It felt like a pretty quiet, uneventful week… until I started typing up the Weekender. Ha! Apparently, there’s never a dull moment around these parts.
Miscellany:
1. Red Toes, Don’t Care.
I treated myself to a pedicure this week and went with red on my toes. Steve has always joked that red nail polish (and lipstick) is the color of harlots, which makes me laugh every single time. 😂
Soooooo, I’m living dangerously over here with my freshly painted red toes. I happen to think red symbolizes power and confidence.
2. A Decorating Trick I Hadn’t Heard Of.
Have you heard of the “Melon Method” for decorating? I hadn’t until this week, and I found this Country Living article so interesting. The basic idea is that décor pieces roughly the size of a cantaloupe or larger can usually stand alone, while smaller pieces tend to look better when they’re grouped together. Think a few little objects corralled on a tray or stacked on top of books instead of scattered across a table or shelf.
Supposedly, all of those little things sitting around can create “visual noise” and make a room feel more cluttered than it actually is. I especially like that this method isn’t about getting rid of everything you love — it’s more about being intentional with how you display it. And considering I’m someone who loves a good little decorative object, this feels much more doable than becoming a minimalist overnight. Ha!
I may have to walk around the house this weekend and see how many non-melon-sized offenders I can find. 😂
3. A Song That Got Me.
I heard a new-to-me song this week called One More Day by Sons of Sunday, and goodness gracious… it got me… especially after this:
Earlier in the week, while I was at the nail salon getting my pedicure, I overheard another customer mention that she had just had a birthday. When the nail tech asked if she had celebrated, she said something along the lines of, “No, I turned 46. It’s not really a big deal.”
And I remember sitting there thinking, every birthday is a big deal. Every day is a big deal.
Maybe that sounds a little sentimental, but I think about it often. Somewhere, someone didn’t get the privilege of seeing this birthday or waking up to this particular day. We see children taken far too young. We’ve watched cancer and illness take people long before anyone was ready to say goodbye. Life can change so quickly.
So yes, I think 46 is worth celebrating. So is 52. So is 72. And so is an ordinary Friday morning when nothing particularly exciting is happening.
Anywho, as many of you know, I love worship music. It has a way of calming my heart, quieting the noise in my head, and reminding me where my focus needs to be. So when I heard One More Day, after already having that little moment at the nail salon on my mind, it hit differently. It brought me to tears.
Every day we’re given really is a gift. And maybe we don’t need a milestone birthday or some extraordinary occasion to celebrate it. Sometimes waking up to one more day is reason enough.
4. Behind the Scenes of Blogging: Spam, Spam + More Spam.
Here’s a glamorous little peek behind the blogging curtain: spam is completely out of control.
One morning this week, I woke up to more than 113 spam comments on the blog. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN. Who has the time for this?! I truly do not understand it.
I finally decided to turn off comments on posts that are more than a year old, which should hopefully cut down on a lot of it. But it also has me thinking about comments in general. I’ve always loved hearing from readers, especially when someone leaves a thoughtful note, asks a question, or tells me they tried a recipe or project. That part still feels special.
But when the genuine comments are buried underneath piles and piles of spam, I sometimes wonder whether keeping comments open is worth the hassle anymore. Blogging has certainly changed over the years, hasn’t it?
5. Bentley + Mud = Trouble.
Tuesday night, after we’d had quite a bit of rain, Bentley went outside to potty before bed and suddenly seemed to disappear. Of course, we went looking for him and discovered that our sweet little angel had found himself a lovely patch of mud to play in. Because why simply go potty when you can make an entire event out of it, right?
So there we were around 11:00-11:30 at night, bathing and drying our little stinkerino. Exactly how everyone hopes to end their evening. Haha. He was quite pleased with himself until he heard the bath water running. Oopsy.
6. What Is a Successful Life?
In case you missed the post I shared earlier this week, What Is a Successful Life?, I’d love for you to give it a read.
It’s a little different from my usual recipe, DIY, or home content, but it’s something that’s been on my heart lately. I’ve been thinking a lot about what success really looks like in this season of life—and whether maybe we’ve been taught to measure it all wrong.
I won’t give away all the details here, but I will say this: you might be surprised by how encouraging it feels. Maybe success doesn’t always have to mean more, bigger, or better. Maybe sometimes it looks a whole lot quieter than that.
Okay, where has this little mini egg cooker been all my life?
I’ve actually been buying hard-boiled eggs because, for whatever reason, perfecting them at home has never been my strong suit. Too hard to peel, overcooked, undercooked… you name it.
Enter this tiny little egg cooker. It took about 14 minutes to cook the eggs, then I popped them into an ice bath for another 10 minutes. And when I peeled them? Perfection. Like, practically falling out of the shells perfect.
What the what?! 😂
It’s such a simple little gadget, but I’m already ridiculously impressed. If hard-boiled eggs have ever given you grief too, this one might be worth a look.
8. Slow Horses.
Well, I did a thing this week. I started watching Slow Horses on Apple TV+… and somehow ended up finishing five seasons. Ha! It’s centered around MI5 and is technically considered a spy thriller, but I wouldn’t really call it a thriller. It’s more of a slow-burn spy drama with plenty of dry humor, quirky characters, and just enough suspense to keep you watching. Clearly, it worked on me. Five seasons later, here we are — with a sixth season is releasing next month. Woo-hoo.
Around the Web:
This Vanilla Coffee Shakerato Recipe.
Easy Baklava Bundt Cake Recipe.
This Greek Burger is delicious!
Why are these so good? Grrr.. 😆
This Brush is AMAZEBALLS. I was skeptical, but I LOVE it! ❤️
This Brass Antique-Inspired Trinket Box is perfect for fall!
These Decorating Lessons from the ‘Gilmore Girls‘.
Did you sign up for a chance to get some snail mail? It’s free 🙂
I keep hearing GREAT things about this book. Have you read it? It’s on my list.
These Sweatpants, you might size down though. I was tickled silly they had petites. Woo-hoo.
One Last Hoorah:
I often joke with my family that I’m in my peace era. And the older I get, the more I mean it.
I’m learning that I don’t have to participate in every bit of chaos, drama, disagreement, or emotional heaviness that comes my way. I can care about people deeply without carrying every burden as if it were my own. I can love someone and still step back. I can listen without feeling responsible for fixing everything.
For a long time, I think I confused being a caring person with being available for absolutely everything. But there’s a difference between having compassion and allowing someone else’s chaos to become your own.
These days, I’m much more protective of my peace. Not in a cold or selfish way, but in a way that recognizes how valuable it is. I want room for faith, family, joy, rest, and the ordinary goodness right in front of me.
And sometimes protecting your peace simply means realizing: this isn’t mine to carry.
I saw this quote recently — “You have the power to protect your peace.” — and goodness, it felt like a little reminder made just for my current season.
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