Stapler // Coffee Table Book // Pendant Light
Planner // Cozy Rug // Notebook
Rose Pillow // Loveseat // Furry Pillows
Office Chair // Bookends // Lamp
Throw // White Desk // Travel Mug
P.S. Increase productivity with these office design tricks!
What are you up to this week? I’m in full hibernation mode this week with these cooler temperatures. I truly look a vision at my desk each morning with blanket, huge cup of coffee, and a space heater on full blast about 2 feet from my feet. God bless working from home! Hope you’re enjoying your October, and here are some things that have caught my eye lately…
Elizabeth Gilbert on writing, grief and her toughest creative challenge yet.
Related: I just finished City of Girls!
The world’s top economists say we need more storytellers.
Ikea and H&M ran a study on recyclable fabrics to figure out what chemicals are in them.
Stop treating parenting as mom’s burden and dad’s adorable hobby.
This coffee mug is very much my vibe.
Welp, never taking a ride share again.
I, too, loved working in a grocery store.
The impact of ICE raids on a community in Mississippi.
Librarians are pretty dang funny.
Halloween costume ideas (and you can buy them on Amazon).
Is the sick day dead?
P.S. I finally took the plunge and joined Goodreads! Wanna be friends?
What have you been up to? My birthday was over the weekend, and I had the perfect day! Chet made a bunch of envelopes for me to open throughout the day, each with a different activity for us to complete. We went to the bagel place up the road for breakfast, hit up the thrift stores, browsed the bookstore so I could pick out some book gifts, and even saw the Downton Abbey movie! Hope you all have a great rest of your week, and here are some internet treasures I thought I should pass along…
Schools should go back to teaching teens Adulting 101.
A pro athlete on what to pack for every type of hike.
Royal correspondents on what it’s like to write about Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.
How living near a Trader Joe’s can affect home values.
Everything you need in a 72-hour emergency backpack.
36 hours in Milwaukee.
I wonder if this lint roller works.
Will you be listening to this podcast?
This map shows you what Indigenous lands you’re living on.
The most adorable jacket for fall.
Jojo Moyes has been accused of publishing a novel with crazy similarities to another book.
The ancient world was full of warrior women.
P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — A Decluttering Thought Exercise and How to Spruce Up Your Neutral Rental.
Guys! I am so obsessed with my new photo wall. I’ve been toying with the idea of putting one up for months now but it always just seemed like SOOO much work. Choosing the photos, getting them printed, then framed, and – MOST DAUNTING OF ALL – hung.
(Hung straight and without making the wall look like swiss cheese with all the nail holes, that is.)
Well, then I discovered Mixtiles and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally pull the trigger on the photo wall of my dreams! I still took great care to choose my photos, narrowing down a field of many to 12 of my favorites. I wanted them to all have a cohesive color palette (blue, red, green, and light maroon) so that the arrangement would look nice in our living room. This helped weed out some contenders. Also handy was the fact that the Mixtiles website will tell you if a picture is going to be lower quality when printed as soon as you upload it. So that eliminated a few more.
My 12 winners included:
All I had to do was upload the photos, select the type of frame I wanted, and the next thing I knew they were on my doorstep. And best of all? They hang WITHOUT nails and are removable, reusable, and leave no marks. Perfect for people (like me) who are indecisive and want to play around before they settle on the ideal placement.
I would highly, highly recommend Mixtiles if you’ve always wanted a photo wall but were too scared to take the plunge! I’m already itching to order more!! They are beautiful quality and the perfect addition to any home.
Do you have a photo wall?
When we moved to Alabama, I was so excited that we’d have a backyard. Coming from a big city, where it was starting to feel like we were living on top of our neighbors, I was excited for the extra space. Our first summer here, we hung out in the backyard a bit. Did some grilling, sat outside chatting with friends, even planted a few things. But the mosquitoes were pretty horrendous. In a true case of “the grass is always greener,” I started to miss our screened-in balcony in Miami.
But this summer we showed up with an action plan! We splurged on a pop-up tent (more like a pop-up gazebo…this thing is pretty huge) that offers a bit of protection from all the bugs. It’s proven to be the perfect place for eating dinner, reading a book on a lazy afternoon, and just CHILLING. We’ve even run an extension cord from our kitchen on a few occasions so we could hook up a box fan. Hello, GLAMPING!
Do you hang out outside in the summer? Do you have a porch, a stoop, or do you just head to the park? Let me know in the comments below.
Wherever you’re chilling, this drink would be the perfect accompaniment to a relaxing summer’s evening. Enjoy!
Cocktail Recipe:
Ingredients –
– 1 bottle of Prosecco
– 1 cup Limoncello
– 1 cup raspberries, muddled & for garnish
– 2 lemons, for garnish
Instructions –
At the bottom of a wine glass, muddle approximately 4-5 raspberries.
Fill each glass half way with Prosecco, then fill the remainder of the way with Limoncello.
Garnish with fresh sliced lemon and raspberries before serving.
P.S. Other summer faves are linked HERE.
What have you been up to loves? Last weekend, Chet and I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…complete with a huge tub of popcorn. Have you seen it? Sometimes I just can’t get over how good an actor Leo is! Hope you have a fantastic week, do a few things for your own enjoyment, and here are some links you might want to check out…
The best street art in every state.
How to give constructive criticism without making it awkward.
Everyone knows about urine-detector dye, despite the fact that it has 100% never existed.
These cookies are my new favorite thing.
How to eat candy like a Swedish person.
24 books under 200 pages, recommended by TED speakers.
An ice cream truck owner who hates influencers so much he charges them double.
When should you tell a child their adopted?
A fish pie loaded with summer’s bounty.
Fall is right around the corner!
Sweet new merch from Call Your Girlfriend.
16 words people often mix up that can make you look foolish.
P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — My Favorite Words and The Truths We Hold — Continued Material.
What’s new this Wednesday? My husband was out of town last week and I’m so happy to have him back in my clutches! Can folks who live with one other person relate to this? The first night I have the house to myself I’m like “Wahooo, the TV remote is mine, ALL MINE!” and then by the third night it’s “Will someone…ANYONE pay attention TO ME!” Anywho, links for your reading pleasure are right this way…
What did you do before the internet?
The forgotten wolf children of World War II.
Great way to keep track of your keys.
How to rotate a six-week meal plan.
I need this shirt for the upcoming winter. #HyggeLife
Songbirds are being snatched from Miami’s forests.
He’d been kept alive with tubes for nearly 17 years. Who is he?
Victims, families, and America’s thirst for true-crime stories.
The rich history and complicated future of pen spinning.
An amazing clay mask.
The story behind the ice cream sandwich.
That’s a lot of hot air balloons!
P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — Top 10 Yard Sale Advertising Tips and Our Mini Vacay to Delray Beach.
What’s new with y’all? We took an impromptu weekend trip to a nearby state park and stayed the night in a lodge there. We swam, watched boats go by, and enjoyed everything about the lodge that felt straight out of the 70’s. (It was built in ’73 and I’m truly obsessed with it’s time-capsule vibe!) It was a great way to recharge and dive headfirst back into work this week. Hope you have a great Wednesday, and here are a few links for your enjoyment…
7 exercises to uncover your purpose, passion, and path.
Why digital cultivation is so enduring.
Latest organizational obsession.
Who holds the power in your relationships? Check your emails.
Liv Tyler’s 25-step skincare routine.
Why are millennials so lonely? Social media mimics community but actually pushes us further apart.
Millions of middle-aged women struggle to care for ailing older relatives, and the crisis is only getting worse.
Can Silicon Valley get you pregnant?
How to get repeat sponsors as an influencer.
Keto diet may offer clues on how nutrition can treat disease.
A freelancer rate calculator.
Tees inspired by Stranger Things.
P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — One Dozen Super Rad Things I Think You Should Do and Do or Don’t: Out of Office.
What have you been up to this week? Monday was Chet‘s birthday and we celebrated by going out for sushi. (A peanut butter pie was waiting for us at home in lieu of cake :)) Here’s to a wonderful rest of your week — hope you have something stellar planned — and I hope you enjoy this round-up of links…
Do you sit too much?
“Black sounding” names and their surprising history.
LOL! As a child who was brought to a lot of museums, I deeply relate.
Why do dogs look so sad?
My favorite podcast about the royals!
The cutest yellow blouse.
A movie critic’s July Netflix picks.
Why don’t people tip hotel maids?
Ancient fingerprints and forensic science challenge ideas about “women’s work.”
The making of a millennial woman.
Check out my July Favorites.
P.S. Read through the BOOK CLUB archives HERE.
Hello friends! Do you have big plans this weekend? We’re going on a day trip to a nearby state park, and we’ll also be stopping by a flea market. Who knows! Maybe I’ll find something I can’t live without. Either way, after a bunch of project deadlines this week, I’m ready for some weekend diversion! Hope the rest of your week is super sweet, and here’s a bit of reading material…
The story behind Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
[Related: 5 reasons I can’t get enough Dolly.]
Being a mother and a champion was a crazy dream.
How fairytales are told in other tongues.
[Related: Our storytelling minds.]
These millennials got new roommates.
Anytime young people get together, the pics start flowing.
The Japanese secret to a longer and happier life.
Russia is reopening an investigation into the world’s greatest mystery.
Cute kimono for lounging poolside.
Historians have largely discarded the lie that the “frontier” was an empty Eden waiting for American expansion—but not David McCullough.
[Related: The Pioneers by David McCullough]
As thousands of taxi drivers were trapped in loans, top officials counted the money.
Homeless mom’s letter to NIMBY supporters.
A Fab Five favorite writes a new memoir.
P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — 9 Insights from Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky and How to Spend Your Time Helping Others.
If you enjoy my blog content, please consider supporting what I do (and keeping me caffeinated). Thank you! xoxo ☕
Finding delight. 