Life Lately, in Snapshots // The End-of-Summer Edition

1. daddy + daughter beach hang.  //  2. favorite salad, courtesy of our container garden. //  3. my sister serenading the backstage.  //  4. we went to a fair just to eat funnel cakes.  //  5. a special day, getting a visit from some of my oldest friends and watching our baby girls meet for the first time.  //  6. my attempt at last minute patriotic cupcake for a 4th of july party.  //  7. truly the best game ever invented.  //  8. baby party!  //  9. exciting to see my smoothie recipe feature in the september issue of redbook magazine.  //  10. hanging out at work with the husband. //  11. she's on the move!  //  12. loving on my furry niece. //  13. there's not much better than a summer evening stroll.  //  14.  just like her mom, the contemporary design exhibit was essley's favorite at the indianapolis art museum.  //  15.  my happy place: warm evening, back porch, cold beer, summer flowers.  //  16. my new favorite (and almost nightly dinner): a plant based bowl.  thinking about sharing some recipes here.  //  17. a small portion of order madness after my clothing company's farewell sale.  //  18. one final late summer trip to the lake.

As my regular readers know, every few months I post some bits and pieces of recent everyday life here, via plain ol' non-fancy cell phone pictures.  Although my Instagram account (@bubbyandbean) has become my go-to for sharing quick personal moments like these, every now and then I like to 'check in' here as well.

This was my first summer as a mom, and although we took our fair share of mini trips and didn't have much downtime at all, it somehow still feels like it's been pretty laid back around these parts. And that's actually kind of nice, I'm coming to find out. Robbie was on the road for the majority of the summer, but we really took advantage of our time together as a family when were all together. We took lots of walks to the park, ate lots of summery meals on our back deck, worked in our garden, traveled to Indianapolis and up to our favorite lake in Wisconsin multiple times, had baby play dates with friends, and took time to enjoy summer as adults on several occasions too via movie dates, live music, and gatherings with our crew.

In addition to looking back on this summer as Essley's first, I think I'll also always remember it as the summer when I closed my clothing company after 15 years. It's still going to be a couple of months before all the loose ends are tied up with that, but it's already been a huge weight lifted not to have to focus on it daily in addition to all of my other work, and to finally be able to give full attention to the Bubby & Bean businesses - and to my daughter.

Seeing these pictures from the last couple of months makes me realize how much has changed in a short time, and makes me feel pumped to see what's to come. As I get older, especially in recent years, I value the simple moments more than anything else. And despite the fact that my gag reflex was in full effect as I typed that (because dude, so cheesy), it's the truth. Life's simple moments rule.

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