I love the summer, but what I hate about it is that it seems to move too darn fast! We’re in the first week of July and I’m already freaking out that I’m running out of time to enjoy the season!
I’m a day late, but I’m joining Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date! Since it’s been hot as HECK so far this summer, I’m going to mix it up and have a virtual iced coffee! I hope you can grab a seat and join me as we catch up on our regular, non-running life! I’m also linking up with Wendy and HoHo for the Weekly Wrap!
[bctt tweet=”Time for the #ultimatecoffeedate! How’s your summer going so far, what’s new?? #runchat” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
Ultimate Coffee Date – July 2018
If we were having iced coffee, I would tell you…that it’s a little rough having the 4th of July in the middle of the week when you don’t take any days off…but I made the most of it! We had a few friends, family, and neighbors at the house and we cooked up a storm! It was so much fun, even though I didn’t see a single firecracker or fireworks! Bret and I really enjoy entertaining, but we don’t do it enough! I was really happy to make red, white, and blue cocktails and thanks to my sister’s assistance with pouring, they came out great! How did you celebrate the holiday? Got any good leftovers (we have tons)?
If we were having iced coffee, I would tell you…that I’ve switched over to taking Regional Rail public transit to work instead of driving and for the most part, I’m loving it! No potholes, relatively little traffic, and I’m not sweating in my car’s pathetic A/C system! The best part about taking the train is that I’ve been able to read during my commute. I’ve already finished 4 books since starting to take the train: Animal Farm, The Good Samaritan (took me a few days to recover!), 1984 (mind blown!), and Straying. Now I’m reading The Handmaid’s Tale – and it’s so good! I just have to remember to turn off the Kindle when I’m done reading so that I don’t run out of battery life in the middle of a good chapter (again)!
If we were having iced coffee, I would tell you…that I hate that I keep talking about my plantar fasciitis, but it’s so frustrating. I just don’t understand why they didn’t enroll me in physical therapy this time around. I feel like my stretches aren’t doing enough; I don’t feel any improvement and I’m NOT running. Ugh…wake me up when it’s over. Any positive vibes are greatly appreciated!
If we were having iced coffee, I would tell you…that my Saturday was pretty fun! We went for the cake tasting and decided on our cake flavors, but now I’m not sure that we made the right choices. We decided on vanilla with lemon filling on the bottom tier, lemon on the middle tier, and spice on the top tier. The other options were chocolate chip, raspberry or strawberry and a variety of other fillings, including salted caramel. What flavors do you think you would enjoy for a wedding cake? The other note was figuring out the design. I didn’t realize our catering package would give us so much versatility for cake options, but the sky’s the limit! Bret and I agree that we want more of an earthy, rustic look for the cake but we really need to narrow down our vision. I’m also really interested in using real flowers…so we’ll see! Fortunately, we have plenty of time to decide!
If we were having iced coffee, I would tell you…that we also went for another tour of the wedding venue on Saturday. They were having a wedding that evening but we were able to walk through the grounds before they arrived and they are absolutely beautiful right now. Bret’s mom came and she was able to get a good vision of what we’d need for the centerpieces and decorative flowers. I can’t wait for you guys to see it in its full glory in October! While we were out there, we took a drive to the hotel that we reserved blocks for our guests, then we tested 3 local breweries for the post-wedding dinner, including Victory Brewing. Thankfully, we have options – Downingtown is much nicer than I realized, so I think our guests will have a great time!
If we were having iced coffee, I would tell you…on another wedding note, we are taking engagement photos next week and I am SO nervous! On Thursday, I scoped out the area where we want to take photos, but I’m worried that it might be too dark since our appointment is at 6 pm and it’s essentially in a forest. Now just because I have a blog, I don’t consider myself a photographer, lol, but I can’t help but try to anticipate what would/wouldn’t work! I just want our photos to have the right atmosphere because it’s in an area where Bret and I love to run and it represents us so well. I’m trying not to stress out about the whole thing, but it isn’t easy~
Does this look like a good spot to pose for photos?I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and a great start to your summer! What would you share with me over iced coffee?
It’s so exciting to read about your wedding plans! I bet the photos will turn out great. I know what you mean about the lighting but the photographers have all these settings on their cameras and can adjust for the light.
I hope your PF calms the hell down. It’s so hard to be patient but that’s really what it takes. Do what you can while you’re waiting.
Thanks! I can’t wait to get the photos – I think they’ll turn out nice (I hope)!
Boooo PF. Patience is hard, lol!
I love lemon flavors in cake/frosting, so I think those are all good choices. And, 6 pm is still braod daylight this time of year, so you should be fine with that too. Victory provided the beer after the Fondo. 🙂 So bummed about your PF. I know everyone is different, but PT really helped me. She did Graston and massage and then I did tons of exercises.
Good to know lemon is still liked, lol! We actually ended up having a really nice day for photos! I still don’t understand why they didn’t enroll me in PT, I think it would have made a huge difference…Graston is amazing! I have an appointment next week, it’ll be interesting to see what comes next (hopefully not the shot!)!
Many years ago I used to take the train to commute to work and I actually enjoyed it so I know exactly how you feel! Not having to deal with traffic and crazy distracted drivers is a plus!!
Regarding your PF, can you request that you take PT? You know your body better than anyone and if the stretches aren’t doing enough, Pt might help out. I hope that you get relief for it soon!
Don’t be nervous about your engagement photos – I’m sure that they will come out great!
I should have emphasized PT…because I wasn’t screaming in pain they acted like my pain was no big deal. Not pleased with these docs so far…in my next appointment I’m going to order them to put in PT, seriously!
Thanks – we had a lot of fun taking the photos, hopefully I’ll get them back next week!
When I worked in Boston, I took the train every day since my building was between two train stops. It was so convenient, and cheaper than driving and parking in town. I read so many books since I had about 45 minutes each way.
The train life is great! This morning I listened to music instead of reading since I just finished the Handmaid’s Tale and I need something a little bit lighter before I dive into another book, lol!
Ooh I still remember how much fun all of those wedding tastings were! Hope you both are having tons of fun with your planning. Summer does go by so fast!
Thanks a lot, Deborah! 🙂
I’m surprised you haven’t been referred for PT – can you request it? I really hope your PF calms down.
The cake tasting is always fun! Don’t worry about your photos I’m betting you’ll have enough light, plus it’s amazing what professional photographers can do 🙂
I will definitely request PT at my next appointment, because my icing and stretching hasn’t made much of a difference as far as I can tell :(.
I can’t wait to see the engagement photos, I hope we look good, lol!
How fun to do the cake tasting! We didn’t get to taste our cake a head of time (because we got married in Florida), so it was a gamble…lol. Turns out it was the best cake I ever had!
Ooh I’m glad your cake turned out well despite not getting to taste it! I wish I could do more cake tastings, lol!
I hope the photos work out! 6pm should still be good
The only down side of my recently shorter commute (train changes; Second Avenue Subway if you’re familiar with NYC’s trains) is less reading time. Glad you’ve found some.
As a Yankee fan and since the Sox were playing the Royals I’d say heartily go Royals
Thanks, Cari! We had a fun time and the lighting seemed just right – I can’t wait to get the phtoos!
I miss when the Royals were good, lol…I hear they’re now the “worst team in baseball”. It’s crazy how it swings so wildly from year to year! We went to a game at Yankee Stadium a couple of years ago and it was such a fun space, boo to Royals getting swept though haha!
It’s exciting to hear how your wedding plans are coming along. Gosh, so many options for cake! I’m happy with good ole white cake and butter cream frosting (preferably a corner piece, thank you very much).
I hope to be able to share more wedding updates on the blog! I’m big on the corner pieces of cake too, lol!
It sounds like you’ve made a lot of progress with the wedding plans. Cake is my weakness so I couldn’t choose from so many flavors. (I actually have a problem when given too many choices anyway. LOL). I think a wooded area for the pictures is perfect. Surely the professional photographer knows how to handle the light, or lack thereof? I’m curious, how long is your commute by rail? Reading is a great past time. Thanks for linking!
The wedding plans are flying by, it’s exciting but I do tend to stress myself out more than warranted!
We ended up going to a different spot for the photos but had lots of areas to shoot, I can’t wait to see how they came out!
My commute is 40 minutes each way, so a great amount of time for reading!
Aw, I guarantee your photos will be great. Maybe just mention your concern to your photographer, so he/she knows what you’re worried about, but I am sure they will be perfect.
Mmmm. Cake tasting. Our wedding cake with chocolate with raspberry filling, although I would have been far happier with an ice cream sundae 🙂
Can’t wait to see everything come together!
Thankfully as soon as I saw my photographer, I was in complete ease. Our photo session was so much fun, and I hope it’s reflected in the photos!
Ooh that sounds so good! I wish chocolate was included in our package, but I’ll eat just about any cake I can get my hands on, lol!
I didn’t want the Mets to win on a year the Yankees were pretty terrible, so I was a big KC “fan” a couple of years back. This year is weird – teams are either very good or terrible. There doesn’t seem to be much parity
Glad the session went well, hope the pics come out great
I love weddings so I really love that you are sharing some of the planning details. A friend of mine makes cakes using real flowers and they always look so exquisite and earthy so that’s a beautiful option of you go with that. Sorry to hear you are still not running and really hoping the PF situation works out soon. I can imagine the frustration 🙁
I wish I had a train option to work. Right now, I am spending too much time sitting in traffic and navigating some crazy drivers!
So many fun wedding things in your future! I love it and I know your engagements are going to turn out great! Can’t wait to see them!!