In July our office officially went to a hybrid model and I started to go into the office two days a week. It has been wonderful to feel like I have a schedule again. The routine of leaving my apartment and commuting to work has been so needed and while this month I am working more from home with traveling and isolating before traveling I started to document some of my work looks again. As a reminder, I work in a tech marketing firm that has a very casual atmosphere. 

I will go ahead and say these tanks from Old Navy are my current favorites. I own about 7 right now in various patterns and solid colors and they are my go-to outfit. I am in a much larger body than I was pre-pandemic and I am working through loving my body well, eating intuitively, getting back to moving my body daily, and dressing my current body well since it I deserve to look and feel great in clothes.

What has been your favorite clothing purchase recently? 

I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that it has been 20 years since 9/11. 

I can still vividly remember walking up the street coming home from school and our neighbor greeting us to grab her kids and telling us to get inside. We turned on the TV just in time to watch the second tower fall. I was living in Germany at the time. My father was stationed in Germany for three years and we attended school on base. With the attack, our base shut down. I did not go to school for two days but sat home watching the television (we only had 7 American channels) afraid of what could happen to my Dad. My Dad had been in the Pentagon that same month. He was spared when so many lives were lost. 

I am thinking and praying for all of those that lost someone during 9/11 and the 20 years of conflict in the Middle East that occurred after. I continue to pray for all of our service members who tirelessly sacrifice for our safety as well as first responders who saw lifelong effects from their service on 9/11. I pray for those who lost parents, children, friends, and family in the towers as well as on flight 93 and at the Pentagon that day.

I hope you can take a few minutes today to reflect on the tragedy of 9/11.

Waking up to a cool fall morning of 59 is making me excited for all the Fall things. Now if only my allergies would get under control. I'm sipping on some hot tea with honey this morning since my local Starbucks was out of the Honey Citrus Mint Tea and I was going to treat myself to one. Oh well. I have a pretty laid-back weekend planned with lots of reading and watching TV as I am starting to cut out social plans in prep to see tiny people at the end of the month. Here are five things I am loving this (short work) week:

one. Puppy cuddles.

I am currently watching a friend's 1.5-year-old Corgi. E is very sweet but filled with energy especially after work so it has been hard finding a balance between relaxing after dinner and keeping her occupied. I'm very thankful for friends who trust me with their little ones since it means I get puppy cuddles. Don't worry, I have checked on my sweet cat, Max, every other day so he is doing well while I am away.

Also, last Friday afternoon, I got to stop at my co-worker's house to meet four puppies. Beci shows and breeds Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and her current litter is so sweet. They will be off to new homes by the end of the month.

two. Ted Lasso.

I finally started watching Ted Lasso thanks to signing up for Apple TV+ with Target Circle's 4 months free. I started watching the first season on Monday with my friends Traci and Jordan. I actually finished the first season on Thursday night. If you need a funny and heartwarming show (and you don't mind the language) I would highly recommend checking it out. 

three. Brunch.

I had not been out to brunch in what felt like years and I was so glad to catch up with my friend Ashley on Sunday at First Watch. We enjoyed lovely food - I got the traditional breakfast and Ashley went for the Fall special of Pumpkin pancakes - and caught up on life. Our next adventure will be Torcy's Tacos in October.

four. Owl Keds.

I love my Ked flats and wish Ked's would bring back this style. I tend to wear these a lot when I am teaching Pre-K at church. They are very comfortable, washable, and with the fun owl print, they can be a conversation started to welcome a cautious little one into class. I am currently looking at adding one of the Rifle Paper slip-on Keds to my Sunday morning rotation but if you want the owl flats, check out Poshmark (here's a pair for $20).

five. Heir of Fire.

Other favorites:

Olive & June's Fall Collection. I love Social Studies and Geometry. 

Bath & Body Work's Lakeside Morning Candle.

Fuji Apple & Cheddar Cheese for an afternoon snack.

College Football is back! GO HEELS!

Allergy medicine since my allergies have gone crazy the last few weeks.

Being brave and stepping outside my comfort zone. I applied for two things this week (fun not new job things) and it was a good reminder to just try/go for it.

As usual, I am linking up with Andrea of Momfessionals and Erika of A Little Bit of Everything today.

What are your plans for this weekend?

one. Walk at least 5,000 steps a day. 

I want to get back into a workout routine and being healthy but with mask mandates, I don't think I can make it through a whole 60 min dance cardio class at the Y masked up quite yet. I am terrible about getting up and moving when I work from home so this goal is to make sure I get outside and move my body especially as the weather cools down. I actually took the step count from my Apple watch and looked at the last three months' averages and they were all below 5,000 so that's where my goal began. This way my monthly average will be at least 5,000 steps if not more. So far I have only missed one day and that was by less than 70 steps so it's working.

two. budget/track all expenses with my new The Budget Mom workbooks. 

I ordered last year's Budget By Paycheck Boxed set (they are undated) on sale and dove in after watching lots of Miko's YouTube videos. Her new designs go on sale next week and she has a lot of free printables as well if you want to try out her Budget method.

three. enjoy my vacation. 

I am headed to the west coast at the end of the month to see my best friend's family (and meet her son born in August) as well as see most of my mom's side of the family. It will be good to see everyone and I can't wait for the memories (and meeting 5 little ones that have joined the family since I was last out there in October 2018 including my cousin's daughter born last week). 

four. use up items in my pantry.

I am terrible about going to the store and buying items when I know I have a lot of food in my pantry and freezer. I want to be a better steward of the items in my home so I am challenging myself to use up some items in my pantry every week. These items could be trail mix, popcorn, pasta, tomatoes, rice, etc. 

five. Breathe study.

Bonus goals:

What are some of your goals this month?