Shouldless Days: August

I didn't do a "shouldless day" post for July because my time at the lake was basically a stretch of shouldless days as I only did whatever I felt like doing. But in August, I knew I needed to be intentional about carving out a shouldless day since it has been such an exhausting and downright unhealthy month for me! So I made this past Sunday a shouldless day and it was fantastic.

I started off the day by meeting up with a friend for breakfast. We went to Birchwood Cafe, which is a place I've been wanting to check out for a long time. They are masters of the farm-to-table style of dining and have a menu that changes with the season. They also have lots of gluten free options. I had an incredibly indulgent breakfast - the savory waffle. I rarely encounter GF waffles at restaurants so I had to have one.  It was a cornmeal waffle that included sweet corn, tomato jam, spicy honey butter, bacon lardoons, over-easy egg, maple syrup, and powdered sugar. I know that sounds like a lot, and it was, but it was delicious. I could only eat half of it.

Clearly this is WAY more than a person can eat in one sitting! Especially a person that can't work out right now thanks to my nagging cough! 

My friend and I sat there for about 2 hours, gabbing away about lots of topics from relationships to career stuff to the evolution of friendships to hiking and travel. I met her through book club in the last year but you wouldn't have guessed that if you listened in on our conversation because we converse like we have been life-long friends. As Anne of Green Gables would say, we are such kindred spirits! After breakfast we headed over to a local farmer's market where I picked up some organic eggs and rainbow-colored carrots.

After that I headed home. Phil had an afternoon tee time so he headed out shortly after I got home so I was on my own for the rest of the afternoon. I decided to walk to a local lake to sit on a park bench and read. When I able to run, I remember seeing people doing that when I ran around the lakes. So I made the time to do it on Sunday.  The 1 mile walk to the lake is along a beautiful running/walking path that follows a creek. We've had a lot of rain lately so it was so lush!

I sat on a park bench for about an hour, reading "The Orphan Master's Son" and taking in the peaceful view of the lake.

I took a different route back home so I could stop off at my garden. I picked a bag of green beans and 4 cucumbers. It was nice to play in the dirt for a bit and it's always so fulfilling to pick food that I have grown!

It was mid-afternoon at this point so I had finally worked up an appetite. So for lunch I made a tomato sandwich on toasted GF bread and had some sliced tomatoes and homemade pickles that Phil's mom made for us recently.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and watching "New Girl," which is a show I've gotten into recently. I have to watch it when Phil isn't around, though, as he doesn't care for Zooey Deschanel (GASP!).

When Phil got home from his round of golf, I made tacos from the leftover chicken and vegetable kabobs I had made for my book club girls earlier in the week. I just seasoned them with cumin and sauteed them. They were so good!! We enjoyed them with tortilla chips and some of my homemade salsa that I had canned the weekend before.

After watching an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with Phil, it was bedtime for me!

Have you had any relaxing days lately? What would you do if you gave yourself a "shouldless day"?