It’s September, and do you love it or do you love it?

*I LOVE IT.*

Here’s the thing – I adore summer. I am team Summer Everyday Forever.

Buuut… I am wearing a chunky burnt orange sweater with cropped jeans today! As in long pants JEANS! I also made veggie enchiladas and vegetarian shepherd’s pie this afternoon, and apple crisp earlier this week, and chicken wild rice soup last weekend. And wow. Maybe I am kind of also team Fall? Because I feel like I have a new bounce in my step.

The important question this month: how many pumpkin drinks have you had so far this year? because I’ve had at least 73.

Here’s what September has been like for us over here in charming, fall-ish St. Paul, Minnesota.

The House Hunting Never Ends

We’ve been at this for well over a year now. We have looked at honestly probably 1,000 houses or more on all the real estate websites (plus many in person). We have liked a handful of them. We have made offers on three. We have gotten zero.

My main takeaway with the whole process:

WE ARE IMPOSSIBLE, TERRIBLE, INDECISIVE PEOPLE.

Takeaway number two is that what we are looking for maybe, probably, almost certainly does not exist.

Here’s what we want (City Edition):

• Access to fun restaurants
• Access to good grocery stores!
• Access to nice trails and water? like, possibly a lake?
• Diverse community
• Charm, charm, charm

And here’s what we want (Suburb Edition):

• Open floor plan
• Bedrooms on same level
• Big yard
• Quiet
• Good schools

So… I don’t know. Where is the place where you can get all of that rolled up into one house with a cherry on top? We can’t find it.

Tell me your good stories about house hunting. Did you wait it out and find the house of your dreams? Did you buy a house that was like, meh, and then found yourself falling in love with it over time? Did you build a house? Are you team city or suburbs? Please discuss all.

Well, September Dinner Club Was Sure Delicious

I had planned to make us a nice fallish mushroom fettuccine, but then dinner club day arrived, and it was roughly 900 degrees outside, so I bailed and went for something less hot and heavy and a little more puckery, salty, and fresh.

Here was our simple, fresh, perfect early-fall-late-summer menu:

• Bacon Wrapped Dates
• Cheeseboard
• Red wine and white wine, I have no idea which kinds
• No-Cook Puttanesca
• Rosemary Garlic Bread (<- this general recipe, swapping 1/4 cup water for olive oil, plus adding some minced garlic and chopped rosemary)
• Italian Summer Salad
• Brownies

Baby Solvi Turned One

Precious, adorable, sensitive, chill but opinionated Solvi turned one year old this month.

This little love bug is just sunshine. A little run-down of One Year Old Solvi:

• She isn’t walking yet, but she’s a speedcrawler.
• She is a big, big baby. Like, wearing at least 18M and sometimes 24M clothes.
• Her favorite activity is eating. (Okay yes, these are all related.)
• Favorite foods are raspberries and more raspberries, spaghetti, taco-spiced chicken, avocados, sweet potatoes, black beans, and cheese. And a few more raspberries.
• She loves to “dance” – signature move is going into crazy flailing-arms-and-legs mode.
• She loves walks.
• She loves Sage. Sometimes a little too much.
• Riding in the car is not her favorite.
• Her favorite word is “guk.” Our little genius.

How Have We Not Talked About The Enneagram

Have you taken it? What does it mean to you? What number / type are you?

I have taken it several times and listened to several podcasts but this week I just started a real, official Enneagram book (The Road Back To You / affiliate link) and I am already very excited about it.

I test as a Type 6 which feels pretty true for me (like struggling with decision making OH YEAH remember the house thing?), but I also feel some connection to a Type 4 (being a little too emotionally intense for my own good sometimes). I am hoping the book helps clarify this for me a little bit.

I’d love to hear your Enneagram thoughts and experiences!

Who You Should Follow On Instagram

I take my follows very seriously, because what you see and read and look at all the time is what you’re basically feeding to your brain.

Here’s what my brain is thriving on:

• For minimalist, casual, ethical fashion: @natalieborton
• For some help being a more fun person: @etst
• For soul-quenching writing on motherhood and loss: @michaelaevanow
• For fangirling: @sussexroyal
• For faith and critical thinking: @jonathanamartin
• For pretty landscapes: @georgeduluth
• For funny IG story chats and beauty: @confessionsofacleanfoodie
• For things I usually need to hear: @yesandyesblog
• For laughs: @middleclassfancy
• For nerding out about the Enneagram: @justmyenneatype

Who are your favorite follows on Instagram or social media?

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Hello From Sage

Important words this month:

Sage wants you to find rest, even right now, even in your season of… stuff everywhere. Hardship. Busyness. Chaos. Heartbreak.

Take an emotional rest, a physical rest, a mental rest. You probably (definitely) need it. Let your shoulders relax a little bit. Leave the junk on the floor. Find a pillow and – literally or figuratively – rest your head for a minute.

Sage knows: this is just good for the soul.

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I hope your September was every bit as fallish as ours! Happy weekend! xo

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