Notes from August

This post originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 9/6/21.

It’s the beginning of a new month, which means it’s time for a monthly recap. I’ve absolutely loved doing these recaps all this year! I feel like I’m always focused on the next thing, so it’s nice to have this routine to prompt me to stop, reflect and recount what happened the previous month. 

If you have today off work, this could be a fun exercise to do. And if you’re interested, sharing my list of 10 highlights below from the month of August. 

August’s 10 Things:

1. I can’t believe it, but August marks three years of me living in Lincoln Park! My first couple years in Chicago I did the typical move-every-year song and dance, but as soon as I found my current apartment, I knew it was where I wanted to be for a while. It’s so fun having my “spots” – I have my place for takeout, my place with a great happy hour deal, my dry cleaner and my nail salon. Makes the city feel like home! 
2. These “mood lighting glow drops” were my favorite beauty product in August. Most days I just mix in a few drops (I have the shade “golden”) in with my sunscreen and am good to go. They bring out that perfect summer glow!
3. I read three books in August: two by Cal Newport (Digital Minimalism and Deep Work) and one twisty thriller (Mother-in-Law). Nice mix of fun fiction and interesting nonfiction. Liked them all!
4. And one of the tips I picked up from Cal Newport’s books is something called “moving meditation.” The idea is when you find yourself stressed or ruminating on a problem (work, personal life, etc.), try going on a 10-min walk sans phone/distractions. During the distraction-free walk, challenge yourself to only think through the problem. And when you notice your attention drifting (because it will), simply bring yourself back to the problem. I did this a few times last month and found it really helpful. The hardest part is getting myself to actually go out for the walk, but when I do, I’m always glad I did.
5. So excited to say I made major running progress this month! If I’m doing my stretches and wearing my KT tape (I look quite official), I can run my usual 3 or 4 miles without pain. SUCCESS! I did get a bit too excited one day and ran 6 miles… and immediately felt the sharp pain after. So, we’re going to stick with 3-4 miles for now. Two things I wish I would’ve done when I started running a few years ago: 1) get fitted for proper running shoes and 2) buy a foam roller!! But now I know.
6. My mom visited Chicago for a weekend last month and it was just the best. We really didn’t have any plans and it was so nice to just be together with no agenda. Two of our favorite activities are walking and talking, so we ended up walking over 13 miles each day (!). And yes, that does mean we walked the length of a marathon over the span of two days, which is just crazy.  
7. I went to Wisconsin!! My friend invited me to tag along for a lake day one Saturday and it was SO much fun. For some reason, it feels like Wisconsin should be much farther from Chicago than it is? But the fact that you can do a day trip there and back is pretty cool! 
8. August was my last month to check things off my summer fun list. While I didn’t go to a concert and didn’t go to as many street festivals as I wanted to, I’m proud of myself for checking off the rest! Loved having this list to reference and will definitely be doing one again next year 🙂
9. I have some fun things coming up in September, but as I’ve tried to get my outfits together, I realized I have NO idea where to shop anymore. Anyone else?! I don’t even know what kind of clothes to buy anymore! 
10. In September, there is a string of four of my best friends’ birthdays in a week. It’s such a happy week!!And since cards are my love language, I had a ton of fun last weekend visiting my favorite gift stores (like All She Wrote, Art Effect and Alice & Wonder) to find the perfect ones.

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