What I’m into (July 2015 edition).

As always, I’m joining my friend Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

On June 30 we lost our minds (or our hearts, depending on how we’re feeling in the moment) and welcomed home a six pound puppy, and that tiny little guy has dominated our July. I haven’t had a puppy since I was 9 years old, and everyone who compared getting a puppy to bringing home a baby was too right.

This is definitely Parenthood Lite, but my sleep took a serious hit the first couple of nights and my productivity suffered for much longer than that.

He’s a lab/terrier mix, we named him Bingley, he’s equal parts sweet and rowdy. Training is going well, but is time-consuming. Your all’s comments about our new addition were so encouraging, and I picked up one mantra there that has been very helpful: nothing in life is free. We are working hard at this training thing in the hope that it will pay off big-time down the road.

While some days it feels like all-puppy, all-the-time around here, we made sure to squeeze in some fun high summer activities while we still could. (The first day of school feels like it’s right around the corner.)

We’ve made lots of time to play with local friends and out of town ones. We’ve been swimming and biking and hiking. We’ve been on a few bigger adventures (even though we canceled one weekend getaway because of the pup). We’ve spent many steamy afternoons reading good books inside, in blessed air conditioning.

And we’ve been making practical plans and talking Crazy Talk about the fall season, because it’s so close I can almost taste it. I’ll be sad when summer’s over, but not too sad, because the heat index as I type is

What I’m listening to

I have no idea what inspired me to revisit the Veronica Mars soundtrack (tv show, not movie) for the first time in years, but if I wasn’t listening to it digitally on Spotify I’d be wearing it out. It’s so much fun and great writing music (even if I do consistently skip a few tracks).

More moody writing music: Feist, Beach House, Greg Laswell. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we’re putting together a family playlist for our upcoming August road trip. My kids love peppy, popular music, the kind you’d hear on the radio. Any recommendations?

What I’m watching

This month, by some miracle, I actually watched a few movies. (It’s been a long while.)

We have a hard time watching movies as a family because my HSP kids are squeamish about trying new ones. Will and I persuaded them to give The Rookie a try and the kids loved it. Silas (age 5) got a little bored with the non-baseball parts but it was still a big hit.

I re-watched The September Issue because it’s been on my mind lately. I just happened to read The Knockoff the same week. Perfect timing. (Now I’m itching to re-watch The Devil Wears Prada, and while I enjoyed it at the time I don’t remember loving it so much that it would be worth viewing again. Am I remembering wrong?)

What I’m reading

I’m trying to stick to my summer reading list: I read Dead Wake, The Knockoff, and Little Women, and I burned through Louise Penny’s whole Inspector Gamache series (more on that soon).

I read two of summer’s big releases: Go Set a Watchman (here’s my take on how to read it) and Ernest Cline’s Armada. I also finally read 84, Charing Cross Road and The Book Thief—two books everyone has read but me.

We’re headed to the beach this August and I’m starting to think about what books I want to bring along. Suggestions? It’s not like my TBR list needs new title but I’m always up for a good beach read recommendation.

Favorite finds from around the web

• Who said it: John Green or Anne of Green Gables? I got a measly 67% on this.

• The magic of tidying up—digitally. “The problem for me was, how do I apply to ephemeral digital objects a method that involves probing our emotions about a thing by touching them? On a hunch, I started with my iPhone.”

• Book lovers on instagram vs. reality. This is perfect.

• Ten 5-minute habits that can change your life. Make your bed, floss, be quick with compliments. Ten easy habits that will improve your life.

On the blog

• The life-changing magic of tidying up, for kids. “Tidying up for kids has its special challenges, and this is the biggest: kids grow and change constantly. ”

• What self care looks like for me right now. “These days, I try to take good care of myself. I used to think self care was silly and indulgent; now I view it as something vital—essential to my health and my sanity.”

• Two big-picture concepts that help me plan my days/weeks/months. “The planning stuff does not come naturally to me, but I’ve finally realized that my life goes much, much better when I embrace rhythms and routines.”

• I took my 8-year-old to the tattoo parlor and here’s how it went. “For all you parents who think you may have a piercing in your future, I hope this is helpful as you decide what to do, and where to go.”

• From the trenches of parenting a highly sensitive child. “Once I knew what I—and my kids—were dealing with, we could make the appropriate adjustments. It’s made a significant difference in our family life.”

Please hit me with road trip music and beach read recommendations in comments! And I’d love to hear what YOU were into in July.