Hi, Everyone!
I’d ask how you’re doing but, I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that. Times are weird, scary, and the uncertainty is the hardest part. During these moments, I try my best to stay optimistic and positive through it all. I hope you’re staying home if you can, helping out loved ones who can’t go out, and trying to make the best of it all by connecting with friends and family. I’m a true believer in “this too shall pass,” and I’ve been leaning towards a whole lot of prayer lately. You have to do whatever gives you comfort and joy.
I’m happy you’ve stopped by today, and I hope I can give you a brief timeout from everything going on in the world. I tried my best to document things this week, but it was super hard. Not only was it uninteresting, but it was one crazy week for us. We put the house on the market, which was risky, considering we are in the middle of a pandemic. We weren’t sure how it was going to go, but fortunately, we had several offers and accepted one on Tuesday morning. I’m excited to share a blog post I’ve been working on about selling the house, but I’ll have that go live once we are moved into our new home, which is happening in 24 days! I cannot believe it.
Firsts things first, let’s start with this morning’s smoothie! I’m still fighting allergies, so anything cold feels so good on the throat. The tree pollen down here in the south has been horrendous the past week. My smoothie had a cup of fresh strawberries, one frozen banana, one cup of homemade almond milk, and a scoop of vanilla + greens protein powder. It tasted like a strawberry banana treat ♥️ Now that I have my smoothie in hand let’s catch up on the week!
Monday was probably the most stressful day.
We had to hurry up and get the house spotless and shining because we found out late in the evening that we had five showings on Monday. I guess people were house shopping at midnight? This meant working from my car ALL DAY because I couldn’t just pop over to my parent’s house during the quarantine time. We made sure to disinfect every doorknob, light switch, and cabinet in the house before and after showing. We had sanitizer for people coming in, and luckily everything went smoothly. There are a few funny stories about Monday I’d like to share, but I’m going to wait a few weeks before doing so. Kyle picked me up coffee while he worked from his car, and I worked from mine. We were finally allowed to go back into the house after showings ended around 4 pm. It was a pretty crazy day!
On top of that, we had some things to go over with builders, and that’s why the recap post wasn’t posted on Monday as planned. I knew something like that would happen, but it was all worth it since we accepted an offer, and they’re willing to work with our closing date. We don’t want to close on this house until a week after we move into the new house just so we have time to move out slowly, get our new lights, fence, and other home projects installed. These may be the longest or the fastest 24 days ahead.
I picked up the dogs from my parent’s house, but it’s so strange not being able to go in there and hang out with them. The pups are funny, though, because as soon as I opened the door, they ran straight into the car and were ready for their rides!
I wanted something quick and easy for dinner, so I roasted some brussels sprouts, potatoes, and green beans with olive oil at 350 for 30-minutes. We also made some gluten-free, vegan mac and cheese. We watched American Idol, and then I was out like a bulb.
There wasn’t much to report on since all we did was work from home and not go out to explore. I had another smoothie, this time with spinach, banana, mango, cashew milk, and topped with granola and cranberries. I’ve been so bored that I never missed a day of watering my plants 😊 I’m also so caught up on laundry that I’m officially washing things that are already clean. Just kidding, but I have been washing the drapes, bathroom rugs, pillowcases, and other random things around the house.
This week, we’ve been staying on top of our long dog walks. I appreciate getting outside, especially with how beautiful the weather is. The only bad thing is fighting the tree pollen. Luckily there is plenty of room to keep the distance from people on walks.
My flowers are thriving ♥️ I know I have said this a million times, but I cannot wait to start gardening at the new house. I think this quarantine life would be much easier if we were already moved into the new house. I’d be able to tackle all the projects I’m itching to do. The anticipation is killing me.
Prioritizing my sleep has been very important to me these past few weeks. Getting sick and dealing with allergy season has me hitting the pillow extra early. Last night, I was asleep before 9 pm and didn’t wake up until 7. I felt like a new woman when I woke up! Remember when I mentioned going to bed 45-minutes earlier last week? Well, I definitely feel like it’s helped me! Even one extra hour of sleep can do wonders. If you missed my post last week with my sleep routine, make sure to check that out! I’ve partnered with CVS Pharmacy to help bring awareness to the importance of sleep by joining their sleep campaign, #DontSleepOnSelfCare. I shared my night routine and offered tips that help me fall asleep better each night. It’s been super fitting for me since sleep has been my best friend lately. Even when I get past allergy season, I’m going to continue putting sleep on the top of my self-care routine. Sleep is an essential foundation for overall health and wellness and can affect everything from your physical health, mood, stress, cognitive function, energy, mental wellbeing, and more. I feel like more sleep has helped me with allergy symptoms, and it’s made me more energetic throughout the day. Make sure to check out my post with sleep facts & myths + all the tips to help you fall asleep better each night!
On Saturday, we hung around the house watching Ozark. We made a quick trip uptown so Kyle could pick up some weights from a friend. He’s turned our back porch into a Gold’s Gym, and it looks pretty intense. He said it inspired him to turn our new garage into a gym, so there’s that 😂 I told him it’s fine as long as I can get a Peloton.
For lunch, I made one of the Home Chef salad kits. I spiced it up and glaze the walnuts with maple syrup, cinnamon, and sea salt instead of leaving them plain.
The salad had spinach, apples, shallot vinaigrette, dried cherries, and glazed walnuts. This salad was so tasty! It came with goat cheese, but I left that off and added it to Kyle’s salad. I will certainly be making this again. 😋 It was so simple and refreshing!
I decided to try making my nut milk on Saturday.
I guess when you’re stuck inside, doing “homemade” things is fun. It’s something I’ve wanted to try out for a while now, and I’m so glad I did because the almond milk and the cashew milk turned out delicious. I am going to do this again for my next vlog, but here’s a little recap on how it turned out!
First, I soaked the almonds and the cashews in water overnight. I did about a cup and a half of each and filled the water to the top. I’ll make sure to take better measurements next time for the video.
I added the jar of almonds to the blender with an additional two cups of water, 1 tbsps of agave, a pinch of cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. I blended it on high for about one minute.
I lined a bowl with cheesecloth and poured the milk into the bowl.
I let the milk strain for a good five minutes and then squeezed the additional juices out of the cloth. You’ll want to make sure your hands are clean during this because you’ll be putting your hands in the milk, so it’s kind of like milking an utter.
Both milks turned out extremely creamy and the best flavor of nut milk I’ve ever had! If I had to choose, I’d say the cashew was better than the almond milk, but I like cashew better than almonds anyways. I will for sure make both again! There’s something so satisfying about drinking something youve made vs. storebought. The one thing I can’t wait to do is make homemade ice cream this summer with these nut milk.
Now, wasting is never good. I would NOT just throw out the leftover almond bits because 1. they’re expensive, and 2. they’re so good for you! You can make nut cheese, face masks, cookies, or add the mixes to smoothies. Get creative; just don’t throw the pieces out. I decided to make an apple crisp! I had a bag of apples that were on their last week of life, so I knew it would work out perfectly!
You can change up the ingredients to make this healthy if you want, but I used real sugar, and it was a nice treat 😉 In a small mixing bowl I melted 1/2 stick vegan butter and added 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and two tablespoons of cinnamon. I chopped up five small apples (you can remove the skin, but I’m too lazy for that) and added it to a bowl with the leftover nuts from the almond milk, and stirred in the buttery mixture. When the apples were coated, I transferred the ingredients to a baking dish and cooked it in the oven at 350 for one hour.
This apple crisp surprisingly turned out to be one of the best desserts I’ve made in a long time. We topped it with coconut whipped cream and treated ourselves to it while watching the new season of Ozark.
For dinner, we had another Home Chef meal. We made Greek chicken 😋 with tomatoes, guacamole, cucumbers, and roasted potatoes. Kyle and I did a late-night walk around the neighborhood because the weather was gorgeous on Saturday and we just needed to get out of the house for a bit.
On Sunday morning, we dropped off my parent’s groceries for them. We’ve been using Instacart to order groceries and pick them up. It stinks we can’t just hang out there and play cornhole, grill out, or just spend time with them. I’m so looking forward to this all ends soon, SO STAY HOME PEOPLE!!
For lunch, I had my gluten-free sandwich with lettuce, turkey, and mustard. It’s simple, but a favorite of mine. I had grapes and a side salad to go with it.
After lunch, Kyle and I did almost four miles at the new trails. It was 80-degrees and a perfect day to be outside. I mean, my allergies said otherwise, but it was worth the flare-ups.
We were starving by the time we got home, so I popped some salmon in the air fryer with everything but the bagel seasoning, made some Alexa sweet potato fries, and had a salad on the side. It hit the spot! 😋
If you want to keep up to date on the home build, make sure to follow my home account! I’m going to be doing a fun giveaway this week, and you won’t want to miss it! 😃
As for the wildflower project, well, it’s doing amazing! 💜
We have sprouts coming up all over the hill, and it makes me so happy. I think I may get that wildflower meadow this summer. 🤞
And as for my front porch wildflowers…Id’ say they’re doing pretty well! 😉
Questions for you!
- What is getting you through these tough times right now?
- Are there any types of blogs that you’d like me to write?
- Tell me something positive about your weekend!
Abbey says
Hi Taralynn!
For me it is having my husband working from home to help with our 3 kids. We take turns giving each other breaks and it works so well. I am like you, just trying to stay busy and positive and do my part to keep my family and community safe!
Those nut milks look great! My favorite to make is cashew milk because you don’t have to strain it and have any leftover pulp. You can also make a really nice Oatly style milk with a blend of oats and cashews!
Maybe a post with some favorite book recommendations? It would be nice to see the comment section too and get some good ideas for reading!
I hope everyone reading this is staying well and safe!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Abbey!
Seems like you and your husband have a great routine! ♥️
I am going to try doing oatmilk today 😃
I have a list of books on my instagram but i’ll work on typing up a list for the blog! xo
Manda says
You guys are still doing open houses! My boyfriend and I have been looking for a house to buy for a few months now, everyone is canceling and only offering virtual tours. I understand why but we would never buy a house without viewing it in person. We’ve decided to wait until this whole thing is over to resume. Congrats on selling yours!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Manda!
I totally understand not wanting to buy a house without seeing it, I could never do that! I totally understand wanting to wait, the good thing is that the rates have been good and less on the market, so it was ideal for us!
Good luck to you!
Shelby says
Thank you for continuing to post – these literally brighten up my day! So excited for your move and everything that’s to come for you ♡
Something positive about my weekend – my dogs have been enjoying ALL the extra cuddles and I have been enjoying the extra downtime!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Shelby!
Thank you 😊 I’m so happy you stop by to read! I’m glad you’re making the best of it, and spending all those extra moments with the pups!!
♥️
Ashley says
I’m so happy that you were able to sell your current house so quickly!! I can’t wait until this is all over either. The weather is getting a little better and it just makes me want to be out, or enjoying time with my parents. But this too shall pass. 🙂
Make Life Marvelous
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you, Ashley! & I feel ya on that for sure!!
Liv says
Congrats on the house!! I’m looking forward to your future posts about home decor be gardening…I’ve never been able to keep plants alive in the house but I’m hoping to get some herbs growing soon and you are definitely great inspiration!
My business had to close down (temporarily, I hope) so I basically lost everything I worked for the past two years, and I’m looking at the next two months being stuck at home (our governor said June 10th now), so not much positive going on here haha. I’m trying to find positivity and have been spending time working on a blog and getting back into running since the weather is warmer now. So I’d love to see more posts about beginners gardening tips and getting back into running/working out after I avoided it for a while.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you, Liv!
Sorry to hear you’re being so affected by this and I hope your business opens back up!!! 🙏
I definitely have a bunch of those running blogs up if you need some inspo! 😃
keep up the positivity.
Jennifer says
Hope for the future! I’ll hardly see my boyfriend of 5 years throughout this time and it kills me. I just can’t wait for life to be back to “normal”!
I love organizational blogs/blogs, and love when you post about fashion/crafts!
I went through so much of my stuff and was able to donate/dust/etc and am in the process of clearing out! Feels so good.
Taralynn McNitt says
Sorry to hear that, Jennifer! ♥️ Hoping people continue to take this seriously and help with ending it.
What a great time to declutter and donate things! ♥️
Alayna says
Thank you for this positive energy post, because I am a nurse practitioner still working at the hospital and this kind of thing is a nice distraction.
This weekend we had some nice weather so we also took our dogs on lots of walks, which they always love. I also started to take down wallpaper and prep to paint my kitchen 😊
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Alayna! ♥️ Keeping you in my prayers!
Sounds like you had a nice break this weekend, please stay safe & hang in there!! xo xo
Lauren says
Hi Taralynn,
1.) With all my extra free time I decided to take this time to study for a teaching certificate so I can teach elementary school! My degree is in hospitality, but I have wanted to change careers for awhile, so I am taking this time to make the change 😊 so that’s getting me through
2.) I would love to see a vlog soon! Maybe like a day in the life? Or even packing techniques for your move!
3.) I feel like I don’t know what day it is, let alone the weekend, but we got take out from a restaurant in town and they were sooo appreciative and thankful, so we were happy we did that and we are planning take out for this weekend!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Lauren!
That is so great 😊 You’re going to make a wonderful teacher!
A vlog is coming 😊
I feel ya on that! I’m mixing up all of my days!
Madeline says
What is getting you through these tough times right now? Probably my husband. He’s working from home and doing so much for us right now. I work in a hospital so when I come home, all the chores are done, he’s my emotional support and dotes on me. I’m so lucky to have him.
Are there any types of blogs that you’d like me to write? I enjoy recaps the most. They’re such a good distraction right now. Also exercise posts… running updates, walking trails, at home workouts with little or no equipment. Craft ideas for being stuck at home. You’re so good at cleaning and organizing. Maybe a month-long cleaning or decluttering “challenge” where you give us one category or location to clean out or declutter per day or week.
Tell me something positive about your weekend! My husband and I got to tell our family and friends we’re expecting a baby! <3
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Madeline!
Bless you for everything you do and working on the frontline! ♥️ keeping you in my thoughts and prayers during this time!
I will definitely do some organizing/cleaning videos when I get into the new house! It’s so hard when my whole house is practically empty now. lol
OMG CONGRATS!!!!!! Please stay safe!! so happy for you two!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Looks like you had a great week! Thanks for the update, Taralynn! ❤️✨
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Charmaine! ♥️
Jenny says
I just wanted to say how happy it makes me to peek in here a couple times a week and see your posts. They uplift me, they encourage me to find ways to be healthier, and they are a ray of sunshine during some dark times. Thanks Taralynn.
Taralynn McNitt says
That just put a smile on my face 😊 ♥️
Milena says
Hi Taralynn!
Your flowers look amazing, I can’t wait to see your garden in new house!
Last weekend I started a photo editing course and it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn but between so many things I never dedicated a lot of time for it, So I feel like now it’s a perfect moment to learn and put it in practice! This is my new motivation during quarantine and also the best flashback from the weekend 🙂
I would love to see more fashion blogs from you and maybe some tips of how to organize your time when you work from home full time. I am working on personal project and my goal for this year is to be independent and start making money with this project, so any tips about how to stay organized and full-focused would be great 🙂
And I can’t also wait to see home decor posts for your new home 😉
Have a nice week!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Milena!
Thank you so much 😊
Congrats on starting that course! What a fun distraction from everything and I bet you’re going to be so great at it.
Great ideas for those blogs! 😃
Lauren says
I have a giant container of spinach in my fridge and walnuts in my freezer I’ve been wondering what to do with! Your spinach salad looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for the inspo!
Taralynn McNitt says
Ohhh a great way to use it up!!
Brooklyn says
I can’t wait to read about selling your house! That’ll be a fun read.
I love that photo of Grumples, he’s so photogenic.
My boyfriend and I are now on week 3 of being off work together in our studio apartment. But we are doing good, and doing our best to stay positive 🙂
http://Www.justbeingbrooklyn.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Brooklyn!
Thank you 😊 I love grumps so much!!! can’t believe he’s 9 this summer!!!
Glad you’re doing well! xo xo
Lauren says
Cute blog post! Making your own almond milk is a great idea and I will definitely be trying this! Congrats on the house I’m sure the count down is on for moving day! Staying busy during this time doing some small projects around the house, reading, running and at-home yoga routines to silence the anxious mind! Try searching for Jess Massey she has great digital planning tools to help stay on task at home and for projects!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks Lauren 😊 Hope you enjoy making the nut milk!
Glad you’re staying busy and getting those projects done!
Erica Alkire says
I love the peloton app! It’s so great, I don’t have the bike, so I opted for a cheaper bike and then got the app. If I could though I would’ve bought it!
Taralynn McNitt says
Kyle’s dad has the Pelaton and LOVES it!
Ruth says
Hi,
A quick question about your house move and sale … are you sure both will happen as planned? Here in the UK, our government has stopped all activities relating to buying/selling/moving house(s) for the foreseeable future.
I follow your house account on IG and dream of American-sized houses!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Ruth!
All is according to plan right now. Building homes/selling is considered an essential business here so there’s no plan to do that yet. Not being able to sell/purchase homes would crush the economy even more so they’ll most likely do things virtually to keep things safe it comes down to it by doing the virtual signing, virtual tours, etc.
Ally says
We have been watching Ozark too. Love that show! That salmon looks good, will give that a try.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you 😊
Tara B says
You inspired me with your wildflowers! I planted literally 20,000 seeds in my flower bed thinking that just a few would come up. They are coming up everywhere!! It will be very interesting to see what they look like when they bloom! Haha!
Taralynn McNitt says
OMG! You must send me a photo!!