the Weekender

Howdy! It’s good to see ya. Nothing monumental happened around here this week, but somehow there’s still plenty to talk about.

Miscellany:

1. Apparently, I made a new friend this week — a Praying Mantis.

This may have been my funniest moment of the week.

One night, as we were getting ready to let the dogs out for their final potty break, we noticed a praying mantis sitting on our back storm door. We left him alone, of course, and just admired him from inside. They really are the most fascinating-looking creatures.

Fast-forward to the following night.

I stepped outside with the dogs, came back in, and suddenly noticed something sitting on my shoulder.

Cue the screaming.

IT WAS THE PRAYING MANTIS. 😂

Apparently, he had decided we were friends.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, but once the initial shock wore off, I couldn’t stop laughing. Equal parts terrifying, funny, and kind of amazing.

Steve captured him and released him in our front yard. Haha.

2. An Old Movie Worth Watching. A couple of weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend and somehow our conversation turned to relationships.

I had been telling her that I was watching Married at First Sight — which is obviously about as nontraditional as dating gets — and we started talking about how relationships are just so different for everyone.

Some couples date for years before marrying and everything works beautifully. Others live together for years, get married, and somehow the dynamic changes. There really isn’t one formula that guarantees anything.

During our conversation, she mentioned an old movie from the ’80s called Best Friends, starring Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds.

So naturally, I went home and looked it up.

Steve and I watched it last weekend, and I really enjoyed it. It was funny, cute, and exactly the kind of older movie I love watching.

And can we talk about young Goldie Hawn? It was like watching Kate Hudson. The resemblance is incredible.

If you happen to see Best Friends available on one of your streaming services, I’d definitely recommend giving it a watch.

3. Earlier this week I shared a recipe for homemade pesto, and I have to say — homemade beats the jarred stuff any day.

If you have basil hanging around — or maybe more basil than you know what to do with — this is definitely one to bookmark.

5. I finished The Last Mrs. Parrish this week and OH. MY. GOODNESS.

So good. I think I read the entire thing in about three days, which tells you everything you need to know. When the storyline hooks me, I can fly through a book.

This one definitely did.

And now I discovered there’s a sequel called The Next Mrs. Parrish, so naturally that has been added to my reading radar.

Maybe I can borrow the digital copy from the library because apparently my Kindle and I are in a very committed relationship these days. Ha!

6. As I’ve mentioned before, my sister Kristine has an Etsy shop called Nanticoke Lane, where she primarily sells stickers, but she’s also releasing her adorable little desk calendars again.

They’re about the size of a business card and are perfect for keeping on your desk without taking up a bunch of space. She’s made them for years, and they’ve always been great sellers.

I’ll was able to get a discount code for all of you — LLR10 (this will save you 10% and is good from 8/29-9/4). Yay!

If you love cute little stickers, definitely take a peek.

7. This week I took a class on creating stickers using my Silhouette.

And you probably know where this is headed.

I went into the class thinking, Oh, this will be fun.

I came out thinking, I need a newer cutting machine. And probably a new printer. And maybe I should start making and possible sell stickers. 😂

I’m seriously considering getting a Cricut and a printer that would allow me to make higher-quality stickers right from home.

I think it could be fun to create some to sell, but I’m also thinking ahead to starting a little snail mail club. Have I mentioned that before? Being able to design and print some of my own stickers, labels, or little extras would make the monthly mail feel even more personal.

You know how one little class can accidentally start an entirely new hobby?

Yeah. Here we are.

8. And finally, I couldn’t let this week pass without mentioning the loss of Dolly Parton.

What an incredible woman.

Obviously, she leaves behind decades of music and entertainment, but I think what made Dolly so special went far beyond that. She gave so much back, supported literacy through her Imagination Library, helped communities in need, and seemed to genuinely believe that success meant helping other people along the way.

She was one of those rare people who felt larger than life while still somehow feeling incredibly down-to-earth.

A true legend, and such a sad loss.

Around the Web:

These 7 Pre-Fall Home Reset Ideas.

These Homemade Dog Treats for the pups.

I made this Olive Garden Chicken with Pasta last weekend. So good!

This Apple Cider Donut Bread. Yum!

These Homemade Salted Caramels make great gifts.

This darling Rechargeable LED Lamp.

This Quilted Bookmark Tutorial.

These Book Page Bows.

These spicy Post-Its. 😆

Do you clean these before the Fall season?

This Halloween Countdown Printable (in Black or White).

One Last Hoorah:

Whew. The good Lord knows I can relate to this one.

I’ve gotten much better about asking myself whether something really deserves my energy before I react to it. And let me tell you, not everything does.

Not every comment needs a response. Not every disagreement needs to become a discussion. Not every problem belongs to me to fix. And sometimes the most peaceful thing I can do is simply let something go and move on with my day.

I’m certainly not perfect at it — there are still plenty of things that can get under my skin — but I really am trying to protect my peace a little more these days.

Because sometimes peace is more important than proving a point, having the last word, or carrying something around that was never mine to carry in the first place.

I think that might be one of the best gifts we can give ourselves.