It’s time for my August Favorites!! I spent this month getting ready to begin my second school year as a speech therapist, which has been both overwhelming and exciting! Here are a few things I have been enjoying as I said goodbye to Summer 2020: 

Things to DO:

Salt Lake Parade of Homes – I bought Sean tickets to this year’s Salt Lake Parade of Homes as one of his birthday presents and let me tell you, we had a blast and I definitely had a few favorites! We took tons of photos and videos as inspiration. It was interesting to see what we loved in a few of the homes and also what we really didn’t in a lot of them. I didn’t realize that I was such a tough critic…yikes. I definitely recommend going if you have the opportunity near you.

Things to EAT:

UNREAL Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars – Another sweet treat, are we surprised? It is literally just coconut covered in dark chocolate, simple and delicious, enough said.

Things to PLAY:

Catan Dice Game – This is another one of Sean’s birthday presents from last month that we finally got around to playing this month and it is awesome. I have never played the full version of Settlers of Catan. I know there is this almost cultish craze surrounding it, plus it costs about $50 and can take hours to play. That’s not really our type of game…so we opted for the more affordable, condensed, dice version and it is fun. Very easy to understand and relatively quick to play. It’s a great way to dip your toe in the Catan world, without diving in head first. 

Things to WATCH:

Dude Perfect: Backstage Pass Documentary – This one is a little silly for me to admit, but I have become a bit obsessed with the YouTube channel Dude Perfect. It’s literally five guys that all met at Texas A&M years ago and started out by making trick shot videos in their backyard. They have now grown to 53 million subscribers on YouTube and I think they are just so hilarious and entertaining. I especially love their documentary because it not only gives you a behind the scenes view of their US tour, but it shows a deeper side of them, including their relationships with their wives and children, as well as their deeply rooted faith in God. Despite being ridiculously famous, they still remain true to their humble, down home, Texas roots, which I love. They create funny, wholesome videos that you can watch without the fear of anything inappropriate, which is what I feel we are being constantly fed these days. Check it out if you need a good laugh! 

Operation Toussaint Documentary – On the completely opposite end of the spectrum from Dude Perfect is this documentary. It was created by the team at Operation Underground Railroad – an organization committed to eradicating human trafficking. This documentary gives an inside look at how they are literally saving children from this absolutely vile and disgusting industry that is plaguing the entire world. It is heavy and I was sobbing by the end so watch with that in mind, but I think it is so incredibly important to educate ourselves on this topic and know how we can help. I linked the documentary above, but please visit this website if you need more information: https://ourrescue.org

There you have it – my August Favorites!! As always, let me know if you try any of these or if you have other favorites that you want me to try. Now I’m going to decorate my home for fall and attempt to contain my excitement for the absolute best time of the year!