October 17, 2026 – MY BABIES! I missed them so much, so I’m glad I got a little bit of doggo snuggling time on Saturday.

October 18, 2026 – I couldn’t help but take a picture of Eloise looking so regal on Sunday morning! Go off, girl.

October 19, 2026 – It’s Monday. It’s my first day back at work in two weeks. I need a strong cup of coffee in one of the mugs I bought during our trip!

October 20, 2026 – I have to say that Florida’s weather has been outstanding this week. The highs are in the low 80s, which means I can go for a walk at any time of the day! Usually, I have to get it done by 8AM or I’m going to be miserable.

October 21, 2026 – A little online admin time with a side of Lila snuggles. She loves to bump her head against my hand when I’m trying to type, so I have to stop what I’m doing and give her attention. She’s a menace. A very, very cute menace.

October 22, 2026 – I turned around in my office chair to find two little ladies hanging out right behind me! Well, Eloise was on a very important work call and Lila was just wondering when the next round of treats would be.

October 23, 2026 – What a perfect mail day! I got the best Halloween card from Jenny, and then Michelle sent me a homemade bookmark that couldn’t be more perfect! Thank you, ladies. I feel so loved!

1) Settling back in

I am slowly but surely settling back into normal life after my long vacation and two weeks away from work. This was the longest vacation I’ve ever had! We were gone for 9 full days, and I think that’s about my limit when it comes to being away from my girls. I missed them! (Although I loved my cat sitter and will definitely book with her again. She even got pictures of Lila!) Eloise has been very snuggly and even more Velcro-y than usual, and I don’t mind it a single bit.

Coming back to work after such a long break was difficult, but I also felt really refreshed. And good thing because there are some big-time changes happening within my department. They will give me lots of opportunities to try some new responsibilities and grow my skills, and I’m ready for it!

2) NaBloPoMo

It’s almost NaBloPoMo time! Every year, I think about sitting it out because it’s a lot of work and I feel guilty for clogging up everyone’s blog readers. (It’s the Enneagram 9 in me.) But I can’t help myself, and I will be participating this year. I totally understand why NaBloPoMo is not everyone’s jam, but I am very much looking forward to it. And, this year, I’m going to take a page out of Julie’s book and do an A-Z challenge! I’ve been collecting ideas for each letter, and I’m challenging myself to write 500 words or less on each subject. It’ll be mostly personal anecdotes, some of it about my childhood and some of it just about me as a person, and I think it will be a great creative challenge for me!

3) Falling for falling back?

I have a long-standing feud with Daylight Saving Time. I hate falling back and love springing forward. When it gets dark so early, I lose any sort of motivation for evening plans. However… I might be coming around to this falling back stuff. I’m already noticing how the days are getting shorter, and I’m kinda digging it? Here’s why: When I moved to my new apartment last fall, I implemented a cozy “wind down” routine once I logged off work for the day. I close my laptop lid and tidy up my desk, close all of the blinds around my apartment, and light a candle. The cats would get dinner, and I would get in my jammies early and start making my own dinner. Then, once DST started in the spring, that wind-down routine sort of fell apart. After all, I’m not closing my blinds at 6 pm when there are still hours of daylight ahead! I’m starting to see the benefits of earlier sunsets, and I can’t say I’m dreading falling back like I usually do.

(I’m also saying this as someone who lives in Florida and our time change isn’t as severe! It would be another thing if it was getting dark at 4PM.)

4) Chip and Lucy

After all of the drama of trying to find the perfect caretaker for Chip and Lucy (my mom’s dogs), I think we found a winner with the boarding place! Chip and Lucy did well, and we got to see cute videos of them twice a day via a secret Facebook group.

Chip seemed to struggle a lot more socially than Lucy did (when we thought it would be the opposite). In every video, he stood at the door to the big open area where all the dogs were playing, like he was guarding it or wanted to leave. He also came back noticeably thinner, so we’re thinking he didn’t eat much. Poor buddy. He also nipped the workers a few times, which we warned them would happen. But he didn’t get kicked out, and they said they would be happy to have him back! (Phew.)

Lucy was a little social butterfly! In every video, she was running around with the other dogs. (I saw this video once that said dachshunds walk like they’re late for work, and that’s all I think about when I see Lucy walking around, ha.)

5) Weekend plans

This is going to be a quiet weekend for the most part. I have a writing date with Mikaela tomorrow morning, book club on Sunday morning, and football with the fam for the rest of Sunday. I may try to catch some of the World Series since our very own Tampa Bay Rays are in it! I’m not a baseball fan and find it very boring to watch a game, but having it on in the background while I do other things could be a cozy way to spend the evenings. We’ll see!

Are you doing NaBloPoMo? What are your weekend plans?

After a couple of days in Maine, it was time to pack up and hit the road for our final destination: Stowe, Vermont. It’s a six-hour drive from Bar Harbor to Stowe, but we took the scenic route, including a detour for the Kancamagus Highway, which was well worth our time.

We left Maine early, and opted not to have breakfast at the B&B. (The previous day, we had breakfast at the B&B, but we weren’t the biggest fans. We thought there would be a spread of food to choose from like my mom had experienced at another B&B, but instead, we were given one option, and for picky eaters like us, it wasn’t a hit. To be fair to this B&B, it has nothing to do with their cooking and everything to do with our own pickiness. Everyone else who was there for breakfast raved about the meal, and one person even wanted the recipe!) We’re two little weirdos when it comes to food, so we decided we’d find a restaurant on the road.

We stopped for a bite at Dysart’s, which is a local chain that really hit the spot. I was craving French toast, and it was delicious (and came with real maple syrup!). My mom had pancakes.

Then, it was time to hit the road for real. Our first destination was White Mountain Cafe & Bookstore, which was about a two-hour drive. I listened to podcasts, and my mom took a nap!

It was a real treat to find this bookstore, and even better to score a prime parking spot right up front. Somehow I didn’t take a single photo while in the bookstore, probably because it was pretty busy and I felt weird about whipping out my camera. It was a small bookstore with a very curated collection, and I didn’t find anything worth buying. I did find some great postcards, though. (I have a whole collection from this trip, so watch your mailboxes!)

And we got some refreshments. I ordered a Nutella iced coffee, and my mom ordered tea. And then we shared a grilled blueberry muffin that was so, so good. We took a seat on a bench near the bookstore where we had this insane view, and it was really nice to sit for a while, listening to the babbling brook and feeling the breeze. This might be the happy place I return to in my head when I need a moment!

We couldn’t stay too long, though, so we were back in the car to find our way to the Kancamagus Highway, which I had heard so much about in my research! But we both realized quickly we needed a restroom, so I hunted for an easy place to stop and came across a gift shop with an incredible view! They even had this huge patio with rocking chairs so people could relax and enjoy the view. I think New Hampshire might be my kinda place, for real.

After using the restroom, poking around the gift shop, and taking some much-needed selfies, it was back on the road.

We finally started making our way down the Kancamagus Highway, and it was definitely busy! Our first stop was Sabbaday Falls, where we snagged a parking spot just as someone was leaving (it was super busy!), then trekked down to the falls and back. The hike is listed as easy, but there are quite a number of steep climbs (which always terrifies me because I broke my ankle on a downhill during my first-ever hike), and I couldn’t see where to actually see the waterfall (I should have done more research, sigh, but even all the travel vlogs I watched didn’t cover this!). Apparently, there were stairs you could climb to get to a platform, but we missed that turnoff, and instead, I thought you had to make your way through all of these treacherous rocks to get to the falls. Ah, well. This just means I need to go back to New Hampshire to see the real Sabbaday Falls, right?!

Anyway, we didn’t stay too long and continued driving along the highway. There were lots of places to stop and take pictures, but it was absolutely packed with cars, and I didn’t feel like fighting for a parking space after the disappointment at Sabbaday Falls. So instead, we just enjoyed the drive and the views. We ran into some traffic on our way out of the highway, and we also didn’t have any phone signal once we left Sabbaday and for a pretty long stretch of time, so we lost GPS access. I kept thinking of those teams on The Amazing Race who drive for hours in the wrong direction. At least we weren’t in a race for a million dollars if we were going the wrong way! But I could also see that we were traveling west, which is the direction we needed to go, so I figured all was okay!

And it was! Eventually, we made our way through the Kancamagus Highway and out of the crazy traffic. And then it was time to finish up this drive! Getting to Stowe took a few more hours, and I was soon driving through winding mountain roads in the pitch black, which was not my favorite thing and I was white-knuckling it a bit until we finally got to civilization.

And then we were in Stowe… but you’ll have to wait until next week to hear more about Vermont!

New Hampshire Quick Facts

• When we visited: Saturday, October 10th
• Miles traveled: 354 miles
• Pictures taken: 26
• Favorite little moment: Sitting outside the bookstore, listening to the sounds of nature while eating a shared blueberry muffin with my mom
• Souvenirs bought: one magnet

After that, I considered stopping in Camden to walk around, get a snack, and maybe pop into a bookstore (heh), but it would make us get into Bar Harbor pretty late. I scrapped that plan so we could get to our destination sooner.

The drive to Bar Harbor was gorgeous, too, so I wasn’t mad about staring at the view for miles and miles. I kept myself busy with podcasts and then some music when I started getting tired and needed to keep myself awake.

Eventually, we made it to the B&B, which was really adorable. It was so quintessentially New England! I felt like I was living inside Stars Hollow.

The best part about where we stayed is that we were just a short walk from downtown, which had tons of restaurants and shops, so we spent a lot of time wandering around and picking up some souvenirs. I also forced my mom into her third bookstore of the trip – Sherman’s Book Store. Such a great shop!

We only had one full day in Maine, and we tried to make the most of it with a visit to Acadia National Park! I purchased a vehicle pass for Cadillac Mountain because your girls are not hikers, and I was trying my best not to injure myself on this trip. We got to enjoy the beauty of Cadillac Mountain and then eventually started driving through the park, stopping at little lookouts here and there. I was really looking forward to going to Sand Beach/Thunder Hole, but just as we were in line to pass through, they shut down this entrance due to a medical emergency.

A bummer for us, but much more so for whoever was dealing with the emergency. I couldn’t find anything online about what happened, so I hope it wasn’t too serious. Anyway, we made the best of it and went the other way, eventually ending up at Schooner Head Overlook.

I’m proud to say that nobody was hurt on this trail, so success! We took our time, let the more athletic people pass us, and enjoyed being surrounded by nature. And we were definitely treated to a beautiful view! We opted not to be too adventurous here by climbing on too many rocks, but it was a great stopping point.

We meandered around the rest of Park Loop Road, stopping here and there, and eventually making our way back to our B&B. We parked the car and then headed out for a delicious lunch (below). Afterward, we took it relatively easy! We meandered around the shops for a while, then went back to the B&B where we napped, read, and lazed around until dinnertime. We went for a super delicious dinner at McKay’s Public House to cap off our time in Maine!

It was a great introduction to Maine, but there is so much more to explore. I definitely need to go back!

Maine Quick Facts

• When we visited: Thursday, October 8th – Friday, October 9th
• Steps taken: 14,909 (over two days)
• Pictures taken: 54
• Best sleep: Friday (8 hours)
• Favorite experience: Seeing all of the fall colors on our way to Bar Harbor
• Favorite restaurant: Blaze (where the pizza above was from – so damn good!)
• Favorite little moment: Listening to a conversation between two middle-aged friends while we were at Nubble Lighthouse. One of the friends said, “This is such a beautiful day!” And the friend responded, “Every day is a beautiful day when I’m spending it with you.” Corny, yes, but it melted my heart!
• Souvenirs bought: two magnets (Nubble Lighthouse and Maine), a lighthouse print, a long-sleeved Acadia National Park shirt, an ornament, and two books

What kind of hiker are you: the kind who climbs on rocks like it ain’t no thing, or someone who is a bit more cautious like me?

Here’s what we got up to!

Trident Booksellers

After dropping our bags off at the hotel, our first stop was a bookstore. Trident Booksellers was a 10-minute walk from our hotel, and the brewery we wanted to go to didn’t open for another hour, so it was a no-brainer. Trident is such a cool bookstore where I found yet another gorgeous copy of Anne of Green Gables to add to my collection, along with an Agatha Christie mystery. They had a great curation of books, bookish items, games, house decor, and Boston souvenirs. I opted for two books and a sticker!

New England Aquarium

Our next stop was Trillium Brewery, but when we arrived, there was a sign saying they were closed for a private event. WAH! We walked over to the Boston Public Market for a quick lunch, although it wasn’t really our scene. (A great spot if you’re a foodie, though!) We found a burger shop and called it a day. I just needed to eat something and a burger and fries sounded great to me.

After getting some sustenance, we headed over to the New England Aquarium. My mom loves visiting aquariums whenever we travel, and this one was definitely a must-visit. There were sea lions, penguins, stingrays, and huuuuge sea turtles (my mom’s fave!). And, of course, lots of fish and small sharks and all that jazz. We spent a lot of time with the penguins and also happened upon the sea lion exhibit right as the trainers were giving a speech and letting the animals show off their skills, so that was a lot of fun! We spent a few hours at the aquarium, and once my mom got an alert that our room was ready to check in, we high-tailed out of there so we could get off our feet and RELAX.

Boston Public Garden/Beacon Hill

Our first full day in Boston, we did a lot of walking! We walked Boston Public Garden, part of Boston Common, and Beacon Hill, which are all located in the same little square. I enjoyed perusing the stacks at Beacon Hill Books, although I didn’t see anything I really wanted to buy. What they did have were some copies of Emma M. Lion. I’m starting to collect physical copies of these books, and while I was hoping to snatch up the second volume (I had already purchased the first volume), the closest I could get was volume four. Oh, well! It was something, at least!

Acorn Street

In my Boston research, I kept hearing about Acorn Street, which is supposedly one of the most photographed streets in the United States. TBH, it was… fine? I mean, it was definitely gorgeous, especially in the fall, but it didn’t blow me away. However, I did force my mom to take some photos with me. Of course, every other tourist in Boston decided they wanted their pictures as well, and they didn’t seem to care that they were in everyone’s way! Ah well. That’s the magic of technology. I removed the background characters from my photo, and voilà! It’s like we were the only ones there. Muahaha.

Bull and Finch Pub (aka, the Cheers bar)

This was a must-visit for us, as my mom loved Cheers (and I watched a few seasons myself, and enjoyed them!). We stopped here for lunch, even though there was a wait. We poked around the gift shop, took some pictures outside, and eventually our table was ready. The food was surprisingly good! It’s pricey, as you might expect for a tourist trap like this, but my mom and I split a plate of chicken tenders and fries, which was a great decision. It was all very tasty!

View Boston

We picked sunset tickets for our View Boston experience, and it was a gorgeous way to end the day! We took a stroll around the place, and got lots of great daytime pictures, and then we found a couch where we could relax and watch the sun go down on the city! It wasn’t until after sunset, as we were walking downstairs to get to the elevator, that I learned there was a whole second floor we could have explored and it had a full bar. Womp, womp!

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

If there is anywhere to go while you’re in Boston, it is here. This was, hands down, my favorite thing we did in Boston. It’s a whole experience, too, as you go through the entire journey – what led to the Boston Tea Party, what happened during the actual event, and how it set off a chain of events that eventually led to the Revolutionary War. And, of course, you get to “throw tea” in the harbor. You start in a “meeting room” for an assembly (the final meeting of December 16, 1773, which led directly to the Boston Tea Party), then go through the motions of the tea party, and then walk through a few more interactive exhibits that take you through what was happening in the colonies in the immediate aftermath. It was so cool and I loved every minute of it.

Fenway Park

We had a bit of time after the museum before it was time for our next excursion: Fenway Park! Mom and I are not baseball fans, but it was still really cool to visit this iconic landmark in Boston and hear the history of the Red Sox. It was about an hour, and there was a lot of sitting in all the different seats around the stadium: from the original wooden seats from 1934 to the Green Monster seats to the press box. I like all the sitting, muahahaha. It was a really neat experience, and I’m sure even cooler for someone who is an actual baseball fan.

Ghosts & Gravestones Boston

We had to do a ghost tour while we were in Boston! Unfortunately, this ghost tour just didn’t do it for me. I love a ghost tour that’s a mix of history with really creepy stories, and this one just seemed to have a lot of creepy stories without the historical connection I crave. We did get to visit the graves of Franklin and Revere at night, so that was cool! But it just wasn’t my favorite ghost tour, which is fine. They can’t all be winners!

Boston Quick Facts

• When we visited: Monday, October 5th – Wednesday, October 7th
• Steps taken: 34,556 (over three days)
• Pictures taken: 155
• Best sleep: Tuesday (9 hours, 3 minutes)
• Favorite experience: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
• Favorite restaurant: Bull and Finch (although the fries at Bleacher Bar in Fenway were out of this world!)
• Favorite little moment: Making up stories about the penguins with my mom at the aquarium
• Souvenirs bought: a mug, an ornament, a magnet, a bookmark, and three books (Anne of Green Gables, The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie, and volume 4 of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion)

Have you ever done a ghost tour? 

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas (★★★☆☆)

Print • Library • Mystery • 2024

Short synopsis: With her sights set on freeing her sister’s beloved from Moriarty’s clutches, Charlotte is forced to divert her plans when the disgraced Lord Bancroft Ashburton compels her to track down his missing henchman, dead or alive.

This is the eighth book in the Lady Sherlock series, and I’m not sure if I will continue after this one. It’s not that it was bad. Like all the Lady Sherlock books, it was a fun ride with a cast of characters I have grown to love dearly. At first, I tried listening to this book, but I got very confused by all the different characters. I set it down, determined to try again in print, and it went a lot better in that format, especially because I kept a character list on my phone to keep things straight. I enjoyed the mystery at the heart of this book, but at a certain point, there was too much going on, and it started to feel a bit convoluted. Everything came together nicely at the end, but it was a bit of a mess to get there.

The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response by Ellen Vora (★★★★☆)

Print • Owned (Amazon) • Nonfiction • 2022

Short synopsis: In The Anatomy of Anxiety, Dr. Ellen Vora argues that anxiety can also stem from physical imbalances, lifestyle factors, and deeper issues in our lives. Drawing on scientific research and clinical experience, she offers practical strategies for managing anxiety and reframing it as something that can guide us toward greater balance and well-being.

I’d really recommend this book to people who struggle with anxiety but are interested in exploring ways to manage it beyond medication. For me, I’m someone who does need anti-anxiety medication to keep my brain functioning at a relatively normal level, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. A growing body of research has found a relationship between gut health and brain health, and I’m definitely interested in learning more about that connection! In fact, one of my best friends struggled with depression for over a decade before discovering she had a chronic autoimmune condition. Once she cut out gluten, her mental health improved drastically. Of course, that’s not going to be the answer for everyone who struggles with a mental health disorder, but it’s a good reminder that our physical health can have a significant impact on our mental health, too.

The way I approached this book was with curiosity. To be honest, none of the strategies discussed were particularly groundbreaking. Eating less sugar, getting better sleep, and understanding how stress affects the mind-body connection are all things we’ve heard again and again. But sometimes, it helps to understand why these habits matter and how they can affect our mental health. I think it’s vitally important to be introspective about our bodies and our lives, and I appreciated the reminder to look at the bigger picture when it comes to mental health. I didn’t agree with everything in this book, but I do think Dr. Vora has an important point to make: so many environmental, societal, and dietary factors affect the way our bodies function, and those factors deserve consideration when we’re trying to understand our mental health.

I’m not going to stop taking my medication after reading this book, nor even approach the topic with my psychiatrist. But I am thinking about some of these strategies and how they could help improve things like inflammation, moodiness, and period hormones.

Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake (★★☆☆☆ 1/2)

E-Book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2026

Short synopsis: When two heartbroken artists—April, whose ex-fiancée left her for a younger woman, and Daphne, that very woman—find themselves working together at a New Hampshire resort, a rivalry over an opportunity to showcase their art in London gives way to an unexpected attraction.

This is the second book in AHB’s Clover Lake series, and it has not been working for me at all. Was she just a one-hit wonder for me (Delilah Green Doesn’t Care for liiiife)? In this book, the characters felt so similar that I kept having to remind myself who was who. (“April is the girl who got dumped. Daphne is the other woman.”) The romance didn’t feel particularly believable, and I really, really hated the dark moment. I thought it was honestly a bit silly because she left us on a cliffhanger, like we thought something different was going to happen. (Hello! We’re reading a romance novel! We know how this ends!) I love a dark moment that feels earned and real, and basically makes me want to cry alongside my characters. I didn’t feel anything for these two, and by the end, I was skimming just so I could be done. I think it’s time for a break from AHB, which really bums me out.

What are you reading?

October 3, 2026 – Let the packing commence! Lila wants everyone to know she was sitting on one of my bags just for a comfy spot to rest; she did not want to come with me to New England.

October 4, 2026 – I accompanied my mom to drop off the dogs for their long sleepover at a local boarding place! Chip loves to sit smushed behind the back of anyone who will let him during car rides. You do you, Chippy.

October 5, 2026 – We made it to Boston! Our first day included a trip to the New England Aquarium, where my mom and I spent an inordinate amount of time watching the penguins and making up stories about what they were saying to each other. Should we start a TikTok account?!

October 6, 2026 – One of my favorite photos from our trip! We’re at the legendary Acorn Street for a gorgeous photo opp. (Did I photoshop out the crowds of people who were also trying to get their own photo opps? Yes, yes I did.)

October 7, 2026 – This one is for San! We toured Fenway Park, and while I am not a big baseball fan, it was a lot of fun! Our tour guide was this 20-year-old college kid who had an immense amount of knowledge about baseball and the Red Sox in general – what a cool gig for him!

October 8, 2026 – Pit stop at the Nubble Lighthouse while driving from Boston to Bar Harbor. It was a gorgeous day – sunny and in the sixties. I could have lived here forever.

October 9, 2026 – Acadia National Park! There is so much more we could have done/explored here, but sadly, part of the park was shut down shortly after we arrived for a medical emergency.

October 10, 2026 – New Hampshire! We had been driving for a while, and both of us needed a restroom pronto, so I found this gift shop in the middle of the mountains. It had clean bathrooms; we picked up some souvenirs; and we stared at the incredible view for a bit.

October 11, 2026 – We’re in Vermont! What a beautiful state. I want to come back again and again and again.

October 12, 2026 – The gondola to Mount Mansfield in Stowe is pricey, but the views were 100% worth it. (Sadly, it was too foggy to see much once we got to the top, but that’s the risk you take!)

October 13, 2026 – We did the iconic Smuggler’s Notch route on a cold, rainy day. It gives the pictures a specific moodiness!

October 14, 2026 – One last Vermont hurrah! We visited Cold Hollow Cider Mill on our way back to Boston, and I very much enjoyed my cider donuts.

October 15, 2026 – Home sweet home! (Originally, our flight was scheduled to land around 10pm on 10/14, but it kept getting delayed. We didn’t board until around 9pm and arrived home at 1am. We took a Lyft to my mom’s house, and since I didn’t feel like driving home at such a late hour (and when I was exhausted), I crashed on her couch and woke up early to drive home and love on my girls! Eloise was lying on the couch and poked her head up when I came inside. She started meowing at me immediately and rushed to greet me! (Lila needed a bit more time to forgive me for leaving her for so long.) It was so good to be home!

October 16, 2026 – A lazy Friday. I did some grocery shopping and laundry, but also took a very long nap and read on the couch while the girls snoozed next to me. Bliss!

September 26, 2026 – Eloise would like to show you her new collar. It has pumpkins!

September 27, 2026 – Let’s just say this might be every Sunday picture from here on out. Football on the TV, two doggos in my lap… perfection!

September 28, 2026 – I had a photoshoot with Lila while I was trying to finish a book because she arranged herself on the couch right next to me and gave me so many cute poses! Giving you only one of these photos is heartbreaking.

September 29, 2026 – A bedazzling night with Bri! I am working on the spine of one of my copies of Anne of Green Gables. I don’t love the design of this spine, so it needs a little jazzing up.

September 30, 2026 – Is it embarrassing for your mom to take a photo of you while you’re on a Zoom call with your colleagues? Oops.

October 1, 2026 – If you’re wondering what FaceTiming with me is like, I’m basically just flipping the screen around to show Lila in a COMPLETELY NORMAL POSITION and cooing, “Look at the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!!!”

October 2, 2026 – I had to be presentable on a Friday because I had a client call, which is very unusual for me. The Friday before I leave for vacation, no less! Ah, well. I looked cute, so I had to document it.

Programming note: I will be taking a blog break while I enjoy my New England road trip with my mom! I thought about doing real-time blogging during the trip, but I really want to disconnect and unwind. I’ll be sharing photos on Instagram, and I’ll pop in here next Saturday with two weeks’ worth of photos to share with you guys.

The high of my week was a bedazzling girls’ night with Bri! I gave her some different options for her birthday date night with me, and she chose the one I was most excited about! She came over, we ordered pizza, and then we bedazzled while watching travel vlogs on YouTube featuring all of the places I’ll be visiting next week. (Bri is an evangelist for travel vlogs to get her excited for her travels!)

The low of my week was feeling like a chicken with its head cut off as I tried to prepare to be out of the office for two weeks. I really didn’t know how I was going to get it all done because I had to finalize October assignments, edit September content, and create tons of handoff docs detailing what I do. (The last thing I want is anyone covering for me to feel like I didn’t prepare them enough!) I’m also trying to set things up so my coverage people won’t have a ton to do since they already have enough on their plates! And in the midst of it all, there have been client fires and random meetings and a surprise project to handle. I love being busy, so I don’t mind all of this, but hoo boy, I will be very glad to shut things down at 4PM today and delete Slack/Gmail from my phone. (I don’t play around when it comes to my vacation time!)

I’m currently reading only one book right now! (Very strange for me.) I’m about halfway through Sipsworth by Simon van Booy. This is our October selection for book club. It was my recommendation, and it’s getting very mixed reviews. One friend gave it 2 stars and said she was being “generous.” Eeps! So far, I’m kinda bored by it, so it might be a whiff from me!

A Reel that made me smile was not one Reel, but a series of Reels by a new creator I found, Olima Omega. He basically finds the craziest influencer videos and spoofs them, essentially showing the ridiculousness that is today’s Internet culture. This is the one that started my undying love for him!

A show I watched this week was the Big Brother finale! Okay, so I’m writing this post before the finale, so I have no idea what will happen. I think I will be happy with any of the final three winning, but my heart is set on one person taking it home. Fingers crossed!

The best money I spent this week was on so many different tours and excursions for our trip! I booked a brewery tour in Vermont, a very expensive gondola ride in Vermont (but everything I read said that it’s totally worth it), a day pass for Acadia National Park, and a ghost tour in Boston. We’re going to have a great time (please send all the good vibes that neither of us will get sick or injured on this trip. We are very unlucky when it comes to stuff like this.)

My plans this weekend include so many things! Today, I have a massage scheduled at 5PM and afterward, I might poke around Target for a few trip items I need. Tomorrow, I have a writing date with Mikaela in the morning, and the rest of the day is free! I’ll be spending most of the day packing, cleaning, and getting everything set up for the girls’ cat sitter. And Sunday is football with the fam! I’m staying over at my mom’s house since our flight is early on Monday, so it’ll be easier to wake up in the same place and have everything we need ready to go.

What was the high of your week?

anticipating our New England road trip. For so long, I didn’t even know if it would happen or if we’d have to make some drastic changes to our itinerary, but it’s happening. This time next week, I’ll be in Boston!

obsessing over the weather in Boston, Bar Harbor, and Stowe. Every morning, I check my weather app to see how things have changed. So far, it seems like it will be perfectly chilly for us!

refusing to look up fall foliage maps. I do not want to be disappointed if the foliage isn’t as vibrant as I want it to be. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll let myself be surprised!

creating a big master to-do list for the week. There are chores to do, packing to start, an itinerary to finalize, tours to book, and odds and ends like preparing for the cat sitter. AHH!

tracking my daily page count total for a reading challenge at work. Last I checked, I was in the lead, so let’s hope I maintain that! (Today is the last day, so fingers crossed.)

watching the new season of The Traitors US. It’s all “normies” (typically, the cast is filled with reality TV veterans, Real Housewives, and random celebs), and the cast is excellent!

listening to an outstanding thriller called Ask for Andrea by Noelle Ihli. This was a Kim recommendation, and she knocked it out of the park!

choosing my next book to read. Typically, I stick to my strict TBR list when choosing what to read next, but I have a short window between now and when I leave on vacation, so I want something quick and easy I can finish by Sunday evening. I might just pick a book off my shelf on a whim! (Update: I picked up Sipsworth by Simon van Booy.)

researching everything I can about anti-inflammatory diets because I think it’s time to make a big change to the way I eat (ugh)

playing around with my Medrol dose, once again. Right now, I’m back up to 6mg (my original dose was 12mg, before I was on meds), but I think I need to up it to 8mg.

buying an insulated medication travel case because I have to travel with two different medications that need to be kept cold. One of them can be kept at room temperature if needed, but the other one absolutely cannot so… erm… fingers crossed?!

dealing with a facial rash near my nose. It’s not super noticeable, thank goodness, but I haven’t been able to do my normal skincare routine in weeks because of it. My dermatologist believes it’s perioral dermatitis, and she cautioned me that it can be really difficult to treat. Hooray! She prescribed two topical anti-inflammatory meds (I use one in the morning, the other in the evening) as well as a round of antibiotics for a week. So far, no real changes, but it’s still early.

loathing the way my beloved Miami Dolphins are playing this season. And our best player is out for the season. Thankfully, I have my backup team (the 49ers, my brother’s fave team) to root for and they are playing exceptionally well this year!

eating Snickers pumpkins. I don’t love regular Snickers, but give me Snickers shaped like a pumpkin or a Christmas tree or a heart, and I’m all about it!

annoyed by all of the political ads. And since I’m in a blue city in a red state, I get to see allll of the Republican ads.

feeling like I am in a good place with my mental health, after a pretty big dip at the end of August/early September.

What are you currently loving and loathing?