I love July. It makes me feel gloriously stuck in the middle of summer. It makes me feel like I have time, like I have enough long nights and hot days to last as long as I need. It makes me feel like school and winter are still far away.
The end of July always makes me sad. It was a lot worse when I lived in Wisconsin, where sometimes in the winter we get zero hours of direct sunlight and the temperature never makes it out of the negative degrees. My mood has done a 180 since leaving bad weather behind–I no longer have to sit in front of a blue light for fifteen minutes a day to feel normal. That’s something, right? And I love USC, so most of the things that make me sad about August 1st are gone. But I still get leftover bummer feelings every year when I realize July is over.
It’s so easy to be happy without even realizing it, and then the happy time passes and you realize you didn’t savor what you had. I try to savor. I take a lot of pictures. They’re not good or artistic; they’re not even well-lit most of the time. But at least I have them so that when I feel a little blue, I can look at some of the sliver-thin moments of bliss that fly by without me remembering, or worse, noticing. Each photo represents some little “awake” minute in which I was cognizant enough of how good I had it right then to record it for later.
The time we bit off much more than we could sip at Serendipity 3
The time I took a letterpress printing class and the character palette on Adobe Illustrator came to life around me (so much type!)
The time the curls held (it had never happened before and hasn’t happened since)
The time I discovered one of my favorite pieces of art on the wall in front of me (“Between Earth and Heaven” by El Anatsui at the Met)
The time birthday cake, The West Wing, and a cuddle were all it took to make me the happiest girl around
The time we were the last ones up
The time the sky turned pink (those are white roses)
The time we hung out all day
The time I saw my school on Netflix (The Graduate)
The time I spent a grand total of $2 on my favorite meal
Unedited, blurry, happy.
What was the best day of your July? I want to hear what made you this happy.
Dolce and Gabriella 
July 31, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Those treats in that first pic look AMAZING. My favorite day in July was probably when I met Jimmy Fallon at some ransom store in New Hampshire on July 4th. He was so nice! Day made. 🙂
Rachel
http://www.daydreamfrenzy.com/
July 31, 2014 at 1:52 pm
What a hoot! That’s an awesome coincidence. No kidding day made, it would definitely make my month 🙂
And yeah, they’re two of the famous frozen hot chocolates at Serendipity 3 in New York. Egregiously expensive but so, so, so worth it.
Have a great weekend, Rachel!
July 31, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Thank you for this post, Gigi! I love that so many of your happy moments have been the little moments and you’ve really been able to cherish them. I take so many photos when my husband and I travel, but rarely take pictures outside of those trips. You’ve inspired me to document more of the little moments; it’s unfortunately so easy to forget them sometimes.
Looking back on the month of July (I’m also really sad how quickly the summer has gone by), there have been many happy moments! I learned how to bike this summer and have been loving it; each time I go biking, I always have the biggest smile on my face, as it makes me feel young and carefree. Cuddling with my husband always makes me happy, and so does a long conversation with a good friend. I also love eating, so any great meal or dessert is always a happy moment as well :). Finally, today my mom told me on the phone a random story from her childhood, and it was so fun to hear snippets of her life that I never knew before.
Hope you are having a great week and enjoying the last day of July! 🙂
August 1, 2014 at 7:10 pm
Hi Carolyn! Yes, I am totally a “little moments” kind of girl–it sounds like you are as well. It’s so easy to lose track of them as time passes…I wish I had a better way to document them. Besides taking pictures, I’ve been using an app lately called Happier, have you heard of it? It’s a similar concept to Twitter, but all you share are little moments throughout the day that make you happy. I have my account set to private and I try to write down five happy things a day–it’s a great way to remember how lucky I am.
Congratulations on learning to bike!! It is a wonderful feeling, I agree–kind of like using the swings on a swingset. One day you should bike on the boardwalk from Santa Monica to Venice–I did it with some friends not too long ago and had a blast.
Have a wonderful weekend and beginning of August!
August 2, 2014 at 6:46 am
I love July too!! This will be my first year not going back to school (graduated college in May) and its a bit of an odd feeling!! It looks like you definitely made the the most of July– beautiful pics of beautiful moments! Oh, and El Anatsui is one of my favorite artists!! I hope your August is just as lovely–
xo,
Grace
August 2, 2014 at 1:01 pm
Thanks so much, Grace! Yeah, when I graduate it will definitely be a weird adjustment–summer won’t be such a “life break” anymore, I guess. Hope your August is just as great!
August 5, 2014 at 9:10 am
Love this. Unedited, and HAPPY! Sometimes happiness seems effortless, and other times, I can’t be happy if I try. I have a journal in my bedside table where I try to jot down little happy moments in the day, that way, when I really need them, there they are! Your hair looks lovelllyyyy with the curls!
♥ perfectly Priya
August 5, 2014 at 7:38 pm
I love that journal idea…I read somewhere that writing down three things that make you happy every day can have a HUGE impact on your overall satisfaction. It’s the little things. And thank you 🙂 I wish it stayed that way! But it’s fine, silky and pin-straight–a deadly combination for curls.