Recently, life has been busy but in a good way! If you follow me on Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee), then you have probably seen all of the excitement going in on my life recently. One of my best friends, Bryn, moved to the Washington, DC area for the summer (and has been here for almost TWO months now!), I have gone into the city for a few day visits, and I have enjoyed essentially the dog days of summer before I head off on an almost-month long adventure through 10+ different states.
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- Visits to the city – Recently, I have been enjoying quite a few visits into the city. If you have been following the blog for quite some time, my local city is Washington, DC! I have LOVED going into the city that I truly love and am proud to call my home. Funny story – I went to a picnic at the gorgeous Glen Echo Park – located just Northwest of Washington, DC in Maryland – and my Mom and one of my family friends who works at my company were joking about how I didn’t want to leave my college state of North Carolina post-graduation to move up to Washington, DC. And, well, here we are – one of the BEST decisions I EVER made was moving to the Washington, DC area and out of North Carolina!! My recent visits have involved going to Dupont Circle, the National Mall, Metro Center, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Here’s to many more memories exploring my gorgeous city!
- Local walks – One of my goals of the current moment or *I guess* dog days of summer is to go on MORE WALKS! Especially with my recent health and fatigue, I want to be able to enjoy the moments and the little things in life, which I feel a walk allows me to do. I can admire the gorgeous flora, fauna, and the stunning beauty that is around me. I have gotten a lot of walking in on my day trips into Washington, DC along with the near-to-me Heron Pond in Fairfax Station, Virginia. Personally, Heron Pond feels like a fairytale cove – some photos below!
- Planning for my upcoming trips! – On my Instagram the other day, I shared a bit about the planning process for my upcoming travel over the next 6 weeks. Yes, you heard me right – I will be on the road for the majority of the next 6 weeks! Papa and I are going to visit 10+ states on 2 road trips together and I will be visiting *yet another* state on a third trip on my own with some friends from college, too. Currently, we have been in the process of booking hotels, planning out snacks and other meals, choosing activities to do, mapping out our routes from place-to-place, and listing out what we need to pack. And, for me, I am *ALSO* planning out my content for all things The Pink Chickadee! Some of the states that we are going to include: Maine, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Indiana. In addition to 10+ states, we are going to Canada for a few day trips as well. Needless to say, I am SO EXCITED for it all!
- Healthy eating – Along with walking, I am also making it a dog days of summer goal of mine to focus more on healthy eating. Recently, I have been striving to eat more in and less takeout. While, at the same time, exploring some healthy meal options, such as: baked tilapia with roasted veggies, veggie bowls over rice, egg bowls packed with vegetables, and baked feta pasta with veggie-based noodles and broccoli, onions, and mushrooms. There’s A LOT of great healthy eating options, and I am more than excited to explore what the world of healthy eating has to offer to me!
- Breaking open my brand-new Lilly Pulitzer agenda – It is July 31 as of the day that this blog post goes live, which, well, means that tomorrow is August 1! August 1 is Day 1 of breaking open my brand-new Lilly Pulitzer agenda (!!!!). I always buy the jumbo-sized agenda, since my handwriting is HUGE. I use my Lilly Pulitzer agenda to map out: what I plan to eat, when I plan to workout, what professional development activities I plan to do, what blogging tasks I plan to accomplish, and what activities I am going to be doing for the week/month. As my best friend Shivani says: ” I get my every penny out of my planner” (she owns an Erin Condren planner!!). And, just like Shivani, I do (and plan to do!) the exact same thing. In the meantime, shop my favorite planner here and my favorite Lilly Pulitzer planners and accessories below: https://rstyle.me/+cJphmW-md5iOOQEFMkMggQ
XOXO – Katie <3