Currently: July 2026
I’ve lived 1,000 lives in July. It’s been a wild ride of emotions and a lot of work. In many ways, I feel like I’ve been operating on autopilot. I can’t remember what I did last week, let alone last month. I’m starting my first work trip of the new year this week (to the Philadelphia area). I still can’t believe the new year is here. This is shaping up to be a fast and furious fall. I have quite a few new professional adventures coming up that I’m curious to see how they shake out.
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Wearing:
It’s been so hot this summer. If I’m not out for my walk by 6:30am, it doesn’t happen. I feel like I’ve spent all my time trying to stay as cool as possible. Since it’s still so hot, I’m still fixated on my summer wardrobe.
The Sara Roka dresses I bought three years ago have been putting in work! If you can find her cotton or linen dresses on TheRealReal, snap them up. They are definitely some of my best summer purchases.
I’ve also loved my La DoubleJ ballerina skirt. I get an insane amount of compliments on that skirt. La DoubleJ has quickly become one of my favorite brands in the last year. It has the right amount of whimsy that I’m just vibing with on so many levels. Like, I bought a scarf top?? Who am I?!
My Sarah Flint block 30 sandals did the heavy lifting for me, even being on my feet all week. (I’m trying not to worry that some of my favorites aren’t getting restocked as frequently… they really are the best sandals for traveling to Europe (and work) in my opinion.
We are thinking about doing anniversary photos in London next month (if we end up going). It’s always hit or miss at the start of a new year. However, if we do that, I’ll have to figure out what I want to wear (and find a photographer). If you have a favorite couples’ photographer in London, please let me know!
Eating & Drinking:
Work dominated most of our waking hours this month. We did, however, sneak out to Third Thursday at Classic. Most folks were out of town, so a small group of us met up for dinner and wine. We opened some old and interesting bottles and really had a great time. It was super low-key, just the way I needed it to me.
This past Thursday, despite my absolute exhaustion from a week of training and people-ing… I decided I needed to spend 3 hours not thinking about work. We made it to the Fearing’s Wine Around the World dinner, and I’m so glad we did. It was a France vs. US blind tasting five course meal. Everything was fantastic. I can’t even tell you which course was my favorite. I got 4/6 wines correct and Tom got 6/6. I can’t even tell you which course was my favorite. If you asked me that night, I would have told you the scallop. Looking back, it might have been a summer tomato salad with burrata, peaches, and rosette de Lyon. My favorite wine was a French chablis.
Fortunately / unfortunately, we had such a great time with the couple sitting next to us that I ended up with zero photos of the food or the wine.
We had friends over this past weekend. I tried new recipes for roasted potatoes and macaroni and cheese from The Food Lab cookbook. (Our friends smoked a brisket!) We did a French vs. Italian wine tasting to test pairings. The overall winner was the 1999 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino. This wine is drinking perfectly right now. It’s a real treat to share a wine this old with such great food.
Photo Editing:
There’s been very little blog activity around here. I did update my Burgundy post with a new hotel in Beaune that we love. I’ve been editing some pictures that I took on a quiet Sunday morning in Paris in the early spring that I am sharing on this post. On one hand, I’ve just been completely exhausted. It’s felt impossible to organize my thoughts. On the other hand, I’m so behind on writing that I have no idea what I want to share next. I often tell Tom that I long for a superficial existence, and that has been especially true lately.
Alas, duty calls and I must answer the phone.
