The official start of summer is here! Insert “person raising both hands in celebration” emoji.
After spending too much time outside in the sun and not enough time drinking water, I found myself extremely dehydrated Friday night. I’ve been so much better about drinking water (since this post!) by keeping water by my desk at all times. When it’s right there, it’s super easy to remember to drink it. The place I need improvement? When I’m not at my desk. Friday was the perfect storm. I felt okay when I got back to the city… Garrett and I had dinner and that’s really when I noticed just how thirsty I was. I drank glass after glass after dinner, but still had a headache. The headache got worse and worse. Now, I’m used to migraines, but this was a NEW LEVEL headache. Let’s just say, I spent the rest of my night throwing up… It was disgusting and horrible. If I needed a wakeup call about drinking water in the summer, I heard it loud and clear on Friday night.
I’ve never been hungover, but I imagine that how I felt Saturday morning is what it would feel like. Extra water and laziness before brunch. Luckily it was with my good friend and it was the perfect brunch spot: Palma. We sat (in the shade) in the courtyard and just talked and caught up and relaxed. Love those kind of low-key brunches! We used to work together so it’s always fun to get to see each other now that we have different jobs.
Salmon Eggs Benedict and French Toast!
I always have the “Sweet versus Savory” debate when at brunch. I know I’ll feel better throughout the day if I go for something like an omelet… but the French toast always sounds (and ends up tasting) so good.
The restaurant is on the tucked away street and the courtyard is an absolute oasis– filled with gorgeous flowers!
We had a lazy afternoon. Naps, laundry, apartment cleaning. Topped it off with a walk around the neighborhood after dark and delivery + a movie.
Today was beautiful and we took advantage of the warm, breezy day for a long walk with Teddy. He loves walking around and meeting all of the other dogs and kids. (But he also gets lazy– it’s so funny, he just plops down on the ground when he’s had enough!)
I love summer weekends in the city! I wish it were like this year round. I would contemplate moving out of here a lot less I’m sure. Ha. Looking forward to a casual night tonight before gearing up for Monday morning email marathoning.
Looks like you had an amazing weekend! Mine was filled with lots of food as well and hanging out with friends. We threw a surprise bday party for my friend!
I have the same water problem on the weekends. I'm fine during the week when I'm at work and at my desk but my water intake on the weekends is much lower. Haven't figured out a solid fix for it yet.
Coffee is super dehydrating too! If you drink a lot of coffee you need to make sure you are also replenishing what you lost with water or you could definitely get really sick.
TEDDY PLOPPING HE IS ADORABLE. My puppy (Noodle) does the same, but first she jumps at my leg to say, "Mom, please pick me up now. I'm done, mom. Now." Puppies are phenomenal.
Now that it's summer I want to spend as much time outside as possible, Teddy looks like he feels the same way (despite the heat). -Alex http://www.monstermisa.blogspot.com/
This and yap 🤍 Don’t forget to create holiday magic for yourself too! I can’t tell you how nice it was to do some gingerbread decorating without having to follow a three year old’s vision (or fight the sugar battle)! It’s fun to do it with kids, too, but sometimes you just need coffee, baked goods, and little bit of kid-free catch up time with your mom friends! Thank you for hosting @blueskyehouse!!
I wrote down a list of things I wanted to do for fun in 2024. I crossed off exactly zero of them (having a baby will do that to ya) and my only hope of accomplishing one would be to host a cookie exchange! I wanted to SO bad but I was also feeling exhausted after a long year (losing a dog, having a baby, running a business, etc.) and I didn’t know if I had hosting a party in me. I sent out the invitations and told myself I’d figure it out. There was no going back! It was SO FUN though and I will be doing this again. I feel like so much of the holidays as a mom is spent making the magic for kids. It’s Santa meet and greets, Christmas shopping, holiday pageants…. And then seeing Santa again (and again and again). THIS party was for us! 🥂
🎧 Five 5-Star Audiobooks I Listened to This Year ✨
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This year, I listened to some incredible audiobooks, but these five stood out as absolute favorites:
📚 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith: A beautifully written coming-of-age classic. I didn’t want it to end and could absolutely see myself re-listening in a few years.
📚 None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell: A psychological thriller with unreliable narrators that kept me guessing the whole way through.
📚 Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter: Part mystery, part family drama—flawed characters, a gripping storyline, and a chef’s kiss ending.
📚 All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker: A masterpiece of storytelling that starts as a serial killer mystery and evolves into something much bigger.
📚 Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: A stunning exploration of sisterhood, grief, and imperfect people. The ending left me in tears (happy ones!).
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Holding on for dear life this December ❤️ I have had SO MANY conversations this week with my friends near and far and we are *all* struggling. I have to say, just knowing it’s not just me feeling the pressure of “end of year-holiday magic- cold/flu/stomach bug season-darkest days of the year,” has made it a little easier to handle. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, too 😮💨 (Telling myself this because I could use the reminder too!)
If I hadn’t already mailed our Christmas cards*, I would be ordering a reprint because this first photo is IT. ⭐️💂🏻♀️
*Actually only half because for some reason, I didn’t order enough? Our list must have grown over the past year or I just underestimated how many people were on it! I had to order more so the second half will be going out later whoops!!
The food looks delish! 🙂
AJ | http://www.TheAJMinute.com
Your pup is the cutest thing ever.
You've never had a hangover? Hahaha! Nerd in the best way! 🙂
the food looks so good!
Looks like you had an amazing weekend! Mine was filled with lots of food as well and hanging out with friends. We threw a surprise bday party for my friend!
Annie
A College Confession
My puppy just flops when she's had enough of a walk too – I end up having to carry her, it's so embarrassing, but cute 😛
The Life & Times of Belle
I have the same water problem on the weekends. I'm fine during the week when I'm at work and at my desk but my water intake on the weekends is much lower. Haven't figured out a solid fix for it yet.
Coffee is super dehydrating too! If you drink a lot of coffee you need to make sure you are also replenishing what you lost with water or you could definitely get really sick.
TEDDY PLOPPING HE IS ADORABLE. My puppy (Noodle) does the same, but first she jumps at my leg to say, "Mom, please pick me up now. I'm done, mom. Now."
Puppies are phenomenal.
Now that it's summer I want to spend as much time outside as possible, Teddy looks like he feels the same way (despite the heat).
-Alex
http://www.monstermisa.blogspot.com/