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August Favorites

While a few of my favorite people were born in August–Jona plus two of my nieces–I’m not sad to see this month go. August goes from summer to crazy in a hot minute, and frankly I’m ready for everything to settle into a predictable routine. Predictable routines are my jam. I’m an exciting person.

Here are a few favorites from crazy August.

Favorite dinnerBruschetta Chicken Pasta from How Sweet Eats. Summer may not be my favorite season, but you can’t argue with its produce. This is summer in a bowl, with fresh tomatoes and delicious basil. And anything that calls for a balsamic drizzle is okay with me. Mmm.

Favorite dessert Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake from Mix and Match Mama. If you’re looking for a quick and easy dessert that’s a crowd-pleaser, you can’t go wrong with this bundt cake. It’s not fancy or glamorous, but it is so good! I love jazzed up box mix recipes.

Favorite new (to me) podcastsThe Mom Hour and Better Than Happy. I learned about The Mom Hour from one of my long-time favorite podcasts, The Girl Next Door. One episode I particularly enjoyed was Episode 169: Productivity and Time Management Tips for Moms. Another recent find is the podcast Better Than Happy, which I discovered on the podcast Awesome With Alison, when Alison interviewed the host, Jody Moore. Jody is a life coach and she shares wisdom and practical advice; I loved Episode 160 on Empowering Thoughts.

Favorite bookA Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. Some books are love at first page, with others I fall more slowly. This one goes in the “slow burn” category for me, but by the last few chapters I grew sad to think the book would end. It’s such a powerful story of family, secrets, and belonging.

Favorite picture bookThe Water Hole by Graeme Base. Published in 2004, this isn’t a new book, but it’s one I discovered only recently. The illustrations are beautiful, but what I love about this book is that there is so much to it. Animals from all over the world gather around a water hole, but the water is slowly diminishing. Not only do we want to figure out what’s happening to the water, but on each page there are things to count and hidden images to find. Jona has been really into “search and find” books lately, and this is a beautiful example.

Favorite post on Shea LennonCasual Summer Look: Black, White, and Blush. It’s funny, because this is a look that I didn’t feel all that excited about when I put it on, but I ended up loving it in the photos. As you can tell, I’m all about the black + blush right now.

Favorite friend date – Book club lunch at Grunauer. My friend Becky and I visited this Austrian/central European restaurant in Kansas City to discuss I Was Anastasia, which we read in July. The food was good, and the beer didn’t let us down either! Plus we both had a lot to say about the book (have you read it?).

Favorite milestone – starting new jobs. Aaron started his new teaching gig on August 1, while I started my new position on the 6th. This month brought a lot of NEW.

Favorite party treat – donuts. We had Jona’s 5th birthday party this month and went for a morning time so the kids could play outside without dying of heat exhaustion. #augustbirthdayproblems Since it feels a little weird serving cake at 10am (weird for other people; I’m down), we ordered a bunch of donuts from KC Donut Co. Not only were they an easy treat, but the sprinkled ones looked so pretty stacked up on my cake plate!

Favorite (bittersweet) memory – Jona’s first day of kindergarten and fifth birthday. All the tears.

Favorite Jona quotes

  • Randomly one morning, “How’s your new job workin’ out, mom?” 
  • After asking him a (pretty easy) question on a skills questionnaire we had to fill out for the school system, “Do these teachers think I don’t know anything, or what?” 

Favorite getaway – East Greenwich, Rhode Island for a work trip. What a gorgeous place to visit! I will likely go back again in the next month or so and will plan to do a recap post with my (mostly food) recommendations.

What were some of your favorites this month? 

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