looking back on summer 2018

These summer storms have been keeping me pensive lately. In some ways, I feel like summer is just beginning, but looking back, it's actually nuts that so much has happened over the past few months (both good and bad). Today, I'm only sharing the good.

My summer has consisted of...

Graduating with my master's. Obviously one of the biggest moments of my summer (and probably life). It's been a long three years back in school and working at a restaurant again, but this chapter of my life is finally coming to a close.

Getting engaged! It's been almost three months since Ryan proposed. Since then, we've been easing into the wedding planning, but we've still knocked a few things out! More on that to follow in a later post.

Taylor Swift's Reputation tour with my girlfriends. In case you missed it on Instagram, we all dressed up in a variation of matching "I Heart TS" shirts (like from the Look What You Made Me Do music video, of course!) with high waisted shorts (I got these from Amazon and they are strangely amazing) and danced the night away. Despite our great seats, I managed to leave my glasses at home, so I couldn't exactly see everything the way I would have liked to. I scrolled through Taylor Swift hashtags the next morning and actually felt FOMO about a concert I attended. Sigh.

Staycationing at the Sandpearl on Clearwater Beach with girlfriends (again). Following graduation, Ryan and I initially wanted to take a trip together to celebrate. However, it's been a stressful time at work for him, so I ended up doing a little "staycation" for one night at a beautiful resort on one of the local beaches. We brunched, we beached, we conquered.

Blogger/"influencer" events. While I hardly feel like a blogger anymore, I've managed to get myself invited to a few local events which always keeps my spirits high. I love connecting with other bloggers and influencers in the area, and most times we get to do some pretty cool stuff together. I got to make this future house/wedding sign at AR Workshop, and hopped around downtown St. Pete for an exclusive block party featuring some of the cutest spots in the area.

Lots of reading! Now that I'm done with school, I've had alllll the time to read. This month I finished up Little Fires Everywhere, To All the Boys I Loved Before (so I could watch the movie...duh), and Firefly Lane, and now I'm reading Vanishing Girls. Guys, I really tried to get into Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis but I just could not. I totally get the appeal, but it simply wasn't my cup of tea. I ended up returning it after getting about 50 pages in...and then I got a new pair of shoes instead. Ohhh, Target.

My birthday at the beach! I had my heart set on a beach party to ring in my 27th birthday this year, and it did not disappoint. Neither did this one piece from Aerie. Still obsessed!

What were some of your favorite moments this summer?

a little update in my newest season of life

I'm not quite sure how we've gotten past the midway point of August without so much as a blog post about me graduating (though I'm sure you're over hearing about it via Instagram), but here we are. I am a fresh little graduated petunia, and I'm scared out of my mind. But we will save that for a later date, yeah?

August has actually thrown me for an emotional loop. About a week after graduation, my grandad passed away. He'd been battling cancer for a number of years - was in remission for awhile before it came back and metastasized - but he's been in a lot of pain for the past year, so while I'm heartbroken, I'm also a tad relieved. I'm fortunate enough to be able to say that this is my first time dealing with the loss of a loved one, and it's definitely been a process. I posted a little something about it on my Instagram story on Sunday, which felt weird. I felt like I needed to acknowledge it in some way, but for the most part, I've been trying to keep it all pretty personal. So this is me acknowledging it again - not to say, "hey, feel sorry for me!" but to say "hey, sometimes social media makes it seem like things are pretty and perfect and all is going well in the world, when really, I'm crashing in ways that I don't necessarily want to talk about...but this is proof that it is happening." Does that make sense?

Shout out to Ryan for being a damn trooper during all of this - from hand holding to laundry, making dinner, and being on pooch patrol. I will say that I really lucked out in the life partner category.

In other lighter news, it's certainly weird to know that I'm not going back to school this week for the first time in three years. In some ways, the last few years felt like the longest of my life, but for the most part, they flew by. I've been job hunting and trying to find the right "fit," but I've also been trying to relax and enjoy this little season of unemployment. I'm still serving tables until then, so in between shifts I've been going to the gym, reading books, and getting together with friends.

To cap off this mixed up post, I figured I'd drop a little "currently" closer to keep you up to date with the frivolous bits in my life:

Reading: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah and Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis.
Watching: Not a whole lot, honestly. I need to find something to binge watch.
Buying: These, these (which I would check your local store for...I bought them for $6.88 before the coupon!), and these from Target because they have a 30% off flat sandals coupon on Cartwheel (until August 25!). I nevvver buy shoes, so getting all three of these for less than $40 was a real treat. Additionally, I bought an Enso ring for work/the gym because I am deathly afraid of ring avulsion. I went for the pyramid stackable in pink sand.
Establishing: a morning routine. Well, attempting to, anyway. More on that later.
Attending (?): Taylor Swift's Reputation tour! I went with a group of girlfriends last week and to no surprise, Taylor killed it. I left my glasses at home (womp womp), so aside from the giant screen, I couldn't see her very well, but I had such a blast.
Booking: wedding things! If you follow along on Instagram, you'll see that we signed a contract with a venue in downtown St. Pete, and we are so pumped! Now to book everything else...yikes.