, we explained where our hearts were at, and we reconciled. It's the greatest feeling in the entire world after moments like that. I feel so connected to my husband and I feel so much closer than before. It's crazy. Not saying I love conflict, but when it's done correctly, I love the aftermath! Sunday. I have been trying to figure out what makes me excited, what brings me joy, and what I love to spend my time doing. The word to some up all of my joys is "creativity". I love being creative. I love finding outlets that let me express my creativity. One outlet is actually this blog! I love writing. I love being authentic. I love sharing with people and encouraging people. After thinking about different ways I can expand on this blog, I have decided that I am going to post more frequently and post about a wide variety of things. I don't want to be limited to juuust weekly updates on here. So I am going to start writing more and posting more! Rest assured (mom, dad, mom in law, dad in law) I will still give updates on our life here- but I am going to do it in a less structured way! I also might move to a big girl site eventually. Like what is "weebly" anyway?? I just googled "free blog" and this is what I found. But hey it really gets the job done! I have a nice Canon camera, but because I don't know how to use it properly, I always just set it to the little green "Auto" setting and snap away. This past week I have been experimenting with it, and I have been trying to learn how to use it. Keyword TRYING*. Sunday was hilarious for a couple of reasons. One, we went a did a Tate/Hill photoshoot. Two, I ended up deleting all of the pictures on my camera. Three, we had to redo the photoshoot. HAHA. Looking back, I can laugh. But you best believe after I accidentally hit "ok", nothing was funny. Side rant: if you have an option to delete EVERYTHING off of your SD car I feel like it should say "delete" instead of "ok". OK is so broad. Like what am I agreeing to?? Someone who is naive and in a hurry might hight OK without knowing what they are doing and delete thousands of pictures. Anyways! I deleted them all. Every single picture I have taken in the past few months. I said some choice words. Wanted to cry. And then I just got furious. Tate was so kind and held back his laughter, genuinely felt bad for me, and then said "hill lets go take more pictures! I have nothing to do!" Bless his heart. He probably did have a million of other things he wanted to do, even if all of them consisted of sitting on the couch. (best husband- I am telling ya) I will say though- the rest of the afternoon was so fun! We were running around taking pictures, dying laughing at the moments that come from unashamed photo shoots, and then we finally walked down this road we have been wanting to walk through. We always drive by this road. It is lined with the most massive trees that have beautiful orange, red, and yellow leaves. With those leaves sprinkled everywhere on the ground. It started pouring down rain while we were there, but it didn't matter. Tell me that's not the prettiest road you've seen!! Ok. Well Tate is now singing random songs extremely loud right next to me, and I can't think anymore. Also, going to be honest, I don't have the energy to proof read. So don't judge any grammar mistakes! Stay tuned for more blog posts! And maybe a big girl website?? ;) xx Hill 11/5/2017 9 Comments We Had Visitors!Happy Monday everyone!
This week was a really fun week. It was filled with people, fun memories, and good food. All about people, places, and food! Monday is always our "regroup" day. Cleaning the apartment, going to the grocery store, planning the week ahead, andddd writing the blog post if it just wasn't happening on Sunday. Like today. Yesterday I just couldn't do it! It was a needed lazy Sunday for us. I love regroup days and the start of a new week. I am a biiiig "regrouper". Start of a new week means a full fridge, clean apartment, and a fresh start. Honestly how can you not love that? It also means that I start eating healthy again, since weekends are my "cheat days". And let me tell you- I look FORWARD to the weekends!! Tate's sister got in town on Thursday, so you best believe my weekend was a four day weekend ;) Tuesday was a fun day. Halloween! I am honestly not a lover of Halloween, at all, but I am a lover of holidays. It is a reason to celebrate something and I love celebrating! Tate had a long afternoon of practice, and usually I don't love those days because I am by myself for hours in the apartment, but these kind of days are getting easier. YAY! I decided to paint my nails, make some popcorn, and watch Hocus Pocus. I had to watch it alone because Tate wouldn't watch it with me, he said he didn't like "those kinds of movies"......then it was DATE NIGHT. Literally my favorite night of the week. Right above game days. We decided to go try Ellis Gourmet Burgers at the city center, and it did not disappoint! It was so good. I am not a huge burger girl, so I got the Funky Chicken, and it was amazing. The bun, the aioli sauce, the big flecks of parmesan cheese.. mmmmmmm. Mouth watering just thinking about it. I love date night dinner convo. I have mentioned this before, but we always have specific topics or questions for date night. It makes it more intentional and meaningful! Tate wanted to talk about my dreams and ambitions this date night. I love that about him. Even though we are in Belgium for his career, he is always thinking about my dreams and my purpose. I loved my job back in the states, and I had been working there for 4 years. I had such purpose and fulfillment doing what I was doing. I worked at a gap year program, pouring into 18 year olds, helping them establish their beliefs, and walking alongside them as they figured out who they were. I loved it! I flourished there because my job reflected my passions and my strengths. I knew getting married meant leaving that job and taking on this basketball/living overseas life. I was a little nervous, but there was nothing I wanted more than to be married to Tate and stand by his side while we chased his dreams- together! Being overseas for his job makes things a little limited for me. Finding a job and working isn't quite as easy as it is back home. But now that we are getting settled, I am trying to find my place and figure out what brings me life, aside from being Tate's biggest cheerleader. I love that Tate wants that for me. He loves helping me find my place and helping me pinpoint my passions and desires. So we spent an hour discussing that! We talked about what brought me joy, what I was good at, what my strengths were, my fears, and what was holding me back from chasing my dreams. I am still figuring all of this out, and I don't have a specific answer, but I trust that God has great plans for me here and I can't wait to share what that ends up being! Wow date night recap was LONG. But I did have a request from my mom that my blog posts be longer ;) Wednesday was another fun day! Tate only had one practice in the morning, so he was done for the day around 12:30. Yay! We decided that we wanted to go explore Maasmechelen Village, which was a charming outdoor shopping designer outlet. It was so cute! They had lights strung up, fun cafes, little sitting areas that actually made you want to sit down, and massive light letters that said "happy" and "joy". I don't know what those are called? Just look at my pictures below..... We also got me some new running shoes! I really needed some. I am pretty sure I have been running in shoes that had waaaay too many miles on them. I just hate buying running shoes! Actual good running shoes are always bright neon, ugly, and expensive. But they are worth it. I found some that weren't too bad! Lowkey colors and on sale. Win win. Sorry yall I am realllyyyyy giving way too much detail in the smallest of things, and I still have FOUR MORE DAYS TO COVER. Moving on! Wednesday night we went to pick up Darby and her friend Taylor from the bus station! Tate and I were so excited to host people in our home, and even more excited that we got to be with family! They stayed with us for three days and it was a blast. We got to show them around Belgium, our town, and give them a little glimpse into our life here. We took them to our favorite places while they were here! We ate lunch at Ellis Burgers, explored the city center and I showed them all my favorite shopping stores. We took them to dinner at a great pizza pasta restaurant, and tried this low key hole in the wall wine bar. Friday, we went to Sweet Coffee, showed them Tate's home gym, went to a kids basketball camp Tate has been involved in, and ended the night cozied in the apartment with enchilada soup, good conversation, and Mind Hunters (new show Darby got us hooked on). Saturday we woke up and headed to Bruges (minus Tate) for the day! Literally my favorite spot in Belgium. It is so dreammyyyyy. I couldn't wait for them to experience it. Maria, Jordan's girlfriend slash my new friend praise the lord, came with us too! After Bruges we went to Tate's game in Ostend, where unfortunately they lost, but they put up a good fight. It was so nice having family and a new friend with us. We loved getting to show them around and introduce them to people in our lives here. If anyone else wants to come visit, COME ON! :) Pictures of our adventures are below! Wow wow wow. Can't forget to mention- WE GOT AN AUTOMATIC CAR! They were able to trade our car in for an automatic car (BLESS THEM) and yall. My life has changed. I can drive myself around, I drove to Bruges and to the game in Ostend, I am driving Tate around just because I can. It's amazing! I know I would've eventually been confident driving a stick, buttttt not as confident as I am driving an automatic, amiright? ;) Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and took Darby and Taylor to the train station in Brussels, and then spent the rest of the day RELAXING. I am talking hard core relaxing. We had an amazing week and it was filled to the brim with fun adventures, so when Sunday rolled around we were exhausted. We laid around in bed for hours, played Yahtzee while snacking on the random food we had left (obviously relaxing means not going to the grocery store even if you desperately need to), watched Designated Survivor, ordered a massive pizza for dinner, and I was in bed asleep at 9:30 pm. Needless to say, we enjoyed our Sunday! Now I am off to put on my new running shoes, go on a run, and DRIVE to the grocery store- by myself :) xx Hill 10/29/2017 2 Comments ThoughtsWell guys, it's currently 7:00 am here, I can't go back to sleep, and I have poured myself a cup of coffee. So why not start the blog post! Tate just peeked his sleepy little head out here, "Hill, you ok? It's like 2 am!" Aw. What's cuter, the fact that he got up to check on me orrrrr that he thinks it's 2 am? ALRIGHT back to bizzzness. This week was.....long. Good but long. Good days and not so good days. Fun moments and hard moments and just plain normal moments. Monday and Tuesday were my harder days. I was a little homesick (actually a lot, no shame) and my thoughts got the best of me. Guess I will just dive right on in....I really envisioned the "deep part" about miiiiid blog post.... This week I have been realizing just how much weight our thoughts can hold. They can either make or break your day. You can't necessarily help what thoughts enter your mind, but you do have the power to take control of those thoughts. As well as the power to not take control of those thoughts. Monday and Tuesday my thoughts went wild. I started missing home, then I started realizing how lonely I was, how quiet the apartment was, I started questioning my purpose here, dwelling on my lack of community, feeling like I lost my identity, blah blah blah. Needless to say, it ended in a lot of tears. What I am really wrestling with is finding the balance of acknowledging those feelings, and not sweeping them under a rug, but then laying them down before God and trusting what He is doing during this process. Those thoughts I have aren't necessarily bad or false in themselves, but when I choose to let them take hold of my heart and my mind, that is when it's not ok. I don't know if any of you guys have experienced the same thing? Or something similar? It's hard! However, I am learning there are so many ways you can take control of those overwhelming thoughts. For me, sometimes it's as small as getting dressed and putting make up on. Technically, I could stay in my pj's for hours. But when I tend to do that, I feel lazy and restless and I sit on the couch just dwelling. No thanks. I know that when I call my friends and family I feel filled and full of life. Going on a run or walk outside does A LOT for me. Serving Tate and thinking of different ways to serve him takes my mind off of myself and that is the best medicine. Selflessness. Selflessness and thankfulness- those two are the biggest for me. My sweet husband is the best at bringing about thankfulness. He will subtly start listing all the things we have to be thankful for, and mid list I literally can feel my heart and mind shifting. It's so easy to only see the hard stuff- it's blatantly yelling in your face and consumes your mind- but don't let it!! CHOOSE to see the good. CHOOSE to acknowledge the hard but don't dwell there. CHOOSE to believe that God is at work in your life, even when you don't know what He is doing. CHOOSE to be thankful. It's a daily choice! Alright. That's all. 100% preaching to myself. Bring on the week! ;) After a couple of tough days, the rest of the week was honestly great, most likely due to the mind shift. Tuesday night Tate and I went to a Limburg United event at a BMW dealership. It was really cool! They had a basketball demonstration, fun drinks, popcorn and burgers, and BMW's that the guests could test drive! I like going to these events. Meeting new people and growing a friendship with others, but mostly because I love being Tate's wingman. Wednesday I got out of the apartment all afternoon and went to the city center- my favorite. I scored these cute frayed jeans and a hoodie I have been wearing around the house all week- not exaggerating. The BEST part of Wednesday was dinner. We decided to try the crock pot french toast recipe and leeeeet me tell you, it was amazing. I didn't take any pictures because quite frankly it looked gross. BUT it was to die for. Really. Go try it. Linking the recipe here. Thursday we had Joe over (Tate's teammate) for dinner. Another recipe shout out, Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos. Made in the crock pot. WORTH TRYING! Easiest thing to do and had incredible flavor. Anyways, Joe came over and it was so fun. I love "hosting" and having guys over to our home. Highlight of our week for both Tate and I! Friday was game day AND it was a home game- my favorite. I literally love going to Tate's games. I honestly think it's what I look forward to most in the week. Tate played an AWESOME game and they won!! Win win! This weekend was so restful and so fun for us. I know I am with Tate 80% of the day, but on the days when we are together the whole day, it's a blast. We could be doing absolutely nothing and it's a blast. We had date night in this week, ordered a massive pizza and chilled in our sweatpants. My kinda night. Tate's sister Darby is visiting us this week (!!!) and we couldn't be more excited! Hence all my exclamation marks. I can't wait to get a little taste of home, spend time with her, and show her around our new home! Ok. Going to wake up sleeping beauty now. Until next week! xx hill PS. Y'all. I have been slacking in the photo department. Next week expect better. Happy Sunday everyone! Tate and I love Sundays, especially when he is off! My morning started with my amazing husband bringing home Zeelmaeker treat treats for us, because someoneeee was too tired to get out of bed. Oops! It should've been the other way around since he was the one who played a game last night....but that is why he is amazing. We then made our grocery store run, cleaned the apartment, and now we are both plopped on the couch. I am so excited because someone so kindly let us borrow their crock pot for awhile (thanks Carine!), and I have like four different recipes lined up this week. Really going crock pot crazy, I know. Chicken Enchilada Soup is currently simmering while we speak! Stay tuned for reviews. I am personally excited for the Slow Cooker Banana French Toast because who knew you could even do that in a crock pot, B for D is always a win, and yum. This week was a laid back one. Monday was a Monday. Tuesday I spent the afternoon at the city center shopping while Tate was at practice- literally one of my favorite things to do. Before Tate and I got married, I was kind of dreading having a "shopping budget" because quite frankly I just never had one. Ya ya ya not responsible I know, but I was never a crazy shopper, I just didn't keep track. Ignorance is bliss, amiright? ;) I am just kidding, kind of. BUT having a shopping budget (and you best believe it started the day we got married) has been kind of fun, figuring out how I can get the max amount of stuff within my budget. I am all about finding great steals! Wednesday night we celebrated two months of marriage! We had dinner at Kaai Man- a trendy mod restaurant we have been wanting to try. It was so good! Sometimes being an American in a different country makes for some funny moments. We just stick out sometimes! And I realllllly love to blend in. I like to be low key, and when we were being seated at the restaurant, it was anything but! The restaurant was really nice, with a low quiet ambiance. When the hostess/waiter was speaking Dutch it was very soft and quiet, but for some reason when he spoke English it went up about 20 notches. WELCOME TO KAAI MAN! THE SPECIALS TONIGHT ARE........ *que everyone in the restaurant staring at us* So much for low key! But he was a great waiter. Great English. Two months of marriage. It doesn't sound long at all, but I feel as if we have been married longer! Probably due to the amount of life change that has occurred. All of the crazy changes have only strengthened our bond and drawn us closer! The gift of marriage has truly been the greatest gifts I have ever received. These past two months have been very emotional for me, and at times, very challenging. Tate has been the greatest example of God's love through all of it. Serving sacrificially and unconditionally has taken a whole new meaning, and it's such a beautiful thing. We go to bed laughing and wake up laughing. Legitimately. It is so awesome!!! Thursday consisted of practice, more practice, dinner, and a crisp walk around fun neighborhoods! On Friday, Tate only had one morning practice, so we spent the afternoon at one of our favorite hang out places "The Boulevard" playing cards and drinking coffee. I have been enviously looking at everyone's "fall pictures" including pumpkin patches, Trader Joe's pumpkin everything, and the Louisburg Cider Mill. There aren't really pumpkin patches around here, or pumpkin/autumn scented candles (gasp), so I get my fix by ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte at the Boulevard. And buying orange candles pretending they are pumpkin spice scented. Tate's accidental idea. One day I asked if he would pick up a fall candle after practice, and he came home with an orange candle. "Ohhhh yay did they have them!?" "I don't know, I just grabbed this orange one, hoping it smells the most like fall". Saturday was GAME DAY! I really look forward to game days. Game day means I am getting out of the house, I have something to do and people to see, andddd I get to watch my hunny do his thang. This game was an away game in Mons, about two hours from here. One of the American player's girlfriend is visiting for the next 6 weeks, which I am so excited about, so we went together to the game! We decided to go a little early and grab dinner somewhere. We found this cute little pub called Citizen Fox, that had aaaahmazing nachos. Game day also means massive cheat day ;) The game was a fun one to watch! The arena was nice and big, with loud music, a jumbotron (kiss cam included), and it was a really competitive close game. Oh and they had a CANDY BAR. Adults were grabbing drinks and waffles during half time, while I was fighting off kids for a spot in the candy line. So good. Unfortunately they ended up losing, which is always a bummer, but Tate had a really good game!! Proud of my guy. Always am. Well guys that's all I got. Thanks for following us on our life journey! xx Hill ---- PS. IF ANYONE OUT THERE WANTS TO TEACH ME HOW TO USE A CANON REBEL CAMERA I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT! HMU. Hit me up. Not to be confused with my initials. Guys. Making a vlog is not a joke. This thing takes WORK! I don't know what took longer- creating the video on iMovie or uploading the video to my blog. There was a point where I didn't think it was going to work and that was just NOT happening. Soooo...I am pretty sure the "resolution" and blah blah blah isn't as great, and the video is really small, but IT IS HERE!! 10/9/2017 1 Comment Everything RandomHi friends!
I have been sitting here for the past ten minutes just rackkkking my brain on our past week. Not because it wasn't fun or eventful, but because 1. I have a terrible short term memory. 2. Because of point 1, each day I write down what the day consisted of, just so I will remember. 3. I didn't write anything down this week. Oops! Just going to roll off the top of my head. We don't have typical weeks and weekends here. In our eyes, our "weekends" are Tate's off days. This past week he was off on Thursday, and won't be off again until this coming Saturday. But it's two off days! I love those. Anyways, this week was a good one. It is starting to look like fall here! Fall is my FAVORITE season, hands down. I live for big chunky sweaters, boots, scarves, layering pieces, coffee (honestly I always live for coffee- but it feels more cozy in the fall), LEAVES CHANGING, crisp weather, pumpkins, autumn type candles, aaaaaaand I could go on but I won't. We all know what fall means, amiright? This week I decided I needed to set some goals for myself. I don't know why, but something about setting goals excites me. I am a competitive person, I like a challenge, I like crossing things off lists, I like to be motivated, and I like direction and organization. So you KNOW I love goals. One of the goals I set was to run a half marathon this year. I used to love running. I have ran a few half marathons and I have even ran a marathon (it's as pretty gruesome as you would imagine), and during those times of training, I loved the discipline it brought into my life. And Mrs. Waffle Eater over here needs some discipline!!! So Monday I went out for a run, in hopes to run 2 miles. Which, two months ago, 2 miles would have been a breeze. Well this aint two months ago!!! My knees started hurting at mile 0.4. Don't miss that 0 before the "." It was confirmed, I am officially out of shape. Cheers to getting back in the saddle! And cheers to everyone holding me accountable for running a half marathon this year..... On Wednesday, Tate had an away game, which means he was gone for the afternoon and night. The away games I don't go to, I usually just hang at the apartment, since I am still enrolled in "Tate's driving school" and can't really drive myself places yet. But my husband is so nice, and doubles as my own personal uber driver! He dropped me off at the city center for the morning to shop around, and I left with some GREAT finds. Naturally, everything I got was black. Neutrals all day everyday. AND I treated myself to a Starbucks PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE. So basic. I don't care. For some reason it reminded me of home and comfort (even though I never got them back in the States #blackcoffeeforlife) and I needed a little taste of home! Tate left, they won their game, and I spent my evening watching The Great Gatsby and trying new hair styles. I would say I won too. Thursday was OFF DAY! The day started with pancakes, and then a whole bunch of lounging. We try to have balance with his off days. Some days are spent resting, some spent exploring, and this was a rest day! He has been working so hard. Really proud of him. That evening, the couple that lives below us had everyone over for a team dinner! Our apartment building has three apartments, and guys on the team live in all three. The food was amazing, and it was fun being able to be around Tate's teammates! Friday was date night- my favorite night! We ended up eating dinner at a Sushi restaurant at the City Center, that was really really good. There is a little strip of restaurants at the City Center and our goal is to try them all! So far we have tried 4 different places. Cheese board place still holds the #1 spot. Tate and I are always together, and we always have good conversation, but there is something about date night conversation that is different from the rest. It is more intentional and it's solely about us. We talk about our future together, our future family, our dreams, our hopes, and our hearts. Date night has always been good for our relationship, but since we've been married, it has grown deeper and richer! Saturday I had a stick shift driving lesson. Tate's driving school. Never have I felt more like a 16 year old, learning how to drive again. Tate started off the lesson by saying "Ok Hill, we aren't allowed to say 'I hate this' and we aren't allowed to ask the question "why''" Last driving lesson I repeatedly said "i hate this i hate this i hate this" the whole way around the parking lot. I would park the car, look at Tate, and ask "why is it like this? Why do you have to think the whole time?? Why can't it be easier? Why did someone invent the stick shift?" So dramatic. But this driving lesson wasn't bad!! I drove around the parking lot, I even went out on the street, and drove around a residential area. Haaaay. Big time. I made a goal to drive a little bit every single day this week! All about the goals. Sunday, Tate had a game in Brussels. I rode with Elena, Wen's fiance who lives below us, and their adorable son. I always look forward to Tate's games. They are so fun and I love watching him play! Unfortunatelyyyy, they lost. Which is always a bummer. It was a pretty close game throughout the second half, causing me to half watch half look away because of my stress level. Hoping my stress levels go down the more games I go to. Guys, I wore sweater again. And sweated to death again. Rookie mistake. Someone please text me Friday reminding me not to wear a sweater to the game!! We went to dinner once we got back into town, and recapped the whole game. Who knew I would actually love doing that?? I am learning so much about basketball. I love it. Well, this blog post could not have been more random. Blabbing about fall, being out of shape, learning how to drive, and my poor outfit choice at the game. Don't bail on my blog yet, because next week is going to be a VLOG!! That's right. A vlog. (For those of you like my husband who don't know what vlog means, it stands for "video blog") Shout out to Anna Fulmer who suggested we do one! It is definitely our first and might be our last. Until then!! Love love hill and tate |
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