Hi everyone,

I realize I’ve been a little MIA this month but that’s because we’ve been very busy with house hunting!

At the beginning of the year, we decided we had outgrown our little place and it was time to start the process of finding something a little bigger. We met with our realtors, started looking at the market, and started fixing up our little house to make it appealing to a new family. That whole process takes up so much time but throw in the coronavirus wrench and you’re looking at double the amount of time!

We finally put our house on the market on Mother’s Day weekend, which we spent in a hotel. The house was only up for about three days before we accepted an offer. Then the pressure was on to find our new house! We had been looking at everything from older homes to new construction in several neighborhoods around Durham until we finally found a beautiful, light-filled house on a cul de sac in a great neighborhood. We submitted a ridiculously generous offer and I wrote a sweet little letter explaining why the home was perfect for us and out of the many offers they received, THEY ACCEPTED OURS!

Time to start packing!

The house has everything we’ve been wanting: a 2-car garage, tons of natural light, a nice backyard, a neighborhood pool, a great school district for Sebastian, AND perhaps the best part in my opinion: it’s not very far from our current house so we won’t have to change up our routines that much! We can go to the same grocery store, doctors, vet, etc. When you live with anxiety, change is very difficult so not having to change much will make the transition so much better.

The buying part of the process is almost over and we still have a few weeks before we close and move, but we’re really excited about everything. Wish us luck that the rest of the process and the move go smoothly!

Three years ago today I experienced the scariest, most traumatic event of my life: I had a heart attack at just 32 years old.

I had just returned to work from a brief maternity leave and was looking forward to a long weekend of baby snuggles and a nice family picnic. However, instead of spending that time on a blanket in the warm sunshine with my boys, I spent it in a cold hospital room in the cardiac ICU recovering from a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). Because I didn’t get that picnic three summers ago, I decided to make it a tradition, a picnic every year around May 27 to celebrate each year of survivorship. Of course this year we’ve skipped the picnic due to a lot of factors like the constant dreary weather, the pandemic, and being in the middle of packing everything up for a move.

But I’m still in very good physical health and my mental health has improved tremendously, though I still occasionally deal with some PTSD stuff. But I get to watch Sebastian sing songs and learn new things and run around, and I’m extremely thankful that I was so lucky, that I’m still here to watch him grow. I’ve always felt that all the little things count so much, but now I know just how much.

In this third year:

–I signed up for and started training for the inaugural 5K SCADaddle© for Research to run 3.2 miles and raise money for more important SCAD research. The race was originally supposed to be held in April but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, so my training has also been postponed but I’ll get back into it soon!

–I continue to be active in several online support groups, including a SCAD Survivors NC Facebook group where I can connect with and support survivors who truly understand what I’ve been going through these last three years because they’ve experienced it, as well.

–I’m still eating better. My diet has never been horrible but we now make it a habit to cook at home more and to ensure we’re eating fresh fruits and veggies.

All in all, I’m doing very well. And I’m *still* looking forward to a long lifetime full of sunny, warm picnics!

Here’s the next outfit in my Work From Home Wardrobe Series where I display the cute outfits I’m wearing while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Even though this is an outfit that I would totally wear to the office, it’s comfortable enough to wear at home, too! The jeans are stretchy, the blouse is very light, and the cardigan is perfect for a blasting air conditioner (both at the office and at home – yes, it gets cold here in the summer when Nick gets his way). Sometimes I like to feel dressed up at home. This was another day where I had several video meetings so I fixed up my hair and make up a little bit. Not a bad look for home!

Blouse: Loft | Cardigan: Old Navy | Jeans: Wit & Wisdom | Shoes: Old Navy

I took this photo after returning from a walk with the dogs, that’s why I have shoes on. Otherwise, I prefer barefeet or slippers.