Diary No. 14

The past two weeks have been ones for the books! I know summer technically isn’t over until September 23, Labor Day always will always feel like the end to me. Having a birthday around Labor Day also makes it feel like a “fresh start” too. This summer has been a BLAST but I’m kind of craving some routine back in my life.

Dress (on sale!!!) + belt

I jumped on the needlepoint bandwagon! My friend Maddie has been doing a belt for her husband and she offered to teach me. It’s really relaxing and honestly pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I’ve been listening to audiobooks while I stitch and love the methodical nature of it. My only problem is that I wish I had more time in the day to do it!!!

Mike and I drove up last Thursday for Nicole and Sean’s wedding on the Cape. It was nice to have an evening and a day to ourselves before the festivities kicked off. We hung out at the hotel and wandered around the town of Chatham. How amazing is that house?

This was only my second time at the Chatham Bars Inn and, honestly, it was even better than I remembered! It was really busy so it had a fun vacation vibe– even though it was on the colder side of things. Mike and I want to come back in the offseason for a cozier, quieter stay.

I love the way gel manicures look but I had that it uses UV light and how it ruins your nails. I just grew my nails out completely from a previous gel manicure and I didn’t want to start the process over again. But I also didn’t want to have to worry about chipped nails for Colie’s wedding. I picked up some Essie Gel Couture polish and, wow, I’m impressed. It doesn’t last as long as a regular gel, but it feels like a regular gel manicure. And it doesn’t chip as easily as regular polish does. I think mine would have gone a full week had I not gone in the ocean four days later– the surf lesson wasn’t kind on the polish!

Nicole and Sean planned the best wedding. It was filled with so much love and EVERYONE had a blast. There wasn’t a dry eye in the church during the ceremony nor a single person sitting out the dancing.

The day after the wedding, we went to the Driscoll’s house for a barbecue and then loaded up into the car to take the ferry over to Nantucket.

I was really looking forward to this week vacation. Normally when I’m out here, there is at least some element of work involved. But this has been a pure vacation and I am loving every second of it. I can’t remember the last time we had a proper family vacation too!

Mike and my dad played golf the first afternoon we were here so my mom, sister, and I headed into town for some shopping.

While planning this trip, I figured we would mostly just relax at the house, read books, and spend long days at the beach. But! I thought it would be fun to plan one activity that everyone would enjoy. So the five of us took surfing lessons!! I booked it through ACK Surf School and thought it was a blast. The instructors were amazing and everyone (INCLUDING MY MOM) got up on the boards. Highly recommend. It was a 10/10 activity.

Two of the days were pretty cold and rainy. Honestly, I was kind of happy for the weather because it forced us to hunker down and lay low. I love Nantucket in the rain. And when you’re here for a week, it doesn’t matter if a couple of the days are spent doing nothing. In fact, it was just what the doctor ordered. The sun did come out for a bit on Wednesday evening. The sky was gorgeous as a result.

Two of the best treats on island? Doughnuts from Downyflake (get the coconut!) and ice cream from the Juice Bar (I love coffee with rainbow sprinkles).

And…. ending the post with one of my favorite parts of staying here: the outdoor shower. Nothing better!