If you read last week’s Weblog Wednesday, you’ll be pleased to learn that I did not repeat my fall down the stairs this week. Although there were plenty of fun moments in the intervening week between the last post and today’s, I’ve also been struggling a lot with depression and anxiety.

On Wednesday evening, I really wasn’t feeling that great, so instead of me cooking like usual, we decided to go on an impromptu dinner out. Dear Husband tried some cocktail that he liked but I thought was downright nasty!

After dinner we popped over to the Starbucks next door and  split a salted caramel mocha. It was very rich but very delicious. I was feeling pretty blah, and literally I had not put on an ounce of makeup that day, so I felt very self conscious going out like that. I feel like I look like death warmed over in this photo, but I’m posting it anyway because I always want this blog to be real.

Also, I feel like most people are only overly critical of their own  image, or their own art, or their own voice, so I’m hoping that by posting something I am very critical of, I can start to overcome the self-deprecating voices that tell me I’m too this or not enough that.

After dinner, I arrived home to find my first ever Stitch Fix box. I am really trying to get away from new shopping in general, but I was so dreadfully curious about Stitch Fix that I decided to give it a go.

I’ll post a full box reveal in another post, so you’ll just have to wait in suspense!

On Thursday night we went to a local Mexican restaurant for their weekly trivia night. It’s organized by a trivia company which I believe to be national, as there was a pizza restaurant in my Beloved Former City where I used to do trivia. (Shout out to my old trivia buddy who reads this, by the way!)

Also, pulling out of the driveway, I saw the most beautiful sunset, and it really brightened my mood.

The workweek was pretty hectic and harrying, to say the least. I wish so badly that I were at liberty to divulge more details on here, but I am far too paranoid about any coworkers unwittingly coming across this blog to be that candid. So I’ll just leave it at that … it was a stressful week.

Anyway, on Friday evening we went to the bookstore. Because, books. And coffee. I needn’t say more. Oh, except that I got my first pumpkin latte of the season, which means it is now officially autumn — equinox be damned.

On Saturday I had a 13.1 mile training run, during which I was pleasantly surprised by the pace I maintained given how physically and emotionally drained I felt all week. I took a nice ice bath (using the word “nice” here loosely) afterwards and went thrifting in the afternoon. I scored big at Goodwill and can’t wait to show you all what I got in an upcoming Toast of Tuesday post!

Saturday was also my father in law’s birthday, so that evening the whole family went out to dinner. Except, everyone except us was late, so Dear Husband and I just hung out at the bar for nearly two hours watching college football.

On Sunday I was honestly pretty overwhelmed with depression and anxiety. Nothing situational, per se, just a generalized sense of disquietude. So I blasted some of my favorite tunes over the built-in speakers in the great room and got to two of my favorite hobbies: crafting and baking.

One of the things I crafted, which will appear in its own post in the coming weeks, is this DIY fall wreath.

I was also in a baking mood, so I whipped up some from-scratch salted caramel pumpkin cookies. The consistency was really more like a dense cake, so I may amend the name when I publish the recipe on here.

On Monday, my depression and anxiety were really bad. So bad that I could barely concentrate on work, which is unusual for me. So I went home early in a desperate attempt at self-care. When I got home, Dear Husband went on a walk with me, and we shot some basketball in the driveway. I think doing those sorts of physical activities really helps with just decompressing and being in the moment.

Afterwards, I curled up with the Brandon Sanderson novel I am currently reading, The Alloy of Law. Escaping into a fictional world also helps with my depression and anxiety.

Then, after dinner, I started playing the remastered version of DuckTales, as gaming is one of my other favorite hobbies. It was certainly a welcome distraction, although I must say some of the mechanics felt pretty cheap — but that’s for another post when I review the game.

And now it’s Tuesday night again, and I’m thankfully feeling a lot better as far as the depression and anxiety go. I plan to write a more in depth post about those mental health issues at some point, because, as with the no-makeup photo above, I want this blog to be a reflection of real life, not just a curated collection of photo-shopped moments and glossy narrative.

Tell me, how has your week been?

Until next time,

xoxo Charlotte