September Highlights

Sunday, September 30, 2018
Life is seriously good.

This season is like no other. The turning leaves, the perfect blue skies. The buzz of students returning to school, fall tv starting and football. Everything feels fresh and new. Gone is the oppressive humidity and scorching heat and in it's place is a cool, crisp air beckoning us to go out and explore. The way autumn treats us brings enough joy alone that every other pleasure seems trivial. But like icing on a pumpkin spice cake, the delights of this season aren't all I've been fortunate enough to enjoy this month.




The absolute highlight of the month was attending one of my closest friend's wedding. This group of friends has been causing mischief together since early high school and we've grown into our own little family. We all got to spend the weekend together at Hotel Deco in Omaha doing everything from consuming as much caffeine as possible to primping before the ceremony to watching the Huskers take a beatdown from Michigan while eating a healthy meal of crackers and cheap wine.

Everything about the weekend was perfect. Rehearsal dinner was made from scratch lasagna that the groom's mother home cooked herself, and was followed with an amazing Lithuanian torte cake. We all watched our breath in the cold evening air, stood around a fire and tried to wrap our heads around the coming day. On the day of the ceremony the whole bridal party enjoyed hot coffees, scones and macarons from Sweet Magnolias while getting our hair done at Victor Victoria Salon. Our small group of friends ditched the rest of the bridal party and returned to the hotel room to do our makeup, and it was a perfect last moment before the ceremony.





The ceremony itself went off without too many hitches (who needs a veil or flower girl bouquets in the long run anyway?). The weather was beautiful, the bride was gorgeous and no one cried too much. After photos we got to return to the hotel again to snack and have a drink, and then headed off to the reception at Sokol, where cocktails and appetizers greeted us. We dined, we danced and then we enjoyed probably one of my favorite concerts of all time -- The Faint played the reception!! This band was a staple of our friend group when we were younger and even the groom's side loved them as well. We've all got their third album practically memorized. Technically, The Faint are responsible for the whole wedding, because the bride and groom met at one of their shows! It was so so loud, so energetic and the absolute epitome of the couple. No reception probably ever top it. Sitting at brunch the next day with these friends I've known over half my life was surreal. I'm incredibly grateful for their friendship, all the laughs and even the bad times. I look forward to many more moments like this one.

Of course this momentous occasion was supported by a whole multitude of other small highlights throughout the month. One of the most grounding things was a return of a daily yoga practice. There's nothing like a Yoga With Adriene free series to get you back into the groove of things and her most recent free series Yoga For All with Commune did just that. We just completed the 14-day series and I've really been enjoying coming to the mat each day, getting back in tune with my body and my mind and learning so much from her, as always. As if the universe knew we were craving more yoga, we also got to do some free rooftop yoga on top of my work building and it was completely serene. The sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining and it was a perfect 72 degrees. At one point we were all on our backs watching a flock of birds far up above us, listening to the music and doing some deep breathing practice and in that moment, everything was so easy and carefree and beautiful.




Lastly, more materialistically, I'm also really riding the high of finally starting to clear out my office. I've donated home goods and bedding to refugee resettlement groups, I've sold off some old clothing and I've lined up a good cause to donate the rest to. I've got organized piles. I can see the floor again and walk from one side to the other. John gets all the credit for making this happen because my avoidance game is strong, but man am I happy to have the room back and not to feel guilt every time I walk past the closed door. Once I wrap that up (October goal), I'm finally ready to go full steam ahead on other interior projects around my house. I can already tell this will be a winter of interior design and I'm all about it!

I hope you've found many small moments to smile this month and feel like you're loving life. If you haven't, I hope you're finding the support you need and that soon you'll be laughing again.
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