Not too much to report this week…I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather. Blah. Not fun. I do love the afternoon thunderstorms that have been grumbling through almost every evening. The sky opens and dumps BUCKETS of water. It’s crazy. We got 1.8″ of rain yesterday alone. There’s a pond nearby that was getting low and it’s all full now. The neighborhood alligator now has plenty of room to do her thing. There are also water retention areas everywhere here, so the sudden downpours have somewhere to go.
Yesterday, I felt well enough for a little shopping trip to town. I heard through the clock app that Kohls had tons of cute kitchen towels, and yesss! They did. There were sooo many to choose from- even cat and dog autumnal-themed ones. Super cute. I think these towels could be the perfect hostess gift when combined with a little food treat. Is it just me or do holiday-themed items get a pass on matching a friend’s decor?
Anyway, all three of these towels were under $13 with the sales and extra app coupon. The candle was expensive, but the glass container is 5/5 on the “this looks expensive” scale. Nice and spicy smelling, lots of cinnamon and pumpkin. Found the mug at Homegoods: $5.99. Excellent price, and boy was that place packed full of people.
I tootled around Hobby Lobby for a while but got too overwhelmed and had to leave. Not so much the crowds (It seems to be a family shopping place on the weekend) but there was just too much stuff. I start forgetting my own aesthetic when I’m in that store too long. It’s hypnotic and I start thinking about buying bags of plastic squirrels and fox shelf decor. I worry that my shelves aren’t festive enough. haha.
HL had lots of cute mugs in the fall section, but several on the shelves always seem to be in a state of decomposition. I think they are “cheap” – not referring to price, but made too cheaply. I don’t trust them. I bought one last year that I regret – on the bottom it says hand wash and no microwave. What in the world is it made out of then?? I always look at the bottom of mugs now.
I finished three books this week. One was a middle grade book, Three Keys, by Kelly Yang. It’s the next book in the Front Desk series. I absolutely love how this author writes from her own experiences. It’s powerful and I’m glad today’s middle schoolers have books like this to develop empathy and learn about friendship. I probably won’t continue with this series, but I think it’s fun.
Cabin Fever is a true-life narrative thriller about the Zaandam, a cruise ship that nobody wanted to help at the beginning of the pandemic. It was well-researched. I felt sad for the crew of this ship, and angry at the cruise lines – many of whom are based in countries that offer tax incentives. This really sucks when they need big favors from countries where they don’t pay taxes. I don’t read much non-fiction, and this was very good.
My favorite from the week was Home Before Dark. Side note: this book is not related to that fantastic Apple TV show with the same name. This book is a thriller and the main character has to revisit her abandoned childhood home in order to fix it up and sell it. Oh, and this home is supposedly soooo haunted and way too dangerous for her to ever visit, according to her parents. Creepy part: she can’t remember anything from her time living there as a child, so how bad could it be? I’m not a scary book fan, but this book wasn’t like that. I could sleep just fine with the light off. There were a few twists that I absolutely did not expect, and that was refreshing. I liked it. I’ll definitely read more by this author.
Lastly, the only other thing I have for you today is a YouTube channel recommendation. This is Darling Desi – her videos have cottage core, cozy reading, and academia vibes. The whole channel is delightful and definitely a mood. I’ve been watching her Autumn themed videos right now – there’s more from previous years if you look in the video history. Delightful and I love her hair, very Anne Shirley feels all around.
Cheers to PSL season starting this next week, unless you’ve been like me and already hitting up Dunkin’ for all your iced PSL needs because as the kids say, “it slaps.” <3, C
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