Just Because I Missed This

Hi, party people. I'm coming atcha with a very Carrie Bradshaw-esque stream of consciousness, to only let you down with (likely) no startling conclusion at the end of this. But I've missed this, so here I am with no plans, nothing especially noteworthy to say, just a lil update and a few photos from my January—I hope you like 'em.

I'll jump in with January's highs, lows, and things of note.

HI!

• I spent a full week with my bestie + former roomie Merry in Santa Monica. If you're not aware, I work remotely for an app company called A Color Story, which meant I was able to do my normal work stuff and experience some sunshine, all while getting to know her new neighborhood and routines. I n-e-e-d-e-d this friend time!! We also happened to sit next to Conan at dinner one night, so that was pretty fun.
• Not exactly a January thing, but Austin and I approached our 2022 goals (individual and shared) with more strategy than previous years, and I'm appreciating them as a way to stay grounded during the winter months.

LO!

• A low with many silver linings: Many of my closest contacts came down with The Sickness (you know the one) while I was in California, meaning I couldn't go HOME-home without exposing myself. Lots to be thankful for—everybody experienced mild symptoms and is now fully back to work and life per usual. Also very thankful to have a sister-in-law who is a gem of a friend, and let me take refuge in a familiar space. You might recognize those walls from our former loft. 🥰
• Not a low, per se, but not a high. Can you have decision fatigue about decisions you haven't yet started to make? Those are my current feelings regarding our upcoming kitchen reno.

ETC!

This section contains a variety of things I've been reading, listening to, and [contemplating] adding to my cart.

• This article about how female scammers became the accidental antiheroes of the girlboss era from Refinery29. I'll read anything about Elizabeth Holmes, ha.
• "Talking While Black" by This American Life was the last podcast I saved. Highly recommend giving it a listen.
• The winter weather has me asking myself, "can I bring back Uggs, like in the 2022 way?" My Gen-Z friend said I can, but it's very possible that she was just being nice to me. [This is not an official Kaylinn Clotfelter endorsement].
• I've been eyeing some pull on flare pants like these from Anthro for months, and I found some similar at a local boutique when I was in CA, yay!

That's all for now. Wishing you all peace, sparks of creativity, and people who both refresh you and offer refuge in 2022. Thanks for being here on this quiet winter evening. ❤️

xo, Ana

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One Last Look at the Loft

Whew! What a weekend.

We moved from the loft to our new house (!!), and it was exhausting and wonderful all at the same time. I really expected to have a lot of sad emotions leaving the loft. After all, it's the place where I entered as a roommate with my dear friend Merry and left my years there as a wife to my other half, Austin. We filled those exposed-brick walls with lots of laughter, Friends reruns, happy tears and sad ones, Chipotle burrito bowls & how could I forget the Jordan Valley fireworks on those summer nights that honestly felt magical.

Anyway — surprisingly — no sad tears. Just an extra-long sigh of gratitude.

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The Quirky Way I Met My Husband

Set the timer: 7 minutes. No, we’re not about to bake cookies… I’m sharing the weirdly cute way I met my husband.

I’ll paint the picture for ya. It was Valentine’s Day, 2015. A chilly, windy night when my friend, Nick Warnock was having a Valentine’s Day soiree. He didn’t call it a soiree — I did, just now. And that’s probably a compliment to the event. If Austin (spoiler: my husband) was telling this story he would call it a “singles party”.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I show up at this party. Austin is also at this party. We’ve never met, and I notice he has a pretty large beard. So naturally, I walk up to him and ask him if he would play a homeless person in a video I was helping produce for my job. I might have introduced myself first... I don’t really remember.

What I do remember is that I was wearing a black romper with patterned tights underneath. Austin was wearing a striped shirt and a man bun. Aw. Oh, and tattoos. He was wearing tattoos.

To my surprise, Austin says yes, he would play a homeless person in the video, and he’s already played a homeless person in a video before. Never did I assume I would find an Academy Award-winner to act in this promotional video, but hey, it was a lucky event.

Hours pass by, and Austin is still hanging out with his friends while I’m talking to other people. Then, someone approaches me and tells me I’m supposed to go into the closet with this Austin guy because they were already playing 7 minutes in heaven before I got to the party and yes, this game is a joke but yes, you actually have to go into the closet with that guy.

So, being the agreeable person that I am, I went into a closet with a man who I’ve nearly never met, but he’s agreed to be in this video. I guess we’re “yes” people.

7 minutes. Set the timer.

So there we are, awkward as can be, making small talk in a cramped closet and discussing his work, my work, his tattoos and music. Later I found out it was a set up, and Austin’s friend Chris dumped out all the names but ours.

Fast forward to now, and we’re married (!!!), he’s my best friend, biggest encourager, and truest love. It’s a little gushy but it’s real.

So, the lesson here is this: If somebody tells you to go into a closet with someone you’ve barely met, you should listen to them. Because you might marry the person! (Disclaimer: Follow your instincts and don’t go into a closet with anybody who seems like they might be a weirdo.)

P.S. Kinsey Mhire took our wedding photos and I am obsessed with every single one of them. You'll probably be seeing more of them around here!

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To the Max

Hi, friends. Here I am in a maxi skirt, sharing my thoughts with ya on all the things I define as "to the max". Or, in other words, "let's take this (insert noun here) to another LEVELLLL!"

One of those things is maxi skirts, which I tend to wear often in the fall — or in the early summer, when it's still a little on the cool side. (Full disclosure: I took these photos a while ago, which is my hair is a different color than it is now, if you notice things like that.)

I found these shoes at the beginning of the summer and have worn them nearly every single day. They're SO comfy, and they're on super sale now, so I'm considering buying another pair to hoard for next year. That's normal, right?

OK, as promised, here's a list of things I'm defining as "to the max". It's up to you to determine whether or not they're over the top. 😂

- any Google search of the Madonna Inn. I've been to this hotel in California, and it's a sight.
- since I'm admittedly interested in food, my old roomie from Wisconsin has told me stories about how the bloody mary's in her home state come topped with all the food. Here's the one that Huffington Post has determined to be the most extra.
- These shoes from the fall 2017 runway.

Hope you all have a happy Wednesday and enjoy it to the max!

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The Sweetest Bridal Shower of All Time

Of course, I'm biased, because it was my bridal shower... But my bridesmaids and dear friends Kalee, Merry and Beth threw me the sweetest shower just a couple weeks ago. I'm getting teary thinking about it! I feel so blessed to have all these lovely ladies in my life, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside and learn from so many women.

As evidence of that, the very next day, I had another shower with my close family friends — people who were initially my parents' friends, who became my friends, too, because becoming an adult is cool like that.

Anyway, I could blab for days, but I wouldn't blab very eloquently, and these photos from Beth Solano are more fun to look at:

The. Sweetest.

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