Friday Night Dinners w/ neighbors
For the past month (since right before school kicked off around here) we've been getting together with neighbors for a casual dinner hosted at someone's house on Friday night. Once we ordered pizza, once we grilled out burgers and dogs and this past week we hosted and did soup, salad and bread. I love having a social start to my weekend but one that's low-key and doesn't require a babysitter. The kids out-man the adults about 3 to 1 so these get-togethers are neither peaceful nor full of deep discussion, but it is a lot of fun and kind of feels like what neighbors are supposed to do together. P.S. If the cost of hosting a gaggle of friends for dinner intimidates you, serve soup and bread. I think the average cost per serving of this meal was less than a dollar.
Listening to podcasts with my kids
Totally beats listening to the same NorthPoint music (sorry, I love you Northpoint, but everyone has their limit) on repeat or flipping through the radio. My kids and I are currently loving The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids podcast. Some episodes have a moral bent to them, some talk about a random science subject. All of them have great character voices and sound effects and a sweet little phone call at the end from real kids. It's what the kids ask for now every time we get into the car.
Binge watching Parenthood
BJ and I are mid-way through Season 6 and while I still hate the new intro music on principle (bring back Dylan) I love the characters just as much now as I did in Season 1. What is going to happen with Joel and Julia?! (But seriously, don't tell me.)
Throwing fruit into my water
Lemons, limes, cucumbers anything to make it taste interesting! I've been guzzling 64+ ounces everyday this week in an attempt to stave off my sugar cravings. In related news, cucumbers are the only thing I've managed to grow in my garden this summer.
InstaSnapChatGram (aka Instagram stories)
Since most of my people aren't on Snapchat, I am loving seeing you on Instagram Stories. I love seeing your face and your casual everydayness. Don't get me wrong, I still expect perfection from your actual Instafeed, but I like the laid-back nature of the Insta-stories. If you need more of me overexposing my life, I'll be doing so on both Instagram and Snapchat for the foreseeable future. Username: @leipprandt
Reflecting on my ideal day
A few months back I went through Tsh Oxenrider's Upstream Field Guide program. (This was where I took the Enneagram test for the first time and learned I'm a 7.) One of the things we were made to do during the process was to journal an ideal day. This idea seems so obvious but it was really profound for me to actually take the time to write this list down. I kind of use it as a mental check list about midday now, when I am trying to prioritize the second half of the day: did I take 10-30 minutes to intentionally connect with a friend today? Am I eating well? Have I read for pleasure? If I am really off my ideal day, I can still course correct and feel good about myself come bedtime.
Oribe Beach Spray.
I bought this stuff because it was on super sale back on Amazon's Prime Day, but I'll pay full price whenever it runs out. Here's my current hair routine: shower and wash hair, towel dry hair, shake this can and spray all over head, leave well enough alone. I love what it does to my semi-wavy locks. Air-drying alone can leave my hair half-frizzy, half-straight and it is simply not an option to blow dry my hair in the summer around these parts. #nothappening Warning: I tried this on Britain's stick-straight tresses and it did nothing. So I think it's probably only going to work for those of you with a little wave in your hair. There may or may not be a guy in the house who has started using this in the mornings too...
The Promise of Autumn
I'm over summer. It's my least favorite season here in the Deep South and I swear I can smell apples budding on trees and tiny green pumpkins peaking out on the vines of farms around us. Right? Right?? I am DYING to say PEACE OUT to shorts and tank tops 'til next May.
What are you loving right now? Any great podcasts I can add to the kids' playlist? Talk it up in the comments.