Southerly summary - August (and July) 2023
I took a little break from my summaries to soak up summer vacation. August taught me that slow means savory - the only way to enjoy each moment. I’ve been carrying this theme through to my blog and content and it seems to be resonating with many of you. And I’m so glad.
A quick note on July since I didn’t get around to writing about it. The month kicked off with a trip to Tahoe with dear friends. It was chaotic and beautiful as the families have all grown and many have moved away from CA. This is a special group, and I was so grateful to spend time with everyone. It grounds me. I got to see Old Dominion in concert (sorry that my husband missed it!), boat on the lake, and enjoy some QT in the mountains.
Shortly after that trip, I went down to LA for a quick visit with my mom and sister-in-law. Had some amazing sushi and more QT.
I have still been working on my health (always been a priority for me!). Overall, I’ve really had to slow down and de-stress. It’s particularly important for me living with an autoimmune disorder (I’ve had it for a very long time but only recently realized the cumulative effects of stress). I have also made some additional dietary changes (outside of GF) and hoping things start to improve with time. One change that may affect my readers is that I’ve basically cut out alcohol. I was never a big drinker but I like the occasional glass of wine and sometimes a cocktail on a Friday/Saturday night (and of course a festive host!). I just felt it wasn’t doing me much good so opted to eliminate it to see how I felt. And I have to say, I have been feeling better.
Speaking of, we’re getting ready to start a purification program (through a professional clinical nutritionist). So even more of a reason to make some of the changes now!
In August, I continued my summer of slow. I’ve been trying not to overwhelm myself with to dos, the house, trips, etc. We did take another trip to Tahoe - partly for baseball and partly by design. It was honestly a great getaway for me as I did a lot of reading and relaxing and spending time in nature. All things that help heal.
During our time away, we purposely pushed our contractors to get more done on the house. They demoed an additional bedroom and continued working on the downstairs bathroom.
As usual with renos, they ran into some unexpected issues. The bedroom currently doesn’t have a floor (but hey, it was going to get replaced anyways) and the bathroom well…we ran into our first ut-oh moment. We had opted to go with a Neolith slab for the shower but it just didn’t pan out. So, we’re starting over and going back to tile. A design I do love! And due to the changes, we’re currently without a shower. At least inside. So yea, the adventure continues! You can read more about our bathroom design plan here. Thankfully the family room and mud/powder are 90% done and once this second phase of work gets closer, we will begin the larger work of upstairs master and kitchen. I’m anxious and excited and looking forward to seeing our vision come together.
I am so glad I took the summer to truly unwind. Often I feel the summer can be packed with all sorts of things and while fun, it can sometimes be a blur. This summer was one of healing for me and also navigating our home-life under construction.
As August comes to a close, I’m in shock that September will be our ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! It feels like just yesterday we were in the thick of planning then having the time of our lives with our family and friends. I’d love to go back to Jackson. Fall is my absolute favorite season and it was stunning there this time last year.
We do have some travel plans this year like heading back to Clemson for a game (another favorite fall thing!) and a destination wedding for some dear friends so we will be celebrating all the love in September!
I hope you had a lovely summer and are anticipating the beautiful changes that come with a new season. Thanks for being here.
