Homeowners: The Office

The office has become one of the most used rooms in our house and just so happened to be one of the first places I tackled once we moved in. Since J is working from home and I'm in school, we both knew we needed to have specific places to work instead of just spreading out on the kitchen table or somewhere else in the house. 

After a paint transformation from pastel-pink with sparkle to a soothing sage green plus the addition of two new desks and some decor we already had, here's a peak into where we've been spending a lot of time lately. 

We decided to take the closet doors off and put my desk snuggled into the space. It worked out perfect because there's an overhead light inside all our closets and it helps the room not seem too crowded with two big desks.

This is the usual state of my desk... covered with Basis of Disease books or lab manuals, tons of notes and colored pens and of course, coffee! I reused the frame that held our table-settings at the wedding to hold some of my favorite pictures from that day. As much as I hate how much time I spend sitting here, at least I've got my own little set-up to make me smile.

We bought two bookcases from Target that now hold both "for fun" books as well as all my textbooks. Our diplomas are finally hung and I made a few prints of encouragement to lighten things up. I have to say my current favorite shelf is the one that holds all my new med school equipment, purple stethoscope and all!

The office window faces to the front of the house and lets us know who's coming and going throughout the day/evening. And there are always signs of Ollie in the form of dog hair, toys and sometimes even his silly self making the office that much better.

Now if only I wasn't spending hours upon hours up here ;-)

Homeowners: Downstairs Tour

Home: one's place of residence

We are in love with where we live. The house itself. The people here. The city. It's a work in progress and we love every minute.

Home: the social unit formed by a family living together
J & Ollie make this house a home. Our family is little and so, so happy. 

Home: a familiar or usual setting
The place we wake up each morning and share dinner together. The place the finally feels permanent after years of unsettled feelings.

Home: a place of origin
The place where we plan to grow over the next many years. The place where memories are made, love is endless and life together flourishes.

at Home: in harmony with the surroundings

Finally feeling like we have everything that we need and so much more. Finally feeling like this is where we're supposed to be.

at Home: relaxed and comfortable

My favorite place in the world.

Med School Survival Tricks

It's no question that adjusting to life as a medical student has been tough. I am now three weeks in, have taken (and passed!!!) two exams, am almost done with my first block of class and finally feel like I'm starting to get my groove with this whole thing. 

And these are some of my favorite things that have helped me along the way. 

+ Anything stress relief is obvious and these Bath & Body Works Spearmint lotion/body wash have hit the spot. I've yet to use the body wash because I'm saving it for a glorious stress-free bath in the future but the lotion is heaven, especially before bed. 

+ Tea Tree Lavender Mint shampoo/conditioner was a super generous gift from my momma and has made me so much more calm when it comes to showering. Because lets be honest, even spending 30 minutes to shower each day is stressful. Because, well, the studying! These, however, make me not want to get out.

+ Using this Olay Classic Night Cream each night before bed might not be taking away the wrinkles I may or may not already have but let's keep our fingers crossed it's preventing any new ones. Lord knows I've had many furrowed brows over the last few weeks. 

+ San Pellegrino Limonata beverages are the perfect treat each afternoon that won't make me hyped up on caffeine if I don't want to be, are something more interesting and tasty than just water and give me something to look forward to while the library sucks my life away. 

+ Pilot Pens and Highlighters and well, office supplies in general. We're covering so much material in class that being organized is half the battle and these have definitely helped me stay on track and make the most of my time. Not to mention the highlighters are erasable (!!!), the colors are fabulous and they were all gifted to me by my favorite lady in San Diego. 

Send some positive vibes my direction as the weekend holds lots of work for our upcoming final exam.  

Here's to another week down and feeling a bit more on my game!

Disclaimer: This post took me literally, the entire week to finally finish writing. Oops.

Medical School Week 1

My first week of medical school is done. 

And we are surviving at this point.

Week 1 has basically been half of my undergraduate sciences classes 

rolled into 5 days of class.

It's been like a tidal wave.

They said there would be an adjustment period and that is 100% the truth. 

Adjusting to better time management, 

something that I used to think I was good at. 

But on this level it's tooootally different. 

Adjusting to balancing school and studying 

(which seems to be all I have time for)

with being married, having friends, seeing family. 

Not to mention finding time to eat (down 4 lbs already), workout, sleep and be sane. 

Adjusting to realizing that I've worked so hard to get here, now I have to stay here.

I'm sure it will get easier and more manageable even within the next week. 

But for now this is basically how I've spent all my time lately. 

Oh and did I mention Exam #1 is today already. 10am.

I'm thankful for my husband who understands this madness

and tells me that he's proud of me. 

And for my mom who offers to bring over a cooked dinner 

and leaves me presents of new shampoo. 

Bring it on week two, I can take it.