a particularly perfect weekend.

The weekend was summery perfection. It makes returning to work this morning particularly unappealing. But I have new lipstick, so that helps a little.

Not shockingly, I spent as much time as possible piddling around in my yard and flower beds.

Saturday morning's harvest that went directly into our bellies at breakfast. Aren't the golden tomatoes fun? I've never grown them before, but I was wooed by the fact that they're ready for harvest like two weeks earlier than my usual red varieties...and so they are! They taste yummy, too, and also their plants grow totally differently than what I'm used to, so it's been fun getting to watch them grow! And eat them, of course. Duh.

Dahlias DO NOT PLAY when it comes to being fabulous. I can't believe this is my first year planting them. Next year I'm going to plant like...a dozen.

We finally have enough variety in what's blooming to make some fun mixed bouquets!! Now the inside of my house looks happy, too!

On Sunday we dug up and replaced all of the pansies in the front bed with summer annuals (vinca). That meant Matt dug 72 holes and I filled them with 72 little plants. It wasn't really the afternoon of my lower back's dreams, but it needed to be done. And now our front bed looks way less depressing. Dozens of rotting pansies weren't really doing much for my front yard feng shui. I'll take pictures once the plants look a little less HI, I'M NEW HERE!!! 

Back to Saturday. After a morning in the yard, we did the Good Grownup Thing and went to the gym. Now that the college kids are (mostly) gone for the summer, the gym is gloriously empty and devoid of people doing annoying things. Also I can take pictures in the mirrors in the Ab Room without people seeing me and judging me.

Don't worry. Matt isn't napping. We'd just finished doing a lot of really painful planks. Promise.

After the gym, we spent a few hours recovering in and by the pool. That is perfection. If only every workout could be followed with a sunny and lazy afternoon at the pool.

Saturday night was Book Club!! In the last four months, Book Club has quickly become one of my favorite things to look forward to each month. This week we discussed The Rosie Project, which was universally loved. This month we're heading back to our young adult roots and reading The Program, which I'm really excited about!

I spent the wee hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning and late Sunday afternoon starting and finishing The Fault in our Stars. I know. It's embarrassing that I'm only now reading it, but better late than never, right? (says the girl who still hasn't attempted Harry Potter....) It was fabulous and heartbreaking. And now I am prepared to go see the movie with all of the other adults-who-love-YA-books.

That's pretty much it. Oh, I also spent a lot of time oooooohing and awwwwwing over pictures of my newest baby niece! She was born on Thursday and obviously is the cutest thing ever (I mean, equal to my other niece and nephew, of course). Now I just need a free weekend so that I can go meet her in person.

Yall watching The Bachelorette this season? I know I haven't talked about it much, but I'm faithfully watching! To be honest, I followed Reality Steve all through the 'off-season' (while they were actually filming), so I've been spoiled from the beginning. So all of my thoughts about things are tainted with knowing what happens, hence the radio silence. But I'm still enjoying the season and am SUPER GLAD that Bradley the Super Obnoxious Attention-Seeking Opera Singer is gone. Also I discovered that Sharleen, my favorite contestant from JP's season (and possibly favorite person on earth ever) has a new blog!! She does episode recaps (in addition to other stuff) and as you would suspect, they're thoughtful, insightful, and grammatically correct. In conclusion, I love Sharleen. So if you're a Bachelor(ette) fan, you should check that out.

Have a happy Monday!