July 2025
July In Review
July was a very exciting month for the Caldwells.
On the personal front, we closed on the sale of our old house (the A Frame, pictured here), officially moved all our things to our new house (the grey one with the wrap around porch, pictured below), and made time for things like nesting (see my gallery wall, I also painted the master bedroom, baby’s nursery, and Charlie’s room during 4th of Jul week), and a maternity photoshoot with the one and only, Taylor Good, to celebrate le bebe joining us in late Aug/early Sep.
On the work front, July brought me to Dallas, NYC, and Philly for visits with clients and prospects. And while travel delays and cancellations kept me grounded, my spirits were high as I enjoyed two extra nights this month of uninterrupted sleep, something that I’ve come to cherish about work trips :)
A quick note on the madness of July, thank god for our support system - my family, Ronnie’s family, our friends, our neighbors - new and old - and our sitters. I truly don’t know what we would have done without them this month. From taking Charlie on adventures, to helping us move boxes, to literally hanging curtains and moving furniture, the expression “It takes a village” has never felt more true, and I / we can’t thank our people enough for all of the extra hands and love shared with us this month.
On the cooking, taking care of my body and mind front, July brought endless takeout orders, not a single workout, and one book — halfway devoured… and while I could have beat myself up about this, instead, I decided to let myself be not just okay with it, but at peace with it.
In this particular season of major home things and major work things all co-existing alongside parenting responsibilities, and being a tolerable spouse, there are going to be things you simply can’t say yes to, and this month, cooking, working out, and reading for enjoyment were those things. Alas, it’s August now, so perhaps there will be a bit of a return to “normalcy” this month as we truly start settling in.
Looking ahead at August, things that are lighting me up include:
A trip to my parents’ vineyard for their annual Harvest Party event - complete with live music, delicious food, wonderful wine (I’ll have a few sips), and even better people.
A trip downtown for two nights to be with my sales team once more IRL before I am out for maternity leave! The energy I / we all get from time together is completely irreplaceable.
A trip to Claire’s (my future SIL) Bachelorette party in New Buffalo, for fun in the sun and celebrating the bride to be with all of her incredible people.
Jared’s (my BIL) wedding to the LOHL, Leah!!! And while I won’t be attending in person (it’s a plane trip away and <2 weeks before my due date), I can’t wait to tune in via Facetime, and see all the pictures, as soon as they’re ready.
One final weekend at home as a family before my due date.
And finally — Labor Day + Baby Labor Day! I think I am going to start taking bets on if people think she will come on Labor Day. I get the sense she’s got a funny little sense of humor already, so I wouldn’t be surprised by that at all.
Potentially most surprising in all of this is that one of the things I am most overjoyed by right now, is packing my hospital bag. I can’t believe the day is almost here. I can’t wait to meet baby girl, and I am SO much more prepared with the RIGHT things to bring to the hospital this time, that I feel so much more confident in what I am doing.
What are you looking forward to most for the month of August?
Alright, onto the good stuff.
Favs From the Month
Fav Book: One day, I’d like to write a film inspired by my family’s annual christmas cards, so as I had some time away from work this month to move in and paint the new house, I thought I’d let myself indulge in the idea of writing and pitching a script for a bit, so I picked and The Hollywood Pitching Bible and made it about halfway through. As someone who is so far removed from the film industry, I was actually quite inspired by how much of the advice here was quite intuitive: 1) start with the end in mind, before writing your script, think about what distribution channels you’d like to target, and know what genre’s and film formula’s they accept and do not accept; and 2) when it comes to pitching, it’s a process, a warm introduction beats cold outreach, and at the end of the day you are subjecting yourself to someone else’s green-lighting your project, so a career in sales (and rejection) will likely be useful.
Fav Podcast Episodes: I’ve been loving the Hot Smart Rich Podcast, I feel like Maggie Sellers really keeps it real with her guests and on her solo episodes. Her career background in Consumer mixed with her POV on becoming an angel investor and running a syndicate to expand her network and access is really honest and refreshing. For those of you interested in angel investing, and as obsessed with Consumer as I am, I definitely recommend adding this to your roundup.
Fav Movie/Show: I mentioned my unlucky travel delays above, well, when in Rome… After a particularly persnickety travel week, instead of listening to a book, podcast, or sales training on the plane ride home, I decided to let myself indulge in In-Flight entertainment, something I never do, and watched the film The Luckiest Man in America on my way home from one of my trips. What I loved about this film most was the characters. There were four or so characters that I felt like were “onions” (in the words of Shrek), and as the film progressed, you got to peel back layers and layers, making some more likeable, and others, well… I won’t spoil it. If you decide to indulge, I hope you enjoy.
Fav Recipes: Well, ya girl didn’t cook a single. stinking. meal. in July. I made Elotes as a side at our Fourth of July get together with friends, but other than that it was takeout, delivery, and leftovers. So while I hope to be back in the swing of things in August, I will leave you with this. Typically in July, this greek orzo is my favorite thing to make, and nothing screams it’s too hot to do anything other than sit in the AC and eat cold things like this delish cold soup.
Finds
Fav App — Locker is basically the app you use to organize and save all the things you want to buy, but shouldn’t… yet. It’s also a great place to curate all the things you’ve already bought if you’re the friend in the group chat that’s always getting asked “where did you get that XYZ again?” or “what brand was that XYZ again?” I’m not part of it (yet?), but one of the missions of the company is to democratize affiliate earnings, so regular ‘ol people like you and me can make a few bucks just by being ourselves and sharing what we love with the people we love. I like it. I went ahead and curated My Locker so you guys could check it out.
Fav Pantry / Fridge Item — The founders of Leisure Hydration were on my podcast a few years ago, and I’ve been obsessed ever since, but their recent national rollout in Whole Foods, combined with the Whole Foods in my community finally opening = I get to actually go and buy their stuff in store now!!! They also happen to be in all the Chase Sapphire lounges (you guys, they are SO nice) in the US, so while my travel delays were rough this month, I stayed hydrated AF with a whole lotta Leisure.
Fav Thing I Finally Caved and Bought — I’ve been a Yeti girl for as long as I can remember, but after my friend Krystal accidentally left her Stanley at my house after Fourth of July, and I made the grave mistake of using it for myself for a few days, I finally get what all the fuss is about. This thing is freaking awesome. So.. I caved, and now I have my very own cream colored Stanley, I call him my second husband. The other thing, I finally caved and got was this pair of Skims PJs. They are sooooo soft and roomy (I got an XL because this belly is outta control), I’ve worn them pretty much every night since they arrived. I’m actually ordering a second pair so I have two for my upcoming maternity leave.
From my iPhone
Here are a few of my fav photos from my camera roll this month… My fav this month is the sunset pic from our new backyard on Fourth of July. Living waterfront has been a big dream mine and Ronnie’s for many years, we’re so excited to have found our place on the river to start an exciting new chapter of life.
