Summer is still hanging on in most of the United States, including Indiana. The temperatures were in the upper seventies and lower eighties with lots of sun and some humidity. Don’t worry though, I still celebrated fall, with a pumpkin beer! I highly recommend Blue Moon’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale for those who don’t love the darker, thicker beers that come along with fall and winter. It’s light, but still fall-ish.

This weekend was full of two things: babysitting and meal prepping.

At the beginning of the year, I realized that the only ways I was going to be able to afford a new Mac laptop was by creating some extra income. I was already trying to adjust to having one job instead of two, after two years at J.Crew. So, I’ve tried to say yes to babysitting jobs when they come around. I’m getting closer and closer to my laptop, and finding that I do really enjoy spending time with kids. Babysitting has also given me such a great opportunity to meet families at my church, and get to know them.

 I enjoy cooking and meal prepping. It’s so fun to figure out what meals I’m going to make, head to the grocery store, chop vegetables, and cook everything. This weekend, I made turkey burgers and turkey meatloaf. I’ll freeze the burgers and eat the meatloaf this week. One of the biggest areas of growth I’ve seen in myself in the last year has been not just looking ahead, but planning ahead. October will be a month of a lot of weekend trips/events, making it harder to grocery shop and meal prep, so having some frozen turkey burgers will prevent me from having to eat out or stress about lunches after a fun weekend.

Speaking of extra income, my roommate and I are officially addicted to Poshmark. It’s an online marketplace where people can buy and sell gently used clothes. I’ve gone through my closet and taken out what I don’t wear, and listed it online. It’s been good and hard because I’ve forced myself to evaluate why I don’t wear an item. If it’s because I forget that I have it, then maybe I keep it, but if it’s because it’s uncomfortable, then it goes. Clearing out the unnecessary so I can focus on what I enjoy and actually get use out of. I’m not a minimalist by nature, but clearing out what I do not like with the income incentive is perfect!

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I LOVE listening to the Sorta Awesome podcast. This week they talked about risk taking, and it was so inspiring to hear women share about when they’ve been brave and taken a risk on themselves, their families or love. If you’re looking for something to listen to while you workout or commute to work, this weekly, hour-long is sure to bring some awesome into your life.

If you haven’t already heard, Anthropologie’s sale section is on sale! I cannot afford to shop there full price, but sales and gift cards have given me some of my favorite items of clothing. I’m loving this dress right now!

Happy Monday!