August: Notes from the Bayou 🐊✨

well hello my friends, welcome to my august recap!

life has been so different for me these days — I’m out of the house 30x more than I used to be, I’m exploring different things, grounding myself, learning new things and just being present. August was a great month for me (other than the entire house getting covid)… it was so much fun! my mom and grandma even came to visit last weekend and we all had a blast. lots of pictures so stay tuned <3

you know they always say home is where the heart is — and that is one saying that I can relate to now more than ever. Louisiana has been calling my name since I fell in love with it when living out here in 2020. We moved abruptly that following year, and I immediately regretted it. now that we have moved back and have been here for two months I can honestly say — this is my home. I will never want to live anywhere else and I am okay with that. my heart is here.

this month we celebrated my 2 year olds birthday!! although, it sucked because that very day she got really sick and we weren’t able to finish out everything we wanted to do. we took her to new orleans (my favorite place in the world) which is about 50 minutes away from where we currently live, had some fried chicken, beignets, and played at the park for a bit. while at the park she started showing signs of being sick, feverish, etc so we left immediately and came home. it was fun while it lasted.

that same week, the entire house came down sick. i missed several days of work, the kids shook back pretty well though so that’s good!

we went on several road trips to new orleans last month and it heals my heart every single time we cross the crescent city bridge. ya’ll can call me dramatic — and thats okay because you would be correct. but there’s something about it that tugs my heart each time. and yes, every single time we are on that bridge and freeway, i will take a new picture! bite me, lol.

my son and I also signed up for library cards which was cool. I’ve been wanting a library card for so long and I’m glad we were able to have a mom and son date at the library that weekend and check out some books! our local library is adorableeeee. They have a nice area for the kids to play with toys, color on paper, and events that they have every month! we took the kids as a family to the library for a free painting class! :)

i also started to pick up sipping and painting at home too! on friday or saturday nights me and a very close friend of mine will facetime and paint something we found on pinterest. we’ve done it twice now and i’ve loved it. also gives us a new way to connect and become closer. i can say that if you have friends that are far away, it is nice to do things like this to keep that friendship fire! i have learned a lot this year on what does and doesn’t work for me and my friendships but i can honestly say that i am getting more comfortable with being more out of my shell and giving more of my time to my friends because that is important.

another thing that i’ve made sure to keep in the center of my world this month is building my relationship with God. me and God have been besties this past month and I plan to keep that going from now until forever. everyday I talk to him. even if on that day I didn’t open my bible, I talk to him and it honestly makes my days so much better. I have felt a spirit move within me and in my space and it has felt so good. changing my ways, changing the way I think, the way I carry myself, the way I honor him as much as I possibly can, has been such a game changer for my life. I’m still not perfect by a long shot… but I have been more conscious of the way I speak. making sure that I am not speaking out negativity on my life or the people or situations in my life. i am making sure to speak positivity over everything and not being the cup half empty person anymore. i am working hard on removing the pessimism from my speech and mindset and adapting a more positive outlook. so that has been really nice.

one day that really hugged me the right way this month was a day when my husband and I played hooky and spent the day in the quiet while the kids were at school and daycare. i wasn’t feeling well, but I knew a day with him would heal me a little and it did. I just love him so much. I love being around him and in his space. We went on a little road trip to Baton Rouge and it was raining that day — can you say perfect!?!? if you know me, you know rain, fog, clouds, and cold weather are my jammmmm. now, it may not have been cold BUTTTT it was windy, rainy, and perfect. we ate at a new spot (and when I say spot I mean a gas station — if you’re from Louisiana or if you live in Louisiana you know that you can get a full MEAL at most of the gas stations out here). it was sooo good. on the way home it started raining harder and we listened to some of our favorite songs and I sat back and enjoyed like the passenger princess I am. I didn’t get many pictures, but I did get a picture of a tree that day and that was enough for me. there were soooo many trees on the backstreets we took. it was like driving through a rainy little forrest. it was so perfect.

I also tried a new moonshine!!! it was sooooo good. if you ever run across it — buy it immediately!! banana pudding!? like hello. it was so good. and I wish I would’ve bought the bigger jar, lol.

my mom and grandma coming to visit from Texas was the CHERRY on top of my month. what was even better? my mom FINALLY met Jeremy’s step dad and adoptive parents (long story) but anyway, she finally met the people that made my heart a little bigger. we didnt get pictures of the meeting, we were all present and laughing and enjoying our time, but it was beautiful. I am soooo thankful for my in laws and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

it was sooo much fun having my mom and grandma here. they had a freaking blasssstttt. we took them around our neighborhood and they fell in love (who wouldn’t?) its the perfect mix of country and city. i love it so much. the first night they came we went grocery shopping at Rouses and my mom was super excited to do so because she’s been wanting to visit that store for a while now. we bought food to cook for dinner, some charcuterie essentials, wine for the weekend, and a few other things. that night I made a creamy meatball soup. my grandma was like “ouu yea girl you can cook!!” lol, YES!?

the next day we took my mom and grandma out on a day trip to new orleans and we finally got to take my mom to Manchus. IYKYK! best fried chicken wings ever. we ate at city park and got some beignets there too at the Cafe Du Monde that sits right in the middle of the park. It’s my favorite because you have the view of the trees and the playground and it’s so cute and peaceful.

after the park trip we went to the hurricane Katrina memorial — we had never been and it was Jeremy’s first time being there too. It did bring back some memories for him as he was well aware during that time and went through so much with his family. I got a nice picture of him and it’s definitely one we HAVE to print and put up on our family wall.

my mom was able to finally get her hand grenade at tropical isle, too and they were delicioussssss. we also took a ride through the french quarter and seen all the cool stuff they had going on that day. we werent able to explore the french market though. my mom and i made an executive decision not to get out of the car and go because Jeremy would’ve had to drag us out of there LOL. We took my mom to visit her old school she went to in the french quarter when she was in elementary which is something she always likes to do when she visits and I’m glad we were able to do that. there was a lady across the street with a bubble machine and just hanging out with her drink and bubbles and I thought that was the cutest thing ever.

after our little trip, we stopped at a daquiri shop and me and my mom got daquiri’s, took 2 shots, and headed over to my in laws house for the final touch to the trip. it was perfecttt.

the next day we took the kids to the pool, got food that night, and went to bed early. we were exhausted from the weekend. the next day was September 1st. a perfect end to one month and start to another.

so as you can see, August was busy and eventful. I plan to rest just a tad more this month and start winding down for the fall season.

I hope you all had a great August and I hope September is great to you.

Until next time! ✨