I’ve shared this quote from Anne of Green Gables here on the blog before, but for some reason, it just felt fitting to share it again as this post is going to be a somewhat random brain dump/catch-up on the last few weeks/the month ahead, so bear with me. (Also, you can download the printable here!)
September was a pretty busy month for Cameron and I. We started off the month hosting out of town company and welcoming a new nephew to our family, and then managed to get away to the Oregon Coast for the night. After that, he actually had to go out of town for a two week work training in Chicago, meaning I was home by myself…something I’m not huge fan of…at all. However, I barely even had time to think about it this time because it just so happened that my schedule was really packed with events and parties for Feast! (You can read my recaps here, here, and here) It was such a fun few days spending time with friends and eating tons of delicious food, but it was also pretty exhausting. And then a few days after Feast ended, I flew by myself to Michigan to visit my family for my baby shower. That weekend, Cameron actually drove up from Chicago to Michigan after his work training finished and it was nice to finally see him after being apart for almost two weeks! My sister also flew in for the weekend for my baby shower which was great, but it was kind of a little bit of a whirlwind getting some last minute things together for that. My baby shower ended up being such a lovely day though, and I had a such a great time seeing friends and family.
However, the day after my shower, my sister flew back to NYC and Cameron actually flew from out from Michigan for some more out of state work travel. Since I would have been going home to an empty house, it made a lot more sense to just stay in Michigan instead. It was great to be able to spend some more time with family and friends, but even though I was there for 10 days it seems like there is never enough time to see all the people I’d want and do everything I’d like. Part of the reason I usually feel like I don’t have enough time when I go to Michigan is because I typically work while I’m there, and this trip was no exception. Granted I’m incredibly thankful to have a job where I work remotely and have the flexibility to work from anywhere, as it does allow me to go visit my family for a more extended period of time without having to use up all my PTO. It’s just always a little frustrating because I’d love to spend more time getting together with people, but a lot of my week is taken up by work and it’s not like I’m just sitting around relaxing. But I definitely realize that it’s better than nothing and having the flexibility I do is a huge perk for sure!
(Also, another big reason that Cameron and I are able to travel so much is because his parents are kind enough to watch Lola for us when we’re gone which is so amazingly helpful!)
So after spending all of last week in Michigan, this past weekend my mom and I flew from Detroit to NYC to visit my sister and it was such a great trip! I absolutely love New York City, and the fall is hands down the best time to go for sure. We had incredible weather and it was just a really fun few days. I actually didn’t end up taking a single picture with my actual camera, but I took a bunch with my new iPhone (and I’m pretty impressed with the camera on that!) so I’m hoping that I’ll have time to share an actual recap from NYC (along with some more photos from Michigan!) soon.
(In the meantime, you can check out my Instagram photos here – @inthepinkandgreen)
I finally flew back to Portland late last night, and it feels so nice to be home! Cameron and I both haven’t been home in our house together in going on a month, and it felt really amazing to sleep in my own bed last night. The past couple of weeks have been a lot of go-go-go and it’s been great…but there is that minor detail that I’m currently 8 months pregnant, ha! I am SO thankful that I have felt really great throughout my pregnancy because otherwise, I don’t think I would have been able to handle flying back and forth across the country and walking for miles around New York City in my third trimester. I’ve honestly felt just like my normal self and had lots of energy, which has allowed me to keep up with my normal pace of activities/travel. At the same time, I’ve tried to be conscious of taking care of myself and making sure I’m not overdoing it, and luckily, I’ve been fine!
But now that I’m home, I am trying to shift my focus to relaxing a little more, while still balancing that with the somewhat full calendar we have for this month. Granted it’s all good stuff I’m looking forward to though, so I want to try to just enjoy it all as much as possible. And even though it’s such a cliche white girl thing to say, I really just love fall and want to just soak up all the simple pleasures that make this time of year so special. Honestly, it’s been such a warm September, that I feel like I’m not even in fall mode yet, so that’s definitely my goal over these next few weeks.
On that note, I thought I’d share a list of some of the things that I’m looking forward to in October!
(You know, because I figured this post wasn’t already long enough…ha!)
-Decorating our house for fall
-More frequent prenatal appointments
(I like being able to hear the babe’s heart beat and know that he’s doing ok in there!)
-Going to the Portland Farmer’s Market for fall produce
-Celebrating my husband’s birthday this weekend!!! 🙂
-Taking Lola for walks in the fall weather
-My baby shower here in Portland
(My sweet friend Rachel is hosting it, plus my mom is flying out for the weekend which will be fun!)
-Getting baby boy’s nursery all set up (and sharing photos!)
-Getting back to my prenatal yoga classes
-Going to the pumpkin patch
-Writing thank you notes from my baby shower
(Yes, I actually like writing thank you notes, plus I love cute stationary!)
-Getting together with friends
-Celebrating the other fall birthday’s in my husband’s family
-Sleeping in on the weekends as much as possible
-Wearing my Hunters and some of the fall maternity clothes I’ve purchased
-Going to the movies with Cam
(Fall is when the good movies start to come out, plus I have a feeling it’s not going to be quite as easy to go out for a date night once we have a newborn…)
-Doing our prenatal classes at the hospital
-Catching up on fall TV
-Baking some seasonal goodies (and hopefully blogging some recipes again!)
-Going to do work at some of my favorite Portland coffee shops
(Especially now that it’s not 90 degrees any more and a hot drink actually sounds appealing)-Making some hearty recipes like soups, chili, and roast in my crock pot
-Making fires in our fireplace and being cozy in our home
-The fact that there are only 8 more weeks until my due date
(SO SO SO CRAZY)
Just writing out that list made me even more excited about the upcoming weeks! And honestly, it’s days like this, days when I’m jet lagged and have an insane amount of laundry to do that I really appreciate having a blog as writing really helps me process my thoughts and focus on the positive.
So what about you? What are you looking forward to right now?
