Summer Baby

End of summer musings

Read. This. Book.

I almost skipped this week, because I’m on my first and only vacation of the summer. But then I remembered that this blog has never felt like work - it’s just my weekly chance to check in with you all! As I said in my very first post, this is a place for the unfiltered stuff, not perfection. I’m not here to be my cocktail party self. I’m here to be my real, wild cozy free self.

Today in particular, you’ll be hearing from my poolside, haven’t-responded to-an-email-in-24-hours-and-counting self. This post is very stream of consciousness and very much a brain dump. I don’t think it’s gets more authentic than this.

I’m visiting my aunt at her home near the beach. It’s very wild cozy free here. I got to walk through her garden with coffee this morning, before she made us peach pancakes. Last night, we had dessert from a bakery (cupcake for her, lemon bar for me) and went to bed before 10:30pm. The most strenuous thing I did today was get Swiss Chard from the garden for dinner, after taking a swim and catching up in the pool. If I make it to heaven, I want it to look like this.

This summer has been busier than I expected. I traveled a lot this time last year (I think I was in my apartment for a total of 4 non-consecutive weeks), so I think I somehow thought that this summer would be less crazy just because I was rooted in one place. Totally false. You can get very busy in one place.

Thankfully, it’s been the good kind of busy. Life coaching certification classes, working with new coaching and marketing clients (more on this soon!), lots and lots of writing, and tons of times with friends.

And a lot of planning for the rest of the year and beyond! I have some very exciting updates coming this fall. I am also just really, really excited for fall itself. Has anyone else been seeing an influx of memes and reels about fall and the holiday season? I’m good with it. I’m ready for apple cider, tons of blankets, chunky sweaters, and Gilmore Girls.

But before all that, I’m trying to soak up the last of August.

Amidst the busyness this season, there have been some moments of ease. A lot of binge watching. Slow Saturdays in my kitchen after long weeks. I finally took a long bike ride in the park a few weeks ago.

I’ve also been having some really, really good therapy sessions. God, I love my therapist. Shout out to the therapists.

Hmmmm. What else, what else, what else?

• The Barbie movie is my entire personality now. I saw it twice. I’m also still obsessed with Daisy Jones and the Six, it makes for an interesting combination.

• Glennon Doyle liked and commented on one of my Instagram reels about a weeks ago. That changed me on a molecular level. I am truly a different person now.

• Yesterday, I went to the museum of natural history and I got unexpectedly choked up at times. There was a quote on the wall of an exhibit that went something like “most of life’s dramas are naked to the human eye.” How poetic is that?

• I recently recorded a podcast, which I’m really excited to share with you. We talked about my very winding career journey. From actor, to temp revenue assistant, to hiring assistant, to receptionist, to development associate, to associate producer, to substitute teacher, to fourth grade teacher, to education consultant, to writer, to marketing consultant, to life coach, with some babysitting and tutoring sprinkled in between. I have had a lot of jobs, and walked a lot of different paths - and I feel like they were all leading to this moment in my life. But I also believe that if I had known this was the destination all along, I never would’ve gotten here. There’s a song lyric by Christina Perri (from a song called I Believe), that goes “I believe if I knew where I was going I’d lose my way” and it really rings true for me. I had to be present and honor and accept all of the parts of my journey, and myself, to get to where I’m now meant to be.

• I’ve been cultivating a lot more self compassion lately. It feels long overdue.

• I’ve been getting to know my new body, post eating disorder recovery. The wavy stretch marks that circle my thighs remind me that I’ve grown. They remind me that I’ll never have a thigh gap, and that I shouldn’t aspire to. These stretch marks ripple across my thighs like the waves that hug the shore. Bold, insistent, and unapologetic.  I love the sea. And I’m learning to love the waves of my body too.

• Here’s a question I’ve been pondering lately - “How can I rest in my authenticity, trust that it’s enough, and trust that people will take me seriously when I’m being authentic?”

Some Things I’ve Loved Lately —

Books - Two historical fiction reads by two fabulous friends of mine.

• The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe.

• What We Leave Behind by Christine Gallagher Kearney

TV

• Five Foot Two (Lady Gaga’s documentary from a while back.)

• The Bear

Movies

• BARBIE

Music

• Sammy Rae and The Friend’s Live Album