What an unbelievably sweet summer we had here on the east coast. I’m always tempted to note how fast it felt like the time passed in retrospect, but this month, I feel like we actually got to savour it a little more than usual. 

This year, more than ever before, we spent the summer really soaking in what makes the season so wonderful. We enjoyed more time outside, we brought baby girl to many of our all-time favourite places in the world, and we had a constant rotation of family coming to stay with us. We ate craft ice cream, sipped wine overlooking a vineyard, paid multiple visits to kids splash parks, and introduced our daughter to the Atlantic ocean, an absolute core-memory for us both. 

This week, we woke up to crisp mornings that feel like autumn already, so I’m feeling extra grateful that we really maximized on July and August. We’re leaving summer behind with full hearts and so many memories, exactly like we should be.

As far as reading goes, I managed to sneak in two books this month, which was a real feat given how ridiculously busy we were. Here’s what I covered:

Books Read in August 2025

1. The Foxglove King by Hannah F. Whitten: I picked this book up at a deep discount at Homesense because the premise sounded intriguing, but it ended up on my TBR shelf for many months. I’m so glad that I finally decided to pick it up because what an utterly fantastic book. I loved the necromancy-based magic, and it’s been some time since I read a book that felt so steeped in a unique religious system. Also, this book might have one of my favourite love triangles of all time. Absolutely LOVED this one, an easy 5 stars with a full review to come.
2. Funny Story by Emily Henry: I picked up Funny Story once the paperback released and have been saving it for the perfect occasion (namely summer). After finishing The Foxglove King I felt like something a little lighter and Funny Story was the absolute perfect palate cleanser. Endearing, heart-wrenching at times, and far funnier than I anticipated, this one just proved that for me, Emily Henry is a never-miss. Another easy 5 stars with a fully review to come.

TBR Lists

I didn’t have a huge amount of free time this month, and what time I did, I tried to spend with my nose in a book. I did manage to take down a couple of books that I’m hoping to get to though, including:

• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower: billed as a series of journals written in 1883 by a British woman about her eccentric family and townspeople, even the description of this one feels funny and cozy. Might pick this one up as a nice in-between large fantasy novels palate cleanser.
• The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig: this one has been so hyped up that I actually bought a copy of it when I went to go pick up Katabasis. It follows a woman who receives visions from unearthly figures known as Omens in her dreams, who finds herself in the midst of a mystery that sees the other women Diviners disappearing. I’ve heard only good things about this book and given how much I loved One Dark Window by the same author, I’m confident I’ll love this one too.

What I’m Loving Right Now

Nearly a full year after giving birth, I can honestly say that I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. There have been moments over the past many months where I’ve had flashes of “Oh! There I am!” but I feel like those moments feel a lot weaker now that I am actually well and truly feeling more at ease. What I’m loving this month mostly related to these feelings, including:

Finally feeling settled in my body

Conceptually it’s easy to understand that a person changes in pregnancy, but I don’t think there’s anything that could replicate living through it. For so many months, I felt like I was living in someone else’s skin, this body that was so foreign to me and had so little of the things that I had known and loved about myself before. I’d like to think that I’m self-aware enough that I knew to be patient about this, but it’s a hard thing to do in the moment. Only just over the past couple of months have I felt the same level of energy, of flexibility, of capability that I had before I got pregnant. I’m feeling much more settled and relaxed now, and importantly, in much less pain. 

Getting back into running (again)

I read a collection of short stories by mothers who are also runners recently and one thought really stuck out to me. As a woman was talking about her love-hate relationship with the sport, she lamented about how it often feels unfair because you can’t store any of your capacity for later or leave any gas in the metaphorical tank when it comes to running. All the work that you put in to being good at running is only relevant for as long as you’re running. As soon as you step back and stop, it’s like hitting a reset button that you didn’t intend to, and you must start the hard work all over again.

This really resonated with me because this, in a nutshell, has been my relationship with running for the past 10 years.  

I love running when I’m really into it. There is no faster or more efficient way for me to feel strong and for me to cut through the stress and anxiety of what’s living in my brain. Admittedly though, it’s hard on my body, and it’s hard to get back into. In fact, it’s just as hard every. Single. Time. I often end up in a cycle of frustration with myself around my third week of getting back into it for letting myself fall off the wagon for the billionth time.

This is my second attempt in the last year to get back into running, and predictably, I’m loving it as much as I always do. I have a constant loop of “consistency beats motivation every time” moving through my brain right now as I work to establish running as a habit more than a fleeting hobby, and I’m hoping I can ride this enjoyment straight through into the fall.

Building out new routines in anticipation of our biggest change yet

As we barrel into September, we’re also heading directly into preparing baby girl for her biggest transition to date: daycare. We’ve finally found a facility that we love, and we know she’s going to absolutely thrive, but it’s an enormous change for our family. I feel like we’ve only just started to feel collectively rested and settled over the past month and a half and now we’re throwing another huge wrench into our daily lives.

In anticipation of this, we’re focusing on building some new routines. We’re adjusting wake ups and nap times (for everyone) to allow for us to get done what we need to get done, and also still enjoy our time with each other and on our own. This is also probably the most organized I’ve been in my life, with every single thing I need to do to get ready replicating to include another person and all of her unique needs too. It’s a big shift, but we’re doing what we can to prepare, both physically and mentally. I know I’m going to be a mess of tears on her first day, but I can’t wait to see all that she’s going to learn and the new friends that she’s going to make. 

So that was August! Heading into September (and fall) ready for as many pumpkin spice lattes and warm sweaters as possible, and hopefully (!!) at least one fall-ish book to really kick the season off right. 

Are there any books at the top of your TBR this fall?