The Back to School Edit

The end of July came way too quickly. I feel like the whole summer came and went without really slowing down to soak it all in. I blinked and my oldest started Kindergarten.

Routines are hard for our family. Establishing them, adjusting to them, and sticking with them aren’t things that come easily. I’m making a conscious effort to spend a little less time on the Internet so I can focus on the things that matter. That means my reading and writing inevitably will be put on the back burner for a while until we figure it all out.

Loving Lately

Here are a few things I’ve been loving lately.

Read:

The beginning of July started out really strong but then I took on too much and felt like I couldn’t give enough attention to any of the books I started. I started reading The Idiot by Elif Batuman, a book that was on my TBR for a long, long time. I gave up around 75%. It’s one of the most tedious books I’ve read in a long time. After a couple of 2 ⭐reads, I took a brief pause from my reading. Any time my reading routine begins to feel like a task, I know it’s time to clear my head and start fresh. I’m now listening to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (a Hunger Games prequel) on audiobook in anticipation of the film releasing later this year. My husband read the book when it first came out in 2020 so it’s been nice to chat with him here and there about it.

Watch:

I can’t believe no one made me watch The Bear! It’s an incredible, fast-paced drama that expertly captures the chaos of the restaurant industry. I’m drawn to the way the show is filmed just as much as I am to the characters. It’s a difficult show to watch in quick succession. You’ll want to savor the intensity of every episode. I loved that Season 2’s episodes highlighted each character’s story and brought some depth to the staff while still keeping it about Carmy’s family drama. Despite all the departures from the regular formula for the show in Season 1, the writers were still able to push the story forward. Honestly, this is one of the best shows I’ve watched period. You have to make time for it if you haven’t yet!

Right now I’m making my way through The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2, Good Omens Season 2, and The Flatshare and really enjoying them all. They are book-to-screen adaptations and The Flatshare may be one of those rare shows that is better than the book.

I’ve reached the age where I put TV/movie premiere dates in my calendar and there are so many great releases in August! Here’s what I’m looking forward to this month:

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 on Disney+
Heartstopper Season 2 on Netflix
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 on Hulu
Red, White, & Royal Blue on Amazon Prime

I think that’s more than enough to keep me busy into the Fall.

Play:

My daughter did a week of tennis clinics and I think she may have finally found the sport that sticks. Unfortunately, there’s no real league for her age group so we’ll have to keep an eye out for opportunities for more pick-up games and camps.

Eat:

With school starting back I’m cooking more simple comfort meals. Two meals have made their way into our weekly rotation: Sunday spaghetti and chicken and rice casserole. Last week I made this no peek chicken and this week I made everyone’s Southern comfort food stick of butter rice/brown rice consomme with chicken thrown in. In the craziness of our evening routine, I forgot the butter but it still turned out great.

Wear:

I gave in and bought the Target Birkenstock dupe. I only get to wear clogs/any shoe without a back strap on the weekends so I really couldn’t justify the cost of the real thing in this economy.

This past year I’ve really been leaning into dressing for comfort and I’m trying to push the limits of what’s acceptable in a business casual setting. Just keeping things real here. I have my eye on a few pairs of pants from Pact like these Luxe Jersey Volume Pants. If you have any recommendations for pants that are basically pajamas that could pass for workwear, please leave your favorite brands in the comments!

Homey Bits:

We accomplished rearranging my daughter’s bedroom to clear out a space for a desk. I’m not sure we will use it much in Kindergarten (they don’t seem to have regular homework) but it’s great to have for years to come.

We still have not painted our kitchen and I’m getting a little tired of looking at the paint swatches on the wall. I’m hoping to carve out some time to finally finish that task.

That’s it from me. For now, here’s a quick poll.

If you enjoyed this post and want to see more, consider buying me a coffee and keeping me caffeinated during my writing sessions!