Monthly Life Update, August 2022

Wow, where the heck did the month of August go?? All summer long, my pace of life has been slower, more leisurely and way more chill than usual… and August was the exact opposite! It’s been hot (nothing really new there), but also I’m busy with lots of work and enjoying my time in the garden as much as possible. Here’s a quick update about everything going on behind the scenes and IRL!

Monthly Life Update: August 2022

The Cabin

I am deeeep in the throes of finalizing the design plan for the last room makeover in our cabin, the tv room. Originally, it was a little boy’s room before we moved in. And it’s the only room we haven’t fully deep cleaned or really touched since we moved in about 2 years ago. So I’m sure you can imagine how much work it needs!

This week I’ve been working on getting it cleaned up enough to paint so wiping down the walls, patching holes, etc. I’m so excited to get a fresh coat of paint on the walls and turn it into the coziest nest for watching movies this fall!

Other than that, my only other project around the cabin is continuing to work in my garden. The harvests have been amazing! Currently I am swimming in tomatoes, which I’ve been washing and freezing so I can make sauce this fall. So stoked.

The Tiny Zoo

Noodle is really started to decline more and more and it’s so sad. He’s got a fair bit of dementia and sometimes just wanders around. Like the other day, he got lost behind the couch. At this point, our goal is to just keep him comfortable and happy as much as we can. The challenge is that he gets up a lot at night either to wander or go to the bathroom as he’s losing control of his function. I’m exhausted from being up with him, but trying really hard to remain patient. It’s so hard watching our sweet animals age.

My Health

All good still (except for my annoying seasonal allergies)!

Business + My Blog

Wow, what a difference a month makes! Last month, I was saying how slow it was… and now I am super busy. Not complaining though! I’m grateful to be working with some wonderful brand partners and my fab mentoring clients. I’ve also been doing a bit of freelance content creation work in the background which has been really fun. It’s such a treat to create social media content for someone else… and then not have to post it myself! There’s a certain freedom that comes with that type of work for me.

I’m sort of at the point where I’m beginning to wonder what’s next for me. Something shifted in my mindset this summer and I finally feel ready to begin exploring a change. I’m not even sure what that could mean yet, but it’s time to start thinking about it. So many people are quick to say that blogging is over, that Instagram is dead, that millennials don’t matter anymore… but here’s the thing: I’ve never has as much success as I’ve had this past year or two. My blog traffic is higher than it’s ever been and my Instagram account has doubled this past year thanks to cross-posting my viral Tiktok videos.

But with that comes this feeling of being ready for a change. I’ve been blogging for 12 years, full-time for over 7. It’s tiring keeping up with all of the platforms and, often, I have to pick and choose based on what’s most impactful for my business and goals. Especially given that video is so in-demand now (I actually personally LOVE creating video content!). That’s a big part of why you might have noticed fewer weekly blog posts here. I am but one person and I have to prioritize. And I’ve always made sure that what I share here on the blog is the best quality and not just fluff.

I’ve had to let go of a lot of self-inflicted guilt over there not being a new daily blog post. For 12 years, I’ve posted at least once a day for 5 days a week… sometimes more than once a day and 7 days a week! I genuinely hope that you’re not disappointed when I’m not able to publish something new here daily… or even 3 times a week. At this point, my goal is 2-3 posts a week and that feels ‘good’ to me — especially given how many of my older posts are still relevant!

I don’t know where I’m going with this… but just felt like sharing.

Us

Our third wedding anniversary is next week! I can’t even believe it’s been 3 years. Sometimes I look back and just think about how much we’ve accomplished and experienced and how much fun we’ve had along the way and it makes me tear up. The past 2 years especially have brought a ton of growth for us. I wouldn’t want to experience country life with anyone else!

ICYMI here’s what I shared on the blog this month:

So that’s a snapshot of what life’s been like for us in the month of August. As always, thank you so much for following along on our journey and being so wonderfully supportive of everything I share here and on social media.

Photography & styling by Jojotastic.