Hi, friends!

It’s been a hot minute but we’re finally all moved in. The boxes are unpacked and almost everything has a found a place in the new house. We’re well on our way to being completely settled. We’ve had a chance to meet our super nice neighbors, and we’re looking forward to when we can all safely gather and be more social. We’re excited to get to know them better and really become part of the community.

Welcome home!

Updates

Nick and I continue to work from home and will not be going back into an office until the beginning of the year at the earliest, if we even go back at all. We started out sharing an office space in the new house like we did in the old one, but I have recently kicked him out of the shared office and into his own little nook in the playroom. We were distracting each other too much, and it was a nightmare trying to coordinate simultaneous video calls in the same room. Oof! This arrangement is working for now.

Sebastian has started a Spanish-immersion daycare which we’re all pretty excited about because he’s one step closer to learning Spanish. And it gives me even more of a chance to practice mine. Yesterday he came home and told us all about a new word he learned: amigos. “Amigo means friend!” And last night he was singing a little Spanish song to himself at bedtime. I’m not familiar with the song but he was singing “Aquí estoy” which means here I am. So cute!

Style & Beauty

I finished my Invisalign treatment and feel more confident with my smile again. And I’m slowly starting to get photos of my outfits again. New outfit posts will be coming soon! Here’s one in the meantime:

I’ve had several health-related appointments lately and this is an outfit I put together to wear to one of them. I often wear this outfit with flats or heels to the office, but I decided to give these new sneaks a try and I think they turned out to be a really cute touch to an otherwise professional look.

Blouse: Banana Republic | Pixie Pants: Old Navy | Lace up Sneakers from Rothy’s

What I’m Digging…

Cottagecore. So, I first heard about cottagecore on NPR’s 1A when they interviewed a trend and culture reporter, a trend expert, and an influencer about this aesthetic is and how it became so popular. According to Fandom, cottagecore “is an aesthetic inspired by a romanticized interpretation of western agricultural life. It is centered on ideas around of a more simple life and harmony with nature.” Y’all, I don’t know about you but as I get older, a more simple way of life sounds heavenly so I’m really enjoying all of these filtered photos of aprons, gardens, lace, and little farmhouses. You better watch out… I  might pull out some old peasant skirts and rock a bonnet (I’m only half kidding)! What are you digging lately?

Example of cottagecore, photo source: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Cottagecore

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. With the holidays coming up, we’ll be just as busy. I’m also trying to figure out how to celebrate safely. After all, Halloween is my (and Sebastian’s) favorite holiday.

Xo, Nikki

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!

Hi, everyone! These last few weeks (months?) have been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of changes and new routines to get used to. I’m here with an update on all of the newness in our lives including a new job, Invisalign, new daycares, and a new furbaby!

Beauty

I cut my hair and I started Invisalign!

You can’t even see them!

In middle school, I wore braces for two and a half years. Over these last few years I could tell that my teeth have been shifting. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with my smile and finally decided to do something about it – Invisalign! I started mid-November and wear a special set of trays for one week and then change to the next special set. Each set applies the right amount of force to move my teeth to where they need to be. I’ll be wearing them for about 9 months, which is a piece of cake compared to the years I spent in metal braces. I’m slowly acclimating to them but the best part is I’ll be done before you know it!

Work

In November, I started a new job at Duke University as a program coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research and I’m housed within the Department of Population Health Sciences. I coordinate the social and behavioral sciences program for investigators who research HIV/AIDS, so I’m still working in the field of sexual health – my passion – but in a slightly different capacity. I’ve been with this job for a little over a month now and I’m loving it so far. My team is amazing, my office is bright and happy, and I really like the work I’m doing it. It was a much needed change of pace and a great step up in my career.

My sweet digs at the new office.

Home & Family

As if a new job and new teeth (sort of) weren’t enough, we decided to move Sebastian to a new daycare and then we adopted another dog!

New School

Santa visited Sebastian at his new school. He was so excited! He told Santa he wanted cars for Christmas.

Seb’s new daycare is about 10 minutes from my new office and I like being so close by in case anything happens. It’s located farther away from our house than his previous daycare (about 20 mins vs. 7 minutes) so we’ve had to create a new morning routine to make sure we’re ready and out the door without being late. It has been worth it, though, because in the short time that he’s been at this new daycare he has flourished! He’s happier, speaking more, and singing songs. At his old daycare, he was having a bathroom “accident” almost every day but at this new daycare he hasn’t had a single one. I had had some suspicions about his former teachers not paying enough attention to the kids and this kind of confirms it. But the important thing is that he’s thriving now!

New Puppy

Meet Milo, our new puppy!

Milo Pilo

He’s a 1.5-year-old Chihuahua mix, and he’s quite the snuggle bug. We adopted him at the beginning of December and fell in love immediately. He’s such a sweet, wiggly little guy and we’re so happy to have him. We had a few early hiccups but he’s settling in quite nicely! We chose his name because we thought it sounded good with our other dog, Mia. Mia and Milo… kind of rolls off the tongue! His full name is Milo Pilo with ‘Pilo’ being a subtle nod to Nick’s and my favorite TV show in the whole world, Parks and Recreation per the clip below…

…and also because we make our dogs’ names rhyme! Chico Antonio, Mia Sophia, and Milo Pilo. It’s just what we do 🙂 I mean, look at how cute they are!

Mia & Milo

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. With the holidays coming up, we’ll be even busier but I have a few things in the works for the new year so I hope you’ll stick with me. Wishing you all the best!

Xo, Nicole

Happy Monday!

It seems a little early for a Life Lately post but I know I’ve been quiet the past few weeks, so I thought this would be a good way to check in. Life has felt both boring and hectic at the same time this whole month. Do you know what I mean? I’ve been really busy with work and family and life and once the day is over, the only energy I have left is reserved for sitting on the couch, binge watching Queer Eye and eating ice cream from the carton. Even though there was a lot going on, it still felt pretty boring because we were in a survival mode of sorts.

via GIPHY

As I write this, I’m sitting in my kitchen listening to the loud, monotonous whir of several industrial-strength fans and dehumidifiers. For four days, the fans have been pointed at bare floors that have been stripped of laminate and carpet in an attempt to dry them completely before any mold or other water damage can occur. They’ve been running day and night since Saturday and I’m starting to get used to the sound, like giant white noise machines lulling you to sleep.

fans in the dining room