It’s Monday and the sun is shining for the first time in days, and I am just the happiest lil thing on the planet!  Last week was filled with dark and rainy days, and it had me all up in my feels.  But that’s kind of par for the 2020 course, right?  Lots of dark and rainy days.  Lost of reflection.  Sometimes it can be a little too much, and I find myself longing for the light and playful and carefree days that don’t come as easy right now.  But last week, although the weather was challenging, I had some of the most carefree moments in months.  Check them out…

1. Playlists.  Why don’t we ever talk about my love for music.  It is a huge part of my life, and I really haven’t shared much about it.  Oh no, I am not personally musically gifted (AT ALL), but I love music and so much of my life has been shaped by it.  Back before I was a mom and I was actually cool, I went to a lot of concerts.  Like a lot.  It’s been a really long time, and who knows what concerts will look like in the future, but there are few things I love more than live music.  Last week, with the rain and the gloom, I decided to work on my playlists.  I add to my Running Playlist almost daily as I hear songs at the gym that motivate me.  So last week, I gave a little TLC to my Chill Playlist, and I was so fun to relive memories through the lyrics.  It’s playing as I type this, and it’s a whole mood, y’all.  (Don’t forget, these playlists are public, so you can listen to them here anytime you want!)
2. Insta Interview.  Anytime someone reaches out to me and asks if I would be willing to do an interview for them, I instantly assume they contacted the wrong person.  Sure, I’ve been through some stuff, but I’m really not that cool.  It is such an honor when anyone asks me to share my story, and if it will bring even one person a little more joy, I’m totally game.  Laura from New Strong KC reached out and asked if I would be willing to take part in her Tuesday chats, with a focus on resilience.  I’ve been following New Strong for months, so I was thrilled and said “of course.”  We chatted all things cancer, Jesus, marriage, adoption, and Kansas City faves.  Laura is an absolute joy, so it really was a fun way to spend a few minutes, and I could have chatted with her for hours.  If you’d like to watch the interview, you can access it here.  Maybe it will give you a little inspo during your dark days.
3. Day Trip to Manhattan.  Not New York, my friends.  I WISH!  Chad and I have been throwing around the idea of a day trip for weeks.  We’ve looked at different articles about day trips in Kansas and Missouri, and last week, we decided it was time.  Ultimately we chose Manhattan, Kansas.  Growing up in Big 12 country, we knew Kansas State as an opponent, so we wanted to check out the site of 38 OU football victories.  Okay and we have a lot of friends that went to KSU, so we knew it would be a fun time.  On Friday, I took to my InstaStories, asking for recommendations.  And holy cow, my crew came through!  We left after breakfast and made the just shy of 2 hour drive to Manhattan.   We explored Aggieville, where we had a Nancy (Old Milwaukee draft and pineapple juice) and Chipotle Raspberry and Black Bean Dip at So Long Saloon.  We swung by campus and Snyder Family StadiumBill Snyder Family Stadium.  We walked up and down Poyntz, grabbed lunch at Tallgrass Taphouse and shared a slice of Chocolate Peanut Butter cake and a Snack Attack cookie at Bourbon and Baker. We rounded it out with a Manhattan Hill driveby on our way out of town, and Jack yelled from the backseat “I love this adventure!”   This was one of the best days our lil fam has had in a really long time. Highly recommend a change of scenery for a change of perspective.  There are so many more things we want to do in that area, so we will definitely be back!
4. Sunday Workout.  One of my favorite boutiques in Kansas City is Array, which is a boutique collective, meaning they carry multiple boutiques under one roof.  They opened a new storefront in Town Center earlier this year, and they have been growing ever since.  (Even through COVID.)  In the month of August, they will be hosting two parking lot workouts, and they invited a few local ladies to take a preview class on Sunday.  Typically Sunday is my rest day, but I didn’t think the workout would be too challenging, so I went for it.  Oh my!  I was wrong.  Look, I’m fairly athletic, but this booty focused workout by local fitness instructor Kristy Rae was ridiculous!  We used a resistance band created by local business Cakey Bums, and it was intense.  The workouts are designed for all fitness levels, and you can take it at your own pace.  The weather was perfect, and it wound up being a lot of fun.  But woah my booty was sore this morning!
5. Happyfeed.  Last week, I was on a conference call, and the icebreaker question was “What is your favorite obscure app?”  I kind of rolled my eyes at first, but it actually wound up being really fun and actually really helpful.  One of my coworkers shared an app called Happyfeed.  Essentially, it is an online gratitude journal that makes it unbelievably simple (and fun) to cultivate little moments of joy each day.  Although I don’t think that I will use it as a journal, it does have daily prompts to get you started, and I love the questions that it asks to get you thinking.  The app is cute, so the aesthetic alone makes you smile, but its capabilities are pretty fun too.  If you’ve been trying to find more ways to cultivate gratitude and remind yourself of the joy in your world, I highly recommend it.

As I look at my August calendar, there is a lot of fun to come.  I can’t wait to share it will all of you and to hear what’s bringing you joy this month too.

XOXO,

Molly B.