Of late.

I'm in love with every aspect of this evening's weather: cool and breezy and calm. I just got back from a long walk by myself. (I love walks by myself.) When I'm alone, I notice... the kids playing baseball in the side yard next to me, the cute white christmas lights strung across the fence, the intoxicating whiff of honeysuckle... all the "feel good" sights and smells and feels. We live on a beautiful street.

Ok, I must confess... I am absolutely obsessed with the house at the end of our street. (In the most non-creepy way possible, of course.) It's red brick with a green door and purple shutters. (I love shutters.) They have a dalmation, a white picket fence, and a brilliant, colorful garden - pinks and yellows and purples. It's the perfect blend of classy and cute. But tonight, as I rounded the corner, I heard banjos playing. Banjos! Trying not to look too creepy, I stole a glance. A father and son (I presume) were playing little tunes back and forth. I fell in love a little. And of course, my favorite part of the whole house was above them... two cute lawn chairs perched on top of the flat porch roof, perfect for star gazing... perfect for life!

I know it's Friday night, but I purposely decided to chill. I needed to. The fam has all gone in their different directions... so I took a walk and now I'm blogging?? And soon, I intend to either read or scrapbook or watch a movie. (It's more than ok... I'm quite secure in this evening's lameness.)

Lately, I've been falling into a routine. Routines are tricky things... if I don't have enough structure, I'm a mess, but if I have too much, I get all restless. Thankfully, I've been feeling somewhat balanced lately. But I'm tired. I've never actually had 40 hour work weeks before! It takes a lot out of you.

But I'm doing well. There's a certain satisfaction in finishing a busy work day and in making it to the weekend. And I've loved reconnecting with high school/church/childhood friends. Since I'm not going back to Taylor this fall, like I have for the past four years, I feel like I can really live my life as a St. Louisan again... which is kind of nice. Lots of concerts and Cards games and parties and whatnot. It's just nice to be in one spot. I mean, soon, I know the nostalgia will come as school starts back up. (Taylor falls are my favorite.)

But such is life, eh? It goes on. And thank goodness.