Does anyone else have the same feeling I have — that it was April, you blinked, and now you’re staring down the last days of summer?!Some people dread the end of summer, but here in Florida, as soon as the calendar says spring is officially over, I pretty much start counting down the days until it’s cool enough I can wear jeans again. I started wearing jeans again a few weeks ago, in spite of the weather. I found the absolute perfect pair that fit like a glove and look exactly the way I think comfy, stylish denim is supposed to. Fabulous with flip flops, with heels, with boots. It’s been hard to convince myself to wear anything else. So if I show up to shoot our next wedding in jeans . . . just kidding.

Something else that’s been nearly nonstop for me lately is jazz music. John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis. It’s been kind of a continuous loop in our house, at least when I’m in charge of the stereo remote. I feel like jazz gets my brain up to cruising speed, but it doesn’t distract me from my work the way pop and rock can. And let’s admit it: It makes me feel like I’m in a fancy martini bar even if I’m just sitting at my own dining room table.

Being at my own dining room table isn’t something I want to avoid though — in fact, it’s been pretty great just being at home and not traveling for about the past six weeks. Danny and I have been able to settle back into a real routine after a somewhat hectic summer, and it’s been just what I needed. But I’m about to do a little traveling again at the end of the month, and I can’t wait, because I’m headed to a place that, when you arrive, feels like you’ve come home. This will be the third Pursuit 31 Conference at WinShape Retreat, and I just have to pinch myself when I think about going up to the mountains of Georgia, to one of my favorite places, to spend several days with some of my favorite women in the world. It’s been a life-shaping experience each of the two previous years, and I cannot wait to see wonderful new growth comes out of this year’s conference.

~ Laura