April is a month of renewal, spring has finally arrived and I for one am happy to see the sun shining and the flowers blooming. After a month full of travel in March Steve and I kept things close to home in April. Just because we didn’t travel doesn’t mean things weren’t exciting, in fact we had a couple of really good reasons to celebrate this month. Let’s take a look at what happened in my life this past April.
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We celebrated an anniversary
Steve and I have been happily married for 17 years and truthfully there is no one else I’d rather do all this life stuff with. Steve always opens doors for me, kisses my forehead before leaving for work and indulges my flights of fancy. These last 17 years have been an adventure and I look forward to what the next 70 years together will bring.
The United States gained a new citizen
My SIL Magy has been a treasured member of our family for over 6 years and this month she became a US citizen. Originally from Peru she is nothing short of amazing. She studied for and passed her citizenship exam not only while raising my adorable 2 year old niece but also working AND pursuing and engineering degree.
It was moving to watch Magy along with 93 other new Americans from around the world take their oath of citizenship. As someone who was granted citizenship by birthright I can’t comprehend the work and sacrifices made for these people to achieve their American dream.
We continued our local explorations
This month it was Steve’s turn to chose a new-to-us local adventure so we headed out to the Hermitage Museum in Norfolk. The Hermitage Museum is an early 20th century arts and crafts estate that was once home to the Sloane family and it’s diverse collection, spanning over 5,000 years, lead to it’s designation as a Smithsonian affiliate. The Hermitage also has 12 acres of English style gardens and waterfront walking rails along the Lafayette river. You can bet we’ll be back for one of the sunset concerts that the Hermitage hosts throughout the summer.
Things I’m loving
Both car and plane seats put your spine in an uncomfortable position and office chairs aren’t much better. The physical therapist in me loves the Travel Pal Self Inflating Lumbar Pillow, which can promote a much better ergonomic position for your spine no matter where you are.
A favorite of both myself and Meghan Markle, these handmade espadrille wedges from Viscata are the perfect spring to summer shoe (Use code 10NOW to save 10% through May 6!).
Garlicky swiss chard with white beans is a healthy and tasty side for anything from grilled steak to seared scallops.
My friend Jenna explored Napa’s historic wineries.
Andi says
I’m loving the sound of that Swiss chard recipe! I was super impressed with my hubby’s citizen ceremony 6 years ago, I was surprised at how moving it was!