Coffee Date
If we were on a coffee date, we would grab our drinks and head to a park. It’s cooled down considerably in the last week or two, so it’s only natural to want to spend as much time outside as possible. We have some spectacular parks so we’d go to the one we haven’t been to in a while. I’d definitely be drinking something iced, or maybe even frozen if I’m feeling a little wild.
If we were on a coffee date, I’d bring you a shopping bag full of tomatoes. Our little garden is flourishing and I couldn’t be more excited not only to pick them but to share them with others as well. I never imagined I’d have to hold onto the hem and fill my shirt with veggies to be able to carry them all back to the house.
If we were on a coffee date, I’d ask how you keep track of your calendar and tasks. I’ve been asking people about their favorite planners and checking some out online. I’ve been doing bullet journal style planning and while I don’t hate it, the process does require a decent amount of time and I want to make sure there isn’t anything that I’m missing out on. I know that there are a lot of gorgeous ones out there, so I might even show you some IG photos of planners I’m crushing on (particularly Get To Work Book and the Illustrated Faith Planner).
If we were on a coffee date, my hair cut would inevitably come up. I had a terrible experience with a new-to-me stylist prior to my appointment but was quickly able to get in with my regular lady. I was mostly looking for a fresh set of ideas to wrangle this curly hair, but regardless, I’m happy with how it turned out. I got about 2 inches cut off and her go-to styling of my hair always ends up looking like this, but shorter.
If we were on a coffee date, I’d ask what things you do in your life to create space. I read an article Rachel wrote about creating space and haven’t stopped thinking about how I can create space and quiet in my own life. I’d admit that I’m a busy body and am constantly reading self-help books with all of the answers, “all you have to do is _____”. They can be super helpful in making progress because I really do want to be the best version of myself, but they can also really wear me down. I’d ask your advice in the area of balance and tell you I’m already considering that as my word of the year for 2018.
If we were on a coffee date, our reading list would obviously come up after our topic. I’ve already passed up my GoodReads goal of 15 books and I’m not stopping anytime soon, although I do imagine I’ll be slowing down a bit due to some reading I’ll have to start doing for work. I’m trying to vary the genre of books that I’m reading a little more to get away from self-help. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all of the amazing books in the world, knowing that I’ll never come close to reading even 1% of what the world has to offer.
What would you tell me if we were on a coffee date?
Today I’m linking up with Erin for her monthly coffee date linkup. Join Us!
Little Letters
Dear Friday, why do you wait so long to come back around? I’d really prefer to see you more often. Dear Kevin, thank you for a yummy lunch date and a million laughs this week. You spoil me. Dear letterboard hashtag on Instagram, thanks for the sweet and witty inspiration. We need more of that around here. HA! Dear $5 Sushi Fridays, you keep us fed all weekend. Dear plants, whether you produce veggies, flowers, or just fresh air, you’re my favorite. Dear 26th birthday, can we wait another year before we start counting again? I’m not ready to be closer to 30 than 20. Dear internet, thank you providing me with some great reads this week – especially this one about creating space. Dear weekend naps, I’m comin’ for ya! Dear IRL and virtual friends, I’m so thankful that you stopped by.
Thrive | August Goals
August, august. I’m so thankful for the changing of the month and the cooler weather that August seems to be bringing us so far. I’ve always been a lover of the summer, but I have to say that I’m seriously looking forward to the fall this year. As we gear up for fall, I’m looking forward to so many things – college football and tailgates, mums on our front porch, taking my pup for more walks when the sun’s still up, and lots of layered clothing. But before I wish away August, let’s talk about goals for this month.
On the blog in July:
- June Recap + July Goals
- Currently
- I Want You to Know
- layout updates!
July Goals Recap:
Monthly
- [Faith] Ask someone to be my mentor – Womp womp. I’m really bummed that I didn’t put more thought and prayer into this in July.
[Faith] Keep working on my faith binder– I made some serious progress on my binder this month[Health/Faith] Complete Camp Reset– This project overwhelmed me quickly due to the amount of time it required, but I kept up where I could.
Weekly
- [
Creative] Do something creative for myself– I loved being more intentional about this in July!
Daily
[Health] Food journal– I feel like I did great on this, continuing the progress into August.[Health] Work out– I randomly joined a boot camp in July which really kicked my butt into gear and got me excited to work out again. Even though boot camp is over, I’m looking forward to continuing this through this month and beyond.[Creative] Instagram– I posted 8 times in July, which is a bit more frequent than I have in past months.- [Faith] Quiet time – I really just need consistency here.
[Health] Oils– Last month, I used DoTERRA oils every single day. I don’t know if I’ve ever completed a whole month of a daily goal – so I’m super pumped about this one.
August Goals:
Monthly
- Celebrate turning 26 – I had the HARDEST time with turning 25 last year. You’re probably rolling your eyes, but I honestly felt like there were so many (ridiculous) expectations I had placed on myself that I hadn’t met yet. I have a feeling that turning 26 will go more smoothly.
- Schedule a hair cut with a new stylist – I’ve been going to the same stylist for a while and finally got the name of someone new who specializes in curls. I’m ready to keep the most open mind possible.
- Read Artist’s Way and complete challenges – I read this book two years ago but didn’t have time to complete all of the challenges. I picked it up again at the end of last month and have really been focusing on the challenges.
- Send two cards using the INK app – The INK app is an app that makes a post card out of your photos – all you have to do is upload the photo and add your message to the back. I’ve used this app once before and was so happy with the quality, so I really want to send a few more this month.
Daily
- 8 Hours of sleep each night – this will be next to impossible, but it would even be worth it if I could do it a couple nights a week.
- Low FODMAP foods – I mentioned last month that my doctor suggested the low FOD MAP diet for me, so I want to do better at eating foods that fit into these categories as opposed to taking antacids to make me feel better.
- Journal – I’m doing morning pages each morning, which goes hand-in-hand with the Artist’s Way.
- Workouts – Just trying to be consistent with working out this month – probably more of an every other day thing as opposed to daily.
- Oils – Keeping my DoTERRA streak going from last month!
You’re turn! How are you going to kick butt this month?
Currently
SNACKING: I recently stopped eating gluten, most dairy, high fructose corn syrup and a few other things, so my snacking has really turned into anything I can find that doesn’t include those things. It’s definitely not a bad thing, but dang, it’s not easy!
ANTICIPATING: Last month, I started having issues with the way that I was hosting my photos. To make a long story short, I used a 3rd party website to store my photos and then I linked them into my blog. I found this method on pinterest and loved it because it allowed me to share big beautiful photos instead of teeny tiny ones that wordpress allows with their media tool. I was naive in thinking that they would let me do this forever with the giant images I was uploading straight from my camera, but they finally caught on and shut down all of my photos. Once this happened, all you could see were big grey boxes that basically proclaimed to the world that I needed to pay them to see my photos again. I don’t think I’ll be going that route, but luckily, my photos were all backed up on a hard drive. I’m anticipating having to go back through to re-upload some photos here and there to make my blog posts complete. If you’re a blogger, I’d love to know how you manage/store the photos for your blog.
BORROWING: I’m starting out the month with a few books checked out at the library and I’m planning on borrowing a few more before the month’s over. In comparison to the past couple years, I’ve really been powering through some books. Current reads: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Love Does by Bob Goff, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley. If you have any recommendations for future reads, let me know in the comments! (GoodReads)
ADMIRING: Over the last month, I’ve been pretty hooked on watching YouTube and following along with some of my favorite artists. I’ve been particularly admiring the work of artists like Ali Brown, Retro Hip Mama Andrea Grey, Adele at Inkie Quill and Courtney at the Little Raven Ink.
PURCHASING: Since I started doing more portraits, I have had my eye on a 50mm prime lens for my camera and on Prime Day last month I finally made the plunge. It’s not an expensive lens, comparatively, but dang is this thing sharp. An Amazon review really sealed the deal when it said that it is an amazing lens for pet photography.
Today I’m joining Anne, at In Residence, for a ‘Currently’ linkup that she hosts on the first Wednesday of every month. Be sure to pop over and see what everyone else is up to!
I Want You to Know
I want you to know that if it was easy, everyone would do it. I want you to know that there’s happiness in the scenic route. I want you to know that you are strong. I want you to know that you don’t always need a plan, sometimes you can wing it. I want you to know that there’s always time to ask for forgiveness. I want you to know that everyone has twenty four hours in a day. I want you to know that God will be listening the next time you’re lonely. I want you to know that gardens are rejuvenating and sunrises are inspiring. I want you to know that your memories are worth preserving. I want you to know that you are loved. I want you to know that there is no material item on this planet that will bring you joy like Jesus does. I want you to know that preparation and action cures fear. I want you to know that you’ll never regret going to bed late in favor of a late night chat with your best friend. I want you to know that protecting your time protects your heart. I want you to know that snail mail will make someone’s day. I want you to know that there’s always time to call mom. I want you to know that books can take you to places that planes cannot. I want you to know that journaling savors the chaos and the mess. I want you to know that crying doesn’t make you weak. I want you to know that there’s always room for one more, whether it be another cookie or another friend around the dining room table. I want you to know that you are enough.
I want you to know, I wrote this for us.