CROCUSES
Guys, it’s only February and there are already a TON of crocuses growing in our backyard! When I was a kid, searching for ‘signs of spring’ was one of my favorite things to do. Crocuses seem to always be the first sign that spring was on it’s way. So now whenever I see them, I get a little bit excited.

GREEN RIVER ORDINANCE
I found Green River Ordinance through Twitter.. maybe Steve Moakler tweeted about them? I am a fan of Twitter for that reason; when my fave artists recommend a new band/singer, I always give it a listen because I know I can trust their music taste! Anyways, so I’ve been listening to GRO’s new album this week and I am totally loving it! They have a country vibe with great lyrics and harmonies. Perfect spring tunes!

A COLOR STORY
This is a new photo editing app that I am completely obsessed with. I used to have to use both VSCO and Afterlight when editing my Instagram photos (both which I liked), but when A Color Story debuted, I realized I could edit how I wanted with just one app! I’m an app minimalist, so this was great news. The filters are versatile and vibrant and I like them a lot. Definitely try it if you currently have to use more than one photo editing app or looking for a new app! (Not sponsored, just love it!)

HIKING BOOTS
Last summer, in an attempt to watch less TV and become “outdoor people”, Nate and I got ourselves two kayaks and used them as often as we could. This year we’re adding to our outdoorsy repertoire with more hiking! We recently went to REI and each picked out a pair of hiking boots. We then went on a trail walk to break them in and needless to say, I’m pretty stoked for summer to get here!

Happy Weekend!!

LEMON WATER
I’ve been hearing from friends, podcasts and blogs alike that drinking warm lemon water every morning is a great way to boost your energy and immune system. Don’t take my word for it, take theirs and theirs. I’ve been enjoying a warm cup of sour lemon water every morning for a week now, and though my world hasn’t changed, I do feel more awake by the time I need to start working. Maybe it’s the sour thing. Or maybe it really does have health benefits.

SPRING TEMPS 
Um, helloooooo, this week’s weather has been AMAZING!! High 50s all week? I’ll take it! I went running outside in a t-shirt twice and have had my office windows open almost every day! I know spring is just teasing us, but I’m not going to let that stop myself from enjoying this springy weather.

GIRL COUNTRY
Women in country music are making a big comeback (thank the Lord) and I love that Cam and Maren Morris are headlining the revival! I am loving Cam‘s new full-length album Untamed and Maren Morris‘ self-titled EP has been my legit obsession since November!! I can’t stop listening to them both!

LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
I’m a super newbie on the essential oil front, but I’ve been slowly purchasing and using a few different kinds. Lavender has been my absolute favorite so far! It’s so fresh and springy (in keeping with this week’s fake spring haha) and is very relaxing to me.

GOOGLE HANGOUT
I’m so wicked late to the Google hangout party, like probably 4 years late, right? Don’t laugh. Lately Nate has been traveling and instead of a measly phone call before we go to sleep, we hang out! Via Google! It’s cray. Why didn’t we do this 4 years ago. (P.S. We WOULD Facetime, but Nate isn’t an Apple person.)

Happy weekend!!

2016
Since it’s my first Weekly Obsessions post of 2016, let me just say that I have good vibes about this year. God’s been giving me a lot of peace about what’s ahead for this year, even though a lot of it is very unknown to me/us. But I just know that it will be a life-changing year!

NEW MUSIC 
Duh. New years mean new(ly-ish discovered) music! Right now I’m loving Smithfield (a new country duo), James Bay (I’m late on this bandwagon), Maren Morris (I’ve told you about her before), and A Great Big World‘s new single Oasis — Listen to all of these and more on my Winter 2016 Spotify playlist!!

READING
I made an important goal for 2016: to read a book instead of looking at my phone before going to sleep. It’s only been two weeks and I’ve already finished a book! (Jack’s Notebook, if you’re wondering). Basically this goal has proven that I can’t use that excuse “I don’t have time to read” – because my phone knows exactly how much time I have.

WRIST WRAPS
Crossfit tends to put a lot of strain on my wrists (I also just have weak wrists in general, ha) so I bought myself these wraps for Christmas… annnnnddd I’m obsessed. Because A) they’re purple and I like that color and B) my wrists don’t hurt anymore! I can do all the things!

SWEET POTATOES
Nate and I have been eating cleaner since the start of 2016 (haven’t we all? #resolutions) and sweet potatoes are my saving grace!! They are so versatile and delish and I can make a ton of different recipes with them. Some current faves: Rosemary Roasted, Fries, Honey-Glazed. Try them!

Have a good Friday, yaaaallz.

GUYS ONLY TEN DAYS ‘TIL CHRISTMAS. That’s what I’m most obsessed with. But here are some other things, too.

Nikon 50mm 1.4 lens
The guys at Newtonville Camera hooked me UP with (aka: helped me spend a lot of money on) a 1.4 50mm lens, which is a big, exciting upgrade from the 1.8 (by far my most-used lens when I shoot weddings). I have been wanting this lens for a LONG time, but only recently decided to go for it and I’m so excited to use it!! (I took that above photo of my adorable Christmas penguin with it!)

JOHNNYSWIM
I saw Johnnyswim (husband and wife duo, Abner + Amanda) live on Saturday! It was their Christmas tour, so they sang a lot of classics in their singer-songwriter style. O Come O Come Emmanuel basically turned the Royale into a church service and it was amazing. They also played a lot of their original music, which I was really glad for because their music is amazing! It was such a fun show! I really love seeing my favorites artists live… mostly because I can physically SEE and FEEL just how much they love doing what they do. It’s different than just listening to a recording. Johnnyswim was no exception!

PRETTY GIFT TAGS
Tis the season for cute wrapping paper and fun ways to let people know whose present belongs to who! I made you some free gift tags that you can cut out and string yourself. My friend Mal makes SUPER pretty ones that are on sale right now! And these ones are pretty dang hilarious!

My list is pretty short this week, but I’m planning one more post for December and then I’ll be taking it easy (with blogging, at least) until the New Year!

Long time no blog + HAPPY DECEMBER! 😉 I felt like I blogged a lot in November, but I just looked back and decided that it wasn’t actually that much! That being said, my favorite (and your favorite!) posts from November were Holiday Markets in Boston and Planning Your Workouts! Go back and read those if you haven’t yet! For December, I plan on FINALLY blogging about our DC trip two weeks ago and possibly doing a gift guide or two.

And now it’s time for my weekly obsessions! (thanks Superfruit)

First of all, I’m obsessed with this photo booth picture of Nate and I from Friendsgiving! 🙂 I posted the actual selfie on my insta, so check that out when you get the chance.

EPs! 
I love EPs! EPs are basically pre-albums so that artists can give their fans SOMETHING even thought they might not be done with a full album yet. My favorite EPs from the last week or so have been Maren Morris‘s self-titled EP (country) and Jordy Searcy’s Seasons (singer/songwriter)! They are different genres, but both have great beats, meaningful lyrics and just overall a ton of talent!

SYRACUSE BBALL
Just because I’m not on campus anymore doesn’t mean I’m not watching basically every game from my couch – complete with cheering. Cuse won a 4 game tournament last week, including beating UConn on Thanksgiving, so *high five emoji* to us. I’m patiently-ish waiting until January 30th and February 14th for games in REAL LIFE.

CHAMPION RUNNING LEGGINGS
I also plan on doing a full blog post about my favorite winter running gear probably in January, but until then, I’ll just gush about Champion’s PerforMax running leggings. They are comfy and pretty warm (but the coldest I’ve run with them so far has only been 34 degrees, so we’ll see.) I mostly love them because they don’t fall down like a lot of leggings do!

ETSY
You can probably guess that I love handmade, homemade things, so you can probably also guess that I’ve been having a LOT of fun shopping for Christmas gifts this year! (some for myself, oops.) Some fave shops: NS Pottery, Ross Lab, The Silmarillion, Jill Makes, Salem Style!