1. I think I'll just have to dub this the summer of the blog post draft since I started and didn't finish many a post but overall it's been a good summer off-screen so I'll take that over a good blog summer any .... summer. While we didn't do anything wild and crazy the summer still felt like it flew by and I think I was even more surprised than the kids were to realize that school starts next week. We've all gotten accustomed to sleeping in way past school start time so the mornings are going to be rough - to put it mildly.
2. Last weekend we road tripped up to the Quad Cities for my cousin Peter's wedding. While it was a LOT of driving for not a lot of time not spent in the car - we had so much fun. The kids absolutely loved getting to be apart of the wedding reception and I think ring bearer Theo made a lifelong friend in the flower girl - it was really sweet. It was fun seeing the old haunts Simon and I would visit growing up and it was fun driving by our grandparents old homes and realizing we'd become our parents driving our kids by houses that mean almost nothing to us but I digress. Simon and I listened to this book on the way back and I don't recommend it at all. Ha! But! It did help pass the time and drown out the fighting in the way back of the bus.
3. Speaking of books I read Evvie Drake Starts Over and LOVED it and then moved on over to Ask Again, Yes and could not put it down. It was a very engaging story and unlike anything I'd ever read. I don't know - I'd recommend it albeit cautiously because it's pretty heavy. I'm in the middle of The Most Fun We Ever Had and it's not the best book I've ever read. I'm not finished yet though SO - we'll see!
4. I should dedicate a whole blog post to this but with my recent track record I probably won't but I went on the whirlwind trip of a lifetime two weeks ago and got to go to the live Bachelorette Finale (night uno)!! It was amazing and surreal and I could type so much about the whole experience. It was all thanks to Mary of the I Just Wanna Chat podcast and we did talk about our experience on her most recent podcast if you want to take a listen. She is a real life angel and I'll forever be indebted to her. I got to see some other California friends too (HUGE thanks to Meg for her incredible hospitality) which was the icing on the cake. Simon insisted that I go even after we found out I had a ticket the day before I flew out and he held down the fort with the help of some sitters and he wins Patton spouse of the year. Better luck to me nest year. Anyway some quick takeaways: the studio is a lot smaller than it seems on TV, I never got the Peter appeal on the show but IRL he has a lot more of a presence (so tall!) and Hannah's interest in him made more sense to me, and I knew but didn't fully grasp how many moving parts are going on behind the scenes with the crew and the set and the producers etc etc - it was so fun to see after watching the show for SO many years. That's all. For now.
5. Tough to transition from so much excitement (ha!) but I keep meaning to mention this and now I am!! A few years ago a kind reader told me about this discount code finder and it's still working like a money saving charm to me. I thought I was the last person to find out about it but just in case I'm not - had to share.
6. The only thing I bought during the Nordstrom Sale was this sweater which might seem boring (because it is) but I've found that staples make my closet go round and I love the fit/length and that it's not super heavy or bulky. I also bought this dress for my brother's wedding but returned it because the zipper was broken even though I really loved it and wish it was still on sale and not out of stock. Boo. (hmm light blue version here and floral version here though - thanks Google! still not on sale though!)
7. I took major advantage of this buy one get one 1/2 off sale for school shoes and wedding shoes for the kids. I read rave reviews about these shoes and it's rare to find matching shoes for all four of the walking boys - dreams do come true.
And now I'm off to get these going - fingers crossed I don't ruin them!