10 Things – End of Summer Edition

It may still be 100 degrees every day here, but compared to the 115 daily normal during peak summer months it pretty much feels like fall! That being said, I know it’s still technically summer so I thought I’d give a little life update, 10 Things style!

1. Despite the crazy hot temps, we love living here so much. It feels like we’ve been here so much longer than three months, and it definitely feels like home!
2. I’ve successfully kept our fiddle leaf fig (Phoebe) and our new snake plant (Monica) alive for a month! I’ve always been intimidated by live plants but I am determined to keep these ones alive and thriving.
3. I’m taking the girls to Utah next week for the first time since we moved away three years ago! I’m so excited to take pictures in the fall leaves (I’ve missed seasons SO badly!) and show them where my husband and I met and went to school. I know they won’t really care, but I’m a super sentimental person and am so looking forward to it.
4. I’ve been doing some killer affordable DIYs around the house that I’m beyond excited to show you. There’s one going live this week, and later I’m going to show you how I made no-sew throw pillows for less than $5!
5. My all time favorite books to read are the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. I downloaded one to listen to on our road trip to California last month and I’ll probably listen to the next one on our drive to Utah! They make me laugh so hard, and the story lines never get old!
6. I’m still using and loving my clean foundation from Crunchi cosmetics. They gave me some product to test out and I’m never going back! I like it better than the drug store brands, and this one is made with all clean ingredients so I won’t have to worry about screwing up my hormonal balance and getting ovarian cancer (seriously, look it up!)
7. I make dinner like twice a week these days. It’s too hot to turn on the oven and I’ve just been so unmotivated to cook with two toddlers crying and begging me to hold them!
8. Elliott started walking!!!! She took her first steps the day she turned 13 months but this week she started cruising! She was doing laps around our house for hours the other day, she’s building up so much confidence and definitely gets frustrated when she falls. I’m so proud of her and so excited for all the new things she will be able to do!
9. This week has been really difficult for me in terms of parenting. I feel overworked, overtired, and just over being a solo parent 7 days a week. My patience has been short, I’ve been cranky and mean, and I feel like I need a week long vacation haha. Sometimes when I get really down on myself in this stage of life, I turn on the Andy Griffith show and just space out. My mom said the other day that she turns on that show to get through life, and while I thought she was nuts it’s actually been working for me too! It makes me want to live in a simple, small town one day .
10. I’ve been wearing jeans and long dresses all summer long! It’s crazy hot here but compared to the Texas humidity it doesn’t feel bad at all, and it’s possible to wear jeans without immediately sweating through them! I’m not a huge fan of shorts, so I just wore jeans and dealt with the heat for most of summer. I just got this crochet maxi dress in from PinkBlush and I love the seasonal boho vibes. I also love that it could totally be worn as a maternity maxi dress that transitions to postpartum. The detail on the sleeve is so fun, and makes such a statement in a small way. This will definitely be on repeat for the next few months.