Friday Faves / vol. 22

Hellooo!!

Everyone is back under one roof and I’m loving this reentry into fall thing. The New Year has always been marked by my birthday at the end of August followed by a long Labor Day weekend and the start of school. This year, for my birthday, we all took a long kayak trip down the Huron River with my sister Kricket and brother-in-law Ross. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The water was cold and high after all the rain we’ve been having, and no one hit anyone else with their paddle this time, hee.

Next week I’ll be in New Hampshire attending Squam Arts Workshop for a third time (see my posts here and here with some pics & musings from past trips). Every time is different, and I can’t wait to be back at the lake sitting on the dock, staying up late with new and old friends, and hearing the call of loons at night as I fall asleep.

A few other things to share as you head into the weekend…

drinking: Birds and Beans coffee, yum, a delicious birthday present from my bird-fanatical dad and my mom (thanks Mum and Pop). Start with the Scarlet Tanager if you like dark roast, it’s really good. Love that they also have a subscription; I’m getting sick of realizing we’re out of coffee at 10 PM.

listening: With school back in business and everything that goes along with that, the Nurture vs Nurture podcast has been really encouraging me lately. Psychologist Wendy Mogul is fun to listen to, and her interviews with parents are full of humor and topics that will resonate with anyone Attempting to Parent in Year of our Lord 2023.

knitting: I stalled out on my pink Spring Sorrell sweater, so I’ve set it aside and started a Pressed Flowers Shawl instead with some Camper by Kelbourne Woolens. I realize the pattern is DK and I’m using fingering but it’s what I had. I’ll be taking this with me to Squam to have something to work on on the docks.

reading: Given I’ve been on a Taylor Jenkins Reid tear this summer, it was only a matter of time until I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Like her other books, it’s fun and easy to read with lots of drama and a late reveal that’s quite exciting.

watching: My nighttime reading time has been largely replaced by binging-watching AppleTV+ shows like it’s going out of style (and it is, figuratively speaking: we got 3 free months of AppleTV+ and I will most likely cancel before they charge me). So far I’ve made it through Shrinking, Silo, and Bad Sisters, with the latter being the one I am begging all of my friends and family to watch. It’s so dark and funny and suspenseful. Dare I say it..the perfect show?! Anything else I absolutely must watch before my trial ends? Share in comments.

Elliot and I rented Interstellar and watched it over a couple of nights last week (I insisted that most of Nolan’s other films were better than Oppenheimer, so we started with my personal fave), and it 100% made me cry, again. That movie is almost ten years old but it’s still so good. It’s also really cool to have a sixteen year old kiddo to share it with now.

eating: lots and lots of beans. My kids are so sick of them. A mere 10 beanstalks survived the Groundhog Apocalypse of 2023, but they are more than holding their own.

puzzling: my friend Emily gave me this gorgeous floral puzzle after her cat ate one of mine that she’d borrowed; no surprise it’s from Piecework. The New Year’s party vibe feels perfect for September if I do say so myself.

xo,
Rae

PS. see all of my Friday Faves here.

and a few more snapshots from the end of our summer…