Life Lately: July 2025

Not sure why, but July felt like it was so long this year. In all honesty, ever since my dad died, time has seemed to both crawl at a snail’s pace but also move at the speed of light. It’s crazy that he’s been gone for 3 1/2 months already. I spent lots of time with Jake and friends this month. It’s nice to feel surrounded by such an amazing support system, especially on the days when I feel that I need it the most. I have lots of sad days but I try to make sure I do one thing that makes me happy everyday to help combat my feelings of grief and hopelessness. Here is what we got up to in July.

Lite Lately: July 2025

4th of July at Shadow Lake

We don’t usually do anything special for 4th of July unless we are invited somewhere. This year, one of my dad’s best friends invited us to her get-together at their house on Shadow Lake. We had a nice time and it was good to spend time with someone my dad loved so much. She shared fun stories with me about when my dad was young, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite things. I love it when people tell me stories about my dad before he became a dad.

They had a delicious BBQ spread, drank some beers, and chatted. Jake helped with lighting off their fireworks on the dock while we watched the show that other people on the lake were putting on.

Floating the Cedar River

Every year, we go and float a portion of the Cedar River in July. We have the perfect spot to put in and get out at, and we’re basically pros at this point! We went with our friend Kevin like we do every year, and then this year, we invited our neighbors to go with us. It was a beautiful day to float, and we all had a lot of fun! When we finished, we went to an early dinner at a place called Trenchers at the Renton Landing. I am loving getting to know our neighbors better, and it was the perfect end to a lovely day!

Picnic & Pool day with Jake

A few weekends ago, Jake and I decided to head to a local lake to have a picnic. We stopped at Trader Joes and picked up some delicious snacks and headed to Lake Wilderness for a lovely picnic lunch. We found a nice shady spot and spend an hour and a half chatting. We spend a lot of time together but sometimes it’s nice to get out and do something simple together that we don’t do often.

After our picnic, we decided to head to West Seattle to hit up the Colman Pool at Lincoln Park. It is such a cool location for a pool, you have to walk along a trail that runs along the Puget Sound and the pool has a gorgrous view of the Puget Sound as well. It’s also a saltwater pool which is something I have never experienced. It was the perfect day for a dip!

Get together with friends

Last weekend, we went up to Redmond for a get-together with some of Jake’s old co-workers from his Boeing days. It was a potluck BBQ and we spent the evening drinking wine and catching up with everyone!

Date night out in Fremont

Jake and I don’t go to Seattle that often during the week, but he had been speaking to a new friend who goes to this place called 4Bs Tavern in Fremont to play a game called Killer Queen every Thursday. We decided to tag along and had the best time! The tavern itself is cool; they have pool tables and a ton of arcade games and pinball machines. It was nice to do something we had never done and to meet new people. Everyone was so nice and welcoming and it’s an activity we would love to do again in the future!

Hosting friends for breakfast

My friend Amy moved to Portland last year and she was up visiting for a few days staying at her parent’s house while they were on vacation. When she comes we love to get together and catch up. Her boyfriend was also up visiting for the weekend so we decided to have them and our other friends and their baby boy over for breakfast before we went and floated the river. We made waffles, bacon, and eggs and spent time chatting. I love to host friends, and it was fun to host breakfast for everyone!

In the Garden…

The garden has exploded with growth this month. Every single thing that I started from seed is finally planted out. Everything is loving the warm weather we have been having, too! I have harvested a ton of lettuce, spring onions, lavender, strawberries, blueberries, chamomile, chives, oregano, sweet pea flowers, my first beans of the year, and even my first Sungold tomato of the season, too! My garden has been my sanctuary always, but especially since my dad died. It instantly calms me and I feel like I can think and breathe out there. I am looking forward to more tomato and pepper harvests coming soon!

I am also going to be starting some Fall crops for planting out in late August! Stay tuned for more of that 🙂

Things I am Enjoying at the Moment…

Reading – I have finished 3 books in July!
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- Truly Madly Magically by Hazel Beck
- Tom Lake by Ann Patchet
My new habit app called Finch
Fresh garden produce
My homemade Lavender simple syrup
Homemade popsicles
Morning stretches
Going back to the gym 3 days a week