I read once that August was the Sunday of summer, and I’m choosing not to view that as a derogatory statement. I’m writing this post from the lobby of the studio where my daughter is taking her first dance class, and thinking of everything I want the next month to be. I want to watch Blue Crush (looking at you Madeline Rose Nachbar). I want to go swimming most days. I want to eat dinner outside as often as possible. I want to take long walks (with and without a stroller in tow). I want to make a few meals for the freezer, knowing that our afternoons and evenings are going to be a bit more challenging once the school year begins. I want to read each day, by myself and with each of my kids. I want to get really good at doing my own nails.* I want to stretch and drink enough water.
Today I’m going to have a big cup of coffee and pack everyone up for a day at the pool. I’m going to drop off a bag of donations and clean our bathrooms. I’m going to make tomato sandwiches for lunch. I’m going to finally finish a book and drink a cup of tea before bed. One or both of my children will definitely squawk at me and I will lose my patience. But I love a no-plans day. This past week has been both busy and boring, and I’ve felt a bit behind in a lot of ways. Still, I feel like the past four weeks have allowed my body to relax for the first time in years. Mom Camp for the win.
A July day at home with both kids.
6:24 am — I’m shockingly the first one awake. I jump in the shower while my husband gets ready for the day. I listen to The Daily while I get ready before heading downstairs for coffee.
7:10 am — Somehow both of my children are just now waking up? It’s an end of July miracle. My daughter does a YouTube ballet class while my son has a bottle. My husband heads to work for the day and I get breakfast ready for both kids.
8:25 am — We leave the house, fill up the car with gas,1 and go to Trader Joe’s and Target. We listen to a Yoto Radio playlist in the car — highly recommend if your ears are about to bleed from listening to Raffi and KPop Demon Hunters non-stop.
10:27 am — We get home and the baby is asleep. I put him down in his crib for a nap and unpack the groceries while my daughter makes bracelets and listens to the Arthur podcast.
11:28 am — After my son wakes up and has a bottle, we head down the street to the library. They play with trains and puzzles, and my daughter gets a new Baby-Sitters Club Little Sister book, which she immediately starts reading in the car.
12:15 pm — We get home and FaceTime my parents while the kids eat lunch.
1:15 pm — My house rule is that everyone has to head to their room for an hour of quiet time in the afternoon. My daughter goes upstairs to read (she’ll also play Barbies and somehow make a huge mess, but it’s a quiet hour).
1:30 pm — I get the baby down for his second nap, make lunch for myself and read an article (this one, from 2023).
2:20 pm — My daughter comes downstairs and asks if she can watch PBS until her brother wakes up, and I agree.
3:00 pm — My husband gets home from work and let’s me skip out of the house early before my hair appointment.
4:00 pm — I get a gloss every 9-10 weeks. I fall asleep while my hair is marinating in the sink, oops. After I’m done, I walk across the street with wet hair to get a cup of mint chocolate chip and take a walk around town before heading back home.
5:15 pm — The baby has already had dinner and a bath because he’s a fan of the early bird special. I hold him for his bottle while my daughter eats pizza. By 6:00 he’s ready for bed.
6:20 pm — My husband takes my daughter upstairs for a prolonged story and bedtime routine, while I indulge in my favorite guilty pleasure — scrolling on my phone while eating chips and salsa.
7:15 pm — I pick up a few things around the house and then flop onto my couch to catch up on Bravo (House of Stassi 2and The Valley) and finish up writing this post with a bowl of popcorn.
10:03 pm — I make a cup of Sleepytime Mint tea and head upstairs to read before going to sleep.
Reading: Interrupting my to-be-read pile of books, because I got Our Perfect Storm from the Lucky Day shelf at the library.
Eating: Using my favorite cookbook to plan our meals this week.
Playing: I Spy on all our walks lately.
Obsessing: I am so nostalgic about the return of Gap Fragrances. I’m pretty sure I had a hand-me-down bottle of Dream from one of my aunts when I was in middle school, but I always wanted to be a Grass girl.
Recommending: I know I’m extremely late to this, but I cannot stop listening to Beth’s Dead. I’m four episodes in and it keeps getting more insane.
Treating: My parents were in town for a few days this week, and my mom watched the kids so my husband and I could go out for dinner. Hiring a babysitter always feels so overwhelming to me, but I know it would be worth it. (This is also an insane take from me, a person who babysat her way through high school, college and grad school, and did a year as a full-time nanny. )
My Notes app is a truly messy place, but one of my favorite Notes is called “Rent Free,” featuring all the things I can’t stop thinking about and looking at. Things living rent free in my mind lately —
An updated ring stack. My 10th wedding anniversary is this year so I’m maybe on the hunt for an addition 👀 I really love a knife-edge gold band.
I saw a picture of Mary-Kate Olsen from 2005 this week and realized so many of my pinned outfit photos are of an Olsen twin, 10-20 years ago. I love that nothing seems super dated, because of their commitment to their own style over trends. I’m also pretty sure Ashley inspired my purchase of Birkenstock Gizehs in college.
I’ve become deeply committed to the idea of a blurred matte lip. I ordered a new lipstick this week and will report back.
My daughter is anxious to add a dog to our family, and I’ve told her that we need to wait until she’s 10. I grew up with golden retrievers 3 and I have no idea what our path to a dog will be, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want a golden retriever running around my house again.
Recovering from sad beige everything — I think I’ll always be a neutrals gal, but I have added a lot more color to my closet this year. Currently eyeing this necklace, these shoes, and this pair of pants.
I want to know what’s living rent-free in your mind lately, lay it on me! Also — I’m considering getting my first-ever spray tan for a wedding this month. What do I need to know?!
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I can never leave New Jersey because I 100% don’t miss pumping my own gas.
Not technically Bravo, but I couldn’t believe how much they referenced Bravo/VPR.
Picture this: You’re a 24 year old mother to an eight month old baby, and your husband goes to the market for cigarettes and comes home with a golden retriever puppy he got while he was there. This is a story about my mother 😂
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