Lately & a Tuesday Brain Dump

Your eyes are not deceiving you…there actually is a post coming to you from this little blog. I cannot thank you all enough for your kind words and prayers after my last post. This has really been a challenging time for our family. Fortunately, with it being the summer, I’ve had extra time off and and home. 

Who else has read this book lately? I have been trying to read more before bed in the evenings and I recently finished The Girl on the Train and loved it. I’ve moved on to Big Little Lies by Liane Moriaty. That book our school librarian sent home as homework for the summer on the other hand….is still sitting unopened in the trunk of my car. 

Speaking of cars, I said goodbye to Jenny Jetta this spring. I have so loved this car for so long. It was the only car I’ve ever bought brand new and was exactly what I wanted at the time. When I was bringing Riley home from puppy training classes and we got rear-ended by an SUV at a stoplight, this car kept us safe and showed so little damage considering. Unfortunately, with over a hundred thousand miles on it and a really long commute, it was starting to be less reliable. I know that happens to all cars but it is really inconvenient when one’s husband travels out of town half the month and I would end up having to be towed twenty or thirty miles home while frantically trying to find someone who could break into my house and let Riley out to use to restroom.

So, I traded it for the beauty above. My husband had to talk me into this car because I was so emotionally attached to my old one but I’m sure glad I did because she is so pretty and has lots of technology my old car did not, which I appreciate since I have a long commute.

We recently went to Soul Gastrolounge with some friends. It is one of our favorite restaurants and the pork belly and watermelon tacos pictured above are hands down my favorite dish in Charlotte. So, so good.  

Our realtor took us to Dogwood Southern Table last night for drinks and I had their lavender lemonade cocktail. It was so refreshing and now I am scouring the internet this morning looking for recipes to recreate it. This is by far the perfect summer beverage.   

I cannot for the life of me believe it is halfway through July. I haven’t brought myself to go unpack my classroom but I’ve been working on lots of things at home. My goal for this year is to work smarter and not harder so I’m spending two hours a day lesson planning and making things for my classroom. My goal is to have the most time consuming things done through the first nine weeks before I go back. This is torture for the procrastinator in me but going well so far. 

I’ve been spending lots of time with this sweet boy this summer. Puppy snuggles are so good for the soul.

In other news, my husband and I are kind-of house hunting again but with no real deadline. The Charlotte real estate market is depressing. Everything is so expensive and is going so fast. If any of you Charlotte ladies are trying to sale your house, give me the inside scoop.

And that’s about it for my ramblings today. Happy Tuesday!