I didn’t get to writing this post for the month of July… and now August is over. CRAZY!
What’s Been Happening
I started off July with a week long staycation. Ben and I enjoyed a lot of good food in Nashville, including breakfast at the Loveless Cafe [which is less than 10 minutes from our house btw] and getting these free reusable travel cups from Dunkin’ Donuts. These cups come with 99 cent refills through the end of August… so we’ve been going a lil Dunkin’ crazy. Ha! We also picked blueberries and blackberries. So good!
https://www.instagram.com/p/4hL83RMCL2/Ben started his second year teaching. I helped him decorate his classroom… bulletin boards aren’t my strength. 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/p/5kX1h6sCB6/August brought tons of traveling and visitors. Here’s how it happened! The first weekend of the month brought my parents to town on their way to vacation. The follow weekend, I went to a one-day library conference at Indiana University Kokomo and saw a bunch of friends from grad school and my hometown, as well as my cute nephew. Then, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew stayed with us on their way home from vacation. FINALLY, I headed back to Indiana for my grandpa’s 94th birthday party! This past weekend was spent at home, no traveling or visitors.
https://www.instagram.com/p/60sk1HsCNt/School’s starting up at my university so things have been crazy there but I’m excited to see the students again! Fall is coming soon…and I can’t wait!
What I’m Reading
As of the time I wrote this post, I finished 21 books in July and August, with a few more on tap. You can check out my reviews of the books above on Goodreads. On the blog, I reviewed The Wiregrass; it’s a great read if you’re looking for a good book! I also finally read [listened to] Anne of Green Gables! I started that book as a kid but never finished it… it’s so fun to listen to and I want to read the whole series now! 🙂
I’ve also made a point to save some of the great articles I read online to share here… so in no real order you should check out these articles:
- When America’s libraries went to war – an interesting piece of library/WWI history
- Domestic workers in South Africa – I don’t talk about this much on the blog, but I was an Africana Studies major in college and earned a master’s in grad school in the same area, studying abroad in Cameroon and Lesotho (a tiny country landlocked inside South Africa). Much of my academic career has examined southern Africa, and as such, racial issues. So much progress has been made but articles like this make me so, so sad.
- Mixed up twins in Colombia – did you read this?! Soooo crazy.
- Changes with American Girl dolls – mostly old news, but I had Kirsten and agree with the sentiments in both of these articles SO much. I’m sad that current American Girl dolls worry about homework instead of survival on the Minnesota countryside in the 1800s
- Have you ever seen the blankets made in Lesotho? They are gorgeous AND practical. Here is an interesting piece about cultural appropriation and the distribution of culture.
- Books to read when it’s hard to read the Bible – great suggestions!
- How we became too busy for friends – a hard but good read
- On reading books on your phone and the future of reading
- A bit of a political piece… but a fantastic perspective on what you should do if you’re outraged at Planned Parenthood. Spoiler alert: foster kids.
What I’ve Been Cooking
Lots of peanut noodles with this sauce. Kale salad with sauteed potatoes and fried eggs. Sounds weird, but it’s so good. I made it a mish mash of these two recipes. I’m sure I’ve made other things, but I can’t really recall now… ha!
What’s on the Blog
My most popular July recipe was Turkey Sloppy Joes. Mmm!
In August, everyone loved the Zucchini Apple Walnut Muffins. Me too!
Most popular recipes from the archive included: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and Funfetti Cookies, as usual. 🙂
What were you into in July and August?
Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.
The Pajama Chef 
Sloppy Joe’s sound great. Thank you Sarah and have a great week!
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thank you, liz! 🙂
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I’m drooling over those zucchini apple walnut muffins!! They look delicious!
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Like you, I couldn’t get into Anne of Green Gables as a kid, but I love the series as an adult!
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glad i’m not alone! 🙂
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Sounds like you had a busy but good summer! We had a lot of travel too … I’m ready for a little down time!!
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yes, for sure! thanks ashley! looking forward to a calmer fall, i hope.
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Awesome post! Totally going to check out some of those books!
Sues
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thank you girl! 🙂 lots of good reads!
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It sounds like you’ve had a great rest of the summer! You reminded me that we have yet to take our daughter to Loveless … and she’s been on this planet for over 2 years! She loves a good breakfast out, so that might be a nice toddler treat for her soon. And oh my heavens, you read so much! I love reading, so it’s always nice to hear that I’m not alone in my voracious reading. Speaking of childhood books, I recently re-read the Island of the Blue Dolphins, which we read in maybe middle or elementary school? I loved it as a kiddo, and still loved it now. =) Gotta love revisiting some of those childhood books!
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I’m sure your daughter would LOVE Loveless! 🙂 What a fun place. My husband is a 5th & 6th grade teacher and needed more books for his classroom so we went to McKay’s a few weeks ago. So fun to pick out all my old childhood favorites for his kiddos! I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins! I think we read it in 4th or 5th grade. My parents also brought a bunch of my old books so I want to revisit some of them (Nancy Drew, Charlotte’s Web, the Little House series)… 🙂
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It’s so nice to see everyone in the summer…and then it’s nice to have some quiet time!
I am going to check out your Turkey Sloppy Joes. I’ve been looking for a healthier version of that.
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Thanks, Lindsey! Those sloppy joes are addictive to be careful! haha 🙂
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You always amaze me with how many books you are able to read! That’s more than I’ve read the whole year so far and I thought I was doing pretty good lol. Very impressive! Your sloppy joes (a favorite of mine) look delicious (plus tots = extra yum).
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Awww, thanks Amy. Everyone reads at a different speed so that contributes too…and I have a 30-45 minute commute each way + sometimes listen to audio books when cooking or doing other things at home, so that helps too. I’ve also cut back on tv/internet time at night during the week. 🙂 Have you read anything good lately?
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Oh man. Those turkey sloppy joes look so enticing! Now that’s what I want for dinner! 🙂
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Thanks Sarah! Hope you try them!
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