Content I'm Consuming, vol. 3

Watching: Paradise. Season 2 started on Monday. Do not sleep on this show. I could not stop watching. I even posted to stories about how it's like watching a movie. You MUST try it. It's on Disney+. Again, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS SHOW. GO TO WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY. I cannot stress this enough. 

We watched the original Guardians of the Galaxy the other night. I'm not a movie person but Scott is and when I offer up "Love is Blind?" as a suggestion when he asks what I want to watch, the look I get in return is something else. So he will occasionally find a movie he knows I haven't seen because he knows I don't watch movies. This is how we ended up watching Interstellar a few weeks ago. I like Chris Pratt and it was funny so this worked out okay. 

Over the weekend, I made it through all three episodes of the America's Next Top Model Documentary on Netflix. I definitely recommend. The show started in 2003 and I don't think I picked up on it, really, until 2006-2007ish but there must have been 3-4 cycles a year because there were a ton of reruns available by that point. My only takeaway is that Tyra is definitely a villain and the two Jays and Nigel were definitely victimized as much as the contestants in the end. 

Also, I am caught up on the first two drops of Love is Blind and it's just not that interesting to me, unfortunately. The men are trash, the women have weird expectations, and I'm no fan of Chris, but the fact that Jessica got divorced during covid because her husband "didn't understand" is a red flag. She was probably really annoying. 

Listening: The Prosecutors are doing a series on The Isdal Woman. It had me gripped. You need to listen to it. There are 6 parts but not all have been released yet.

Okay, I do enjoy a good Whatever debate with Andrew Wilson. This one was something to behold. She was bragging about her IQ before she started and these comments had me rolling:

Reading: I just finished Count My Lies from Book of the Month.

I am currently re-reading First Light by Rebecca Stead. if you have a middle-grade kid, I cannot recommend it enough. 

I also have an Audible credit to burn so looking for something nonfiction...

What are you reading, listening to, or watching lately? Always looking for items to add to my list!

Volume 1

Volume 2

Content I'm Consuming (vol.2)

I've discovered this might be the easiest way to share what I'm doing in real time, instead of saving for quarterly or monthly round-ups because then I forget things. Here's volume 1!  
**I do wait until I FINISH something before I recommend it, so this all passed the test...the test in which I DNF 90% of what I start, it seems.**

Watching: 

1. Fallout (Amazon Prime)

 Last year we tried Fallout and I immediately disliked it because I hate thinking about nuclear war (a fun fact about me), so we stopped watching. However, when season 2 came out recently, we attempted season 1 again and I was immediately sucked in by episode 3. My initial criticism of the show was omg this is so dumb but it's supposed to be dumb.  It's a cross between The Walking Dead and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Make of that what you will. 

But, if you have not tried the show, it's worth a watch. It's not serious and scary; it's actually really dumb and silly and totally non-believable. Like, less realistic than Stranger Things, so make what you will of that analysis. 

I've liked Walton Goggins since Justified so he was, to be honest, the selling point because he's just a really good actor. 

2. If you're in the mood for some non-fiction, we watched Hiroshima Minute-by-Minute on Youtube the other day. It's 46 minutes and Wells actually hung around for most of it. 

Listening: 

1. The Nerve

If you like pop culture, history, and a little politics, you might like The Nerve. I've listened to many of Maureen Callahan's episodes over the last year and she was my favorite guest on Megyn Kelly's show before that (currently I'm 50/50 on MK...iykyk). 

But this episode about Michelle Obama was a serious delight. I love Maureen's subject matter knowledge and realistic takes. 

2. The Karen Read podcast series 

The Prosecutors covered the Karen Read trial in real time a couple of years ago and I don't like following trials in real time. I like to read or listen or watch once everything is done and wrapped up. So I could not get into it...I tried a couple of times. Recently, I decided I'd try again with Crime Weekly, since they did their series once the trial was over. I listened to all 6 episodes and THEN I went back to The Prosecutors' coverage. It made a lot more sense to me even though they were jumping around because I had a really solid background on the case. FUN FACT: Crime Weekly and The Prosecutors came to opposite conclusions and believe totally different things about what happened. 

And, finally...

Reading: My January books are here but I've read a couple more in the last week: Everyone is Lying to You and Read Between the Lies (which are crazy similar in a lot of ways). Both were good!

And, I ordered 3(!) Book of the Months for delivery because I thought I had put my subscription on hold and turns out I didn't so now I have 6 credits to use (it's paused now, don't worry). But I was able to grab new releases I have had on my TBR and were luckily offered through BOTM. 

Content I'm Consuming

I'm all for sharing recommendations. It's why I've kept up with blogs over the years. So much of my entertainment choices come from others telling me about it online. I also often forget to share these one at a time in other posts or the timeliness is off, so I'm putting all this in one place. This is from the last few days.

Watching: This weekend was all the football which was disappointing and annoying but anyway.

I watched all 6 episodes of His & Hers on Netflix this weekend, too. I loved the book a few years ago and I'm glad I read it awhile ago because I didn't remember much! This show is set in Georgia instead of in the UK and I'm okay with that. I am a huge fan of Jon Bernthal, if you remember The Walking Dead days on this blog (first 2 seasons great...all downhill after that). He was the perfect choice to play a detective in Georgia. 

Very much recommend if you need something to binge! And, again, I have NO IDEA how well it matched up to the book because I read the book many thrillers ago but I do remember how much I liked it. I called it one of my best reads of 2022. 

Listening: Hear me out. I'm not a stan for Lila Rose. I agree with her on many things but I actually am not a fan of her personally because I think she (and many other conservative influencers) can be hypocritical. 

However, I love watching or listening to debates. I listened to this while I did some cleaning on Saturday and, my God, does it pull you in....the comments alone are worth a read. Lila represents a normie and Stephanie represents a broken record. Every single American woman should listen to the debate and decide which wagon train they'd prefer to be hitched to because they are going in opposite directions.

Reading: Okay, well, I'm not exactly off to a running start with 2026's reading but that's mostly because I'm a serial do-not-finisher and leave a lot behind me and never think about it again. 

Last week, I read College Girl, Missing by Shawn Cohen and cannot recommend it enough. There's a few true crime cases I cannot get past and desperately want to be solved; Lauren Spierer is one of them. I love that the book gives more information than the podcasts I've heard so far. I'm really hoping The Prosecutors deep-dive into her case, at least with a two or three-parter, because I want to know their opinions. 

March Recommendations. 2025 ("Struggle" is the theme)

Kid thing. Being able to kick them both outside. No secrets here: Sutton is 3 now so she and Wells (and Mav) can go out by themselves and chase each other around. All three of them are working on digging a hole. Praise the Lord for independence while I make dinner. 

Food thing. Speaking of dinner, I am struggling here. I keep skipping Dinnerly orders because I'm not going to do it anymore (too expensive) and I look at the recipes but I don't have the desire to make new things. (You know how some people fall into ruts in the late fall or in January? I'm like that in the spring.) I haven't actually done a Dinnerly order since fall so I need to cancel it for good. I really just rotate the same 5-7 dinners and mostly it's Mexican food. Though, last night it was a sheet pan and Monday it was pancakes because at least both kids will eat pancakes. 

Health thing. I've been completely 110% red-pilled when it comes to health in the last few months, even going down the rabbit hole of trying to find a holistic vet for when we move. 

But I started taking schisandra maybe two months ago. I don't know that it helps but it's not hurting, that's for sure. I am pretty much anti-SSRI at this point (and I also don't think that people who haven't tried an SSRI get a weighted opinion on them :), but I think finding some natural remedies for stress and anxiety is good for everyone. 

Listening. Totally in a listening rut, which is unusual for me. I'd say what I've spent the most time listening to in the last month is Alex Clark's podcast Cultural Apothecary (I hate that word). I even tried some Crime Junkie again over the weekend because I want to get lost in storytelling but that didn't do it. Any recommendations?  

Watching. Finished Reacher. There's 3 seasons out there if you need something to binge on Prime. Still watching The Pitt and still dragging on with The White Lotus. We're also finishing up season 2 of American Rust. It's a great show and very moody and kind of depressing. That's what I like I guess. 

But, I'm rewatching Better Call Saul, as I tend to do each spring. It's so brilliant. I'll probably watch Breaking Bad next. I don't know what your comfort TV is, but this is mine. 

Reading. Ugh. I can't do it. I'm in SUCH a rut. I've gotten 5 library books in the past 2 weeks and I've not gotten past the second chapter in any of them. 

I did listen to Blind Spots by Marty Makary and it's worth your time, for sure. The chapter on peanut allergies explains a lot. 

Recommend a book or a podcast or a show! 

While there are some super jaw-dropping and endearing moments to this season of TWL, I recommend seasons 1 and 2. 

February Recommendations. 2025

Kid thing. These magnetic animals. Kids loves things that are magnets and my sister-in-law gave these to Sutton for Christmas. While, holy cow, they seem like they could be a little disturbing at first, these are a HIT. Cannot recommend enough if you have a toddler (or a 6 1/2 year old, apparently).

Food thing. I tried this viral pasta and it is every bit as good as the reviews suggest. Usually if I make something like this, Wells calls it "fake macaroni and cheese" and no one will eat it. EVERYONE ate it. You also likely have all the ingredients. So much healthier than making a box of macaroni too. I'd add roasted broccoli if I were feeling like bulking it up. 

Clothing thing.  I got these "flared leggings" at Aerie last fall. Amazing quality. Highly recommend. They are what I reach for when I leave the house so I thought it was worth mentioning again!

omg ignore the streaky gross mirror. 

Also, this Free People quilted carry-all bag. I've used it as a tote and it's too much tote for every day. I think it's a great gym bag if you're into that and very useful to have around; I don't do backpacks, really, anymore and this can be worn as a sling. I like it a lot and its looks good but I wouldn't use it every day. I tried the Amazon dupe for $35-40 and sent it back. This one is actually a lot nicer looking in person.  

T.V. Things.  Love is Blind season 8 is something to behold if you like reality TV. The White Lotus came back to HBO Max (just MAX now, apparently) for season 3.We also started The Pitt which is stupidly entertaining. Go watch it now if you have MAX. And then Reacher came back to Amazon Prime last week. Such a great show if you like action. The Bachelor is on Monday nights and then we also finally finished Yellowstone this month (on a borrowed Fubo account..shhh). I found the end to be a letdown, but they really did try to tie up every. single. thread. I would start over at this point, but Scott doesn't rewatch things. 

And I've mentioned this before, but I cannot stop thinking about it: The show Ripley on Netflix. If you have not watched it, go binge it (please). I think about this show multiple times a week and I wish I could watch it again for the first time. 

Movies. We've also been on a movie kick. We watched Anyone But You on Netflix which was very cute and funny. After that, we rewatched The Equalizer, The Equalizer 2, and The Equalizer 3. (I cannot recommend those enough.) We. also watched The Other Guys, which is our go-to comedy a few times a year. We watched Midway last week and it was fantastic as well. Scott thinks I'm "into" war movies now so we also watched Fury. Very good. He said it's probably the closest depiction to what WWII was actually like, compared to something like Saving Private Ryan. 

Listening. This digital decluttering podcast episode spoke to me. Imagine if our digital space (our inboxes, clouds, etc) was in our houses as physical clutter. I, for one, would be on an episode of hoarders. This motivated me to set a 2nd quarter goal of cleaning up online spaces. (I'm doing quarterly goals this year because the months, to be honest, fly by too fast to make progress.) This includes drives, photos, desktops (omgdesktops mine is bad)...I have a system I've been using to go through photos (go to today's date in your apps and cull that date only, each day, at a certain time) but it's been kind of not-good because I have so many pictures of Jett and I'm not willing to delete them.

Reading. I haven't actually been reading this month. I know. I read 9 books in January and then just burned out. I am in the middle of The Four Hour School Day though. I hate to talk about how cynical and radicalized I've become, but when you miss 17 weekdays of school in two months (weather, district closing due to sickness), you have to wonder if there is a better way. 

Writing. I put this about professional dress in schools on my substack recently. I have ideas for what I want to do with that space. It just takes more thought than this one. 

January recommendations. 2025

Random Thing: Pet ornament. I ordered one of these for Scout in 2013, Jett in 2014, and then Maverick this year. My friend had gotten one for her dog in 2013 and I thought they were so unique. I cannot recommend enough. The quality also has not decreased in 10+ years and you can't say that about much. 

Kid thing: Toyology blocks. These are stupidly expensive but holy cow: my kids haven't missed a day with these in a month. 

Drinking apparatus: My sister-in-law gave me this Hydroflask mug and I really like it. I like the texture; it's not cold stainless but has a bit of a cushion to it? And I like that the top presses on to seal instead of screws on. Weird preference but it makes a difference to me. 

Health thing: Pregnancy and Postpartum TV on Youtube. This is how I'm working out this year. I admittedly have not been feeling the best in the last week so I've skipped a few days.

TV: Landman. Such a good show. Very addictive like all of Taylor Sheridan's shows. The Night Agent season 2 has also not disappointed.

Book: I am approximately one year late on this but Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. 

Clothing: I went to TJ Maxx a month or so ago and I was shocked at the selection. Everything in there has Free People-ish vibes and I like it. 

Drinking: Lemon Perfect water. Scott had grabbed some of these at a gas station and they are so good. I was in a rotten mood and I drank one and I felt better. Maybe it was all in my head, but it sure was what I needed at that moment. I tried the blueberry first (it does NOT taste like blueberry because I generally don't love that flavor) but I ordered a variety pack to try. 

Paper product: My Erin Condren planner. It's exactly what I need for this crazy year of moving and organizing our family's life. The paper quality is amazing on this year's planner, better than I remember. It's worth it for that alone, to be honest. 

Recommendations needed!

1. What kind of jeans are we wearing these days? I haven't bought jeans since Spring of 2019. Yes, you read that correctly. I really don't wear them often but I'd like a reliable pair. I guess I'm thinking straight leg or boyfriend style. NO flares. I served my time with those from 1999-2009, thanks very much. 

Sometimes when I look at some of the ridiculous fits and shapes that are out there for jeans at this very moment, it answers the question as to how stone-washed mom jeans could've been allowed in the early 1990s. 

2. What kind of leggings are the go-to right now? I have thought of trying Zella from Nordstrom or Nordstrom Rack... I realized quite quickly this week that I need to add to my athleisure out-of-the-house wear. It's been in the 40s in the mornings.  

Expanding on all that ^^ I spent all of last year wearing dresses to work and then shorts since May. Pants haven't really been a thing in my orbit. 

3. What kind of planner are you using right now? I swear I have a low-level adhd in this season of life and I need something that helps me, not hinders me. I also need it to be pre-dated. I've gone the undated route for, I think, two years now and I like to plan months ahead for random things so it's easier if there's dates already. 

I've considered Rifle Paper and Living Well, I'm trying not to look at Erin Condren because I've been sorely disappointed my last few orders, I'm not an Emily Ley fan...I'm not really into the uber-expensive Passion Planner style. I don't have "goals". I have "tasks" and things I want to remember to do. It's a tracker for me, as much as it is a planner. Right now, I have a smaller undated one from Amazon that I like the aesthetic of, but I need it to be bigger. 

Anything to recommend???

Products lately.

I can't remember the last time I did a product post but my favorite and least favorite part about blogging is how many recommendations I get for products of all kinds. It's a least favorite because half the things I buy, I heard about them through blogs. Which means this is an expensive hobby. 

This Native body wash is great. I like the minty smell and promise of decent ingredients. (I have also tried their shampoo/conditioner and I didn't like it at all, and I don't like their deodorant.)

I ran out of my supply of Raw Sugar soaps, so I grabbed a few of these Dr. Teal's soaps at Walmart. Really like them! I'm picky about hand soaps because I don't like them to dry out your skin. I got this one and I got the lemon and lavender also. 

I cannot spend $90 on BeautyCounter serum right now for personal reasons (because it's $90, that's why). I grabbed this version instead. I like it BETTER. It's super moisturizing but not greasy and it doesn't make me break out. Highly recommend! I use it once or twice a day and will definitely re-purchase. 

And a few repeats that I thought were worth mentioning because I love them:

I hate that I love this BeautyCounter mask. It was way too expensive and I bought it from bed, on my phone, like four days post c-section, so we'll blame it on the drugs. But it is said to last a whole year with twice weekly use and I probably don't even use it twice a week. I love it and it's so pretty to look at, right?

This overnight resurfacing peel is a great addition to even the most minimal of skincare routines. I don't even know why it's called what it's called? It's just like a moisturizer to apply. 

If you like BeautyCounter, they have mini versions of a lot of my favorite products right now. Disclosure: I am NOT a consultant and I don't shop with a consultant. I just buy from the website. I don't care if that's frowned upon by the MLM world. I just legitimately love the products and want to not have to deal with people. Truly, I think they're great for my skin but know they may not work for everyone. 

Any new products to recommend? 

Friday Recommendations #9

1. Align leggings.

Everyone sings the praises of Align leggings. I agree. I splurged on a pair in January 2021 and they are great for running errands or walking dogs. I don't buy random off-brand leggings, like ever, because they usually don't work out for me. 

However, I would never call these lounging around leggings. 

But, the point here: I put these on the other day and they fit perfectly. I'm certainly not as toned as the last time I tried them on (a year ago, probably) but they really are incredibly well-made and now I see why bloggers are always recommending them for pregnancy and post-partum. They were worth the investment because they are definitely the high quality you pay for with this brand. 

2. New trashcan. 

I have a thing with trashcans. When you move a lot, you have to plan on packing your trashcans and it's always one of the last things that get packed and usually gets damaged in some way because it's a mad rush during those days. I went through two in Colorado because I broke one. I left the nice one with Scott in CO when I was in Wyoming and then it got all messed up because he was remodeling things. Then I left it in Pittsburgh while I drove Wells to Kansas and didn't have a trashcan for a month so I bought a cheap small plastic one for temporary use. And then the trashcan got packed up and I didn't get it in Missouri until we were here for like a month so I started using that plastic one again because that got unpacked quickly for some reason. By the time the "nice" trashcan got unpacked, it was a mess and I've never felt like cleaning it so it's just been sitting in the garage. It's a whole long story, right?

So after almost a year of using a less than great trashcan, I bought myself a present. When we got home, Scott was like "another trashcan? seriously?". 

Checking all of the options

I know most people don't think about trashcans twice, but when you're always moving where's-the-trashcan-? is a big deal because it's really one of the kitchen necessities, you know? 

I really like this one that I chose. I can't find it on the website but the quality of the brand is pretty legitimate overall. Since I'm so picky about trashcans, the Simple Human brand has been one I've always wanted to get. 

3. Watership Down. 

This is a show on Netflix based on a book. It is not, I repeat not, for children. When I walked by the living room last week and saw it on, I thought it was the movie Hop, which Wells has watched before. Turns out, Wells was in the kitchen and Scott was watching by himself and I thought it was weird that Scott was watching Hop. But no. Not Hop. 

Watership Down has a true Animal Farm feel. Animal Farm is a book that, apparently, not enough of us have read, so go do that as a bonus recommendation. 

I can't say I truly enjoyed Watership Down because I just thought it was really weird, but it's worth your time if you feel like something thought-provoking. 

Friday Recommendations #5

1. Superfluous haircuts.

I had some time last week, so I went back into get another haircut. I just walked in to see if they were busy and they weren't. I got 3 more inches cut off. It was disappointing back in January that she cut off two inches and then it didn't seem like it did anything. This means that I've had 5 inches of hair cut off in the last 6 weeks. Plus she thinned it out and layered it a bit (the first time). 

2. Having a 3 1/2 year old.

Not gonna lie. I've had a nasty sinus infection. It's not like a cold. It's a cough and a sinus infection and I can't really take medicine and it's just the worst. I spent most of last weekend laying in bed. Knowing that Wells can amuse himself while I "rest" is just kind of the best. Wells has also been the type to never try to get into things. While he still barely sleeps through the night, he doesn't care about things he finds lying around either. If he has a show on or is busy with his toys, he's fine for an hour. Half the time, he'll just nap with me. 

More than one person has said to me: I never would've had another baby if I had them this far apart (what? 3 1/2 years???). My response to that usually is: Well, I never would've wanted to have another baby if I knew they had to be closer in age than this. 

The independence of a 3 1/2 year old is a GIFT. He brings me things. He's potty-trained. He speaks in complete sentences. It's wonderful. 

3. The Tinder Swindler.

This was ...interesting. It's a documentary on Netflix. If you like non-violent true crime, it's for you. 

4. I saw this on Instagram and could not buy one of these over-the-door holders fast enough. I feel like this may be a game changer. We are at a premium for closet space here, so I'm looking for every hack I can find. 

5. Lastly, I recommend...actually knowing what you're talking about? I have said this on Twitter multiple times in the last few weeks: No one calls these active shooter drills. They are called lockdown drills and we practice them two or three times a year. Usually, they are practiced because if there is a threat in the neighborhood, we know what to do. This happened a lot in Colorado; police would be looking for a suspect, so the building would just lock down and they would not let anyone in or out for whatever amount of time it took. 

These drills are no more traumatizing to kids than fire drills, tornado drills, earthquake drills or tsunami drills. In fact, I've had more kids cry over the loud sirens of fire drills and tornado drills than anything else. And when they test the tornado sirens on base every month? Kids don't like that at all. Kids don't react well to any type of drill, to be honest. That's why it pays to have level-headed teachers in the classrooms and not teachers who are scared of their students giving them germs. 

So, before you say that "active shooter drills" happen often or that kids in masks aren't being irreparably psychologically damaged in some way, I recommend understanding a bit of what you're referring to first. /endrant

Friday/Monday Recommendations #4 + 3 things I had wanted to do this weekend

The last several days didn't go as planned at all. Whatever bug Wells was fighting, he gave to me. I didn't even leave the house all weekend. Like, not even the mailbox and I knew I had a package from Target in there. I'm pretty sure Wells and I just slept. I managed to putter around the house a bit yesterday, but really it was just Scott doing everything for a day or so.

I picked Wells up early from school on Friday because he had a temperature again. I had lost my voice earlier in the week which was bad enough but I had no other symptoms. I ended up with what felt like a full-blown sinus infection on Friday night. It came out of nowhere and, honestly, I think has probably been aided by exhaustion. 

Normally, my strategy is to medicate myself into oblivion and power through. I can't quite do that right now, so I had to make do with just a bit of Tylenol (not even recommended for those who are pregnant anymore, btw). And I can't power through right now without extra time/rest because then I'd never get better. 

So anyway. I took today off "for Wells" but really, for me. I needed another day to get better and it's a serious shame that a few years ago, we wouldn't think twice about going out and about with a cold but now you are looked at as a moral failing and potential biohazard; I remember teaching through much, much worse than this. Even when someone asked you if you were sick, you'd just say "yeah, I got whatever's going around" and they'd nod sympathetically and you'd both go on with your day. 

Alright. That's my rant. 

1. I recommend you live in the country. Apparently, there were two guys who escaped from sheriff's custody the other day and were seen a mile or so from where we live. We have a local FB group whose only purpose is to report lost pets and suspicious activity:

*Scott sadly takes pistol out of holster and puts it back on the shelf.*

2. I highly recommend this episode (#552) from Allie Stuckey. There was even a follow-up (#554) last week. As someone who did IVF, I feel like I could say so much on the topic. 

3. 

I did it again. I bought some super fun stuff with an Amazon gift card. I said long ago that I don't use Amazon for fun. I use it for things I *need*. I swapped out my prenatals entirely and I'm just going to take this folate, after doing a bit of research (I had already been taking ones with folate and not folic acid...there's a difference!). The tea looked interesting too. 

Pink Stork comes highly, highly recommended and I've looked there before but never actually bought. 

4. This is amazing. Found at tiny local store, but I'm sure it's everywhere. 

5.  These were my goals for the weekend: I did none of it. However, I do recommend setting goals for the weekend. A lot of people do a top 3 for each day, but I don't accomplish much at home when I'm teaching full-time. So I do this over the weekend. 

*Find the bases to the carseat. We have two but haven't used them since Pittsburgh. We found the actual carseat weeks ago. (Because if these things aren't in the barn, we will have to buy a new one...)

*Work on the baby's room.

*Make and freeze chili. 

The midwife I saw the other day terrified me by saying that at the 32 week appointment they recommend you have everything ready to go by the 36 week appointment. So. 3 more weeks to accomplish allthethings. 

We're also looking at a snow/ice storm this week. Maybe living in the country won't pay off then. But, if I recollect my last winter in Missouri, the whole place shuts down for a week at the threat of snow. You'd think it was the legitimate south or something. (It's not.)

Friday Recommendations #2

Totallllllllly meant to post some birthday things this week but all I got to was the cake. 

Here's what I'm definitely recommending on this Friday though:

1. My students keep being thoughtful enough to give me Amazon gift cards for Christmas and my birthday and I keep buying fun things like this: 

I am a huge collagen fan (put it in your coffee and it dissolves with no flavor) and the gummies are really something I'm using as a magnesium supplement. 

 I'm eyeing up either a blanket or a pair of maternity joggers for my next splurge. Rein me in now. 

2. Speaking of lame but practical: 

This is amazing. Easily the best protein drink I've ever tried and I've tried a lot of them (I lived off of a liquid protein diet for weeks when we did IVF, icymi back in 2017). 

2. I read The Paper Palace last weekend. So good. It's the first book I've finished since October (and before that, I hadn't finished a book since the July/August before I found out I was pregnant and wanted to throw up every time I looked at printed word). 

3. If you've not watched Dopesick, you need to. So incredibly well done. 

4. I scheduled a chiropractor appointment for next week. Have you been during pregnancy? I've never been at all, but I'm getting annoyed enough that improvement of my quality of life for the next two months might be worth the money. So this isn't so much a "recommendation" to go to the chiropractor as it is a recommendation to just schedule the appointments and get it over with. 

5. Lastly...this is worth a quick peek. I recommend it. 

 

Retail Therapy: Things worth your time

In the last month or so, I've been shopping a lot. This is part of why I tracked my spending at the beginning of the year: I always go a little nuts come late summer. 

However, these are things that are worth your time, and are either second-time buys for me or things I've personally done the on-the-ground research on...I whole-heartedly recommend them all. 

First, I caved and bought my favorite Beauty Counter serum. This Honest brand I recommended last week is great too, but something about this Tripeptide just seals the deal for me. I love it. Ugh. Hopefully it lasts til Christmas. I use it 1-2 times a day. 

These Gap leggings. They are the modal crop sleep leggings. But, they are absolutely perfect under shorter dresses with flats/sandals/wedges and also perfect in the winter if you wear higher boots because they go to about mid-shin. Also perfect for yoga, Pilates, errand-running with a longer shirt...

This is my third pair. I wore two holes in my first black pair, SEWED/GLUED them, and still wear them around the house. I have gray too. I just needed a new pair for the school year. They run a teeny bit big so get your regular size. 

I guarantee they will go back to regular price after school starts, so grab them now. 

These Old Navy zip-ups. 

I had an ON zip-up years ago that I adored. The zipper just fell off one day in the washer. Not a testament to quality, sure, but I haven't found a material/fit since then that I liked as much. I check multiple times a year to see if they've brought that style back (they haven't). I did finally run into an actual ON store over the weekend and these were on sale for $10 each. Sold. The fit is not the same at all, but they will be fine over dresses in a chilly classroom or when out walking the dogs. The material is much nicer than the traditional ON zip-ups. If you can find them on sale, it's worth it. I got black and gray. 

I also grabbed a bunch of random things from Amazon that we needed ("needed"), but I'll share those in the next Amazon link-up. 

3 Friday recommendations (+Memes)

1. Originally, I was going to call this post "summer hacks" and tell you all the things that are saving my life this summer. LOL. Nope. 

I will share this though: it's a great little pep talk from The Lazy Genius. I really like Kendra as long as she isn't talking about something remotely related to and/or adjacent to religion. I mean, she does go on a bit of a rant about her therapist in this episode, but the message behind the rant is what's important. I recommend it if you need a bit of a push to get through the rest of summer. 

2. I love J.D. Vance. If I had to pick a politician to vote for, it'd be him. He did an interview with Allie Stuckey yesterday so it's worth a listen! If you read Hillbilly Elegy, that's his story. 

3. Alisa Childers did an interview with Voddie Baucham this week. So good. His book, Fault Lines, is on my Audible short list and he's always fascinating to listen to in interviews. He's a pastor, living in Africa, originally from L.A., raised by a single teen mother who was a Buddhist. His story is fascinating. 

*Side note: If you take great issue with Jeff Bezos going into space, just know that he is basically funding research into space travel with his own money. This means taxpayers don't have to. He's doing a good thing...so are Richard Branson and Elon Musk.

If you realllllly take great issue, cancel your Amazon subscription. If you don't want to support capitalism, don't.*

*If I could take out Ohio and the 6-7 hours it takes to travel across it, I would go home to Pennsylvania more often and maybe just for fun, you know?*

*This is where I'm at. Except for the Tricare thing. I've never taken issue with our insurance, really.*

*Honestly, take out 'midwesterners' and replace with anyone who ever has to drive in snow.*

*ZERO.*

*Next week's adventure will be continuing my battle with a local internet company. This is a v v v long story but the company, who I keep trying to get an installation with, told me that "ah ha! there is someone near you disconnecting this week so this should speed up the process." 

Instead of just adding more lines/connections, you have to apparently take turns. 

This is socialism. 

I've been trying to get an install done since the first week in May. 

Again, I feel very feisty about economics this week, so if you are anti-capitalism, you don't actually know what socialism entails, I promise. 

Products Lately: A few recommendations

1. I love the Beauty Counter serums. They last forever. I do the Vitamin C most mornings and the Tripeptide at night, or occasionally in the mornings. I bought the Tripeptide serum in October, used it every day until February and now use it intermittently and that bottle is still going strong. I bought the Vitamin C serum in February and now use it every morning. This stuff really does last forever, so consider that if the price point scares you off. 

2. This under-eye concealer has been a nice addition. I'm still in need of a good blender recommendation!

3. I like trying out new eye creams, mostly because I hate the thought of dry skin around my eyes. I always did like the Rodan+Fields eye cream. I might order that again, actually, sometime this summer. I tried Beauty Counter eye cream last year and I didn't love it. It did fine for the moisturizing aspect but it didn't do much else. (They've since changed up their eye creams so I can't find the link.) The RF one did everything and more. 

This Cerave eye cream has been a fantastic placeholder.  It was a good $10 investment. I like it much better than the Cetaphil one I had tried previously. 

4. Resurfacing peel from Beauty Counter. I got this in a free gift ("free") paired with the charcoal mask. I do NOT recommend the charcoal mask. It's awful and drying and it physically hurts. Don't do it. 

The resurfacing peel is great though. I put it on maybe two nights a week after washing my face and it's very refreshing and my skin feels so smooth the next day. If you're going to splurge on a BC product, that's the one! (not the eye cream, not the charcoal mask, get the resurfacing peel)

5. Hourglass Blush. I bought this because someone did an Instagram story on it. I fell into the trap. I got the mini size, though, in Luminous Flush. It was definitely a Friday-night-impulse-buy. (Fridays are the most likely day for impulse buys. I just bought a pair of shoes seconds before I walked out the door this past Friday. Had my coat and shoes on when I clicked "buy now" while I was telling Wells it was time to go.)

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You can tell I really like Beauty Counter products: something about the textures and the smells and the general effectiveness really appeals to me. I've tried this exfoliating wash before so I think that's up next for me to buy again, but I may buy the Counterman version. I feel like it would work better. 

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What products have you been loving lately?