Clearly, the Monday Mash Up photo thing is getting out of hand. Too many? We had a good weekend, but I've been fighting a nagging weekend all day so I'm having trouble mustering much enthusiasm about it. The new farmer's market we tried turned up pretty trumps, might pull off a post about that in the next bit. Those beans are green on the inside which is super cool, and the blackberries didn't last an hour! We lost Cal to an intense neighborhood Nerf-gun war once we got home, but Neel and I started work on my studio and Cal's room (massive clean-out needed there). The dogs helped by sitting on my lap every time I sat down. All three of them. At once. Especially when it thundered.

Moral of the story: my studio is still pretty much a wreck. But at least we made a path from Cal's door to the bed.

We had a great dinner with our neighbors Saturday night. Homemade pizzas, cucumber margaritas, and the best salad dressing ever on our salad. If you've ever eaten at my house, you've likely had this dressing. I used to make it all the time, and I really should make it more. Intrigued? Maybe I'll do a post about that too.

Sunday we kick-started a tradition I'd like to keep up for the rest of the summer: early morning trip to the beach. Perfect waves, perfect sea, sun and sand. Neel and Callum boogie boarded for hours while I read and swam and watched the dolphins. We see dolphins every time we go to the ocean. Usually just the fins slicing through the water as they move their way up and down the coast, but on Sunday they really put on a show for us. Tail slaps, jumping full-on out of the water and leaping in the wake of speeding boats. We're so lucky. On the way home we swung into Lowe's so Neel could get some concrete and took a quick detour through the bath section. Not surprised, but still good to know that Neel and I are on the same page about stuff. My dad comes in August, and after that the real work will begin.

When we got home, Cal mowed the lawn! We'd put off handing this task over to him because he has pretty miserable allergies, but it's time. He did great. It's all his now. I wonder when he'll stop being thrilled?

So what's everyone's week looking like? I have some shooting to finish up (pictures, people, not guns!), and Cal is NOT going to camp. He didn't want to. We found a potential alternative later in the summer, so everyone is happy. I'll probably finish clearing out the studio (yawn, I'm boring myself now), and try to wind up a few other things too. Life's like that, isn't it. Doing a few things here and there. Some inspiring and some not so. It's all good.

Oh, and did you know I shave Neel's head every week?

1. I think I freaked Neel out not a little when I came home from California with the "clear the house like you're moving in three months mentality!" No. We're not moving. But vacations do inspire, and staying at Debbie's gorgeous home made me want to clear the mental and physical clutter around here. I'm starting a big studio cleanout this weekend, and Cal's room needs help like nobody's business. I want our home to work smarter, not harder, and with that in mind there are still some things I need. I have my eye constantly out for a coffee table for our family room, new dining room chairs, a liquor cabinet for our kitchen hall and curtains for our bedroom. That's all!

2. I think here's the kicker: there's the matter of those bathrooms. There's some serious clutter clearing to be done around those parts before any demo can be done. But pinning is so much more fun! Wasn't the bathroom Erin posted about beautiful? There are parts of that bathroom that appeal to me for each of our bathrooms. I'll get brave and post about them next week I suppose, but I can't say I really relish taking pictures of our two main bathrooms and, you know, sharing them.

3. I think that I'm feeling so grateful for what Theresa calls my creative tribe this week. Chatting with Mark (even though he wasn't exactly helpful) always brightens my spirit. I'm working on some blog changes (elbows deep in a new platform, and my brow is furrowed and my mood cranky), and Erin from like\want\need was great for bouncing ideas off of, and another chat with Annie of Insideology pushed my creative spark to some places that I didn't expect it to go. I'm not the best at defining my dreams, and I know I'm too shy to share them here yet (if I even knew exactly what they were), but simply having people to turn to... Whether it's to say, "What do you think of this idea?" or even ..."this color?" Well, it makes all the difference, doesn't it? That being said, you all are my tribe. I'm not expecting huge changes here at SPL, but I am stuck in the blogging doldrums a bit. Hoping that by freshening things up a bit, I can redefine my purpose too. I'm open to hearing your thoughts as well, if you have any input you'd like to give me. You're all my tribe, people!

4. I think I'm leaning to not having Callum go to a camp next week. We have until the very last minute to decide, and I'm not feeling it. He'd been gone all day long for the whole week, and let's face it, I like having him around. It's basketball camp, and it would be good to sharpen his skills before he plays in middle school next year, but how do you know when to say no?

5. I think we're looking forward to a quietish weekend. We'll likely head up to the concerts at Monarch Way on Saturday night, and I want to hit up a new Farmer's Market tomorrow morning. I would dearly love to get to the beach, but I imagine that might be tricky given how Neel would dearly love to get into his garden. I feel sure the grill will come into use, and my studio will look worse before it looks better. How lucky am I that this is just the kind of weekend I love, and that I have such a weekend to look forward to? Today is my friend Seamane's birthday, and I'll be thinking about her a lot today. Next week I want to make a tomato pie and maybe shrimp and grits too. What do you guys have going on? Do you feel as lucky as I do?

monday mash up, July 16

five things, july 13 edition