This weekend was so lovely for so many reasons: Sean and Rob were both home, we got to see an old friend get married, we all hung out with college friends at the reception, the weather was perfectly chilly and the autumn leaves are really at their peak, and on Sunday my family lazily laid around together and took a boat ride around the cove and back.

  

  

And although saying goodbye to Rob every Sunday afternoon makes me want to cry, I've come to quite like my quiet Sunday evening ritual of dinner with my parents, a cup of tea, some Mumford & Sons, and catching up with the newest episode of Boardwalk Empire before I go to bed, ready for another week.

We took a vacation at home this weekend.

Life gets a little crazy sometimes, and my family is particularly bad about taking the lake for granted when things get busy. So when I got this new job, we decided to cancel our annual beach trip and spend a weekend fully soaking up our home and appreciating just how lucky we are to live on the water year-round. We stayed home, hung out together, ate seafood, took a billion pictures, boated everywhere, got in the pool, and sat outside for hours.

  

On Saturday, Sean and Rob set up an old projector and a sheet outside and we watched the Olympics under the stars. Summer nights, fireflies, and a homemade outdoor theater: this is what dreams are made of. 

Hope you had a beautiful weekend, too. Happy Monday!

I ate more than anyone should eat this weekend. I'm also pretty sure I finished my bibliographic essay, which means I'm finally done with my master's program. We'll see. This week is going to be a big one, and while the weekend itself was really nice, I've been looking forward to these next days for a while. Rob is coming home! Until then, here's a look at the past few days:

Up bright and early on Saturday to take Rocky for a check-up at the vet. 

He's so confused about being in the back seat of my car. 

Made homemade almond milk.

My sweet friend Claire came over on Sunday to hang out and have dinner.

Grilled artichokes and a glass of wine on the back deck. Not too bad.

I also drank tea, went to bed early every night, and spent some time reading outside. What did you do this weekend? 

Happy Monday!