*No podcast version of this one, just written.*

Friends! Hello! Let’s meet at Shift for an iced coffee and split a blackberry-goat cheese scone (which I know sounds weird but actually pairs so deliciously with coffee). There’s so much to catch up on!

My summer has been an absolute blur. We arrived in Eau Claire at our house on June 7, after a week of visiting Duluth, MN and Cable, WI. From the minute we stepped in the door of our house, Chris and I were off to the races and we have not stopped. In the five weeks we have been here we completely furnished a whole house and taken care of all the needed maintenance. I’d love to list out all the things we did but that list would be so so long.

We leave tomorrow morning to start making our way back to Arizona. We are sad to leave our house, the Midwest summer weather, and all the wonderful people we are getting to know here. But how lovely to widen our community and the places we love to be.

Heading into this huge summer project there were so many things to figure out, purchase, and schedule. Day by day we got them done and I’m so glad to have all of those decisions behind me! We’ll leave our house feeling so good about how it looks and how it’s been cared for. But my goodness are we ready for some rest!

In the midst of it all we enjoyed as much as we could of Eau Claire, from outdoor music to the best pizza, the wonderful children’s museum and beautiful library, tried to understand the rules of kubb, and ate plenty of ice cream. We also enjoyed a visit from friends and from family, and then went to Minneapolis for a five-day family reunion. Along the way, Dash and I made an epic trip to Ikea to get all the things, I accidentally sent all of our pots and pans to our Arizona house, and we enjoyed every drop of the rainy June.

Aside from exercising and reading, I unintentionally abandoned nearly all my usual habits: my line-a-day journal, painting my nails, writing blog posts (obviously!), going to bed at any sort of reasonable hour, and listening to audiobooks or many podcasts. I miss them! I knew that this summer would be all-consuming and it’s probably best I didn’t know to what extent ahead of time. 

It’s late and my to do list for the day is not yet done, so I’ll leave you with some photos. Another thing I did less of this summer: take photos! We were so often in the middle of a project in the midst of a messy room, and/or a certain someone was having a meltdown.

But here we are. We made it. And Meet the Teacher is on Friday night, so the next season is upon us already, but I absolutely cannot wrap my head around that yet. 

I’d love to hear snippets of your summer so far. Have you ever furnished a home in one fell swoop and lived to tell the tale?

I hope you’re having a good summer, friends, and finding rest along the way.