October ’19 Happenings

This month marked the second full one in our new home. Alhumdulillah it has been joyful living in this part of the world. The desert is the same but the diversity in people and in food (!) has been exciting. I have felt less of an outsider as I tumble through the shops and towns of Goodyear, which is right next door to us. In the culinary adventures, we tried Peruvian food for the first time and have already gone to the same restaurant twice. The flavor profile is mild but oh so amazing. My recommendation: You can’t go wrong with ceviche. For the phoenix people, El Chullo restaurant is where it is at!

If I was to pick a few things to share with you, however, here are the October Happenings that are worth noting:

Got a New Couch

Hello and welcome to our new home, dear couch! Oh how I have longed for you! You know how we learn as we go? One thing that I learned throughout the moving process was to not get rid of a couch too early in the game. The couch was the first major purchase me and Hamza made together as a married couple. Before I moved in, he had a very white, traditional, southwestern inspired couch which was a delight to sit on but was not my style. At all. We ended up getting a new couch which lasted us for 6 years, four of which were spent in realizing that “you get what you pay for” is a real thing in this grown-up adult world. Moving out of the city was the perfect opportunity to start a new furniture-slate and I sold the sofa one month before we were actually set to move. That’s one month of us sitting on the ground, craning our backs, not having a place to lean on, and just feeling overall uncomfortable. It extended to three months total as this sofa from Joybird took two months to be constructed and delivered. But now it’s here and I can’t be more pleased! The construction is solid, the couch is lounge worthy, and their pet-friendly fabric is durable against cats who are delightfully uninterested in scratching it. Win!

Started Naturopathic Treatment

This is huge for me. After months of deliberating, of trying different avenues, of counting the money in the pocket, of living through a fatigued day after the next, I finally decided to bite the bullet and do something different because same-old same -old was not working. As detailed in this post and in this one, I started treating my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis using a naturopathic approach with Dr. Nanao. It is much too soon to draw any conclusions, you guys, but I have been feeling a positive change so far alhumdulillah. I will keep you posted!

Began our First Fall/Winter in Buckeye

If you know the desert winters, then you know that it is the best time to be in it. The air is crisp with chilled air, the plants are thriving, every one is in a good mood, and no one is missing the summer. It is perfect. Our home is designed in a way that as soon as you enter the front door, you see the living room on one side and the outside patio on the other. It is safe to say that this home is for outside living and I could not be happier! Winter is already my favorite season and the home that is catered to me enjoying it without leaving it is my dream home (introverts, unite!). What I love about our patio space is that it is small, in direct contrast with our previous home in which you could fit a large pool and still have plenty of space to roam. The patio being tiny is perfect for my usually-fatigued-self to keep keep clean and comfortable. Our indoor plants found their way outside to be safe from kitty-munchies and they are loving the shade. We do not get a lot of sun which is not very good for my gardening-loving self but it is perfect for them. Furthermore, we hooked up our space with outdoor seating at this perfect time. Honestly, it was not in the works but one night, I just could not stand looking at the empty slab of concrete with the wind blowing outside. It is well loved already! In fact, I am sitting and writing this post on such furniture. Alhumdulillah.

Enlisted Some Designing Help

In this day and age of having everything online, it is a pure delight when I can get some help in decorating our new space. The first troublesome area that I could not wrap my mind around was the dining space. I could not figure out the size and shape of the dining table that will work best for our space. The add for Havenly popped up multiple times on my feed and I made the plunge. You. Guys. The rendering of our future dining space is phenomenal. I am IN LOVE. If you are thinking of taking the plunge, do so using this link and you can get $50 off of a full design or $20 off of a mini design package (which makes it unbelievably affordable), it also gives me some spending money to make those dreams a reality. Since then, I have started working with Amanda (the designer I chose) for all our living spaces and can not wait to see what comes up!

Here was a brief rundown of the exciting happenings in October. November has already begun and I can not wait to share with you everything that happens in it.

Thank you for reading!

-S