Recently Enjoyed Things | August 23, 2024

Enjoying...from the tilt-a-whirl

It’s been a fun wrap up of summer around here. Next week is the open house at my kiddos school and then we have a busy Labor Day weekend, and then it’s back to business as usual. I’m actually kind of looking forward to enjoying 15 minutes of quietly listening to a podcast while waiting in the pick-up line. I joyfully shopped for Costco sized boxes of snacks to fill the lunch boxes with for the next few weeks. Haircut appts are set up. We’re ready and that’s because the clock is ticking.

I operate really well under pressure. When I was a kid, give me an essay and I’ll bang it out the night before, motivated and frankly inspired by the tick-tocking of the clock. A few years ago, I gave the toast at my baby sister’s wedding, and I was writing that sucker maybe two days before? I think I do my best work if I pressurize the system a little bit.

This week, in summer crunch time, I finally got it together to make those core memories the IG moms are always telling me about. First order of business: we went to an amusement park.

Now see, this can go one of two ways: really good or really bad, and my experience with the hell hole that is Disney World didn’t really set me up with high expectations. But I figured 1.) I live in Michigan, not Disney. Our amusement parks are not the same. 2.) I picked a Tuesday, hoping the masses would not pick such an obscure day to submit PTO. And most importantly, 3.) By happy accident, I picked a day that was the first day of school for most of the public schools downstate.

The park was empty.

We made our pilgrimage, and I’ll just tell you it was wonderful. I think I made core memories for myself. I said yes to everything - fifteen trips on the tilt-a-whirl? Done. There wasn’t a line anyway, so just lets just get off and immediately run back around to the entrance. We ate dippin’ dots THREE TIMES. I did have to call it after five consecutive rides on a wooden rollercoaster, but only because my brain was jostled so hard, I was getting a headache.

There’s no great theme to this story except, I guess, use your PTO. It was a good day and I’m so glad we fit it in our schedule.

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But first, some housekeeping: there’s some affiliate links in here. But aren't they everywhere? Anyway, if you click on something and buy it, I might earn a commission at no cost to you.

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Recently Enjoyed

Reading

I’m passionate about reading and sharing books that are readily available at your library and don’t feature a waitlist 47 people long. So these are rarely new, hot releases, but if you’re intrigued, there’s a good chance for instant gratification at your library.

• Modern Lovers by Emma Straub // I’m in a reading rut, so I’m leaning into old gems that I’ve read before because I need a slam-dunk right now. We have a group of college friends who are grown with nearly grown children of their own and as they do, relationships are changing. Zoe is considering divorce. Jane just wants things to go back to normal. Andrew is just sort of….wandering around. Elizabeth has commission sparkling in her eyes. And they all have to deal with that one friend who went on to become famous. Hollywood is looking for their life rights so a biopic can be made. Tricky!

• Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris // I am allegiant to David Sedaris and grabbed this book of essays for a birthday present to myself. Hilarious as usual.

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Shopping

Fall shopping hasn’t really hit for me yet, but it is on my radar. I started a Fall Style board to start gathering ideas and get a sense of what commonalities I pin over and over. And while I generally hold out until the temperature drops to 60º, the nights have been cool and it’s officially on my mind.

• ⭐ Am I a scarf gal? I think I could be.

• Big fan on Boden bags and this one feels so Ralph Lauren-ish, preppy chic.

• I am very into Nalgene bottles. I have one and I do not need more, but I cannot get over how nostalgic they feel to me. Clutching the loop on the lid of one of these giant vessels is very much my high school experience.

• An Old Navy find - this cardigan + this midi skirt

• Holy early 00’s. Pretty sure I had this exact shirt in white circa 9th grade.

• But while you’re at Target, here’s a totally different vibe.

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Recent Saves

Maybe I’m digging in my heels, but I live for this mantra:

Click the image to link to the artist’s IG page. Lots of goodies!

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3 Things

Random things I’m enjoying lately -

• Jack Black on Armchair Expert // An interview with Jack Black in which, of course, he’s so wholesome.

• All things blue as evidenced in this carousel + this crazy blue polish.

• Boring but GD have these shelves brought joy to my life. I bought a 12-pack and I’m tackling closet organization one room at a time.

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Sending You on Your Way

(Interesting things I found on the internet this week)

• Surely we all have horror stories, like this one I heard recently about a friend who showed up to a much planned Paris trip and announced upon arrival that she left her credit card at home. Her entire two weeks had to be spotted, and then she took 6 months to pay it back. I’m a fan of the group trip, but I can appreciate why some people just want to let it die.

• ⭐What I took from this is basically: these are the human experience.

• 10 I Love Yous. Here’s my addition: my mom, an immigrant from the Netherlands, always used to tell me “keep in touch with the Dutch” when I left the house, meaning call me, tell me you’re okay, etc. And now, I shout it at my own family as they walk out the door. I love you, I love you, I love you.

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Last Week - In case you missed it:

A list of all the ways Mercury’s retrograde has come for me. I did buy a new coffee maker btw. Sprang for the $19 version this time.

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PS -

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I’m also talking books, beauty, and style over at recentlyenjoyedthings.com

Here’s a few things I wrote about recently:

• Recent musings.

• Everything I liked and recommended recently.

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