That’s a Wrap on Summer…

I’ve failed miserably on writing new posts the last couple of weeks. I did not do book reviews for June (or July) and never finished sharing about our D.C. trip. I’ve been back to work for a week now and tomorrow the kids are back which means… summer is officially over. I knew it was going to go by quickly but what?! And for all those that say teachers get 3 months off, try 4 weeks (and yes, I realize most other occupations don’t even get this, but work with middle schoolers– and all other children– for eight hours everyday and you’ll understand why we earn it).

So instead of writing a post, I’m just going to share pictures from the rest of my time off. Hopefully a summer book review (may wait until the end of August) will be on the way soon, too. And here we go…

Here are some from the second half of our D.C. trip:

Kelley is getting married in less than ONE week and we celebrated by decorating cakes at Duff’s Cakemix in LA:

I visited Whitney in Boise where we hiked, vegged (finished The Handsmaid’s Tale.. highly recommend), did Pilates, did okay at trivia, and met my favorite, Joshua Radin (who signed my poster– along with Brandon Jenner– which will be going up in the apartment soon).

Michael and I moved! FINALLY! We are still getting settled in but so far, so good! I did a gallery wall above the couch and we also have a super awesome view!

And there was lots of exploring…

 

I’m already counting down til next summer!

On My Radar

HAPPY LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! Yes, that deserves ALL CAPS! Besides it being almost summer break, here are some other things I’m currently loving:

Scandal // I am finally getting back into Scandal. I watched religiously but got really tired of the Olivia/Fitz back and forth drama so I stopped watching. One of my co-workers encouraged me to jump back on board and it only took a few minutes to suck me back in. If you haven’t watched, you can start from the very beginning on Netflix. It has several seasons so it is intimidating but I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll fly through.

Our new home // Michael was back in town for a short 36 hours or so and in that time, we signed a lease! We are both currently month to month and had the end of July as our goal for moving into a new place. We toured a couple options and got scared by the prices in others (parking for an extra $350 a month?!), but we found a place that we loved and signed the lease! Neither of us thought we would be signing anything but the dates lined up perfectly. I am already decorating our new place in my head (and trying to find a place for Michael’s Steph Curry poster 😉 ).

This Target ad // Target is already my favorite store… you can literally be trapped in there for a month (or longer) and you’d survive. It has everything. I was super happy to see this sweet girl featured as a model in this week’s ad! I know Target is known for featuring models with disabilities but I had yet to see any of those ads. I hope that it eventually becomes the norm. It’s discouraging to me that part of my post is about how cool it is to see when really, it should just be expected and something I don’t have to point out. But anyways, go Target!

The Forever Summer // Well, the time has come. I have four books that I’ve had on hold forever and they’ve all become available to me AT THE SAME TIME! Thankfully, due to how good my current book is, I should be getting started on the next one fairly soon. I’ll review it more fully in my book review at the end of the month but if you’re in search of a good summer beach read, The Forever Summer is it. Each of the characters is likable, the setting is perfect (Cape Cod), and there is just enough drama/twists that make me keep reading.

Roomie Visit! // So you’ll be hearing about this in a whole other post but Whitney is here on Saturday! We have a very long to-do list (with some relax time to veg with some good television). On our list: the beach, Disneyland, taping of The Ellen Show, happy hour at Sur and Pump (they are filming. Maybe this will be the visit we finally see our fave train wrecks!), hiking, and potentially seeing Jimmy Kimmel. We also have some food (fro yo) that is high up on our priority list. This is definitely the perfect way to dive right into summer! The picture below is during the last LA visit (sorry that my arm wasn’t long enough to get us all in, Steph).

What’s Up Wednesday

I’m linking up again this month with Mix and Match Mama for What’s Up Wednesday. This month hasn’t been too exciting but let me tell you, I am SO looking forward to summer break.

What I’m eating this week:

I’m definitely not eating anything too excited (as always) but I will say again that I can’t wait to get into a new apartment so I can cook (and bake!) at my heart’s desire. I think I will also be investing in a crockpot that should come in handy when I’m really lazy and want an easy meal to prep. That sounds like a Pinterest board waiting to happen!

What I’m reminiscing about:

Every Memorial Day weekend reminds me of watching the Indy 500 with my grandpa when I was younger. When Erin was in the hospital, my younger sister and I spent lots of weekends at my grandparent’s house and one weekend was over Memorial Day. This was maybe at the end of 5th grade. I wanted to be an IndyCar driver (only in the Indy 500 though) and even did a History Day project in 6th grade on the impact of the fuel changes. Whaaaat? Up until perhaps the end of high school, I continued to spend Memorial Day Eve at my grandparents and watched the race with my grandpa (complete with a wonderful breakfast of french toast!) the next morning. I may not watch anymore, but the race and Memorial Day weekend will always be special 🙂

What I’m loving:

I’m still loving the weather… it’s been in the 70/80s lately (with cooler mornings). Mom and I went on a hike to Mt Hollywood over the weekend and the weather was perfect. It’s nice to be able to plan things and count on the weather to be nice.

What I’ve been up to:

The typical daily grind. The end of the school year is exhausting; I’ve been staying after school at least once or twice per week to tutor kids and allow them to get caught up on assignments. That makes for really long days and with all of the events of the end of the school year, I am thankful summer is right around the corner.

What I’m dreading:

Packing. I absolutely hate packing. I have a couple trips coming up in the next several weeks so I am definitely dreading the packing (and unpacking). Michael and I are also looking at apartments with a flexible moving date sometime in July. Bring on the boxes and packing tape!

What I’m working on:

Finding the perfect apartment. I do not like my currently living situation AT ALL. In fact, Michael is out of town for a big length of time in the coming weeks for work, so I stole his keys so that I could stay there some days. We are looking to move by the end of July and I compromised with moving downtown. I really like downtown and although I don’t want to be there longterm, it’s an easy place to be for now. My commute won’t be any worse than it is now and I’ll be happy to be able to walk to more things than I am able to now.

What I’m excited about:

SUMMER! My summer filled up quickly. Along with teaching summer school and attending professional development, I’ll be traveling to Washington D.C. and Boise and then hosting my bestie when she visits (and let’s be honest, that’s like a vacay for me, too). I currently have a to-do list going on my phone for all the Washington sites I want to visit. I’ve been twice but not since high school and I absolutely LOVE all things history so I can’t wait. Whitney and I plan to do Disneyland while she’s here and probably some other typical California activities like the beach. Oh! And we are going to go see a taping of The Ellen Show! One of our favorite artists (Joshua Radin) is playing in Boise which led to me booking a flight because that weekend also worked out perfectly for a visit!

What I’m watching/reading:

The Bachelorette is back! Michael and I also finished watching the new Master of None season on Netflix. There was a lot of time between seasons but we waited patiently for Season 2, and it didn’t disappoint. At first I didn’t like it as much as Season 1, but when we got to the last episode, I didn’t want it to end! Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another two years for the next season. I also started The Keepers on Netflix and oh boy, it is super intense and super disturbing.

As for reading… I read A TON this month. My May book review will be posted soon and thanks to state testing, I was able to get in some solid reading hours.

What I’m listening to:

I am really enjoying A R I Z O N A’s album. I don’t even know what the music would be classified as. EDM? Hopefully not because I am not into that AT ALL. Techno? That either. I really have no idea. But I’m loving it and it’s perfect summer music.

What I’m wearing:

I love espadrilles and am so happy they are still in style! I bought this Sam Eldeman pair for my mama for Mother’s Day and they are currently on sale at Nordstrom! Debating buying myself a pair (hey, I made it through another school year! I deserve a reward!)

What I’m doing this weekend:

Michael and I are going to look at some apartments on Saturday. We had Book of Mormon tickets but Michael is going to be out of town for work (darn NBA Finals) so we had to swap them for a different day.

What I’m looking forward to next month:

ALL THINGS SUMMER BREAK!!

What else is new:

I think I’ve covered it all!