Recently Enjoyed Things | June 20, 2025
The universe didn't care much for my plans.
This week, I decided to take two days off for a mini beach vacation. I live roughly 15 minutes from Lake Michigan and we are a beach family, so I will pack a cooler with sammies and sodas and cut-up apples that nobody will eat, because I also pack Pringles and cheesy popcorn, but the effort and intention is there, right? And we’ll perch up there all day long. My kids play while I vaguely supervise and spend the afternoon cooking away in the sun and reading. I am mostly uninterrupted and boy, is it a treat.
Well, turns out the universe had other plans for me. It started raining on Wednesday as I left work and looks like we have rain on the forecast for the next couple days. Oh well. At least it looks intermittent! I’m still hopeful for pockets of sun, but man, just goes to show that Outkast was right - you can plan a pretty picnic but you can’t predict the weather.
I have some admin stuff to do around home anyway I guess. It’s largely out of necessity, but I prefer to romanticize our summer plans by saying we’re having a 90’s summer, which sounds more intentional but still basically just means my kids will be hanging around the house for the next three months. I’m going to do my best to not rely on screens during my work hours and I’ve been keeping a “summer camp” board on Pinterest to stay fresh on ideas to fill at least some of their free time with creative projects. Organizing those projects and ordering some of the required accessories (glue, borax, etc) should fill some of my rainy days this week.
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In other unrelated news, I started watching The Gilded Age. It seems like I’ve heard good things about it and it features very good actors, but the first episode didn’t hook me. Any diehards out there? Do I need to keep going?
I’m on the hunt for a good show to get obsessed with this summer. Anyone have something good? Most recently, I’ve loved The Crown, White Lotus, Succession and The Bear, so I guess my taste runs towards constant tension, people behaving badly, and weird relationships. If that’s you too, I’d like to know what you like to watch please.
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Also, if you’re enjoying what I’m enjoying, I’d love for you to stick around!
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.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo // Advertised as a Daisy Jones meets Carrie Soto is Back combo, this follows the story of Katarina Shay and Heath Rocha, a pair of young figure skaters who are partners on and off the ice. The narrative is from Katarina’s perspective, retelling the past, and every chapter ends with a interview feature, presumably from the current day-ish. The premise is that things go really sideways as Kat ambitiously chases Olympic Gold and I’m fully expecting a big twist somewhere in the latter half. Anyway, it’s okay. I’m about a quarter of the way in, and the reviews are good, so I’ll stay the course. But right now it feels really juvenile and the characters are pretty surface level. It just occurred to me that this book might be YA so if that’s the case, take my mini review with a grain of salt.
Meanwhile, I’m still reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl with my kids. This is just a joyful part of our day. I make them read their own thing for 30 minutes every morning, but in the evenings, after work, I read Charlie to them. At just a chapter or two a day, it’s slow going, but when we finish, I’d like to have a movie night to watch the old version and eat plenty of chocolate.
Shopping
I needed to get my kiddos some crocs for the summer. Having grown up in the Adidas slides (you know the ones, with the annoying beads in the footbed that you just had to get used to - but they were SO cool!), I’m still in disbelief that crocs are basically my kid’s generation’s slides, but whatever. I ordered these knock offs because he really just wanted the black and white marbling. Does anyone else struggle with kid shoe sizing? 1 Big Kid is somehow different from 1 Little Kid and definitely different from 1 Toddler. I just sort of hoped for the best with my selection.
As I do when I make an Amazon order, I decide I should just get everything all at once, even random things, which explains how I ended up with this Capri Diffuser Oil that, please God, is supposed to smell like Anthro (and basically very candle at TJ Maxx) which is a smell that I like very much.
You know what also smells good and is literally $2? Marshmallow Crispies wax melts from Walmart. I cannot overhype this, it smells so freaking good.
I also bought a knock off fitness ring. Definitely not Oura to be clear. I’m just so over wearing huge fitness watches, but I still want to obsess over my sleep, ya know? This one is $40 and doesn’t require an app subscription, which is what sold me. And lol, another wild stab in the dark at sizing.
I was doing my makeup before work this week and realized I need to get some new shades of my old favorites that match my recently achieved summer tan. My bronzer is looking more like foundation lately, so I picked up this in a darker shade, and this liquid blush in what might be hilariously bright. Shall keep you updated.
PS - I always get the mini size of Rare Beauty things. I can’t remember who said this, but I read it this week and it’s true on a biblical level: you can paint an entire wall with the amount of pigment contained in the mini bottle. It will last you years, I promise.
Recent Saves
A Perfect Weekend To Do List
Action items that ensure no Sunday scaries waiting for me in two days. Lol just kidding, I’ll still be panicking, but at least I was productive.
Can you believe I’ve had dog baths on this list for at least a month and still haven’t done it? Let me try that again.
Go to the beach.
List a couple purses on Poshmark.
Sending You on Your Way
(Interesting things I found on substack this week)
Feeling so inspired by this throwback summer to-do list from
how i parent myself from
Last Week - In case you missed it:
Vitamin C should be illegal in June.
Recently Enjoyed Things | June 13, 2025
Yesterday, I picked up my kids from school for their last day, and felt surprisingly emotional. I’ve been pretty candid around here that the newborn, baby, and toddler years weren’t it for me. I lived through them, and thought my kids were cute obviously, but the big kid years are such an upgrade. Funny, with an actual personality, and when we play a ga…
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Continue with the Gilded Age!
The Handmaid’s Tale if you haven’t yet watched. Complicated misery and rebellion of government. Not one to get you “in the mood” but super compelling.