I’m one month into my new work rhythm, we’re back from two weeks in New England, June is back to school, Annie is walking, and fall is around the corner. And this month? This month, John and I celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. I am grateful and in awe, and included a nod to this milestone on my PowerSheets: “If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.” Taking care feels effortless some days and a tall order others, but every day, I feel sure we’ve found a treasure in each other. We will be celebrating big this month, and I can’t wait!

On my calendar this month:
— The first day of fall! We’ll bake apple cider scones for our family and June’s teachers, a tradition we started six years ago.
— My very favorite kids consignment sale!
— Our tenth wedding anniversary and trip to Bermuda!!!

What I’m loving right now:
— When in Maine, Kate introduced us to the card game Dutch Blitz, and I. could not. get. enough. It’s addicting in a similar way to solitaire (maybe I’ll win if I play just one more time!), but is played in a group. SO FUN. (You can buy an expansion pack to play with more than four, too!)
— Martha Stewart was the topic of our most recent Articles Club, and this podcast episode was in the bonus material. As a very longtime Martha fan, I felt seen (and even learned some new info!). A very enjoyable hour!
— This clock was included in our kitchen refresh design plan. I ordered and hung it back in May (for $8 less than it’s now listed for, sob) and it’s kept my hope for this project alive through many months of no progress. Aside from being a beacon of hope, It’s so nice to be able to see the time from almost anywhere in our downstairs without needing to have my phone on me.

As a reminder, you can find alllll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!

What I read in August:
— I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet | Hoo boy. I know I have many Shauna Niequist fans reading (I count myself among them!), but… this was not my favorite of her titles. The subtitle – “discovering new ways of living when the old ways stop working” – is important here: I realized pretty quickly that her “old” ways and my “current” ways are very similar. She speaks very compassionately about her old ways (not in a disparaging way!), and there are extremely valid, difficult reasons why she needed to find new ways – but I don’t have those reasons, and so this book just wasn’t what I needed for this season. And that’s okay!

My reading list for 2022, if you’d like to follow along!

Revisiting my August goals:
Enjoy our time in Maine and Connecticut
Edit June in June Volume 7 (I finally picked a song!! Progress to come!)
Plan and enjoy our back-to-school dinner
Make kitchen decisions and order things (Met with handyman and Callie! Tile, cabinet hardware, hood vent, lights have been ordered!)
Make powder room decisions and order things (Light has been ordered but I can’t really say this is complete…)
Complete June’s baby book
Adjust to my four-day work week rhythm

September goals:
— All hands on deck for the kitchen project! This is the big month when work will start and (hopefully!) be finished!!
— Order mirror and hand towel for powder room
— Edit June in June Volume 7
— Film Sheptember, Volume 4
— Complete June’s baby book
— Prepare well for and enjoy our anniversary trip
— Clear the backlog on my “Friday list.” In the weeks before my schedule shifted at work, I began to put tasks on a “Friday list” – things I’d get to when I was no longer working on Fridays. There are currently 32 items on it (some big, some very tiny) and I’d love to clear at least half of them out this month!

I’d love to hear: what are you celebrating these days? Big or little – all good things welcome :)

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2022 goals!