lately.

+ i've been trying to be more intentional with my time. i take breaks in the park. sometimes i just sit with the windows rolled down and listen to music, sometimes i walk around the parthenon if it's not too hot, sometimes i swing and read (or, just sit on the swing because both at the same time makes me dizzy).

i just finished all the tv shows i had been watching on netflix, and i'm trying to choose reading instead of finding new shows to watch. there are so many books i want to read, or re-read (because honestly, every time is like a new experience). and somehow i have fallen into an unhappy habit of watching tv instead of doing things.

+ july 21 marked two years of living in nashville. i didn't really mention it, and looking back, i barely mentioned it last year either. the thing about my nash-versary is that is falls two days after luca's birthday. in fact, the day i left home was the 18th and the day i arrived in nashville was the 21st. a year later, on the 19th, luca was born. it's funny how that worked out, and i am just now realizing it's probably not a coincidence. at the same time i celebrate another year of my new life in my new city, and the leap of faith it took to get where i am, i am also drawn back home, to the people i left, to celebrate another year of my nephew.

sometimes i wonder if luca is who we needed to keep us together during a time when there were so many changes and uncertainties and so much physical distance between us all. there were only five months between the time things first changed and the time we found out about luca, so i guess we'll never really know if we would've figured it out on our own. i can't help but be thankful we never had to.

+ i dyed my hair pink, y'all. shorter + pinker. it's something i've always sort of wanted to do, but never have for one reason or another. but nashville is crawling with girls who have colored hair (i mean full color––not just a highlight) and at some point, i stopped remembering the reasons and just went for it.

+ my friend rachel was in town last weekend to pick up some things she left when she moved and played a set while she was here. we worked together at the restaurant last summer, but before last week, i hadn't seen her play. she has a great voice, and it was awesome getting to catch up.

+ i went on a shoot with my photographer roommate, as her assistant, and it was quite an adventure. and by "adventure," i mean any and all things outside my comfort zone fit into this category. the shoot was outside, partly on a blueberry picking farm and partly in a small patch of wild flowers. which means i was all up in nature and stuff. ducking under branches that combed my hair and brushed my sides as i passed through them, walking through tall grass that tickled my ankles with each step, and getting cozy with some flowers and the spiders that were dangling from their stems. like i said, adventurous.

plus, i loved experiencing my roommate work in a professional setting (versus she shoots she does at home, on a random wednesday night, for fun). the photos she produces are incredible, but it was so fun to watch the process of taking them.

+ this week i tried out chobani yogurt, after having a conversation with T about our brand preferences of greek yogurt. i only mention it because i've talked about my fairly recent greek yogurt eating habits and i know this is the kind of riveting material you show up to read. she went on about how chobani is "all natural" with no added sugar and we were having this conversation via text, but i still rolled my eyes. and then went out later that day and bought some chobani to try. in my opinion, it's the worst tasting greek yogurt of them all. "but it's real!" T said. yes. real gross.

(no photo here because nobody needs to see the amount of granola i add to make it taste bearable. it's more like granola with a side of yogurt, if you know what i mean.)