Coffee Talk: July 2018 Edition

Happy Friday, y’all! This week definitely flew by and it’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through July. I have two more weeks left of my summer session of grad school and then am in the final stretch. I am looking forward to a little getaway to Ocracoke this weekend. I haven’t been in two years and it’s been longer for David, so we are really excited to see all the changes and to continue our trend of relaxing trips this summer. Today I’m sharing my July 2018 edition of coffee talk with some of my ramblings and musings from the past month.

While I was in Bryson City, I read When Life Gives You Lululemons and it was so good! I read it quickly and definitely recommend it. I am taking The Last Mrs. Parrish to the beach with me. If you have any book recommendations, please let me know!

David and I had the best time on our anniversary trip to Lakeview at Fontana. We haven’t been able to stop raving about it to people. I’ll be sharing a travel guide for Bryson City on Monday, so be sure to check out what else there is to do in the area and start planning your trip!

My grad school course this session is about the social and cultural history of the United States since 1865 (the year the American Civil War ended). The reading list has been too real and too timely. Last week, I read The Condemnation of Blackness, which is a history of race and crime postbellum. This week, I read Impossible Subjects about the history of illegal immigration and the racial hierarchy that was established in 1924 with the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act. Both of this books are relevant to the information that we see daily on the news. I found them informative, enlightening, and it gave me a lot to reflect on. If you are interested in learning more about the history of our country from various perspectives, I highly recommend these two books.

I know the Nordstrom sale is here and everyone is pushing it hard on social media and on their blogs. Hell, I even did a preview blog post about it. But, it is a little much. Some people are pushing it as if you don’t shop it, you won’t be part of the fashionable or cool crowd. I mean, some of it’s cute, but really, I would rather spend a little more and support my favorite local shops. I shared a few on my Instastories yesterday as well.

Yesterday, I spent the day with two of my best girlfriends from college. Laura is turning 30 today, Hillary just had twins 4 months ago, and my life has been an emotional rollercoaster for the past 5 months. It was so great to get together to celebrate their two big milestones and to just have some uninterrupted girl time.

I am so excited to update this restaurant list I made earlier. I have checked a couple of restaurants off since I posted about it, so I will be working on updating it. I also have a list in my Google Keep that has restaurants I want to try, and Miller’s Restaurant in Mocksville was on there for their pimiento cheese burger. David and I stopped on our way to Lakeview and it was really good.

In last month’s coffee talk, I shared the best Air BnBs in every state. This month, I’m sharing the most beautiful hotels in every state.

We have finally gotten our two guest bedrooms ready for our arrival for our guests next week and I am excited to share that sneak peek with you next week on the blog. It’s been a long time coming! One of our guest bedrooms was just an empty room with the dog kennels in there. Whoops.

I went to the media preview of Morgan Street Food Hall opening on July 23 and it is such a fun spot. I am really looking forward to visiting again! I am so excited for Raleigh to have a food hall, and some of my favorite restaurants have spaces there! You can see more on my Instastory Highlights under the North Carolina tab.

For the past several months, there have been some things in limbo with the position I took in August because of budget cuts in our district. Back in December, I interviewed for my dream job, and after several months of uncertainty, I begin today. I am so excited to combine the various works that I am passionate about into one role. I actually started on my masters specifically for this position, so it is surreal for it to come to fruition. It is fitting I’ll be kicking off my 10th year in public education by combining my interests and work from 5 years in the classroom and 5 years in intervention. Stay tuned!

Lastly, I am honored, humbled, and thrilled to be named one of the 50 best North Carolina blogs by FeedSpot. You can see others on the list here.

I hope you have a great weekend and I would love if you followed along on Instagram since David and I will be in our favorite spot in the world. I’ll be using this packing guide for our trip!

And don’t forget to check out this week’s posts. Here’s a recap of our stay at Lakeview at Fontana and my summer makeup routine!