Love and Olive Oil

A Day in the Life

What does a normal day here in the Love & Olive Oil household look like? Working from home, we do have an ample amount of freedom if something comes up during the day, but for the most part, we stick to a pretty normal routine. I promise you, it’s not as glamorous as it may seem, and really should probably be called “A Day in the Life… of the Cats.” Yes, much our lives revolve around the cats, and we’d live an incredibly dull life without them.

A Day in the Life

5:30am (ish): Taylor gets up whenever the cats tell him to. There’s no snooze button on these furry alarm clocks, unfortunately. They’ll usually yell at us or nibble at his elbows until he feeds them.

7:30am: Rise and shine! (grumble grumble) Taylor prods me awake. Sgt. Pepper usually helps too, walking all over my chest and sticking his paws and wet nose in my face until I finally roll out of bed.

8:00am: Catch up on social media, read my blogs, clean out the junk emails that have come in overnight (I probably don’t need to know about that sale, but I still stay on the email lists for that one time when I might want to buy something).

8:30am: Work beckons, time to get to it. I usually start the day by responding to some emails or dealing with issues that have come up over night, or if I’ve got a new blog post to publish I’ll focus on finishing that up.

He loves cheerios.

9:00am: Breakfast. Again with Sgt. Pepper’s help. The cat loves cheerios, what can I say?

9:30am: Trying to work, but I keep getting interrupted by Sgt. Pepper who wants to play fetch (Seriously! Here’s proof) Every 2 1/2 minutes I have to get up and throw his green poof toy for him. He’ll pick it up in his mouth, walk around yowling for a bit, then come back up the stairs and drop it by my chair, and sit and stare (or yell) at me until I throw it again. It’s exhausting.

Sgt. Pepper Plays Fetch

The other cats are conked out on their heated mats where they’ll probably stay until lunchtime (and yes, we have three of them, because they refuse to share).

10:30am: Workout time. I’ll admit while Taylor makes it to the gym nearly every day, I consider it a good week if work out twice. Even though our development has a fitness room, sometimes I can’t even be bothered to walk over there, so I’ll just jump around in the living room to a workout DVD.

11:15am: Shower, followed by a post-workout snack (aka a croissant, which is totally acceptable because it is homemade, afterall).

A Messy Desk is a Creative Mind.

11:30am: Back to work. Today I’m having fun putting the finishing touches on a redesign for the lovely Averie. Just wait until you see this prettiness. I tell you, I really do love my job, especially when I get to work with other food bloggers. :)

Grilled Cheese for Lunch.

1:00pm: Lunch time. Usually we’ll have something like a grilled cheese, quesadilla, tuna sandwich, or leftovers from whatever we ate the night before. Something quick that we can prepare and eat quickly and get back to work. No leisurely lunch hour, here.

Kalypso wants a cookie.

Kalypso also knows when it’s lunch time, and will often join us, begging for scraps. She’s got us very well trained, and knows a good scratch on the post will get her a treat. We try to tell her that opening the treat drawer will summon the boys from upstairs, but she never seems to get it. So they all usually end up getting a mid-day treat.

1:30pm: Work. Moving on to some coding stuff for designs we’ve already finalized. And emails. Always sending emails.

3:30pm: Chocolate break.

3:40pm: Quick social media break.

4:00pm: Er, ok, not so quick. Trying to get focused again so I can finish the day on a productive note. Send some more emails. Maybe work a bit on the next day’s blog post if I’ve got one ready.

5:30pm: Time to leave work (aka go downstairs). In order to maintain our sanity we really do keep regular working hours, and try not to work or respond to work-related emails on nights or weekends. It doesn’t always work, but we’d go crazy otherwise.

5:55pm: Dinner time for the felines, and they sure cause a racket if we’re even a minute late (which is why they usually get it early, because god forbid we’d FORGET about them). I swear, they act like we starve them or something.

Dinner: A Birds' Eye View

6:00pm: Ok, I’ll admit, I’m still working. Sometimes if I’m concentrating on something I just need to keep going. But Taylor’s already downstairs working on dinner. Good man.

6:05pm: I just realized how hungry I am. I need a snack. Plus my butt hurts. That’s a sign it’s time to quit for the day (really this time).

Pasta Salad in the Daylight

6:30pm: Dinner is ready! And, look, daylight! Still! During dinner! What a miracle!

Taylor’s thrown together a pasta salad tonight, using up a lot of miscellaneous ingredients we have on hand. We do plan our menus for the week in advance, and always try to include a few quicker dinners for nights when we just want to get on with our evening.

Taylor wants everyone to know that the all the dishes were done before we even ate. Thank you dear, much appreciated… without you I’d be living in squalor.

7:00pm: After dinner the evening is ours to do what we please. I’ll usually plop down on the couch and lose myself in an episode of Castle or Once Upon a Time, although tonight the 7:00 hour kind of sucks, so I’ll spend that time working on a blog post instead. Taylor, who can’t bear to sit still and simply watch TV anyway, usually heads back upstairs to work on one of his many projects.

Taylor sews and serges!

Yes, the man sews (and serges). He’s working on some basic t-shirts now, using some nice organic hemp fabric he just bought (it’s not as hippie as it sounds, I promise). They’ll eventually get dyed various colors when he’s done. He’s well on his way to a completely handmade wardrobe (you can follow along on his blog, TaylorTailor).

8:00pm: As bad as it’s gotten these last few years, I still watch Grey’s Anatomy. Back downstairs I go to rot my brain. Our neighbor stops by for a bit, and he and Taylor drink and talk beer (who knew there was so much to say about beer).

9:00pm: New Scandal tonight! Even anti-TV Taylor will watch this one with me. That and Castle are about the only network TV shows he’ll watch. Although, he can’t simply watch, he has to be (quietly) plucking on his ukelele at the same time.

Desmond's Bird

9:40pm: Bird time! Every night the cats need a good 20 to 30 minutes of good, hard play (according to Jackson Galaxy), otherwise they’ll kill each other. Granted, we still have issues with bullying, but the play definitely helps. This is their favorite toy, and we probably go through way more da-bird refills than we should. I swear, their first instinct once they get ahold of it is to break it’s neck. Our sweet, sweet babies are secretly killers…

10:00pm: The cats’ second dinner. Yes, we split up their dinners, in hopes that eating right before bed will make them sleep in later in the morning. It never works (see: Taylor’s wake up time this morning).

10:20pm: After picking up all the cat toys (otherwise there would be late night soccer matches), shutting down the phones and computers, brushing our teeth, and changing into our PJs, it’s bed time.

10:30pm: We usually read for a while to unwind. I’m currently 1/4 of the way through 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and loving it so far. I just hope I can finish before it’s due back at the library.

10:45pm: Sleep!

11:00pm: No, seriously. Sleep.

11:23pm (or so): Zzzz….

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43 Comments

  1. Where do you get your bowls? (the ones pictured for your “dinner” shot) They’re beautiful and I want some!!!

  2. What a cute kitty! Love this sneak peak into your life – and your photography is really stunning! Hope to see more of these posts

  3. Hi, I just found you through How Sweet It Is and loved this post. I laughed at the part where Taylor will watch tv with you while quietly plucking at his ukelele! My husband does the same with his guitalele, or even his electric guitars- unplugged of course! Glad to hear someone else has to try to listen to their tv through gentle “plucking”. Lol!

  4. Loved the post and seeing all the goings on. Being woken early by a kitty sounds familiar to mum.. Hugs GJ x

  5. As a human to eight delightful felines, I loved the detailing of a day in your life that your cats are so clearly an important part of!! Two of our cats are fetchers, and yes, it can be exhausting keeping up with their demands!

    We also are reminded EVERY SINGLE NIGHT that it is time for dinner…. as if they have ever once not been fed… sigh…

  6. Such an amusing post. I popped over here from Texas’ site and thought I’d just say “hi” quickly but got so caught up in your day I ended up reading the whole thing. Thanks for the smiles and, fear not, you’re not the only one who has a cat demanding you play fetch with them. Terribly cute.

  7. I’m always curious how other telecommuters schedule their days. Thanks for sharing!

  8. Wow. I think we have the same cats. Cat who wakes you up? Check. Cat who plays fetch? Check. Second dinner so they might actually sleep through the night? Check. Have a standing monthly order for da bird refills since my boys tear them apart within days of a new arrival? Check.

    This was awesome. And encourages me to never work from home :)

  9. I loved this post from the beginning, but the Jackson Galaxy reference really made it for me :)

    • I totally sent him a novel of an email to try to get on his show. Alas, he doesn’t travel as far as Nashville.

      Boo.

  10. Oh stars! I love your kitties :) And you guys are a pretty awesome fam!

  11. It sounds similar to my day, but my partner doesn’t sew. But we have a demanding cat Ryszard and we both work from home as well. And I have my favorite tv serie as well ;)

  12. I would get totally distracted working from home, kudos to you for making it work! I guess it’s difficult to do chemistry from my house too, what with all the dangerous chemicals and lack of fume hood at my house! Also, loved that book. It took me about a week to finish it on my long train commute. Keep going, it gets so good!

  13. I love yours cats!! Adorables, hehehe. I’m 2 cats too and they will not let me sleep in the morning either…

    xo

  14. Haha I love this! I think people are wired to know about other people’s lives..weird huh? If your cat fetches, my dog refuses to. I’ll throw a ball to her and I swear she is giving me the “what the heck are you doing” look as the ball passes her and she just barely turns her head. Maybe Sgt. Pepper can teach my Hula girl a thing or 2? :)

  15. Thanks for the wonderful insight into your daily life, it was a fun read. Your cats are adorable! We love the same shows and I agree with you that it is hard to watch Grey’s now, but thinking that Olivia Pope is on the other side makes it bearable.
    PS: Castle is after your bedtime :p

  16. OMG…hilarious!!!! I SOOOOOO relate! We have 2 cats (Sammy and Finbar) and just recently (3 weeks ago) adopted a puppy we named Lucy, my baby (http://bit.ly/YluixJ). Oh, and we have a start-up company (Delicious Karma) that also requires LOTS of attention! The cats and dog, they help too. Constant distraction. Constant “I am starving” hints…ha, ha (they are well fed, so never starving as they claim!). Constant need for attention. Constant naughtiness. It’s quite hilarious. Thanks for the delightfully entertaining post!

  17. I loved this! Getting a peek into your life. My dream life… maybe one day!

  18. Thanks for the peak into your life! The cat stories are soo funny. I can totally relate to giving your cats 2 dinners, except I do that with my 6 month old!

  19. This is awesome. And OMG I had no idea Taylor likes to sew!!! He could teach me a bunch! His clothing is amazing!!!

  20. What a fun post! Thanks for sharing! I know all too well how distracting cats can be! And that is awesome Taylor makes his own clothes. Does he ever make anything for you?

    • He made me a pair of jeans at once point, but the fancy selvedge denim he uses is just a wee bit – thick – for my tastes. :)

  21. Love the kitty-filled post :)

  22. My husband sews, too! I can sew a button and that’s about it. Thanks for sharing your day!

  23. Love the sneak peak into your day and I’m totally jealous of you not getting up until 730!

  24. Your apartment looks very chic. I love the big & in the background.

  25. Lucky you, to have interactive cats! I once had a very smart black cat named Eclipse who, like Sgt. Pepper, loved to play fetch. His favorite fetch-toy was the little plastic circle left when Scotch tape is used up. But here’s what made Eclipse brilliant: He learned that if he dropped his toy at the top of the stairs, it would bounce and roll down the stairs, so he could chase it down, then bring it back to the top, etc., which meant that he could still play fetch even when I was fetched-out.

  26. I am honored to be mentioned in this post. When I saw the picture of your desk, I thought, OMG that’s my mockup on her screen…and then I read my name. Thank you for the shoutout :)

    I love your house and love that you can look down onto the kitchen. And that there’s so much light and airy space going on in general.

    And your kitties are super presh! Just adorable!

    And that you stop to take chocolate breaks. And that gets a mention. Yes, I heart this!

  27. You have a beautiful home and your cats are so cute :)

  28. Oh my GOSH! You have no idea how much my love for you just multiplied! Castle is my favorite and I haven’t found anyone who a.) either knows what the show is or b.) has ever seen it! This makes me so happy that I have finally found someone who is as into it as me!!
    Also your cats sound hilarious!
    And I love how light and bright your apartment is!
    xo
    Molly

    • I love Castle! If we ever got a 4th cat (and we won’t!) but if we did he’d totally be named Nathan Fillion. :) Or Captain Mal.

  29. Oh, who are we kidding…the cats rule the roost around this house as well! I can soooo relate. And where, oh where did you find HEATED mats for them?! Thinking this may keep my big fat gray guy from sleeping on my laptop all day.

  30. I love how you can look down onto your kitchen. And as we’ve already discussed I can sympathize with Taylor and the cats forcing him out of bed to be fed. I only have one and he’s hard enough to ignore I can’t imagine more! But anywho, can I come live your life for a bit?

  31. Both my hubby and I work from home too! It is hard to get into a rhythm. Love a peek into your world. XOXO

  32. Ooh… love that you’re reading 11/22/63! It was the first (and so far only) Steven King book I read. I LOVED it and tell everyone about it!

  33. I love all those furry faces!! Sgt. Pepper is too cute for words – can I boop him on his little nose? Just once. I swear.
    And Scandal – OMG I love that show. Dang it’s got super intense this season. I don’t know anyone else that watches it too, so whew I feel validated now. :)

  34. I love Day in the life posts! I’m so fascinated! :)

  35. Love this even though I already knew your kitties rule the roost. PS I love Scandal…Curtis can’t stand the show though.

  36. I really love this post! It’s so fun getting a sneak peek into your all’s life ;) I can’t believe Sgt. Pepper plays fetch – coolest cat, ever! I hope to meet him someday :) I would love to play fetch with him! You have my dream job. If I ever get as great as you with all this design & coding, I’m totally quitting my job so I can freelance at home :) you do such a wonderful job though, I’d never compare! lol

    • We’ve been doing this for 5 years, probably took us at least a full year to really get the hang of it. Working from home isn’t easy – so many distractions! haha. But it definitely has its benefits, too. :)

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