Things I've Been Doing Lately (That Have Been SO Good for Me).

Replacing a meal with a smoothie. || And NOT a diet, low fat smoothie. A gooood smoothie, full of lots of good for you things. I recently discovered blender bombs from Hushup + Hustle and they have changed my life (dramatic?). I could never just have a smoothie for a meal before, but now I can. I look forward to them. I have a smoothie as my first meal of the day and start the day off with a bunch of fruits and veggies. It feels so good! 
Dry brushing my skin. || I read about this on The Skinny Confidential so obviously I had to try it. Um, I'm obsessed. I know it supposedly has a lot of good benefits like improving circulation and removing toxins, but all that aside, it feels so good. My skin has never felt so smooth. I do it before I shower and lotion up after. It's the best. 
Side note: After I read about it I went to Ulta and the dry brush they had was $29.99 and that seemed crazy to me. Then I went to target after and got this exact one for freaking $4.99, and it works great. 
Slowing the heck down. || I'm really learning that productivity + hecticness do not have to go hand in hand. That it's fully possible to hustle for your goals and take deep breaths and breaks. That being successful does not have to mean working yourself into a stressed out frenzy every single day. 
I've been consciously slowing down. Taking ten minutes to drink my coffee without my phone in hand. Noticing when work is about to overwhelm me and closing the computer for just a minute. Little things like that really add up!
Going on walks not for exercise. || Of course, it's physical activity, so it's exercise. But I've been taking more walks just for the sake of going on a walk. Not to run a certain amount, or not to go a certain distance, or not to get my heart rate to a certain number. But just walks to get fresh air and clear my head. It's been so good. 
Listening to audible while I do things like clean. || I love a good playlist, but while I'm doing mindless things like folding laundry or doing dishes, why not get a few chapters of a book in? Times where I can sit and read are few and far between lately, so this has been great! Plus, it motivates me to keep going with whatever I'm doing.
Drinking black coffee (with cinnamon). || I love coffee (and, alas, coffee creamer) more than anyone I know. I also drink a looootttttt of coffee. So, without meaning to, I was drinking tons and tons (and tons and tons) of sugar first thing in the morning, and I felt like crap. I went cold turkey about two months ago and just started drinking my coffee with cinnamon. I feel so. much. better. If I want a cup with my beloved flavored creamer, I just have one in the afternoon. Self-control is a thing that works, who knew? 
Got any new good-for-you-habits of your own? Let's hear 'em!

Five Specific Ways "Girl, Wash Your Face" Has Changed My Life.

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends texted me and told me I MUST read the book she'd just finished. It wasn't at the top of my to-read list, but I gave it a go anyway, because that's what bff's do, you know? So truly, that book changed my life. It was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time, and I'll honestly be grateful for the impact it had on me for the rest of my life. 
I could rave about it for hours (and if you know me in real life, I probably have), but here are five specific ways Girl, Wash Your Face really changed my life. 
It introduced me to Rachel Hollis. || For some crazy reason, I had no idea who she was until Girl, Wash Your Face (Don't worry, I've gone back and stalked the crap out of her to make up for lost time). I'm just going to say this: It is incredibly exciting and motivating to see someone become wildly successful who started right where you are. She had a blog. A blog. She worked her way up. HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT?! It was so cool to read about her journey and honestly made me feel like there's no limit to what any of us can do. 
It completely recentered me. || I'll say this in a less hippie way: It completely reminded me of what I want to be at the center of my life. And then encouraged me to act like it. Like, if my ultimate goal is to move to Italy, I should be saving my money for Italy taking a class on Italian, not going shopping for bathing suits every payday and taking a class on jewelry making. A weird example, but does that make sense?

It reminded me of a simple and stunning truth: Someone else's opinion of you is none of your business. || You know those nuggets of truth that are really common sense, and you should know them, but when you hear them said, it just guts you with how profound it is? That's how this was. 
I have come an incredibly far way in how much I worry what others think of me. It used to truly be paralyzing to me. I've made really good strides, but hearing this made me realize how many things I do or don't do out of fear of what people will think of me. And you know what? Life is too short for that crap. 
It forced me to ask myself: Why isn't ____ happening? || I'll be blunt: It forced me to be brutally honest with myself in a really good way. Because, a good portion of the time, the answer to "Why haven't my dreams come true yet?" is "Well, because of you." Just some hypotheticals: Why haven't I published a book yet? Because you haven't written it. Why can't I get in good shape? Because you don't work out. Why am I not getting the yeses I want in life? Because you're too scared to ask the dang questions. See where I'm going with this? 
This book was a giant pep-talk, sure. But it was also someone calling me on my crap, and ooooh, I needed that. We all do!
It reignited my belief in myself. || I listened to the book on Audible and finished it a few weeks ago at the pool. I was sitting there, with my sunglasses on and headphones in, sobbing as I finished the last chapter. I felt so seen and encouraged and like there was someone on my side cheering for me to get up and get. it. done. And believing in yourself? Goodness, that's powerful. 
Have you read it yet?! What did you think?
PS: If you want to listen to it and have never used Audible before, let me know and I can send you the book for free! 

Best Weekend With My Best Girls.

For my birthday this year, I got a folder from my best friends with a note inside that said, "pack your bags!" They had planned a weekend away to celebrate, and when I say they planned it, they planned. They called my mom and made arrangements for Jack (sweetest ever) and planned out everything over two days so I wouldn't have to do anything other than show up (aka my dream weekend). 

shorts // top // shell yeah shoes
We spent the day shopping in Jacksonville, eating cupcakes at Sweet by Holly, and basically just dancing our way through every mall and outlet and Starbucks we could find (I told you, my favorite things).

I don't care how old you are, listening to music and getting ready with your friends is the best. Having an excuse to get dressed up and take way too many pictures is just fun, and everyone should do it every now and then. 

We ended up at my new favorite place (in the world, maybe?), River + Post. They had the most beautiful rooftop with the perfect view to watch the sun go down (translation: take too many Instagram pictures) before going downstairs to eat dinner.

DINNER. Oh my gosh. I have not stopped thinking about this food. I had shrimp and grits with gouda grits and I am not joking when I say I strongly considered ordering a second plate just because I was sad mine was gone. It was that good. 
After dinner, we headed to a speakeasy, and while I took no pictures there, it was one of the coolest places I've ever been. It was a post office on the outside and once you went in, it felt like walking into a movie. Everything was very prohibition themed, and it was so much fun. I was made for the twenties!

It wouldn't be a weekend of my favorite things if we didn't end up at the beach! It was the most beautiful day. There was a restaurant (The Lemon Drop) right on the beach, and we ate too much and drank too many of these colorful things and got too much sun and it was just perfect. 

It was seriously the best 48 hours. They really did cram all of my favorite things into two days, and it made me feel so special that they knew just what I'd want to do. I'm so thankful for my friends who love me so well. 
I'll remember the weekend forever, but more importantly than remembering the dinner (seriously - I'm gonna remember those grits until the day I meet Jesus) or remembering our beach day, I'll remember how special they made me feel. They're both in crazy busy seasons of life, but they took the time to plan this and then carved out time to spend with me. I'm so grateful and it makes me want to be a better friend. 
Cheers to friendships. One of the best gifts this life has to offer. 

My Heart is Full.

My birthday was Friday and Chris had to work (BOO), so my friend Sam spent the day with me. We laid by the pool and drank entirely too many LaCroixs and went out for some really good pad thai. Then I let my blogger freak flag fly and pulled out my tripod because we actually looked presentable and wanted a picture together. (I use this tripod and this remote. Highly recommend!)

Side note: If you are in a situation similar to me when it comes to having a partner in residency, the absolute best advice I can give you is to find someone else in that situation too. I hope you're lucky like me and have friends and family who will try their best to understand, but there's something to be said for someone who understands because it's their life, too. It is such a gift. 

After dinner, we went for ice cream and there was a baby-sized bench. If it happens to go missing, I definitely did not steal it because of how cute Jack looks sitting on it. Why would you ask me that?

I spent the entirety of Saturday in the sunshine by the pool. If you've been around me any period of time, you know this is my ideal day. The water is finally not completely freezing warm enough to swim if 1) you let yourself get hot enough, or 2) you're a one-year-old with no fear of cold water. 

We need to talk about this kid's side-eye. 

Jack adds joy to my life on a daily basis, but there are just no words for how much joy he adds to things like Easter. Watching him dig into his Easter basket and throw his eggs all around just filled my heart to the brim. 

Jack really surprised me with how much he understood! I thought we'd get some cute pictures of him, but he was really into picking the eggs up and putting them in his basket. It was adorable.

It was a really great weekend with all my favorite people and my heart is full. The perfect kick-off to a new year of life. 

How was your weekend?

Coming in Live.

Today is one of those rare days where I woke up early on my own, Jack is still sleeping, and I can sit here with a cup of coffee and just write a post for today. Live stream, if you will. And whoa, is this what blogging was like when I first started and didn't know that you could schedule posts and had all the free time ever? Miss you, 20-year-old Chelsea. But not that much. 

We took Jack to Universal last weekend. He loved the barney show, and laughed and clapped and it killed me. Then we let him actually walk around his area and that killed me, too. Straight to the heart. How is it possible to love someone so much that just watching them be happy makes you want to burst into tears? Life is weird. And good. 
Just to touch on how absolutely INSANE time is, these pictures were taken a year apart in the same place: 

And now...

He's way more fun at Universal now. Way more work, but way more fun. 

In other breaking news that you clearly need to know about, I deep cleaned my house yesterday with all of my new favorite cleaners I mentioned last week, and oh my goodness everything smells so good. I got the clementine cleaner, grapefruit cleaner, and sea salt and lime cleaner. Basically, my house smells like a tropical vacation and I'm all about that. 

It's March, which means we're coming up on a year from Match Day. I'll write more about that soon, I'm sure, but it's already given me all of the feelings. I posted this on instagram because the date reminded me that a year ago, I was hysterically panicking over where we were going to live. I was trying to take care of a newborn baby and trying to make deals with God and trying to not just full on lose it on a daily basis. I was terrified of ending up in some snowy tundra (my love for Florida runs deeeeep), far away from family and with no friends. And then, a year later, here I am. Reading a book by my perfect little pool in my perfect little neighborhood in my perfect town in Florida. Sometimes life doesn't work out how you wanted, and that sucks. But sometimes, on rare occasion, it works out exactly as you had hoped. And I'll never stop being thankful for that. 
Happy Friday, friends. I hope you have the best weekend. I'm learning lately that the best things in life are really just collections of little moments, so I hope that your weekend is full of perfect little moments. Hot coffee and a good show and a neighborhood walk and a trip to your favorite store. Warm dinner and clean sheets and a good conversation. The best little things. 

A Virtual Christmas Card: Merry Christmas From The Jacobs Family.

I've always wanted to do a Christmas card, and this year was going to be my year. We were going to get cute family pictures taken, I was going to order the prettiest foiled cards and send them out to everyone with little updates about our year...because really, if there was every a year that deserved a Christmas card / letter, it's this one. 

Alas, that did not happen. Instead, here we are. So do me a favor and pretend you just walked down to the mailbox and got this, and of course will hang it on your fridge.

***

Merry Christmas, friends!
For us, 2016 has been a year so full of new. I don't think we've ever had a year so full of changes and new things. 
New Baby: In January, we kicked 2016 off by welcoming Jack Isaiah Jacobs into our family. I don't think I need to even say this, but I'm a mom so I will: He's perfect. He has added so much to our lives. 
New City: March 18th is a day we'll always remember because it's the day we found out where the next seven years of our lives would be taking place. Gainesville! We have loved living here and have truly made this city our home over the last six months.
New Doctor: On May 20th, Chris graduated medical school and officially became an M.D. Proud doesn't even begin to describe it. The hard work and sacrifice that went into this are insurmountable, and to see it pay off was incredible. He's in general surgery residency now, still working just has hard, but getting to do so as a doctor now. 
New Home: Not only did we end up in a wonderful city, but we became home owners! We found the perfect house, one that seemed like it was made just for us. We went from living in a one bedroom studio apartment to a home with plenty of room and a big backyard for Jack and Gatsby. It still feels like a dream that it's actually ours! 
It has been the most incredible, whirlwind-like year of our lives. 

Merry Christmas! Thank you for being in our lives, near and far.  We love you. 
Love, 
Christopher, Chelsea, + Baby Jack Jacobs.

Goodbye, Orlando. Love You Forever.

I remember the first time I "came home" to Orlando. We got back from our honeymoon the first week of January and it was freezing. I had only packed tropical clothes, naturally, and shivered in my neon orange shorts the whole way to out apartment. When we walked in-my first time coming home to this new place-it was just so warm and cozy and immediately felt like home. 
Orlando was my home for three and a half years. It's where I had my first lease and my first legal drink. It's where med school and match day and graduation happened. It's where we got Gatsby. It's where Jack was born. It's where I made friends and lost friends and made some great decisions and made some poor choices and ultimately became someone I was really proud of. It will always hold a giant piece of my heart. A giant piece of me. 
So goodbye for now, Orlando. Goodbye to the apartment that warmed my heart three and a half years ago and goodbye to the tiny apartment in the sky with the view that took my breath away the first time I saw it. Goodbye to the best tacos I've ever had and to my favorite sushi happy hour. Goodbye to Lake Eola and the farmer's market, to the best rooftop pool, to the traffic that makes me crazy. 
I'll miss you. 
I told Chris the other day that I thought we did our time in Orlando just right. We didn't outgrow it so soon that we didn't enjoy our last bit of time in Orlando, but we outgrew it soon enough that I'm not sad to be leaving. How can I be when a perfect home and the next chapter of my life is waiting for me in Gainesville? It's never easy to say goodbye, but having a hello waiting right around the corner makes it a little bit sweeter. 
Thanks for all the good, Orlando. I'll love you forever. 

We Bought a House!

I have the most exciting news (to me, anyway)...we bought a house!
I know I've alluded to it here and there, but I didn't want to talk about it until everything was for sure all set. With so many big life-events happening lately, I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. With every form we filled out, I half-expected a phone call saying "Oh hello yes, it has come to our attention that you are not a real-life adult and you may not have this house." But somehow we actually are grownups, and we're set to close on Friday!
To say I'm excited about this is an incredibly large understatement. We took a packing break on Saturday to get some things from Target, where I picked out a rug and shower curtain for Jack, and later cried tears of actual joy over it. It may seem silly, but the thought of filling our own house with our own stuff...literally brings me to tears. 
I'm excited about everything, especially: 

• Getting to hang up my clothes. We have the tiniest little closet right now, which means most of my clothes are in my dresser. I'm so excited to be able to hang my clothes where I can see them without having to unfold them! It's the little things. 

• Having a separate laundry room. No more piling dirty clothes in front of the washer that happens to be at the foot of our bed!

• Having a backyard! GUYS, I cannot wait to share pictures of the backyard. Serious perfection. Gatsby is not going to know what to do with himself. I cannot wait.

• Jack having his own room. See also: Not having to avoid making noise while Jack naps.

• Having somewhere to eat dinner that is not my lap. 

• Having a desk again! Somewhere to write, and blog, and create. 

• Paying a mortgage instead of rent. AKA, paying towards something each month for A WHOLE HOUSE instead of just giving the office downstairs most of my paycheck for a single room.

aaaand about a million other things. I can't wait to fill a house with things we love, to make a house into a home that reflects our life, and to cover it in bright colors and flowers and all things happy.

Life is good, you guys. It's pretty dang good.

Tell me something good that's going on in your life!

The Envelope Has Spoken: Where We Matched!

After what felt like an eternity, Friday, March 18th, 2016 arrived. With it came a tiny black box with Christopher's name on it, and a gold envelope inside. On the inside of that envelope was the name of our new city.

After a long morning of nerves and laughs and both happy and anxious tears and hugs and jitters, we counted down from 10 and finally opened that ominous, fancy envelope to reveal where our next adventure would be taking place. . .

I could not be more thrilled with this news. Seriously, I am overjoyed. I was hoping and hoping and hoping for Gainesville, but-and I realize this sounds incredibly cynical-I felt like since I wanted it so badly, there was no way it was going to happen. 

But it did. 

And I am over the freaking moon excited about it. 

I am so happy that Chris is going to get to follow his dream of becoming a surgeon, and that he's going to get to do that in a state that I love. I am so happy we'll be near family. I am so happy that Jack will get to grow up a little Florida baby.

What a journey. What a reward. 

I finally feel like I can relax a little bit-no more holding my breath waiting on answers. I feel like I can just be for a little while. 

But not for too long, of course...because there are houses to look for and restaurants and parks and churches and stores to look up. Because a new adventure is starting, and it's going to be a good one. 

Gainesville, I'm coming for you!

Life Changes.

I'm sitting down to a computer for the first time since the day I went into labor, and even though it's only been 12 days, it feels like an eternity has passed between then and now. I now have an eleven-day-old, and my tiny family is now made up of three people (and a fox!) instead of just two.

The day we came home from the hospital, I was so tired, so overwhelmed with love, in so much pain, and just so happy to be home. I had just experienced the most emotional and life-changing three days of my life, and I really, really needed a shower.

If you're wondering what pure bliss is, it's getting to take a shower in your own home when you've just had a baby and spent three days in the hospital. As I stepped into that little slice of heaven, I was struck by how different things were. Just the week before, I would be careful of how hot I let the water get, not wanting to overheat the baby. Now, I turned the water as hot as it would go. My hands instinctively went to my stomach, just as they had for the past 40 weeks, but this time, there was no baby bump. Instead, there were sore, stretched muscles and a living, cooing, snuggling baby right on the other side of the bathroom door.

In a single moment on Thursday morning, I went from holding Jack inside of me to holding him in my arms. Overnight, my life completely changed in the most beautiful way. I've never been so tired, but I've never felt so full of happiness.

Now, I'm sitting down to write-something I've done a thousand times before-but this time, I'm doing it while wearing a baby in a wrap hanging from my shoulders. And that's just something I never imagined myself doing. But let me just tell you-it is perfection.

A year ago, had I seen a sneak peak of my life today, I wouldn't have recognized it one bit. And that's okay. Sometimes you don't know what it is you want or need until it's right in front of you.

Life today is drastically different than it was last year, much different than it was even last month.

And it is absolutely beautiful. 

A (Tiny Little) Ginormous Plot Twist.

"No time soon!" 

That's been my go-to answer whenever anyone asks when I plan to start popping out babies. For some reason, once you're married, everyone feels like it's their personal right to know your plans for the future--specifically involving tiny little humans.

So I say "no time soon" because while we didn't have a plan for if and when we may want a baby, the plan was just no time soon. 

And then one day, on a Wednesday, I woke up and noticed my boobs. (Sorry, dad, and any other male family member that reads my blog out of loyalty.) As a lifelong member of the flat-chested society, when you wake up and notice your boobs, well, that's something different. And then I thought, hmm, it's been awhile since I bought tampons. (Again, so sorry.) We had plans to go to a dinner party that night where I knew wine was in my cards, so I thought, ehh better just take a test.

Now, I have a blood disorder that prevents me from being able to take normal birth control, so there have been months where I'm two days late and just know I'm for sure pregnant and I take a test and sit there and watch it in terror and just know it's going to be positive. And it never has been.

I took this one and was for sure it was going to be negative, but I was proud of myself for being a responsible adult and taking it just in case. I peed on a stick, set it on the counter, went and made myself a cup of coffee, forgot about the stick, started work, and then remembered it.

It was positive.

I fell down on the floor and threw up. Really, I was that shocked.

I drove to CVS and bought every single brand of pregnancy tests they had (seven) and took those.

All positive.

But I did what any responsible adult would do and drove to Target and bought every single brand that they had (four). Also all positive. I'm not even going to tell you how much money I spent on pregnancy tests.

Okay, fine. Ninety-eight dollars. I spend ninety-eight dollars on pregnancy tests. I know, I know.

So with eleven plus signs staring up at me and two hours before Chris got home, I did what any logical thinking adult would do.

I watched Netflix and ate entirely too much mac-and-cheese.

I'll blog all about how I told Christopher and all of that later, but the short story is he canceled his plans and took me to chick-fil-a instead, because he is the love of my life and knows that the appropriate response for any life-changing news is sweet tea and well-done fries.

So there you have it. One day, on a Wednesday, I woke up to my normal life, and then BAM, plot twist.

No, it was not planned. It wasn't expected. But hey, life is an adventure, and this just adds to it.

Little baby Jacobs, coming this January. We can't wait to welcome this tiny little person into our adventure.

we're MARRIED!

Crazy, right?! 

I think so too. 

After three and a half years of long distance dating, I finally married the love of my life.  It was, hands down, the most amazing day of my life.  My family made it into the most perfect day in all of history.  Seriously, you guys.  They did so much.  I have never felt so loved.  The day turned out to be exactly what I wanted it to be.  It was such a reflection of me and of Chris and of our relationship.

And let me just tell you . . . coming together with all of your family and your closest friends to make a promise to the God who created the universe that you will be one with your best friend for your entire life . . .

There are no words.

It was magical.  And beautiful.  And whimsical.  And will forever be remembered as the best day.

So now, real life starts!  It’s odd not wedding planning and marking things off of my to do list like a crazy person twenty-four hours a day, but I am loving it.  It’s been amazing to be with Chris this much and to not have to plan the next time we will see each other.  It feels like I’ve been holding my breath for a long time, and I can finally breath now. 

One of my New Year resolutions was to blog more, so be watching, because I have a lot to say!

Here are some pictures from the greatest night ever.  

xo. 

Me and my mom pretty much handmade my entire wedding. (And I only say pretty much to be modest.  We hot glued an entire wedding, people!)  This was the day before, setting up for the reception.  I don't think our expressions need any explanation.  

Jeb seeing me in my wedding dress.  I think his expression says it all. 

Taking some pictures before the ceremony with Dylan.  He is, hands down, the world's greatest brother and helped make my wedding incredible.  Love him. 

Just about to go to my wedding and stuff.  No big.  

Reenacting the picture from "Bridesmaids" with my best friends in the world.  This was hilarious to take. 

As soon as I get the actual picture from this, I will post it.  

1.  My dad preformed the ceremony.  How many girls can say that?!  I'm so lucky. 

2.  See that gorgeous background?  Yep, we hot glued that. 

Father-Daughter Dance.  Why yes, I did do the Dougie with my dad.  Funny you should ask. 

This picture pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole day. 

I'll put up more pictures once I get them! 

xo, 

Chelsea