So apparently in this season of life, a one-week vacation necessitates a two-week blogging hiatus. Our trip to Corolla with John’s family was so wonderful, though, and I can’t wait to share it with you soon – hopefully before we jet off to Maine in a few weeks with my family, and the cycle starts all over again, ha! Thanks for hanging in here while life happens, friends! Speaking of life – last year this month we were preparing to meet our son, and this year we’ll celebrate his first birthday. I am the luckiest. On my calendar this month: — Celebrating the birthdays of my two favorite guys: John and John Shepherd! — Celebrating the birthday of America with our town’s kiddo parade (decorated bikes and all!) — That other great American holiday: Cow Appreciation Day! — My book swap party!! What I’m loving right now: — We received The Circus Ship as a gift recently, and it was an instant favorite with the whole family! (More of my favorite picture books here!) — As someone who prioritized paying off her student loans as quickly as possible, I was fascinated by this episode of the Freakonomics podcast. Highly, highly recommend a listen! — Peaches! Time to trot out my annual exhortation that you make this recipe. We’ll be enjoying it on the Fourth. What I read in June: — Finished all 1000+ pages of Pillars of the Earth. It lived up to the hype – it’s just an unabashedly great story that moves along at a rollicking pace, with tons of twists and turns over several decades. Can’t wait to dig into the sequel, though I think I’ll give myself a little breather before I do! — I’m about halfway through Sabbath as Resistance, recommended to me by one

As I knew it would be, June was a busy month. (It always is.) I traveled to Hilton Head and to Cashiers. I had two evening work events. We hosted dear friends and visited dear friends in the mountains. But, we also picked blueberries five times! In fact, we made great progress with our summer fun list, checking off a Bulls game, chicken souvlaki, the Honeysuckle Tea House, and more. So, though those lingering items from a few months ago are STILL on my to do list (and driving me a bit nuts, if I’m being honest), I’m calling June a win. And I’m so excited for July!! Revisiting my goals for June: Perfect the scavenger hunt John and I are developing for my Fourth of July cousin reunion Get an estimate from one more landscaping company Finish our will Master an updo from the Small Things archive Read “168 Hours” and “Radical” for the NR Book Club (didn’t get to either of these, but I did read “Bringing Up Bebe” and really enjoyed it!) Have fun in Brevard with our friends the Henrys Host my two dear friends from elementary school Plan out our July road trip to Maine July goals: — Finish our will — Master an updo from the Small Things archive — Move forward in our backyard renovation project (are y’all sick of hearing about these three things yet??) — Check more things off our summer fun list — Finish planning and host a baby shower for a dear friend — Relish our time in Maine — Email our neighborhood recreation committee about my luminaria idea — Finish our June in June movie — Feed June her first solid food!! As a reminder, here are my 2016 guideposts. If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love

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

Contrary to appearances, I have not abandoned my blog. I got back after midnight last night from eight days of traveling, and though I had hopes to continue my California posts while on the road, it just didn’t happen. And that’s okay! Carmel and Monterey will be up next (and there will be photos and text when I finally get my act together – ha!), but in the meantime, let’s talk monthly goals! Boxes of peaches at Kalawi Farms in Eagle Springs! First, a little note about the fact that it’s July. Like many other people, I have the tendency to say the following or similar: Where has the time gone?! This year is flying by! This year is almost over! The summer’s basically over, and before we know it, it will be fall! I’ve recently decided that phrases like these can not only become self-fulfilling prophecies, but they can feed into the manic tendency of our culture, normalizing the urge to always be on to the next thing. It’s July 1 – summer is NOT almost over. I’m trying to cut these phrases out of my conversation as a mini rebellion, and am interested to hear what you think :) June goal recap: Install a rain barrel (Still not done… our house budget is recovering. Adding it to July!) Finish taking house photos and post tour (Photos are 75% done? Hoping to post in July.) Finally buy Cuyana bag Yes!! Observant readers spotted it in this photo. Hang new mirror in our powder room (Mirror purchased – yet to be hung.) Finish preparing for and co-host a baby shower and a few other very fun events Yes! So much fun. Pay off our second car loan and celebrate becoming debt free aside from our mortgage! Hooray! Set a date