I cannot believe how quickly August has been flying by! It’s been a busy month for me, work-wise, so I’ve really tried to be protective of my weekends, and make sure I’m leaving myself enough time to breathe and rest. So this post is a little bit lighter on the pictures than most! Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last month.

When I talk about being protective of my time, this is what I’m protecting it for on the weekends! I’m trying to spend as much free time as possible reading outside on my patio, coffee in hand. It’s just the perfect way for me to relax and unwind, and I can easily get lost in a book for a few hours and feel refreshed. No working, so scrolling Instagram… just letting myself be totally immersed.

This was, by far, the biggest and most exciting part of my month! I shared briefly in a post earlier this month that I was invited to speak at a field hearing led by Senator Casey about my personal and professional experiences with caregiving. It was incredibly powerful to be able to share my own story, and to hear the stories shared by the other caregivers on the panel, as well. We are truly reaching a care crisis, and I’m hopeful that this hearing is the first step forward to change. To be super on brand, I showed up with Starbucks in hand, of course! I also took home the little Senate coaster on the table as a souvenir (with permission!).

Lily had to go to the vet for some dental work – her breath has been really, really bad – and while they were in the process of checking out which teeth needed to be pulled, they realized they all had to go! Happily, Lily is doing really well post-surgery; she’s totally back to her normal self and still as food-motivated as ever. I do miss her snaggletooth underbite sometimes, but her breath is so much better.

I’ve been slowly testing out the Blake Brown hair products. I don’t wash my hair daily, so it’s going to be a bit before I have a full review post up! My initial thoughts, though, are that while I’m extremely unimpressed by the packaging…. I really, really love how my fair feels after using the leave-in potion. It’s so soft and silky and knot-free!

I cannot get enough of this perfect snack! It’s the cream cheese brioche from Whole Foods with a (generous) layer of salted butter on top. Preferably, of course, paired with a coffee. The salty butter mixed with the slightly sweet, dense but still fluffy bread… it’s just so good! I tend to go in phases with snacks and meals, and this is one that is in my current rotation near daily.

The deer haven’t been stopping by quite as often lately, but this little baby stopped by earlier this week. I couldn’t stop watching it – it was so tiny and still looked a little bit wobbly; it didn’t even look real! Then it ran through the yard and was on it’s way.