August in Photos

1. The beginning of this month I was visiting my parents for the last time before the end of summer. I spent some good quality time playing with Huxley and just chilling around their new home! I really love the lake that is located just outside their front door and I especially love that you can walk to everything you'd need.
2. I'm working out! And in order to work out properly you need new, beautiful, tennis shoes. I'd heard many good things about the Asics brand and after visiting countless stores I finally found the. perfect. pair. I've gotten many compliments on them already!
3. My family loves babies. So when a teacher who used to work for my dad had this beautiful little girl, Penny, we had to visit her. Dad had already had "Penny time" several times so it was my turn. I had to fight to get to hold her!
4. My favorite doughnuts. ever. Mini donuts covered in chocolate sold at the Soulard Farmer's Market in St. Louis, MO. All other doughnuts aren't even worth the calories after you've tried these.
5. The Wien Picnic and these iconic Bingo cards. With my Grandma no longer living in her home, it wasn't quite the same. But it was nice to go back to the house, spend some time with my family, and pretend like these treasured traditions will never change.
6. And I'm back in Bloomington, working hard-core to get ready for the new semester. I can hardly believe I'm starting my second year at IU.
7. Eric surprised me by having my doctoral diploma framed for me! It looks great in my office and reminds me how hard I worked to get where I am. I'm so grateful that I get to wake up every day and do something I love. But it wasn't easy to get here.
8. Mom ordered me these cute clipboards and this one I hung on my door to display an inspirational quote every week. I'm not sure anyone even notices the quote changes, but it makes me happy nonetheless.
9. Eric and I saw our first movie at the IU cinema! We saw To Rome With Love and it was fantastic. I'm pretty bummed we went a whole year without going to the IU Cinema, it is an adorable little movie theater and much cheaper than the regular theaters. Plus, they get better movies.
10. Classes haven't started yet, so we took Huxley on a walk on campus before it began overflowing with undergrads. Huxley got a few adoring looks and really enjoyed all the new smells.
11. At the Bloomington Farmer's Market, this little girl was selling her art work for just $1! Eric and I have begun our art collection and this piece was the perfect addition. I like to think we are supporting an aspiring artist. I haven't seen her at the Farmer's Market since. She must have made enough money to last her awhile.
12. A bottle of wine at Oliver Winery. I'm reading books for my Faculty Learning Community on Intrinsic Motivation and Eric and starting his class reading early. Classes still haven't started quite yet and we are just enjoying the last few days of freedom.
13. Huxley. On a normal day.
14. Jessica Quirk of What I Wore (a blog) invited me to join her book club. I read this book in a week. It was fantastic. Now I'm juggling two monthly book clubs and although it is time consuming, it is totally worth it! I love all the books we are reading.
15. Huxley likes to bark at everything that moves outside. Just this once he found a real treasure! Eric took these fantastic photos of a deer taking a rest outside!
16. Eating out with my colleagues on Thursdays is one of my favorite parts of the school year. We meet at Finch's a couple times a month and I always order the Dordogne Pizza. The most delicious pizza I've ever had.
17. A professor who teaches visual merchandising can't help but notice when the visuals are just. plain. awful. This part of campus needs some serious help.
18. While attending a hYPe (helping young professionals excel) event, I won this iPod nano for having the closest birthday! (Not until October 24!)
19. I'm going to miss all this quality time with my Huxster.
20. First day of classes calls for a glass of wine.
21. For my PEO book club I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand about a young man's experience as a POW in Japan during WWII.
22. I'm becoming one of those parents who can never post enough photos of her adorable dog. I cant' help it. Look at him!
23. I attended a Pattern Meet-up with a few colleagues in Indy. Pattern is a group of professionals interested in developing a fashion scene in Indy. I'm pretty impressed with what they're doing and ended up backing their magazine!
24. Dad came to town and Eric and I took him to Flavors of 4th Street, an event celebrating the diverse food on 4th street. We have everything from Thai to Indian to Tibetan. This may be a new favorite event in Bloomington!
25. Oliver Winery is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year and the three of us went to one of their vineyards to  celebrate with them! They had food trucks, wine tastings, and hot air balloon rides. We sat among the grape vines and listened to music and ate until we were stuffed. It was perfect.
26. A new inspirational quote adorns my office door!
27. I'm walking to class and the weather is perfect and I'm distinctly aware of how great this semester is going so far! I wonder how long this will last. It is infinitely better than my first semester at IU. I'm improving!
28. Ms. Jane Matranga taught me how to do pin weaving. I attended a few of her textile labs to "play around" with the students as we develop some fun art pieces. She advised me to frame mine and display it in my office, I think I'll do just that.
29. SIFE is back up and running. They did a tremendous job at the Student Involvement Fair, I can't wait to hear how the callout meeting goes!
30. I've started my third book for the Faculty Learning Community on Intrinsic Motivation. I'm now reading Total Engagement by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read. In addition to all these books, I'm also playing video games. We are all work, all play.
31. I love these boys.