What Brought Me Joy in August
Every year when this time rolls around, I get (more than) a little giddy. Friends, we’ve reached the “ber” months! The best months of the year are about to start! I’m beside myself with excitement and counting down the minutes until September 1st. We leave for our big Disney World trip in a week (!!!). September has my birthday, a bunch of other special-to-me birthdays, the start of college football season, and sloooowly cooling weather. It’s the best, and you’ll have to excuse me if I get a little overly dramatic about my love for this time of year!
But, it’s not September yet. First up, we’ve gotta chat August. This month was incredibly hectic and full of both joy and lots of bittersweet moments. Summer wrapped up and the boys started school. I officially have two elementary school kiddos and I’m still not quite sure how to emotionally process that. We had lots of hot weather and mostly hid inside as much as we could this month, but we managed to have a little fun too. Let’s review it!
Moments + Memories
- Jackson’s “Yes Day” was a ton of fun! We went to see Haunted Mansion, the boys got pedicures, and we just soaked up all the fun time focusing on the things Jackson loves. These yes days have become probably my most cherished summer tradition. I always look forward to seeing what each boy will request, and it feels so great to get to spend an entire day showering them with love and yeses!
- Corey and I started building LEGO sets together for our game room shelving, and it’s been so fun. I find that sitting down to work on a set is so meditative and calming, and when I’m feeling anxious it always calms me down a bit. We’re almost done with our Hocus Pocus set (just need to add our light kit), and I can’t waiiiiiit to get it on display!
- I spent lots of time this month working on stuff for PTA for the boys school. I talk about this here on occasion, but I can’t overstate how grateful I am to be able to help out with that sort of stuff. I love being involved on campus and being able to know my kids teachers, the staff, and the admin. Plus, there’s nothing quite like getting a midday hug from my boys when I’m up there working!
- I took my best friend to see Barbie, and let me tell you, that movie in general was such a highlight of my summer. I can’t properly find the words to really express what that movie means to me, but I get emotional every time I think about it. I just felt so seen by that movie in a way that no other movie has done for me, and I could watch it again and again. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also absolutely hilarious!
- A huge highlight of our month was Grant starting KINDERGARTEN! There’s been lots of adjusting to the new schedule (poor buddy is exhausted), but he loves it and we love the extra time we now have to work!
- And of course, Grant’s birthday! We celebrated him this past weekend and had the best time. I just can’t believe my Tiny Destroyer is five already. Where did the time go?!
Books + Media
Here’s a rundown of what I read this month:
- Final Girls by Riley Sager – I’ve been slowly working my way through all of Riley Sager’s books, and I’ve yet to find one I don’t absolutely love. They’re all surprising and captivating and thrilling and keep me on the edge of my seat. I got my dad into his books as well this month, and I’m always so excited when someone I love enjoys a book I recommend!
- The Duke and I by Julia Quinn – I waited what felt like forever for this one from the library, and I was excited to read it. It follows very much the same storyline as season 1 of Bridgerton, so it wasn’t anything unexpected but it was a cute and easy read! I found that the dynamic between Daphne and Simon was even more frustrating in the book than it was on the show, but I enjoyed it and it was a good not-too-heavy book!
- A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J Maas – I’ve been re-reading this series for the last few months! This one took me longer than the others to get through – partially because it’s just so dang long, but it’s also so much heavier than the others. I find the story so captivating, though, no matter how many times I re-read it. I always find some new detail I didn’t notice before, and it never ever gets old.
- It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han – I’ll admit, I didn’t enjoy this one nearly as much as the first! I wanted to read it before watching the second season of the show, and I’m glad I did, but I found parts of it hard to get through. I’m going to read the third one just because I’ve come this far, but I definitely don’t see the hype of this series quite as much as many seem to!
- The Circle by Dave Eggers – I’ll be thinking about this book for a long, long time. I told Corey as I was reading it that it kind of made me want to delete all of my social media accounts! It’s haunting and maddening and absolutely fascinating. I found parts of it incredibly unrealistic (how was no one more concerned about this whole situation?!), but I really enjoyed it. We watched the movie after I finished reading it, and while it definitely could have been better, there were so many great actors in it and we both really enjoyed it. I didn’t originally realize it had sequel, so I’ll definitely be reading that soon, too.
- Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson – I didn’t find this book particularly compelling, but it was cute and light and an enjoyable read. It was honestly perfect for this month when things were feeling really chaotic and I just needed to shut my brain off for a bit at the end of the day.
- A Court of Frost & Starlight by Sarah J Maas – I wrapped up the month by re-reading the fourth ACOTAR book, because I needed something light and comforting and this is exactly that. This one is much shorter than the rest, so I flew through it and it brought me so much joy.
In terms of television and movies, this month I started watching Suits (I’m only on season one and so far I don’t get the hype – do I keep going?!). Corey and I finally finished both Black Mirror and Jury Duty and we had a movie night to watch both Air and Cocaine Bear (both are SO GOOD). I didn’t watch a ton of television this month, though. Mostly, I turned on Disney World YouTube videos in the background while I worked, because that’s all I can think about anymore.
Games
We didn’t play a ton of games this month – I feel like by the end of summer we were all so exhausted and ready for school to start that we didn’t have it in us to do much of anything! But, we did play a few…
- The boys are still on a big Mouse Trap kick, so we played that with my mom one day when they were over hanging out.
- We also played When I Dream with my parents. Jackson really loves it, and it’s a really easy one to teach other people!
- Grant’s current favorite game is Uno and has been playing it basically every chance he can get.
- We tried out Animated one night after school, and we all really loved it! It’s such a unique game and concept, the art is incredible and we just loved the theme overall. We’ll play it again and again.
- And, at Grant’s birthday party one of his specific requests was to have a Mario Kart tournament! So, we of course made a big ol’ bracket and made a whole huge deal of it. It was a blast!
Products
- My candle warming lamp is easily my favorite purchase of the month. I turn it on every day when I start working and leave it on until dinner time. My candle has barely burned off any wax, the house smells amazing, and it brings me so much joy.
- I tried out a tennis skirt this month for the first time. I was super skeptical of it, but I honestly could wear it every day! I feel so cute in it, it’s incredibly comfortable, and it looks good with almost anything. Why didn’t I try this sooner?!
- I got a few new things for the fall and Halloween season, and one of them is this adorable Halloween puzzle. I can’t wait to put it together and frame it on the picture ledge!
- Faux stems are my favorite way to change up decor in my house seasonally, and I got a few new ones for fall this year. These faux maple leaves are probably the best ones I got, followed by these cuties.
And that’s August! Time to head into the best months of the year – the BER months!