If We Were Having Coffee

Once in a while I like to share these “if we were having coffee” posts. It’s my chance to list the things I’d share with you if we were sitting down to coffee. I love meeting friends for coffee and since I can’t meet every single one of you (how much fun would that be though?!), consider this our virtual coffee date. Pour a cup of coffee or a tea or hot chocolate or whatever drink you prefer and settle in for a virtual coffee date.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you…

Dating is hard. Sometimes you go on a few dates with a perfectly wonderful guy, a guy who, on paper, is exactly what you’re looking for, but in the end, the sparks aren’t sparking. I think that might make things that much harder, that a guy is perfectly nice, but just isn’t making your heart beat double time. You wonder if you’re wrong, if you should give it one more date to see if things change, one more date to see if the sparks start flying. One of my biggest prayers around dating is to not settle, however. I had to stay true to that, and trust that my guy is still out there, slowly but surely making his way to me. My grandma says he’s “decent and a little bit famous,” after all, and Grandma Myrtle has always been a little prophetic. So here’s to hoping!

Speaking of boys… Have you heard about Maxantarius Farlione? If not, head over to Amazon or wherever you like to buy books and download Carissa Broadbent’s Daughter of No Worlds immediately. I’d seen the MMC, Max, mentioned in the same breath as book boyfriends like Xaden and Rhysand to make me curious enough to download it from Kindle Unlimited. I started it on the flight back from Los Angeles and can tell you it has become my entire (current) personality. Not only is Max a top tier boyfriend, the FMC is fierce, the politics are intriguing, and the magic system is interesting. It’s a completed trilogy, and book two is waiting not-so-patiently for me to finish up my current read.

The bed saga. If we were having coffee, I would have to tell you my bed saga. I’ll try to paraphrase this two week adventure. I’d had my IKEA bedframe for a couple of years and it was exactly what I wanted. After a couple of moves, first from Los Angeles to Nashville and then from Nashville to Knoxville, it was missing a few screws and a little wobbly. It collapsed while my pet sitter was with the pups, and I had to fix it when I got back from L.A. The next morning, I went online and bought a new bed frame. Just the frame, no headboard. I didn’t do a ton of research, just found something in the right size and at the right price and clicked “add to cart.”

The new frame arrived on Saturday. I took my old bed apart, posted it on Facebook as free for whomever would pick it up (don’t worry, I disclosed the missing parts), and assembled the new frame. I thought it seemed tall as I put it together, but once I had it assembled and the mattress in place, I realized it was about four feet high – and I’m only 5’2.” My dog Knox needs stairs to get into the bed, and his existing stairs were too short. I ordered a new set to be delivered the next day AND bought a set from PetSmart. He refused to use the PetSmart stairs, so I made a ramp situation using the old stairs, a bench, and his set of steps he uses to get on the couch. He’s a smart little guy and figured it out quickly. Off to bed I went, thinking we’d all get used to the new height soon.

Then Griff, my other pup, started to dive out of the bed. He’d use the makeshift ramp to get into the bed, and then would just hurdle off it. Meanwhile, Knox was pacing the edge and thinking about doing the same. At 12:34 AM, I got out of bed, pulled the mattress into the floor, and dragged the frame out of my bedroom. The next morning, I took the bed apart and returned it, along with the PetSmart dog steps, and for a week, I slept on my mattress on the floor. I have since purchased a new bed that is much more my style. The dogs can safely get in and out of it (with the newly ordered dog steps as it’s still higher than my old bed!). Lessons were learned – measure before completing the purchase and maybe exercise a little patience. Now to find a headboard…

Christmas decor going up. I used to be a hard and fast ‘no Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving’ gal. That’s changed over the last few years with my arguments being 1) I’m never home for Christmas so the earlier it goes up, the longer I have to enjoy it and 2) it makes me happy. I pulled all my decorations out of the closet last weekend, but exercised some self-restraint. This weekend? Christmas is going up. I can’t wait any longer.

Fourth Wing re-read. I’m so excited to do a Fourth Wing/Iron Flame re-read ahead of the release of Onyx Storm. I’m leading a re-read book club through Fable and it’s going to be a great group. I can’t wait to pick up on foreshadowing I missed and discuss my theories with a group of equally obsessed friends. If you want to join us, we start December 1st. Sign up right here!

If we were having coffee, this would be around the time I drain the last of my coffee that is now cold because I’ve chatted so much and start to wrap up our conversation. Hopefully you’ve shared a bit about your life while we were having coffee, too. So, since this is a virtual coffee date, I leave you with this question:

If we were having coffee, what would you tell me?

Leave your answers in the comments, or send me a DM on social media!