In my heart and in my cart + other things

In My Heart -

We are in a delicious pocket of the season in which it is sometimes fall and sometimes summer, and truly, if this could be a whole season, I’d really like that. A little back and forth to keep things interesting, you know? Because there’s nothing nicer than a cool, rainy morning with candles lit and lamps on. There’s also nothing nicer than a surprise 77º Saturday in late September to walk the beach and get an ice cream. We have indulged in both this week and everyone remind me, in January when I’m wondering (nay, whining), THIS is why I live in Michigan.

Last night, my husband and I met some friends at a brewery after work for dinner and drinks. It’s a great outdoor venue, so our kids ran laps in an adjacent field while we chatted mostly uninterrupted. What a treat! It was warm enough to perch up outside on a picnic table and we stayed until it got dark….so 8:30ish? Haha. It was great to be at home by 9:30 and still feel like I had a full night out.

Over on SubStack - and probably elsewhere - a “personal curriculum” has been all the rage, and boy is that a trend I can hop aboard. The premise is to choose a few categories and research them with the fervor of a student who has just taken out 30k in student loans to become an expert. I am opting to spend my fall semester learning the woes of the Windsor Spares (British History: The Life and Times of Bertie, Margaret, and Harry) and for my elective, a creative course in diamond painting (Niche Art Class 101: Beginner Level).

Not curriculum related, but it could be: I recently read Tina Brown’s The Vanity Fair Diaries and it is a fun romp full of 80’s and early 90’s name dropping, alongside some personal life stuff from the former editor of Vanity Fair. Very much a “how the sausage is made” without getting boring. I was nearly inspired to make a deep dive into the whole Condé Nast dynasty a curriculum course, but I think I may punt that to the spring. There’s plenty of course materials, that’s for sure!

In My Cart -

+This doormat? Absolutely yes.

+Currently enjoying a manicure I cheerfully refer to as Diet Mountain Dew nails. .

+A fun after dinner activity for spooky season.

+She is beauty, she is grace.

+She is wearing brown shoes.

+A few random things in my Amazon cart: purely aesthetic taper candles // early, but tucking this away for my Minecraft loving kiddo come Christmas time // chrome powder for at-home manicures // light up trick-or-treating buckets that my kids will think are cool and will make it easier for me to spot in a cloud of children come dusk.

+Cute halloween jammies for little ones.