Wow…what a month. It started out in sunny Connecticut, took us on a long camping trip, and ended with me curled up in bed here in Brooklyn—not scrolling on Instagram. It’s been six days since I deleted social media from my phone, and it feels…strange. And depressing. I’m shocked how much of my life I wasted scrolling on my phone. I have a lot more to say on the subject, which I’ll dive into soon. But for now, here’s a small glimpse of the month.
Since life has been, you know, crazy lately, my husband and I decided to just hit the road. We rented a camper van, booked a few campsites, and ditched the city. We spent our week hiking in Vermont, beaching in Cape Cod, people watching in Newport, and uh, more hiking in obscure parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut. It was really freeing to just chill out. I spent a lot of my days reading and writing in my journal. Some of the days I didn’t even bother to turn on my phone.
I mean, how could you with these views?
I got really good at cooking outside. I admit, most of the time my cooking was happening over a propane stove that was cleverly set up in the back of the van. But there were a few times we did some foil pack dinners over the fire, and of course, campfire nachos. Pancakes were also a must.
It’s peak blueberry season up in New England, so of course, we had to go blueberry picking. Most of the time we snacked on blueberries as we picked our favorites, but hey, that’s just what you do when you do any kind of fruit picking. They’re basically asking for it!
On our trip, I rediscovered my absolute love for the print newspaper. Every day we picked up a print edition of some kind of local paper and read through the entire thing throughout the day. I admit we’ve tried to keep up with our newspaper reading in Brooklyn, but time is a bit limited when you actually have a workday.
Needless to say, it brought me back to a simpler time. Back when high school Kiersten took a red pen to the daily newspaper and scouted for grammatical errors. Did I find some in the newspapers we grabbed last week? Maybe. Did I mark them like I used to? Possibly.
What else, what else. Oh yeah. THIS.
Meet Betty. She’s my FAVORITE. No, I did not name her after the song in Taylor’s new album. I think it’s more because Betty drinks vanilla milkshakes in Riverdale and the bike is so white, it all sort of fit in my brain. I’ve been biking everywhere lately and it feels like I have this whole new sense of freedom in this city. I literally have plans to bike to the park today after work, and I’m already counting down the minutes.
I worked with a photo client this month! I’ve been trying new things with my food photography lately, and thought I would take a swing at taking photos for a small business. It was a lot of work, but an absolute blast.
To finish off, here’s a look at our van. Yes, we slept on the top, and it was bloody hot. Pro tip: Don’t camp in July. Or August probably. We’re already planning our second camping trip, and it’s likely going to happen in early Fall 2021. I already can’t wait.
Thanks for always sticking around, friends. This blog is so fun for me to write. I love sharing all of my ideas with you, and seeing how they can help you in return. I hope this little update inspires you to also journal out the highlights from your month, and maybe a few things you’ve learned about yourself along the way.
Until next month!
Jan Rolston says
I love reading about the thoughts and fun times you are having personally. Also enjoy your ideas about foods and healthy eating. Glad I am on your “list” of persons you communicate with. Happy Anniversary too!! Love you guys. Jan
Kiersten says
Love you too, we miss you guys! <3