Jonathan had grant deadlines fast approaching and I've been picking up some extra shifts so I was thrilled when Jonathan said he'd join me for yoga Saturday morning. And even more when we just ended up spending the whole day together., especially since he was going to be flying to Dallas Sunday morning for an overnight trip.

Our favorite yoga teacher is Jenn Tara and she didn't let us down. How can something be so soothing and leave you limping afterwards? It was great! On the way home, Jonathan asked me "Where do you want to go hiking today?" :) At home Jonathan did a bit of writing while I baked some healthy but delicious almond apricot squares. We have this tradition of bringing afternoon tea on fall and winter hikes as it reminds us of walks in England where there are often little tea shops tucked away in walking areas or tiny villages. It was almost 50 degrees and sunny on a January day so Castewood State Park was a busy place. We did a 3 mile loop and it was gorgeous!!! It was also insanely muddy so I'm SO glad we wore our hiking boots.

The we walked back to our car, grabbed our picnic basket and found a table by a stream. I was in heaven!

We drove home. Well, Jon drove and I napped. Jonathan did a bit more work at home and I indulged in a new British drama series Murder at Pemberley that showed up in Netflix and just a bit more tea. We cozied up on our couch in the afternoon sun.

Then we decided to have a mini date night. Ahh...the things you can do when you're childless!! We went to our favorite vegetarian and whisky bistro, sat at the bar and made out notecards of some our home improvement plans. This can get a bit overwhelming for both of us in different ways do writing it down, discussing, and prioritizing is super helpful. It was so sweet to sit and share and dream a bit, even if some of it was about tilling the backyard and adding topsoil to our clay mud lack of lawn:) We also got to some deeper, unexpected topics which really good.

Small Batch all lit up and cozy looking.

It's not often that we get to indulge in such simple and specie togetherness on a weekend. There's always so much to do and friends to see and lists to make. This was a rare day that I felt worth sharing a remembering myself someday :). Being married to your best friend is a true gift from God.

Hopebench