March Rewind.

March in Photos

5 Things that Happened in March

1. St. Patrick's Day dinner at my mother-in-law's house. We feasted on the yummiest corned beef and cabbage, and Mark and I educated everyone about how corned beef and cabbage isn't really the most authentically Irish, but rather an Irish American dish that was adopted from Jewish communities in New York City's immigrant neighborhoods.

2. It still snowed. A lot. Blergh.

3. Mark played hooky from work one day, so we made a trip to a pleasantly-uncrowded Ikea for a curtain rod and had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.

4. We finally forced ourselves to get back to the gym, since the weather hadn't been quite as cold as the winter months. Though we weren't always successful (see #2).

5. Mark got sick, and I didn't, and somehow that feels like a major victory (though in the hours after drafting this post, I'm feeling the tickles of a sore throat. Noooooooo).

Read in March

• Show Your Work by Austin Kleon : I thought this was a little too simplistic, and I was much more inspired by Steal Like an Artist.
• Love Does by Bob Goff : I don't identify as a Christian specifically, so I feel weird offering my review of a Christian book or explaining why I decided to read it. I will say I loved Donald Miller's "A Million Miles..." and Glennon Doyle Melton's "Carry On, Warrior" far more than this book.

Favorite Song from March

5 Things I Loved about March

1.  The Before Sunrise trilogy. Mark and I watched these movies for the first time, and we both really loved them. They ended up leading to some good conversations about marriage, love, and relationships.

2. Eating a ton of salads, as I mentioned in my "Currently" post a few days ago.

3. Getting this acrylic makeup organizer from Amazon. I really love it. It is so much better than having all of my makeup thrown in a big basket under the bathroom sink. And one organizer fits everything I own perfectly (except for eyeshadow palettes, which I plan to get a cute letter sorter for)-- and I think will be great motivation to avoid buying any more stuff.

4. Hanging curtains in the bedroom. I've had these freaking curtains for probably three years, and hadn't gotten around to hemming them and getting a curtain rod to hang them until now. It's so nice to have a darker room at night!

5. Initiating a date night again. After a winter where we were basically stuck inside most of the time, we realized we've gotten used to getting takeout and eating at home so much that it's been months since just the two of us went out to dinner together (birthday celebrations aside). So we decided to schedule a once-a-week restaurant date. We're also putting the names of all the restaurants we haven't been to in the area yet, and we plan to pick places at random to mix things up a bit.

What I'm Looking Forward to in April

Our annual trip to Arizona to see Mark's sister, brother-in-law, and our nephews! Family aside, Arizona is NOT my favorite place, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to be somewhere warmer for a week. We might also road trip to Albuquerque during our stay to see Mark's grandparents, and hopefully squeeze in a visit to his aunt's fab restaurant.