Well, I was on a good streak there for awhile where I was checking off 100% of my monthly goals… but not this month. I’m not sure if my apparent response – to double my usual number of goals for September — is the correct one, but I’m going for it! Lots to do, and one of my favorite months to do it in!

The view from one of our favorite running routes!

Revisiting my goals for August:
Frame and hang our two new pieces from Framed & Matted Love them! More about this soon but you can see one here.
Finally paint the tray I primed about a year ago (No progress here… moving to September)
Make progress on goal no. 37 Made progress here, including a new storage solution and some weeding out!
Post an updated house tour here after our tour appears on Southern Weddings (Not yet – have to finish photographing a few of our less-finished spaces. Moving this to September!)
Do some sort of exercise every single day this month (I probably missed about 10 days. While working out 2/3 of the days in a month is good, it’s also my norm, so I didn’t really get at the heart of this goal!)

September goals:
— Paint my tray
— Post an updated house tour
— Start a registry for Baby Thomas
— Run my first ever 5k!!
— Make nursery plans so that we are ready to paint when my parents come in October
— Celebrate our third anniversary!
— Volunteer and shop at my church’s awesome kids consignment sale (if you are local and want to go, here is the info!)
— Finish organizing our upstairs closets
— Visit my younger sister in Nashville! Figure out how we are going to eat twenty meals in 2.5 days!

If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!

By the time August rolls around, all I want to do is go to the beach, eat peaches, and relax. Which is not a particularly conducive environment for setting goals, if you think of goals only in the traditional sense of workmanlike drudgery you have to check off. Happily, I don’t. My goals are about living a more marvelous life, and while sometimes that involves hard and tedious things, sometimes it just involves eating peaches.

The most beautiful sunflowers at Buttonwood Farm!

Revisiting my goals for July:
Pick blueberries at our favorite local farm Checking this one off because while we didn’t go to our local farm (it was closed all three times we tried!), I did visit another one with my work ladies.
Plan and co-host a sweet summer co-ed baby shower for Natalie + Joe! Done! See here!
Eat in and eat healthy. We borrowed a friend’s spiralizer, and liked it so much I think we’re going to buy our own!
Write eight blog posts. Wrote nine! Success!

August goals:
— Frame and hang our two new pieces from Framed & Matted
— Finally paint the tray I primed about a year ago (this is my inspiration)
— Make progress on goal no. 37 (maybe the weeding out part)
— Post an updated house tour here after our tour appears on Southern Weddings
— For my most ambitious goal: do some sort of exercise every single day this month, whether a walk around the neighborhood, a run, a bike ride, or something else. Yikes!

If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!

There is a season for everything. You can do it all, just not all at once. I don’t typically think in profound statements like those, but if I had to sum up my general philosophy about leading a full, happy life, they pretty accurately fit the bill. The last few months have been a season of major travel in the Thomas household, and to fit it all in while not quitting my job, letting our house fall into complete disarray, abandoning my Etsy store, forgoing friends and family, or becoming an unhealthy noodle, I wrote fewer blog posts in the last few months.

And I’m okay with that! I’ve said before that I’m not interested in “building” this blog to the point where I have to write a post before going to bed or going on a walk or spending time with John. But I love writing here and I love y’all, and I’m sad when we’re apart! So as you’ll see, one of my goals for July is to write eight blog posts. I may or may not get all the way there, but I’m excited to try! There’s a season for everything, after all.

Revisiting my goals for June:
Enjoy our France trip to the fullest! Yes! So good! Much more to come!
More travel: Virginia, Connecticut, and Kentucky! Flying home from Kentucky today… see above!
Celebrate Father’s Day, older sister’s birthday, and younger sister’s graduation with my family Yes! Despite those things we were celebrating, it was one of the rare times we were home together without a major event (Christmas, wedding, etc.) on the calendar, and it was wonderful and relaxed.
Have lunch dates with two dear friends Yes!! So happy I was able to squeeze these in while in CT!
Replace my everyday bag while in France (no. 40!) Yes! I replaced my small black Longchamp bag with… the exact same small black Longchamp bag. I was waffling between black, navy, and charcoal, but in the end my “revealed preferences” (as John would say – econ term) won out. Bonus: Longchamps are significantly less expensive to buy in France!

July goals:
— Pick blueberries at our favorite local farm
— Plan and co-host a sweet summer co-ed baby shower for Natalie + Joe!
— Eat in and eat healthy. (Our dining out budget is a bit busted at the moment after a harried month of travel. I also really want to focus on enjoying all of the delicious (healthy!) produce this time of year!)
— Write eight blog posts.

If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!

After putting it as a goal on my first 101 in 1001 list, and then my second, without checking it off, I’m extremely happy to say that for me, the third time was the charm. Last week, we went to Europe, and it was marvelous! Anytime I get to travel with John is my favorite, but this trip in particular was very sweet. I’ve wanted to go to France since my freshman year of high school, and it was almost hard to believe at times that I had really made it! A full report is coming soon, but in the meantime, here are the basics:

— We spent three days in Paris, two days in Provence, and three days on the Cote d’Azur.
— Everything that’s said about French people and baguettes is true – we ate so much bread during our stay! No one was complaining, though :)
— We walked almost 90 miles in 8 days (!!!), including 45 in Paris alone. My Toms sure were broken in by the end!

More to come soon!

P.S. I’m at 23 of 60 goals checked off on my 60 Before 30! Next up: nos. 14, 19, and 23 (surprisingly, I’m actually making progress!).