PLANNING:
A few weeks after my trip to Mexico, I was already having travel withdrawals. Having a trip to look forward to gives me so much motivation. Every November my mom, sis, and I take a girls trip to celebrate my mom's birthday. This year I'm super excited to be planning our trip to....CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA! I can't wait to see the fall foliage. I'll be booking the trip through Southwest Vacations, which has great deals.


BLOGGING:
There have been so many fun blogger events this summer. I've loved the events hosted at pools (so dang hot in TX) such as Love Child Mag's 1 Year Anniversary at Austin Motel and Verb's New Sea Collection launch party at South Congress Hotel. I'm thankful for fun events that get me downtown, because I don't go down there otherwise. I also had the privilege of attending the Rise Conference hosted by Rachel Hollis. I was able to meet, chat, and dance with one of my fav bloggers, Alison Faulkner. If you don't follow her on Instagram, you need to ASAP! I also heard Jen Hatmaker speak, and I'm looking forward to reading her new book.

Blogging is still a fun passion/side hustle of mine, but I don't put much pressure on myself to write. Sometimes I write once a week, sometimes every two weeks. Because I work full-time I don't feel the pressure to make an income from partnerships. If I happen to get one, it's a nice bonus. I'm still doing YouTube, but I don't really have a strong desire to do it as it takes so much time. I will continue to post a video every once in a while, but it's not my favorite. Any type of videos you'd like to see?


WORK:
My job as an Associate Marketing Manager has been CRAZY busy lately, but I enjoy the role. Every day is different. I am able to touch so many parts of marketing, and I see a direct impact of my efforts. I traveled to Ohio, Portland and Seattle to visit some employees I manage. It's fun traveling for work a few times a year, but I could not imagine doing it every month like some people. I'm in the groove of my commute, and enjoy listening to a podcast every morning and afternoon. It usually takes me 30-45 minutes depending on traffic.



MOTHERHOOD:
Turner is 4 (turning 5 in October), and Walt and Whitney are 18 months. I always thought 18 months was the hardest age with Turner, but this time around I'm a little more prepared. I'm not shocked I have to follow them around any place we go, so a lot of times we stay close to home. Turner has spent a couple of weeks with my mom and sis this summer which has been a HUGE blessing. We've been able to do more things with the twins, and have more time to ourselves at night. Turner of course has a blast with his 5 girl cousins living the country life, going to the beach and the river.

We've had a TON of sick kids this summer. All of my them have had strep throat (Walt had it twice), Whitney had the stomach bug, and Turner has had a two ear infections from swimming. Lots of doctor visits and antibiotics.


READING:
Currently reading The Shack and just ordered Big Magic, The Four Agreements, and Option B. Have you read any of these? One of my July small goals is to read every night before bed, and I'm really enjoying it.

SHOPPING:
I'm loving my new 6 month shopping challenge (July to December), where I only purchase one item per month. In July my one purchase was my favorite pair of American Eagle Tomgirl jeans, this time with no holes. They were only $20 and I've worn them non stop! I've also been doing a major clean out of my closet and have made over $350 selling my clothes on Poshmark. Check out my closet here!


HOME:
I have this strong desire to work on a home project, but the money is not there. I want to re-do my kitchen and flooring SO badly, but I'm going to have to wait. I get major home envy, when I see other home decor bloggers share their kitchens, or see friends who are building new homes and getting to design their kitchen from scratch. I constantly think, how can people afford that? I feel so poor sometimes, but Alex and I make a good wage. The desire to blow out our entire kitchen also might have to do with the fact that Alex and I also have been trying to hunt down a mouse/rat in our house for two months! Ahhh...yes it's disgusting. We got a quote for a profressional for $600, and we said NOPE. So, we're trying our hardest to kill this thing. The other night Alex came face to face with it, and I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard as he jumped on to the kitchen countertop scared to come down. Heck, I would have done the same. 

I would love to redecorate Walt and Whitney's rooms, but I'm waiting for them to transition to big kid beds before I do anything. I'm thinking maybe a small project will help me subside the desire to renovate my kitchen, so maybe a master closet renovation. I'm also thinking about doing shiplap on my main living room wall where my TV and credenza sit.


I can't give you a life update without mentioning my dad. It's been 7 months since he passed. Every day he is on my mind. Every day I miss him. Life will never be the same, and grieving is a process I'm learning.