August Is a Fever Dream

life lately

Hi! Welcome back to my Monthly Edit—the corner of the internet where I share what I’m craving, cooking, growing, dreaming about, and chasing. A place for the in-between seasons. A journal of what’s alive in my world, even when everything outside feels scorched.

Let’s start here:
I loved July. My husband has been more open to eating seafood, so that’s been fun (a little victory for me). I also managed to check off most of my summer bucket list—which, in this heat, feels like a full-on Olympic achievement.

But then comes August.
And August… is a fever dream.

---

🎞️ Texas in August (a mood board)

This is the vibe I am aiming for the remaining of the summer. Sunsets are more magical in August, so I am trying to enjoy them.

---

☀️ August in Texas

As many of you know, I live in Texas. August here is not just hot—it’s punishing. It’s the month that breaks records. Triple digits with no apology. Humidity that clings to your ankles like regret. The house doesn't cool down fast enough. The AC tries its best, but even that has limits. I go to bed hot, I wake up hotter, and sleep becomes a stranger.

August is the overachiever month.
The Paris Geller of the calendar year.

She’s driven, radiant, full of purpose—but she’s also exhausting, relentless, and a little unhinged by the end of it. That’s exactly how August feels: beautiful and rich, but it tests you. It pushes, it drains, it doesn’t let up. You’re still trying to bloom in the heat, sweating through your sleep, but also harvesting the last of summer’s magic.

---

☀️ Notes to Self, Mid-Meltdown

So this year, I’m doing August differently.
I’m showing up with the endurance of Paris Geller, which means I’m also prepared for a meltdown or two. That’s part of it. The brilliance and the breakdown go hand in hand.

Instead of resisting it, I’m romanticizing August.
Because while it’s not always enjoyable, it’s transformational.

August is the threshold.
It’s the stretch between the sunburn and the sweater.
The month where nothing is certain, but everything is shifting.

And I don’t want to miss that.

---

💛 The Good Things

There are good things, still.

For one: it’s Leo season. My husband was born this month, and if you’ve ever met a Leo, you’ll understand why I’ve already been reminded of this fact approximately 73 times—and it’s only August 3rd. So yes, my house is ruled by Leo this month. It’s a celebration. A festival. A tropical explosion.

When I think of him, I think of mangoes, coconut, pineapple, passionfruit, and pina coladas. The menus basically wrote themselves. Bright, juicy, warm. August food.

And while I originally had a mood board planned to reflect how August feels in Texas—hot, heavy, and orange—what’s emerged instead is a deeper softness. A reminder to lean in. To enjoy the last of the mangos. To make more sorbet. To get started on a puzzle. To play board games and defeat my husband in Catan (again). To go out only in the evenings. To make time feel cinematic.

---

🧊 How I’m Surviving August

• Grocery pickups after sunset

• Cold showers with eucalyptus oil

• Coconut sorbet by the spoonful

• Civ VI on religious victory mode, for the challenge

• A playlist that feels like skipping class to drive to the beach

• Iced coffee, mimosas, salads, and butter pecan (the only ice cream I claim)

• Sunset drives and movie nights

• Air-conditioned matinees (psst: Jaws is screening at AMC on August 29th—my all-time favorite film)

---

✨ What’s Left of My Summer Bucket List

Summer is coming to an end soon, while I did not share my summer bucket list with you. I created a bucket list for the remainder of the summer, the things I haven’t gotten to do yet.

---

August Playlist:

Just perfect to help you go through all the feels august brings, let me know what you think?

---

🍁 On the Edge of Two Seasons

I’m not decorating for fall just yet.

There are still late pool swims to savor. Cold margaritas to pour. Mango slices to eat over the sink. The sun hasn’t let go, and neither have I. I’m still living in summer’s afterglow—barefoot, dewy, golden at the edges.

But I can feel the shift.
And I’m excited for what’s coming.

Fall has always felt too brief to me. I never get enough of it—never enough crisp mornings, never enough time with the windows open. But maybe that’s what makes it so magical: its rarity. Its softness after the scorch.

And August, in all its heat and heaviness, makes me appreciate fall even more.
After this month, I earn it.

So I’m making little plans:

• A movie and TV watchlist for cozy nights ahead

• A reminder to buy more Halloween candy this year (because somehow, I always run out too early)

• A note to self to pause and really look at the leaves—because we’ve had so much rain, and I know the color will be beautiful

• A quiet joy at the thought of baking again, without battling the oven and the weather

Fall feels close. But not quite here.
And there’s something tender about living at that edge—still sweating, still dreaming.
Holding onto the season that’s ending, while reaching for the one that always feels like home.

---

This is the original mood board I had created for August:

---

Thanks for being a subscriber! Here are other ways you can show your support:

❤️ tapping the heart below (it helps my content get discovered!)

💌 forwarding this to a friend

🤗 supporting my writing by pledging

---