I always love Fridays, especially the Friday before a long weekend. And this Friday is even better because...I get a month-long “weekend!” Yep, today is my last day at my current job, then I have a nice long break before I start my next one. I’ll be taking a week to wrap up blog projects and stuff around the house, then we’re off to Europe for three weeks! I’m super excited--it's the longest vacation I've had since I was in school (and even then, I worked during the summer). So pretty much, I’m on cloud nine.

I've learned a lot (and accumulated a lot of nail polish) over my last year at Julep, and I'm really grateful for it. But at the same time, I feel really good about where I’m going next, and I think it’s going to be better for me overall!

So, it’s a happy Friday indeed. Hope you all have a good one too--and a great Labor Day weekend.

I mentioned in this post that I recently went on a backpacking trip with my husband and a couple of our friends…and it was amazing. It was only the third backpacking trip I’ve ever been on, and for sure the hardest, with the most spectacular destination. I wasn’t particularly excited about some aspects of the trip beforehand (going to the bathroom outside, with no toilet?! ewww) but in the end, it was 100% worth it and I even told Ben I want to do more backpacking with him next year. When your husband is a major outdoor enthusiast, you don’t say those things unless you feel pretty dang sure…so that shows how much I enjoyed it. :) I usually end the month with a round up of my Instagrams, but this month I thought I’d do a little recap of our trip instead! After all, a lot of my August 'grams were from here anyways.

So the place we went was called Tuck and Robin, and if you live in Washington state I would absolutely recommend it. Tuck Lake is the lower lake, and it’s pretty enough…but once you climb the extra mile to get to Robin, the views get reeeaally incredible. There are several beautiful, bright blue alpine lakes intermingled with big rock islands, and you can see a bunch of mountains in the background (including Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams).

Proof that I actually carried my own pack and everything. #sohardcore

This was our campsite. Pretty awesome, huh? If you look closely, you can see both of our hammocks hanging from the trees and the corner of our tent.

This was after we finished climbing up to Robin Lakes (which was SUPER difficult, so if I look sweaty and exhausted, that’s because I was). It felt so good to put my feet up in the hammock after all that hiking! Ahhh. Definitely worth the extra weight :)

And the coolest part (or my favorite, at least) was all the mountain goats! I’ve seen them from a distance before, but never like this. I was hoping we’d see at least one, but we ended up seeing SO many--including some babies! They came super close too…a couple goats literally walked right by our campsite in the morning while we were packing up.

See? SO CLOSE.

There are even goats in this picture--walking along the path on the right hand side of the lake (can you spot them?).

All in all, I had a great time. I’d resisted backpacking with Ben for awhile, but it turns out that everything is more fun when you’re in a beautiful location! Even freeze-dried meals taste delicious when you’re watching the sunset surrounded by mountains and alpine lakes.

Hello, September! I can’t believe summer’s almost over. This year has just been flyyyying by. But we have lots of good things happening in the next couple months, so I’m excited. Both Ben and I just got new jobs, and our big Europe vacation that we’ve been planning is almost here (two weeks to go!!!). So, with all our life changes, it feels right that the season is changing too. There’s something about the transition to fall that always feels like a new beginning to me (it’s probably from years of starting a new school year every September)…and this year, I’m ready for it. In fact, I already started on my fall decorating, with some craft pumpkins from Michaels! They have a bunch of colors, shapes, and sizes for any project you might have in mind--including some fun half pumpkins that would be perfect for mounting on the wall. For our house, I decided to get some regular white pumpkins, and decorate them with some easy painted patterns.

You will need:
White craft pumpkins (these are from Michaels)
Craft paint in various colors
Painter’s tape
Circle punch
Paintbrushes

1. Polka dot pumpkin: The first pumpkin I painted (and probably my favorite) is this polka dot one. To make this yourself, punch some holes out of a strip of painter’s tape with your circle punch, then use those holes as stencils to paint dots on the pumpkin. Repeat with each color. I decided to make my polka dots more concentrated at the top and fade out toward the bottom. I like how they kind of look like confetti!

2. Diagonal half-and-half pumpkin: This is Ben’s favorite pumpkin, and it’s also the easiest to DIY. All you gotta do is tape a strip of painter’s tape diagonally around the entire pumpkin (like a toga!) then press it in place and paint the bottom half. Remove the tape, and admire your work.

3. Criss-cross pumpkin: Last but not least, this criss-cross pumpkin is also super cute, and really easy to make. For this, you could use masking tape, washi tape, or whatever you have on hand--I used electrical tape because I already had a roll of it. Wrap the tape around your pumpkin in a criss-cross pattern, then paint the whole thing. Remove the tape, and you’re done!

I love craft pumpkins because you can use them year after year, and you don’t have to deal with the mess of carving. Plus, it’s fun thinking of different ways to paint them--there are SO many variations you could try! Which of mine do you like best?

If you’re looking for more fall décor inspiration, be sure to check out the 49 other DIY pumpkin projects from the rest of the Michaels Makers.

Thank you to Michaels for partnering with me on this post!

Happy Friday!!! I’m celebrating with a giveaway for you all--and it’s a good one. I’ve teamed up with Lotta from Stockholm to give one of you a pair of clogs of your choice! These are seriously my faaaaavorite shoes ever. I own several pairs and they’re ridiculously comfortable, even with a heel. I can walk around in them all day!

I love the sandals (obviously), but since summer is winding down, they also have a great selection of clog boots that are super cute. In fact, I might need to get a pair of those for fall/winter...

These yellow/tan ones are my newest pair, and I just adore how bright and cheery they are. And the gold ones (below) have been my go-to all summer long. They go with everything!

Alright, ready to win? Enter through the Rafflecopter below by next Friday. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Lotta from Stockholm for partnering with me on this post.