Podcast, Books and Looks of August

Oh August. All I have to say to you is - syonara, sucker.  But hello, September! I am SO happy to see you, even if you are starting off with a visit to a pulmonologist (please, God, let him have a solution to this never-ending cough).

Here's how August shaped up for me on the podcast, reading and look fronts!

Podcasts:

The Third Trimester by Starr Struck Radio - The hosts of this show, Mary Catherine and Ben, have been on a break this summer as they were busy preparing for the arrival of their first child. But they posted a surprise bonus episode in August! In May, Ben announced that he won't be continuing on with the podcast which is a huge bummer for me as I absolutely love their banter. Ben reminds me a lot of Phil so it's extra fun for me to listen to these two as their conversations feel really real and authentic and I often think, "that's totally something Phil would say!" If you haven't listened to this show before, I recommend going back to old episodes because they delve into really interesting topics like imposter syndrome, how do you know when you are ready to have kids, and the importance of seeking out therapy/counseling.

Books:

August was a strong reading month for me as I read 7 books. Turns out you have a lot of time to read when you aren't able to exercise/be active on account of feeling like death warmed over. 1 of the books I read (Lonesome Dove) was over 800 pages long, so really it's like I read 8-10 books as that book was about the equivalent of 2-3 books. It was a great reading month for me as I really enjoyed all of these books. My favorite was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which is about a family's quest to spend a year eating only locally-grown foods. I really need to do a separate blog post on that at some point as that book really made me think.

As usual, I will star the ones that count towards the read harder challenge and bold the ones I own.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry* - 4 stars (shout-out to Linda for encouraging me to read this book! It was fantastic!)
It's Okay to Laugh by Nora McIneray Purmort - 4 stars
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner - 4 stars
George by Alex Gino* - 4 stars
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver - 5 stars
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson - 4 stars
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho - 4 stars


Looks:

As usual, the quality of my "looks" photos is pretty craptastic, but it's the best I can do! And surprise, surprise, both photos feature striped outfits!


My first outfit is a dress I bought last summer at Banana Republic. I got the maintenance people in my office to turn the air conditioning vents off around me so now it is not as uncomfortably cold. I actually made it through the whole day without having to put a cardigan on when I wore this short-sleeved dress!  Woo hoo!

Outfit #2 is an outfit that I bought on clearance at J. Crew. The red linen pants are so so comfortable and as a lover of stripes, I had to get the tank top to go with them. It's a pretty nautical look but I love the combo of red, white and blue! I've already gotten a lot of use out of both the top and bottom.