New things.

I really enjoy new routines.  Things that start just as something you decide to try out, then become part of your everyday, your "thing."

Thankfully, putting on a pot of tea has become one of my things.

  Thanks to wedding registries I got all I needed last year.  Shout out to my sister for the teapot and my old college roommate Amanda for the DISHWASHER SAFE teacups....now that's what I'm talking about.

I am a devoted coffee addict, and while I always enjoyed a good cup of tea every now and then, I never really got obsessed with it until I started drinking the loose-leaf stuff.  You know, the fresh stuff, that hasn't been sitting in the grocery store (in a little bag inside a little box) for who knows how long.  That boxed stuff was okay, but when I started drinking loose leaf tea is when I really got hooked.  I used to load my tea up with milk and sugar, and now I love it so much nearer to its original state, because that original state is already so so good and flavorful, it hardly needs improvement... (okay...I still haven't kicked the sugar.  But a couple teaspoons for a whole pot of tea isn't awful, I don't think.)

I mostly get my teas from Teavana, which is in basically every mall in America.  A little overpriced?  Yeah, a little.  Overbearing store associates pressuring you to buy more and more?  Oh, definitely.  But the flavors are just SO good; and it's accessible.  So Rick and I recently headed out to stock up on new teas.  And, yes, we did leave there having spent $20 more than we originally planned.  Whatever, Teavana. You win this time.  Jerks.

But really though, a pot of tea goes for every occasion.

I just woke up?  Tea for breakfast, and Scripture.

It's 10 o clock at night?  I'll just put on some tea, and we can unintentionally finish the whole pot 0:)

Dinner time and it's still 85 degrees inside?  Well how about I heat up some water, and by the time the air conditioning kicks in good, we'll have some nice hot tea to keep us cozy...

Finished the first pot?  Well I better make another and put it in the fridge, everyone loves iced tea...

One would think that with the amount of tea in our lives right now we would not be drinking as much coffee.....unfortunately that's not the case.  Still spending hours on end in Starbucks and the Huv a Java on base, still giving the lovely Keurig its money's worth......it's not that easy to kick an addiction.

But at least I am able to add to it!

 Sorry girlie, it's not for you :o

“What does it mean to be a man? Christ is the supreme example. He was strong, and He was pure, because His sole aim in life was to be obedient to the Father. His very obedience made Him most manly- responsible, committed, courageous, courteous, and full of love. A Christian man’s obedience to God will make him more of a man than anything else in the world.” 

-Elisabeth Elliot

Our week in instagrams.

Life is so so busy lately!  We have had back-to-back company visiting us and, after this weekend and the second group of visiting coming to a close soon, I am quite tired and have a lot of cleaning to do.  Haha.

HOWEVER we got to spend five days last week with my brother Davy and his wonderful girlfriend Lauren (her blog!), which was so much fun!  I didn't document our time very well on film, but all four of us have our iPhones handy for pictures, so most of what I have to share is simply through our collective Instagram accounts.  So here we go...

Hi Sheba!!!!  We drove down to LA to pick Davy&Lauren up and bring them back up to NorCal with us.......it was a long drive, but not awful.  It did, however, make me extremely thankful that we live so close to so much, rather than being in the middle of nowhere like so many of these towns in California we passed.  Eeeeek.  Three cheers for bay area!!!!!

That's my brother...he was trying to block Sheba from jumping up into the driver's seat from the back.  She did not like this very much...hahaha.

On our drive up we stopped in San Jose for the night, because my wonderful husband was participating in half-time for the San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy game at Stanford Stadium!  Soccer is definitely a bigger thing here in California than it is in Michigan (relatively, I mean, since this is still America we're talking about), which is good because we both enjoy it a lot.  Anyways, it was military appreciation night, my cutie hubby was one of the guys carrying that big flag out there, and I made it up to the stands JUST in time to see him!!!!  I mean, JUST in time.  Davy, Lauren, and I got stuck in traffic, had to go pick up our tickets, walk all the way around the gates, I ran up there and literally one second later the Air Force block marched out.  I think that God influenced the soccer-people to decide on 7 whole minutes of stoppage time, so that I could make it up there in time to cheer for my husband 0:)

 

I'm sure these pictures could speak for themselves, but... :)  The next morning we went into San Francisco for the day, and took Davy and Lauren to our very favoritest restaurant on the planet...PLOW.<3  Honestly, we are more than obsessed.  That is my perfect melt-in-your-mouth French Toast right there, with an apricot-lemon compote and mascarpone on top.  YUM FOREVER.

As usual we also went to Farley's in the morning during our 45-minute wait for a table at Plow.  This is my brother's mocha, and I love latte art very much, so I am including this :)  The coffee here is so stellar!!

Enjoying fro-yo is an essential part of any visit and we took Davy and Lauren to our favorite one of those as well :)  It's called Cultive and it's the bomb.  That's my tart yogurt + strawberries + blueberries + raspberries + organic granola that Sheba is trying to steal!!  Good to know she appreciates yummy food at least.

Davy, Lauren, and I went to see the big redwood trees while Rick was at work one day!  I was totally surprised to find out that military gets a free national park membership, so none of us had to pay to get in. :)  Such a blessing!  That was the first time I'd been out there and it's definitely crazy.  It's really hard to show in pictures how humongous those trees are!

The four of us also did a lovely & very satisfactory amount of shopping, with Rick being off work on the 4th of July.  We carried Sheba into the shops with us, and she definitely enjoyed being held and pampered.  Crazy babygirl, she is so spoiled!!!

I love him :)

I am so thankful that we got to have some fun hang-out time with them.  We never really got to all spend time together, even when Rick and I were in Michigan.  So it was definitely awesome and made us very happy!  Yey, good times :)

Alright world, I'm off to go move laundry to the dryer, it's been sitting in the washers waiting for a good two hours at this point.  Eeeek I'm a failure.  If any of y'all are on instagram, by the way, come find me @ samanthamcenhill!  Byebye!