It’s my first What’s Up Wednesday of 2024! I’m excited to see what this year holds (like sharing some home content as we finally furnish our first house). Also, I have quite a few travel guides from 2023 that I would still like to put together for the blog (Havasupai, Italy, Paris) and a few fun trips already planned for this year (California, Hawaii, Cabo, Africa). Until then, I’m linking up with Sheaffer and Shay, where we share what’s been up with us this month.

What we’ve been eating: I shared 10 Quick, Simple Trader Joe’s Lunch Ideas You’ll Love this month on the blog. Now that I’m working from home full time, I must prioritize making lunch, so I turn to Trader Joe’s!

What I’m reminiscing about: We have a functional backyard seven months after moving in, and seeing the transformation is wild. The crews haven’t finished, but we hot tubbed the other night, and the dogs can run around off-leash again. We still have a ways to go (we want to plant various trees and bushes along the perimeter, lots of furniture to buy, etc.), but we’re taking it one step at a time and soaking in our overwhelming gratitude for this space.

What I’m loving: I’m so in love with my new home office space, and it’s made a massive difference in my work-from-home life. I can’t wait to share my office’s entire reveal here on the blog — hopefully soon! In the meantime, you can shop for everything in the photo here.

What we’ve been up to: We’ve started prepping for our African safari by getting all the necessary vaccines last week. I’ll eventually share a comprehensive guide and go into more depth, but I was out of commission for a day after with a mild fever which sucked.

What I’m dreading: Honestly, I’m not dreading anything. It may be cheesy, but my gratitude for this life is overwhelming. At least once a day, I’m stopped in my tracks, marveling over the life I get to live, and I try hard not to take it for granted.

What I’m working on: I’ve been diligently working on sticking to a consistent weekly posting schedule here. I’m starting to see exciting organic growth and hope to continue expanding this space and collaborating with more of my favorite brands and properties!

What I’m excited about: Speaking of fun collaborations, I’m excited about the first pop-up of the newly opened Kilolani Spa of Maui’s Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort at its off-site debut at Arizona Biltmore. If you’ve been a regular reader, you may recall I was invited to preview the Tierra Luna Spa Solstice Retreat last year, which was such a rejuvenating experience, so I’m looking forward to returning.

What I’m watching/reading: We’re about to finish season 2 of Bloodline on Netflix. As for what I’m reading, I’m currently reading Just One Night by Lauren Layne. Also, I recently shared 5 Contemporary Romance Books to Swoon Over if you want more steamy reads.

What I’m listening to: As I wrap up this blog post for tomorrow, I’m binging the Dateline podcast, which is episodes of the show in audio form. While there are similar podcasts, there’s nothing more comforting to me than turning on Dateline.

What I’m wearing: Now that I’m home 99% of the time, I’m guilty of living in my pajamas many days. These pajamas are so fun and flattering. If Russ were a girl waking up in Santorini, I imagine he’d wear these.

What I’m doing this weekend: Surprisingly, I don’t have plans, but I’ll try to get some blogging and reading done. We have a couple of out-of-town guests next month, and then I’ll be busy hosting and entertaining!

What I’m looking forward to next month: My mama is coming to town! She doesn’t visit as frequently as I wished, so I’m looking forward to a fun long weekend with her. Also, I shared a recap of her visit from a couple of years ago, including everything we did.

Thanks for stopping by for my monthly What’s Up Wednesday update. What’s up with you this month? Let me know in the comments! xo