two sundays...

((sigh))  I took today off.   With such a busy week at work last week and upcoming, I had taken this day off with the potential of visiting Chris's family in Vermont.  But, I decided to keep it off as a mental health day.  I'm so glad I did!  I've been so productive, apartment cleaned, two banana bread loafs in the oven, two pilates video's done.  I need to get back into doing more pilates - it really does a wonder for toning your legs.    In a little bit I will meander back over to Chris's to walk and hang out with Malu.   I'm absolutely going to dig into some of the lentil soup we made last night too!  (We used Alton Brown's recipe, via foodnetwork.com)  I have no idea what my mom's recipe is, so we googled.  It was really good!  Had a bit of a middle eastern flair that I wasn't used to.  We topped it with sour cream and the bacon we rendered in the beginning (a variation that Alton didn't do).   It was yummy and comforting!

This morning I also did a practice pack for our Ireland trip.  I wanted to see how much stuff I could actually pack into the backpack I borrowed from Mary.  Turns out, I can fit quite a lot if I roll my clothes together.  A lot of websites say that by rolling your clothes, you can fit so much more in.  However, don't you think that makes it super annoying every time you need to get in there? I mean, you literally have to take your whole pack apart to get to one pair of socks, which are rolled in your underpants between your jeans inside your hoodie....   It's a little less than ideal, however, I rolled separate items together and it worked a little better.  Underwear with socks, bottoms with bottoms, tops with tops.  Hopefully, doing it this way I'm only repacking my sack once a day in the morning when I dress.  

I found this video, and I must say this is just my style.  Packing functionable, yet fashionable, and comfortable clothing!   

She doesn't really roll much but her jeans, but her advice regarding where to put things in your pack is definitely helpful.  

Banana bread is out of the oven!  

xx