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Today is the last official day of summer break and we’ll all be waking up bright and early on Monday morning to send the kiddos back to school. While I’m sad that summer break is over – this one was soooo good, y’all! – I am really looking forward to so many things that back-to-school and fall will bring! I mean, can one really ever be sad about fall?!
In no particular order, here are a few things I’m so very excited about!
O N E – The Return of Structure and Organization
I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants for a lot of the summer as I’m trying to EMBRACE all the things this year (it’s my word for 2022!), and while it has been lovely being so spontaneous for the last 11 weeks, my Type A heart is definitely starting to crave structure again. Structure is my middle name. It’s who I am. As much as I would love to be a spontaneous person every single day of the year, it is just not who God created me to be.
Therefore, these last couple of weeks I’ve been over here getting organized so we can all be ready for everything that back-to-school brings! I’ve already prepped my planner for the month of August adding meetings, events, and important reminders to the monthly calendar as well as the daily pages, and I’m currently working to map out my overall goals for the month of August. I typically do my monthly goals posts the first Friday of every month (which should have been today), but due to my spontaneity these last couple of months, I didn’t get my act together in time to post it today. For those of you who came here today for that, it should be up next Friday. Summer vacation Lindsay is, indeed, the most laid-back Lindsay. ;o)
When the kids go back to school, I will have an uninterrupted six-hour stretch every single day, and I intend to make the most of my time while also leaving some time for fun – coffee dates with girlfriends, lunch dates with old co-workers, etc. Therefore, I’m currently trying to pinpoint priorities for August so I can get back in my productive schoolyear groove!
And since the holidays are just around the corner, I also printed my holiday checklist – a master checklist for every single thing that I need to do/buy/prep for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and everything in between. We’re talking gifts, special treats for the kids, school events, parties, dinners, festive PJ’s… the works! I’ve never shared this list, but I hope to share it soon if I can get my act together.
Finally, in preparation for #allthefreetime I’ll have soon when the kids go back to school, I’ve also started filling in my editorial calendar for the blog so I can start planning what I need to do for each post, when I need to take pictures, when to make recipes, etc.
I have been using a Simplified Planner for the last four years to stay organized, and it’s my absolute favorite planner EVER. It has ample room for all the things I need, but none of the fluff that I don’t need. It definitely lives up to its name, and that’s exactly why I love it so much. Life is anything but simple, so it’s nice to have a tool that simplifies my life as much as humanly possible.
And if you want to see how I organize my planner and #allthethings in life, check out this post here. It’s officially my third most popular post EVER.
We are the reigning college football champions, y’all, and while I’m sad that we’ll possibly have to let that title go after this season (please play well so we can keep it, Dawgs!!), I am so dang ready for all things college football!
Picture this – you wake up on Saturday morning, sprinkle a few drops of cinnamon and clove in the diffuser (or light a Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle from Bath & Body Works if you prefer) and you turn on ESPN College GameDay to start the morning. It’s chilly outside and the leaves are drifting to the ground in colors of red and orange and yellow. Your favorite team plays at 7, so you spend the day decorating the house for fall and making appetizers since all of your friends are coming over for the game. At game time, you crack open an ice-cold beer (nestled in your favorite team koozie, of course) and you spend the rest of the evening snuggled up around the fire pit cheering on your team with all of your favorite people.
Heaven, right?
And going to the games is even better! There’s just nothing like Saturday in Athens!
Speaking of which, we actually just found out that we got tickets to the kickoff game for UGA vs. Oregon and WE ARE SO EXCITED. We have been UGA season ticket holders for almost 15 years, so we get tickets to every home game in Athens, but we have to apply separately for any games that aren’t considered home games. Our opening game this year is the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta against Oregon so it’s a special one which means that we had to apply separately for special tickets. We are so excited to have our feet in the door… even if our seats are in the nosebleeds! Haha.
And you know what’s even more exciting? That it’ll be in the air-conditioned indoor stadium. #PraiseBe The first outdoor college football games of the season are always brutal in the south.
So anyway, T-minus 29 days, y’all! EEEEK! Something else to look forward to!
And if you want to see just how deep my love runs for this sport, check out this post here… I poured my heart out, y’all. I love my Dawgs.
I live in Georgia, and the weather in Georgia during the summer months is just AWFUL. Not only is it hot, but it is humid, too, and that makes for sheer misery in July and August. Cooler temps typically start creeping in here and there in September (although, September is mostly brutal, too), and then by November, we typically cool down to bearable temps.
The return of cooler weather means that I finally get to start using a few of my favorite things after 6 long months without them – this cozy cardigan, my favorite jeans, boots, and snuggly blankets, and actually savoring my hot cinnamon tea rather than sweating the whole time I’m drinking it.
Bring on the pumpkins and fall leaves, y’all! I’m basic and I know it, and I totally own it! Fall has been my favorite since I was a little girl and so many of my favorite memories of all-time are from fall.
I started working at the movie theater (my first job that you can read all about here in this post) in mid-September back in 1998, and those were three of the best years of my whole life. Several of my best friends worked there with me and, y’all, it was the best job ever! Every year when September rolls around, I’m 16 again, and 17 again, and 18 again, and 19 again and I’m just living my best life with some of my favorite people in the world, popcorn-scented hair and clothes and all. I’m sure the fact that some of the best years of my life began in September is a huge part of why I love fall so much.
So yes, I love all of the basic girl things about fall, including the décor. I go all out with the fall décor and the Halloween décor and then eventually the Christmas décor, and I cannot wait until September 1 when I can finally put out the pumpkins and fall leaves! Oh, and twinkle lights! You can never have too many of those!
And if you want to see all of our past holiday décor, click this link and it’ll take you to all of the house tours.
Cinnamon is my all-time favorite scent ever and it’s also one of my favorite flavors, and I’m counting down the days until I can start running it in the diffuser again. As much as I’d love to diffuse it year-round, there’s just something special about saving it for fall and winter. My favorite combination is 5 drops of Cinnamon Bark and 3 drops of Clove in the diffuser… it smells almost identical to the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle from B&B Works!
My Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea is also more special in the fall and winter… I drink at least 1-2 cups of it every single day! It’s like drinking a red hot!!
On the Blog This Week
Happy Friday, y’all!
I'm not quite ready for fall but I'll be happy to get back into a routine.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fall girl too! I cannot wait to put out the fall decor. It will be HOT still in September in Texas, but I'm dragging out the pumpkins, leaves, and acorn decor anyway!
ReplyDeleteI feel ya, girl! It'll still be hot here, too, but that won't stop me from pulling out the pumpkins! Haha.
DeleteYES! If my kids have to go back to school, then give me all the structure and coziness! and of course Football!
ReplyDeleteI love all things cinnamon too! BUT, I'm not quite ready for fall or structure just yet.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know several other people aren't ready just yet either! Y'all still have some time, though!
DeleteSO ready for all things fall. Even here in Missouri, it's brutal. I mean, winter can stay away though lol.
ReplyDeleteI have zero interest in college football (I went to a teeny, tiny school for undergrad, and sports were not a thing!), and yet that fall scenario you spelled out sounds pretty delightful! I don’t know when exactly I became a fall person, but it has definitely happened, haha!
ReplyDeleteYou know I am HERE for fall and this post!
ReplyDelete