Thanks for checking out my monthly update! This is one of my favorite times of the month!

What I’ve Been Up To

August was an amazing month! With three beautiful weddings, an epic Boston Harbor proposal, final check in calls before weddings, and new client bookings, busy season lives up to its name.

I learned a lot more about using my drone this month; I flew out on the open ocean for the first time, navigating stronger winds than I’m used to and take off/landing on a boat. My nerves were high, but I kept reminding myself that I pay for insurance for a reason. And thankfully, I didn’t need to use it!

On a personal level, we found new ways to keep ourselves busy on the medical front. Last month was an abundance of acupuncture, and this month Esmie broke two toes.

A makeup mirror fell from the bathroom counter and hit her just right (or just wrong, depending on how you look at it) to cause the break. One of her toes actually broke in 3 different places, with the biggest break completely separating the bone.

Right now we’re in a season of waiting to see what happens. We’ve been to orthopedics twice to check on her progress. While new bone is forming, there is a chance that her body will choose to form an additional joint instead of healthy new bone. If that were to happen, she would need bone graft surgery. We head back in mid October to check in again on her progress.

We’re praying for complete and total healing. I hate wondering if in a few months we’ll have to start her healing journey all over again. But in the meantime, we’re still trying to make the most of the final days of summer.

We also just returned from a quick little trip to the Berkshires. My aunt had an extra room to her rental, and we were so excited to join her for a few days. We had to cut our trip short by a day to make an appointment for Esmie, but the kids and I had so much fun that the drive back and forth was totally worth it!

We spent most of our time at Ioka Valley Farm, which the kids loved! They have so many different things to play with and farm animals to enjoy. If you’re ever near Hancock, MA and have younger kids, it’s a must do!

I’ve also been prepping for homeschool preschool for Redlen. We’re going to start in mid September. His curriculum and new books came in, and I had to essentially tear the box away from the kids. Esmie won’t be officially doing school, but she’ll be peeking in and out when we have our lessons.

And finally, this past week I attended an orientation meeting for the homeschool co-op some parents from my church help run. In the spring semester, I’ll be teaching a photography elective. I’m so excited to get back in the high school classroom, even if it’s in a nontraditional way. Parents are already asking advice on cameras to get for their students, so excitement is high even though my class doesn’t actually start until January.

What I’ve Been Reading:

I just started a new book, The Fraud by Zadie Smith. And by just, I mean about 15 pages in for a 464 page novel. I can’t have an opinion yet, but the premise sounds super interesting! Here’s the blurb, taken from Barnes and Noble:

“Truth and fiction. Jamaica and Britain. Who gets to tell their story?

In her first historical novel, Zadie Smith transports the reader to a Victorian England transfixed by the real-life trial of the Tichborne Claimant, in which a cockney butcher, recently returned from Australia, lays claim to the Tichborne baronetcy, with his former slave Andrew Bogle as the star witness. Watching the proceedings, and with her own story to tell, is Eliza Touchet – cousin, housekeeper and perhaps more to failing novelist William Harrison Ainsworth.

From literary London to Jamaica’s sugarcane plantations, Zadie Smith weaves an enthralling story linking the rich and the poor, the free and the enslaved, and the comic and the tragic.”

As always, I post all about my reading on my Instagram and Goodreads. This month, I also made Fable and Storygraph accounts, just to see what else is out there. Storygraph makes fun charts that I like, but Fable has my heart! In my opinion, it’s the best book tracking app out there. You can also track TV shows, too.

The only bummer is that all of my friends are on Goodreads, and I love seeing the books they choose and how they rate. But if everyone jumped over to Fable, I’d ditch Goodreads without a second thought. So if you want to try something new, join me over there!

What I’ve Been Watching

It’s still Big Brother season! So I’m fully immersed in that world.

I’m choosing to be entertained by the mess, but these players (excluding the great Rachel Reilly) are some of, if not the, worst players the show has ever seen. Which does make them interesting!

The episode quality and competition equity are actually way up this year. While I wish they would edit the competitions more concisely, I’ve actually been eager to watch the show each time it pops up (3 times a week, for those that don’t know).

It’s exciting to see the producers seem to care more about the show than they have in the last few years. Their efforts are definitely paying off. If they can get a better cast together next time around, I think an epic season is just around the corner.

What I’m Excited About

September is such a big month! Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

-A social media detox. I’ve done a few weeks off here and there around my vacations, but this year I’m committed to taking one month off from social media. I’ll be deleting all my apps off my phone and avoiding checking in online. As a business owner, social media is a huge part of my job, and truthfully, I wish it didn’t have to be. The time online takes its toll. So I’m stepping away for a little bit, and then I’ll be back in full swing for October!

-Labor Day weekend. While this technically starts in August, the last day of the long weekend is in September, so I’m counting it! I always love when we get a little extra family time. You’ll soon see that we have a ton planned, so we’re squeezing in our monthly apple cider and ice cream trip on Monday.

-Our church’s annual retreat to Sandy Island. We get away, take a ferry to a little island, and have 2.5 days of sugar fueled craziness, fellowship, and learning. We stay just inches away from the shoreline of Lake Winnipesaukee and love every second.

-A Misselwood Events wedding

-A Trillium elopement

-Disney! We’re doing a 5 day trip with the kids, and I’m pretty sure the biggest highlight will be dinner at Cinderella’s Castle followed by the fireworks. We can’t wait!

-An engagement session with one of my 2026 couples!

-A Cape Cod wedding in Nauset–I can’t wait to see this couple again! We did their engagement session at my favorite beach, Wingaersheek in Gloucester.

Thanks for catching up with me!

Until next time,

Christine