August 2025 goals
June is home from camp, we have sunny + cool northern travels to look forward to, we’re still enjoying summer and yet have also eased into back-to-school prep — in short, I’m feeling good. I hope August finds you in a contented place, as well!
If you, too, are straddling seasons, I pulled up a few posts that might be of help for us both:
Our favorite family read alouds
My takeaways from Habits of the Household
Simplifying kids’ artwork
Our kids after-school jobs
The email I send to my fellow parents in both kids’ classes
And my series on Christians in public school (start here)
And now onto the goals…
On my calendar:
— Our annual trip to Maine! This year, we’re going further north to Acadia for part of the time and traveling with friends. I’m looking forward to experiencing something new on this very-familiar (and very-beloved) trip.
— Shep and Annie’s joint birthday adventure. We’re once again taking the train ride to Greensboro’s children’s museum with a few friends and they are so excited.
— The first day of school! Fourth and first grade for June and Shep and a new Montessori preschool for Annie.
What I’m loving right now:
— Good news on the concealer front: since Counter no longer carries (at least for now) my beloved formulation, I ventured to Sephora to find a replacement. A kind gal led me to Kosa’s clean brightening concealer and I’ve been very happy with shade 2.3N. (I rounded up all my current clean beauty favorites here if you’re in the market! These are the products I use daily, except for the perfume which is for special occasions :))
— My dear friend Nancy’s podcast has been turned into an ice cream flavor! Triangle locals, I think her creation (that’s it up at the top) goes back into the vault now that July is over, but it’s always a good time to pay a visit to Two Roosters.
— Tricia asked about my watercolor supplies on my last goals post and I’m happy to share! I bought this pad of watercolor paper postcards at a local art shop and it’s made it so easy to paint petite scenes (and then send them to loved ones!). This small paint set is portable and vibrant and this is the online class I took – I loved that it focused on landscapes and it was quite helpful for a beginner like me.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
— My first two items ever from Lululemon, this tennis skirt and this top in the color lavender frost. I literally wore this combo to all six swim meets this summer after convincing myself that no one else was thinking about my outfits as much as I was :) The mesh and volume of the skirt is really unique and fun, and the top is so lightweight – perfect for summer humidity.
— These slim ice packs, perfect for packed lunches. Maybe you all have started your back-to-school shopping, too?
— The underbed boxes we use to store our kids’ artwork and school memorabilia. More about that system here!
— John’s favorite button-down shirt, so soft and resistant to wrinkles. He tries to wear exclusively this style to work (and they’re 50% off as of this writing!!).
Last month on The Connected Family:
— Talking to your kids about porn with Greta Eskridge | A guest post on a tough but necessary topic
— Starting cues for summer | A simple way to encourage deep play inspired by Erin Loechner’s newest book
— What we lose when we lose a physical record of childhood | And the parent’s role as archivist
What I read in July:
— I Cheerfully Refuse | Reading was slower last month as I prioritized my morning walks – and thus an earlier bedtime. Sadly, I can’t say yet whether I recommend the one book I’m working through. I want to love it – I adore the other book I’ve read by this author – but so far I’m finding the dystopian future setting more depressing than the hopeful I was promised on the book jacket. I’m about halfway through and still trying to decide if I’m going to DNF and just re-read Peace Like a River. I’ll report back in September :)
My reading list for 2025! I’m 8 / 24 so far.
Revisiting my July goals:
Visit a Maine gallery and buy an original piece of artwork
Tweak the TCF course outline (No progress whatsoever.)
Review the TCF course outline with John (And thus no progress whatsoever.)
Clean out pantryComplete June’s baby bookPlan Annie + Shep’s joint birthday excursionPrep for and enjoy our Maine/Acadia trip
Edit June in June
August goals:
— Clean out pantry
— Edit June in June
— Make a watercolor painting en plein air while I’m in Maine
— Help my Dad get his Storyworth off to print
— Finalize new chore charts for the new school year
— Schedule and enjoy back-to-school shopping dates with the two bigs — June’s, paired with afternoon tea as we’ve done for the last few years and Shep’s, with breakfast at IHOP (his request!)
— Complete Shep’s baby book
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2025 PowerSheets goals!
To close out, I’m in the market for a new pair of sneakers and would love your recommendations! I’d like something fairly neutral (I think?) that I can wear with dresses and for walking around cities — something low-profile and comfy. Any favorites to pass along? Feel free to comment with anything else on your mind, too :)
Affiliate links are used in this post!
I have the Court Sneakers in White Leather from Madewell and love them! It took me a couple days to break them in, but now I wear them with almost every outfit. Hope your trip to Maine is as magical as always :)
I’ve loved my Veja sneakers for a stylish and dressier option.