Links || May 15, 2022
In the last couple of weeks, summer weather has really come in fast and furious, especially so in the last 7 days. We went from sleet to 90º in maybe a two week span? And I have to tell you, I'm so grateful for it. I literally spend the first four months of the year complaining about the weather, but I think it's more than complaining. I think I really do get seasonally depressed, because as I sit outside drinking my coffee at 6am, it feels as if a veil has been lifted. I'm happier, lighter, more patient, more excited for the day. I whine excessively during the winter months, but it's almost like I still don't even understand how much the gray and drear impacts my mood until it's finally over. I forget just how good summer feels - I remember enough to pine for it, but it's still, somehow, so much better.
Ryan had an accident a couple of summers ago that left him with a lot of achy joints. He traveled to San Diego earlier this month and when I talked with him the second day, he told me how much better his ankles and knees felt in the dry heat. "Jennifer, we're moving somewhere warm and dry!" he said, maybe as a joke. But I'm not joking - say the word and I will pack my things. I truly do not know how many more Michigan winters I am willing to merely exist through. At the least, I count my days until I can be a snowbird or remote work becomes even more acceptable so I can be a WFH snowbird somewhere that thinks 60º is chilly winter weather. That is my kind of January.
Dreams for the future. Until then, I am just so delighted by warm sunny afternoons and patio drinks and al fresco dinners and drives around Crystal Lake with the windows down and the sunroof open and a good playlist, heavy on the Sugar Ray and Sheryl Crow. That's where we are now and for the next few months and I will be leaning into it hard.
I spy sweet baby Duke, hiding amongst the flowers.
1 || SPARKING JOY
A Clean Bathtub | I'm 33 so I don't need further proof that I'm (happily) becoming (became?) a boring adult, but the sheer amount of joy that purchasing a giant bottle of Wet It and Forget It - and watching it transform my bathtubs - has so firmly put me in the Bree Van de Kamp genre of women I just never thought I'd grow up to be. If you too are a surprise Bree Van de Kamp, I am telling you, this product is bliss. You spray your filthy bathtub down and don't come back until tomorrow, and it's somehow just like, clean!
Related: I also swear by powdered Bar Keeper's Friend and the highly caustic $1 bottle of Awesome from the dollar store. The latter will burn off your fingerprints so tread lightly unless you're a criminal and that's what you're going for.
Printing Pictures | I'm losing steam in the house projects arena - there's a color swatch in my bedroom that I suspect will still be there waiting for action in January 2023 - but I did finally get a few pictures printed and in frames. This one from our trip to New Hampshire is a favorite and now perched cheerfully in my living room - I just love his smile.
2 || SHOPPING
New seasons make me think I need new things. In my defense, the 30's have thus far been a decade of, hm, how shall we say, - enjoying plenty of wine and cheese? So I do need new things. Things that fit.
Like this Old Navy Romper for instance.
A week ago, I decided all my comfy, pajama style pants are trash (they are) and should be thrown in one (they should). Frantic decisions, you know? Cut to the next night when I had nothing to lounge around in so now I'm in equally frantic replacement mode. I bought these and they're pretty good (and a great price!). I went a size up, which was a mistake, so I'm waffling on repurchasing in a smaller size.
I read in this article that 34 is the age when a lot of women start to notice aging. 33 did the trick for me (forehead lines and creaky knees - yikes) and while I have no evidence this will do anything, I ordered a multi-vitamin and collagen creamer. Here's hoping!
PS - take that article with a grain of salt. It also assumed that women are pregnant when they're specifically 33, which lol - that ship has saiiiiiled away.
I bought this tiny little light on Amazon. Duke loves that it magically turns on with just a touch and I love how aesthetically pleasing it is.
3 || INTO IT
Things that feel like spring.
A brief follow up story: a couple weeks ago I was at the grocery store, picking up some tequila for margaritas with my sisters. I had Duke with me and it was an after work run, so I'll admit that I probably looked a bit harried. I wasn't surprised when the cashier didn't ask to see my ID, but I was appalled when I looked up at the checkout screen to see in all caps "CUSTOMER IS OVER 40." I'm not delusional, I know I'm obviously old enough to buy alcohol, but dang, that one hurt.
4 || LINKS
Lol a walk down memory lane. Remember Tiger King and dalgona coffee?
I compulsively (aka with a buzz) bought a full bottle of 99 Bananas and have been trying to to trick people into helping me get rid of it ever since. Planning to give this little cocktail a try.
Josh Brolin on Arm Chair Expert. I usually enjoy interviews most with people I'm already aware of, but I knew nothing about Josh Brolin before listening to this one and I just loved it. The charisma!
Is it a vacation or a trip? A helpful (hilarious) guide.
Currently going nuts on buying sunscreen. See above comments on wrinkling. I enjoyed the cult-y Unseen Sunscreen for it's primer-like feel, but I think it's kind of pricy, and also I am hunting for something that can be applied over make-up for during the day touch-ups, so I have so far not repurchased.
- I like and currently use this Sunbum Mist, but I will say it leaves your face shiny. Or "dewy". Depends on your perspective and choice of semantics.
- This Glow sunscreen is in my Target cart. It's a pre-makeup application, but supposed to be a dupe for Glow Screen at a more cost effective price point, so I'm willing to give it a try.
- Also in my cart, this powder. Can be reapplied over make up all day and I watched a nice review that suggested it airbrushed like a setting powder, so please, take my money.
- Lastly, this is my favorite body sunscreen for both Duke and me and candidly, because I like the way it smells. The end.
It's ice cream season (but is it ever not? IDK). These flavor combinations sound amaze, but I'm mostly a sucker for the branding. If that doesn't pique your interest, perhaps knowing the company name - 1-900 Ice Cream - will do the trick.
Hm. Big dreams versus small satisfactions. The former is the destination, but I'd argue that lots of the latter is the pit stops that make life grand. I guess the TL;DR is if life is a road trip, keep the GPS set, but don't underestimate the delight of gas station snacks and weird roadside attractions.
I'll warn you that this is about the Supreme Court's likely decision to overturn Roe V. Wade and it's an unpleasant read but I also think sometimes it's easier and more comfortable to close our eyes to unpleasant things. The fact is, sometimes little girls are raped by adults and they get pregnant.
5 || READING
It's been a bummer month of reading. I've put down two books that were just stupid, and then forced myself to complete a book that I did not enjoy because I wasn't willing to put down a third.
The latter was The Dutch House, which is so highly reviewed and somewhat "trendy" in the bookclub circuit. I found it one-dimensional and uninteresting.
I am moving on to Matthew McConaughey's memoir, Green Lights which I have high hopes for. Last fall I listened to an Arm Chair Expert interview with him about this and have been wanting to read it ever since.
Overall, I think I'm just in a place where I'm enjoying memoirs and biographies more than fiction. Reading has seasons too, I guess.
6 || PLANS
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