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July Lifestyle Favorites

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July Lifestyle Favorites

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Confession time, I struggled with this post because I had a lot of trouble remembering where July went or what I did.
There was a lot of day job stuff. A few coworkers left so there were rounds of goodbye lunches and goodbye cocktail hours. Also, there was a big announcement about the newspaper I work for being sold. So that was another round of frantic “what’s going to happen” lunches and cocktail hours.
Also, I had to spend part of a day looking for a dead body. That’s not often the case so I made sure to leave a descriptive away message on my work computer.

To be more precise, I was out looking for deputies who were responding to a call about a dead body found by passersby. Why yes, police officers do love being trailed by the media. Did I ever tell you guys that my Grandma’s husband was a cop? He died before I became a reporter. Good thing.

Cooking

Maine has been hotter than normal this summer, or at least it seems that way to me. So I made chili in the slow cooker one Sunday when I didn’t want to grill or turn on the oven.
I also made garlic scape pesto, which I love because it is so tasty and versatile. Drizzle over pizza or pasta or spread on a sandwich or a burger.
It’s excellent mixed with mayo and spread on a BLT.

Watching

If you do one thing this summer, you must watch Iliza Schlesinger’s new standup comedy special on Netflix, called Elder Millennial. She is so funny and this special was really on the mark.

Reading

Haven’t read any books this month that I can remember. I’ve been surfing through old cooking magazines looking for inspiration for fall/winter dessert recipes because in blogging world, Halloween/Fall/Thanksgiving/Christmas officially starts Aug. 1.

Doing

I did a no-spend July and it wasn’t as difficult as I imagined. I did buy a pair of sandals at T.J. Maxx. But only because they were exactly what I had been searching for for years. And when you live on the Maine coast and find a pair of shoes you love that fit, you buy them.
Fashion choices here are very limited and I just haven’t cottoned to shopping for everything online. Do you have any online shopping tips for me?
What was I doing at T.J. Maxx during a no-spend month? Husband really needs more socks. He goes through them like water.
And then there were unplanned social activities with coworkers that I could have said no to but felt it was in my best interest to participate.
I’ve been harvesting lots of sweet peas.
And baking lots of cookies.
chocolate chip cookies on a silver baking tray

Egg-free chocolate chip cookies taste just like your grandma’s chocolate chip cookies. You’ll need a tall glass of milk or hot cocoa to go with it. See more cookie recipes at kitchenserf.com

buttter cookies with tube of chocolate frosting


Italian cookies are among the best cookies in the world!

And photographing lots of cookies.

stack of cookies on plate with glass of milk

Pretzel chocolate pecan cookies are a bit salty, nutty and buttery with a bit of chew thanks to chopped pretzels, salted pecans and bittersweet chocolate as well as brown sugar in the dough. I also added a cup of crispy rice cereal, which keeps these cookies from being too rich.

Listening

I’m glad I listened because I learned a ton I didn’t know about accounting and bookkeeping for bloggers. Also, it wasn’t as painful as I was expecting.

Practicing

My youtube yoga teacher has been doing a teacher training overseas for the past several weeks so there haven’t been any new yoga videos. I’m jonesing for a new video.
What have you been up to this past month?
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