Happy Friday! I hope you all had a great week and that you’re eagerly anticipating the weekend as much I am. I celebrated my birthday this week (!), took care of a nagging healthcare task, and hosted a campaign event for a friend who is running for our local city council. It was a busy one but full of lots of good moments including a couples massage (omg I know), a really great snack walk (snack for my boys, the walk for me), and time spent reading and knitting. We got a brick and while I’m only a few days into using it, I’m sold and fully convinced that it’s a game changer. I’m more likely to pick up my knitting or book when I know social media isn’t an option. I’m trying to build my attention span back up and the external guiderails are helping.
BEAUTYLAND - My husband and I love to swap books on Christmas Eve and this was this year’s pick for me. I had never heard of it which always make it even more fun to go into a book blind, especially when I haven’t been the one to pick it. In BEAUTYLAND, Adina is an alien sent to Earth to send back faxes detailing human life. The entire book is a series of vignettes that follows Adina from birth all the way until the end of her life. It’s not actually science fiction and about an alien but instead, the human experience and what it means to go through this life feeling not quite at home. It was so strange and lovely and I’m so glad I read it. Definitely more literary fiction so if you love a steady moving plot, this might not be for you!
TOLD YOU SO - Something about me is that I actually really love reality TV. Lately I’ve been bribing myself to ride the peloton by also watching a show and the newest season of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was a recent watch for me. Although the show can be pretty bad, I’ve always really liked Mayci and when I saw she had a memoir out I immediately clicked play and started listening.
I try not to be too harsh on memoirs but this was…not great. It felt like reading a series of very lightly edited blog posts that recounted all of the terrible things that happened to her/mistakes she made without any real reflection or growth. I really do think a bulk of this came from her blog and I feel like she really missed the mark on sharing who she is with readers.
I loved this season of Emily in Paris! I’m sad it’s over and so intrigued to see where the next season lands and how they (hopefully) wrap it up.
One episode into His & Hers - am I too much of a scaredy cat for this?
Love audiobooks? Make the switch to LibroFM
I tried this skillet lasagna and was SO impressed. The best part? My four-year-old gladly ate it which was a HUGE DEAL as he’s never willingly eaten ground beef before. It came together quickly and will definitely be making it into the regular rotation. My mods: I added in some bowtie pasta (we were short on lasagna noodles) and used a jar of raos instead of the whole tomatoes. Next time I’ll try to shred in some zucchini or add a handful of lentils and bump up the liquid a bit
This egg roll in a bowl is an easy go to when I don’t know what else to make. I use a bowl bag of the shredded coleslaw mix and this time added some frozen edamame as the meat was finishing up. Highly recommend! My favorite bowls make every meal look fab.
I did a little birthday thrifting this week and grabbed this Chicos sweater. I really try to stick with natural fibers but made an exception - I loved the mock neck, bracelet length sleeves, and the little tie detail! I can’t wait to wear it when I go see a show at our local theatre with some book club friends.
Wearing the vest I made as much as possible! With a newer thrifted top - one of my goals for the year is to track what I’m adding to my closet each month and how much I’ve actually worn it. The ideal is to wear it at least once or twice the month I get it. I am trying to slow down my shopping, particularly secondhand, when it feels easier to justify for the right price.
🧶I always love getting to pop into a yarn shop and scheme about my next makes. I’m thinking another vest with the grey as the body, green as the ribbing around the neck, armholes, and hems.
🥣A new-to-me local spot - The Daily Beet was delicious!
💖Surprising my 4-year-old with an unread Magic Tree House book on his pillow to be read together. I love browsing our local used bookstore to see if they have any copies of ones we haven’t read yet or that the library always seems to have checked out.
Happy Friday, friends. Thanks for being here!
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Brick has also been a lifesaver for me, I love how it is changing my relationship to my phone. I don't feel the need to have my phone by my side all the time.
I also really loved Beautyland, such a strange little book, but it really stuck with me.
Eggroll in a Bowl sounds so good right now!!