05/31/2024: Turning 24, Traveling to Nicaragua, Mother's Day, & Boston Calling

Hey girls, gays, and theys. Long time, no talk. I know, I know, I've promised consistently time and time again, and I'm sorry. Recently, I've been overthinking posting on 'By the Day.' I know that really only my girlfriends read this, but in my soul, I am a perfectionist and I don't want a single grammatical error, or post something boring and droll, but I know that I need to get over myself and just publish the damn post.

So, what's been happening since February? Well, a lot on my end. Since my last post, both Matthew and I have had our birthdays pass; I'm officially in my mid-20s, and I feel like with this past year I've never felt more myself. I've never lived as authentically as I do now, and in return I think I've reaped the benefits of showing up as/for myself. I swear I can feel my pre-frontal cortex developing, my sense of self solidifying. I wish I could bring heaps of tea to the table to entertain you all, but there's not a lot of drama in my life anymore; hence my addiction to Vanderpump Rules and the Housewives series.

For my birthday, Matt and I made brunch reservations at a restaurant in Seaport for Brunch, where I ordered my annual Shakshuka dish, and enjoyed the view of the water while we ate. Matt presented me with Polaroid camera that I absolutely love. It reminds me of the vintage Polaroid camera I used a kid until the flim became impossible to find and I finally gave up and probably threw it away. I've been using her non-stop since he gifted her to me. He also bought us tickets to see Cinderella at the Boston Ballet House later in the month, which was a perfect excursion for us. For Matt's 25th, we had reservations at Rochambeau for the prix fixe menu of steak and endless fries, and he got tons of clothes for our upcoming trip to Nicaragua, as well as a baby Venus fly trap who went through an intense and scary hibernation period upon arrival, but is now thriving with multiple newborn traps.

At the beginning of April, we flew to Managua, Nicaragua to visit my high school bestie, Maria, and her family down there. She has an almost 4 year old son, Elio, who is the light of my life. Maria's university girlfriend, Georgie, joined us last minute, and we all spent a week in the sunshine, at the beach, and seeing all that there is to see in San Juan del Sur. It was an eye-opening experience to see the realities of a third world country, and see how my girlfriend lives everyday. As a double treat, we were able to celebrate Maria's 24th birthday with her, which was wonderful and so, so, so special to me. I know that Matt got the travel bug from this trip, and I can't wait to go back - I miss my bff Elio!

A little backstory; Maria had her son, Elio, with her partner, Hami, back in 2020 when we were still bright young things. Since having E and settling down with Hami, she's lived in San Juan del Sur, a tourist-y little beach town, in Nicaragua. Hami owns a tattoo shop there, and it's a just a very cute life for them all tbh. I have been promising her essentially since Elio was born that I would book a flight out to Managua to come visit them, and post our move to Boston, there really wasn't an excuse not to go. We bought our tickets mid-February or March, and that was really that! We organized a dog sitter for Finn, bought Matthew like 5 swimsuits, and next thing you know we're packing our bags and leaving the next day.

We spent the five days baking in the sun, swimming in pools, and oceans, and lakes, making lots of imaginary smoothies, and exploring Maria's town. The day of our arrival, we start our trip off strong with me leaving my cellphone in a gas station while we made the drive from Managua to San Juan del Sur. Miraculously it was still there when we returned almost an hour later, and we hustled our way home so that Maria could attend funeral services for her friend's son, a little boy who was only a year younger than Elio. It was a heart wrenching change of plans, and a stark reminder to appreciate every moment you have with your loved ones.

Despite that unparalleled bummer, Matthew and I had an amazing time exploring and plan to return ASAP, I already miss Maria and Elio- Thank god for Facetime!

When we got back to Boston, it was my baby's 3rd birthday! I can't believe Finn has been apart of my life for almost 3 years, it still feels like yesterday when I brought him home with me and we were in the trenches of potty training. But then you blink, and he only rage pees when you piss him off (he's evil and has no boundaries) and you have a three year old!

Since our arrival back home, I've survived a few weeks of being busy at work, and it's finally slowing down. At work we moved into a different, more run down office- that led to having a few off-weeks. Then, it was

Mother's Day and my mother and grandmother came to visit me in Boston! Erika is my favorite person in the entire world; she's cool, she's gorgeous, and she's way more secure in herself than I am. I love being around her, she makes me feel more confident in myself. My grandmother, who I call Omi, is the sweetest woman on the planet who makes the simple joys in life that much more lovely and special. I am a flower who flourishes under their care. We went the weekend sight seeing and brunch-ing. Of course I cried when they left on Monday morning. It was far too short of a trip, but it'll sustain me for the next few months.

Most recently, Matthew and I attended a local Boston music festival, Boston Calling, this past weekend. I was lucky enough to see Hozier for the second time in a year (que fan girling!!). We only bought Sunday tickets, but saw some great artists like Chappeal Roan, Megan the Stallion (swoon), and The Killers. It was one the hottest weekends of the year thus far, and the crowd control was absolutely non-existent which was frustrating but not all that surprising for a music festival. Call me a hater if you want to, but I don't need a stranger's belly laid up against my entire back. It's not cute to thoroughly invade someone's personal space without any regard for how they feel, it's ucky!! Maybe I'm a prude in my old age, but I was sick of it by the night's end.

Currently, I am re-committing to my hobbies; yoga, homemade cards, water coloring, By the Day, photography and videography (I came back from Nica with just over two hours of footage that needs to be edited and spliced together), all of it! Alongside spring comes the re-invigorating feeling of falling in love with life again. I am still ever evolving with my sense of style, and with the new season I'm excited to add color and creativity into my wardrobe. I'm day dreaming of the funky, eclectic, Pinterest-inspired, outfits of my future. I know that I am not and won't be the "it girl" of fashion; I don't have the style or the budget to do that, but I'm looking forward to expressing myself more and more with fashion.

On the horizon, Matt and I have a trip to Cancun, our besties Ava and Gage are coming to visit us, and throughout the summer I'm looking forward to spending time outdoors and camping - writing this reminds me that I need to research nearby camping reservations, EEK!

And that is all I have for you, folks! Thank you for being patient and interested in what is going on with my life, and be sure to check out By the Day's Instagram @bytheday.blog for more casual content like OOTDs and the like. I love each and every one of you for supporting my blog and I am crossing all of my fingers and toes that your next 1-on-1 with your boss you are given heaps of praise and no constructive criticism.

xoxo,