Standing at the end of the driveway waiting for the school bus is a clear sign that summer has come and gone. The kids were ridiculously eager to go back to school today, and not even the rain could dampen their spirits. As I stood waiting for the bus to bring them home this afternoon, I entertained myself by texting Tim and scrolling through my recent Instagram photos. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you already know that the last week of summer looked something like this.

I bought a new striped tank top at LOFT, which is only notable because I haven’t worn stripes in probably a decade. Maybe not even since college. I was way overdue for such a classic addition to my wardrobe.

I mixed up a batch of puppy chow one evening in a valiant attempt at planning ahead. I stashed it in the freezer for the next couple weeks, but not before some of it disappeared…

We had a family photo taken for our church directory, and of course I picked out a shirt for Magen that needed to be mended. Relocating sequins to replace missing sequins was perhaps my least favorite mending job ever, but it’s hard to be unhappy for long when you’re working with sequins.

It was party central at our house this weekend with three birthdays in three days. I made these mini cupcakes with rainbow nonpareils to celebrate my favorite 40-year-old.

Stripes + chocolate + sequins + sprinkles = a pretty happy way to wrap up the summer.