Given my lack of posts lately, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to many of y’all that blogging has been a bit of a struggle lately. Now that my friends are back in town and we can socialize a bit more with one another, I haven’t wanted to turn down that time to write since many of them are about to start back with school, which will look more intensive than it did previously. Also, in light of all that’s going on in the world, I still don’t know what the proper balance is when it comes to posting or spending that time learning through resources that others are posting. I know there isn’t necessarily a right answer given that everyone is so different, but I never want to come across as insincere. I really do hope to be back in the blogging groove soon but certainly don’t want to force it upon myself since that’s when I tend to lose inspiration. I’ve been back in the office more, too, which means that maybe it’ll feel more normal to get to just work on blog work while at home.
My week began with a photoshoot on Monday for a couple of fall place settings. I went and got a few more flowers before work so that I could have those arrangements done by the time the photographer arrived. The shoot lasted until around lunchtime, so I was able to eat and finish my days work at home. I took a true40 class in the afternoon and came back home after that. Once I got showered, I made dinner, watched the news, and got in bed to read.
On Tuesday, I started my day with a 6:00 am true40 class before showering and getting ready to work for the day. I worked at home for a bit before running some errands for a shoot and going into the office. I left the office early afternoonish after reclaiming my desk and getting packages returned. I continued to work from home until 5:00 and eventually went to a friend’s house for dinner and then went on a walk.
I had the first of this summer’s Christmas food shoots on Wednesday, so our set was filled with holiday cookies. It always seems unreal how early we start to work on holiday content, but honestly, I should just be surprised I haven’t had to set up or decorate a Christmas tree just yet. I really hope I’m not jinxing myself with that one. The shoot ended mid-afternoon, and I was able to make it to a true40 class with Nell when it wrapped. We decided to go to Taco Mama for dinner afterward and sit outside, which felt really normal and summery. Since we had a bit of time to kill before our plans later that evening, we went on a stroll through Mountain Brook. Afterward, it was off to a friend’s surprise birthday gathering with our bible study group. We stayed until close to 9:00 before everyone called it a night.
On Thursday, I had another food shoot, which surprisingly ended around 1:00. Had I known that Nell and I probably would have joined our friends in leaving for the lake this day, but it was nice not to feel rushed to pack and head out. When I got home, I showered, finished my work for the day, and packed my bag for the lake. The weather was surprisingly pleasant for June, so a friend and I decided to get drinks at Freddy’s Wine Bar in Highland Park. Afterward, we decided to go to dinner at Blueprint on 3rd and check out the Jeni’s Ice Cream that had opened the day before in Pepper’s Place. Somehow despite all those stops, I was in bed before ten, which was good given the next morning’s early alarm.
Nell picked me up to head to our friend’s lake house in Louisiana around 6:00, and we made our way through the backroads pretty painlessly. It was lunchtime when we arrived, so we made pizzas before getting suited and sunscreened up for the afternoon. We spent the remainder of the day in the lake, on the dock, and riding on the boat. We had Mexican food for dinner and hung out outside for a while before eventually turning in for the evening.
The next morning started out a bit clumsily with me taking a bit of a spill and hitting my head, so I tried my best to take the rest of the day relatively easy. We spent the day on and off the boat, in the pool, and in the river. I even got to take a nice nap on the dock in a swinging chair, which felt like a relaxing win. We ended the day with jambalaya by a bonfire and even had everything ready to make s’ mores. I went to bed a little earlier that evening since my head wasn’t feeling great, but I’m pleased to report that all of my friends and I made it home sunburn free.
We left Lousiana around 9:00 on Sunday morning, which had us back in Birmingham close to 3:30 after a couple of stops. I was able to nap some in the car, and we even played MadLibs to pass the time, which felt like a throwback. Once I was home, I showered, talked on the phone to my parents, and unpacked my bags. By the time that was all complete, it was time to get ready and dressed to head to my dinner plans that evening. It was another surprisingly comfortable night heat-wise, so after we ate, we all sat outside for a while watching the sun go down. After such a busy weekend, it was unsurprising that I was asleep before 9:30 that night.