when you ask your husband for a picture for your blog…#dramatic
I hope you all are enjoying your summer and looking for a fun week of holiday fun! My daughter has already written “SUSHI & STRANGER THINGS,” on our calendar for our 4th plans. Usually, we are out of town for this holiday, but my son will be starting driver’s ed (!!!) so we needed to stick around town for that.
How am I old enough to have a child taking driver’s ed? How am I old enough to have a daughter planing a sushi agenda for my 4th plans?
Time flies when you are having fun (or surviving? maybe that’s more accurate?)
This is always a fun week on the blog because I share all my book reviews and happiness. Be sure to check out that post for your holiday stack!
Have you been missing the 3 little things list each week? Just so you know, this feature didn’t go away…it just moved over to my newsletters each week.
Sign up is super quick over here. I will even send you some free printables to help you put together this incredible home management binder.
Today I wanted to share what you might have missed this past month in one big giant happy list!!
Here are a few things that may or may not surprise you about me. I played the violin, I took voice lessons, I did show choir, I did musical theater, and I worked as a D.J. for my college dorm’s radio station. My favorite gift to share with my friends were my mix tapes and, later, my CD’s that I would burn and fill with my favorite music. They were so lovingly treasured, in fact, that my girlfriend swears she is still killing it to Ghetto Mix 10 (when her kids aren’t joining her- of course) and my husband kept all the mix tapes I made for him for a summer U.S. History trip he took in high school.
It is why I absolutely LOVE making a killer playlist for the different seasons. I wanted to craft a new playlist for the summer for you so here’s a link to my new playlist AND a link to all the other playlists so you can enjoy any of the other virtual mix tapes I share. I hope you love this interpretation of my 2019 summer jams.
If you haven’t dived into David Letterman’s interview series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, I can think of no better way to spend your evenings. I was thrilled to see that Netflix released a second season of this show and very intrigued about who was chosen to be interviewed.
Letterman opens with an interview with Kanye which, honestly, sounded like a moment of bravery given some of his past interviews. Letterman REALLY has to work hard to keep this guy on topic, but I think it really wowed me more because of his kindness and ease that he seemed to possess when steering this conversation with Kanye.
While I find him to be a bit intriguing, I can’t say enough good things about the interviews with Ellen & Tiffany Haddish, in particular. I learned so much more about these women that I was completely blown away by elements of their own life stories they were willing to open up to with him. I doubt you could watch this series and not learn something new through these interviews.
Many moons ago, I tried acupuncture for an ongoing elbow issue I was having and, honestly, didn’t feel like it brought any relief. I ended up dismissing it as a voodoo type service that wouldn’t work for my pain.
Last week, my jaw got all out of whack again and I thought I would visit my chiropractor for some gentle intervention and a massage. In case you didn’t know, some chiropractors offer services that you might get at a spa, but these services are deemed “medical,” so they can often be processed through your health insurance. Imagine paying your co-pay in lieu of the hundreds of dollars you might spend to have this service. #winning
When I went (if you are local GO HERE- he’s AMAZING!), Dr. Jerry mentioned that they had added acupuncture to their list of services and that it might be worth trying for my jaw issues. With my pain being at high levels, I thought it would be worth giving it a spin again and, YOU GUYS, it helped SO FREAKING MUCH. I would have never thought to use this service for TMJ, but this explains why this new approach can really help minimize your pain.
Honestly, I was really freaked out to have these needles inserted in my face and around my head and it did feel very painful, at first. Keep in mind that the pain was pretty excruciating to begin with though. Once I calmed down, I didn’t notice it as much and tried to relax. After it was over, I felt pretty awful for a few hours and I also burst into tears which was really obnoxious.
Like, GET IT TOGETHER, CLARK.
Apparently, it is quite common though to have an emotional reaction to acupuncture so it wasn’t just me being dramatic after all. This article does a great job at explaining some of the side effects you might experience from this service.
As the day progressed, I started to realize how little my jaw was bothering me and how relaxed my jaw had become from the treatment. It really felt like a mini miracle and I’m going again next week for one more round. If you struggle with jaw pain, I really recommend looking into this option and having a night guard made to help reduce your symptoms. Both of these things have been worth their weight in gold for my issues.
I tend to gravitate more towards skirts and dresses in the summer, but I was on the hunt for a few easy pull-on short options. I ended up stumbling on these shorts and THEY ARE PERFECT IN EVERY WAY. The cut is flattering, the width on the shorts is generous, the length is just right, and the material DOESN’T wrinkle. They only come in two shades, but they are beautiful basics you will reach for over and over again.
Looking for a print instead? These were my second favorite and these were my third favorite from my summer picks. I love the fun feminine details on these and the pull-on short is what summer is allll about. Unfortunately, I paid a lot more when I bought these so take advantage of these awesome sales today.
I love, love, love cold brew coffee in the summer. We try to keep a pitcher going at all times and I love the ability to have full control over the sugar content and to be able to sweeten it with fun coffee syrups. If you haven’t made it before, it’s super easy. All you really need is water, coffee, and a strainer. Here is my recipe for a foolproof brew. Every year I usually get tagged in a few photos of people who have been mixing up this momadvice brew over the years.
This season though, we are starting another drink recipe project. Want to know more? Here’s what arrived on our doorstep this week.
If you are looking for a sweet rom com for the weekend, Always Be My Maybe was a fun little Netflix treat. This was such a sweet little story about two best friends that have a romance in their teens and then find each other again. Honestly, the Keanu Reeves cameo makes the whole dang thing. And if you are intrigued by Keanu, as much as I am, I think you’ll find this piece to be a real treat too.
Like that movie? Can I recommend this book and this book to you?
With teens, we are always on the hunt for new ways to bond with our kids and that’s why this Scrabble Magnetic/Dry Erase Board ended up being such a great gift. My sister-in-law got this for us and I hung it this week (with these handy wall fasteners– it makes it so easy) and we have had a game going together every day. If you want a laugh, here is our actual board in action.
I ended up sharing about it on my feed and it was so fun to hear how many people decided to order these for their family, their work spaces, and I even had a teacher that ordered this for her classroom. Wouldn’t that be so much fun?
If you are wondering how it works, the board is magnetic and the tags are where you hang your magnetic letters. The dry erase board is just where you can keep your score… or talk trash about each other like we do in our family.
Anything that gets my kids off screens is a win in my book and this is DEFINITELY a win!
I have been on the hunt for a new bluetooth speaker that could weather some outdoor fun and nights in my little she shed. When Target dropped these on major discount, my husband and I picked up one of these, a bottle of wine, and some makings for a fun charcuterie board. After testing all the speakers, we settled on this one because the sound and design were so clever.
I have had music blasting in my kitchen every day and have been loving the ease of compatibility with our devices this one is. The charge on it lasts forever! If you are on the hunt for a good affordable speaker, this one fits the ticket! Unfortunately, they aren’t listing these online anymore, at Target, but Amazon came in with the shopping save and has them also deeply discounted!
My husband has always been a part of the Moleskine carrying club so when I stumbled upon these Rocketbooks, I just knew that this was going to make an incredible Father’s Day gift this year.
Basically, the notebook feels like paper, but each of the pages can be swiped down (like a dry erase board) and can be used again. The Rocketbook pairs, cleverly, with an app that allows you to take pictures of all your notes, intuitively filing them for you, allowing you to erase your pages and start fresh again.
Keep in mind, these are the pens that are compatible with this device so you might want to pick up a pack if you are buying these as a gift.
Overall, this was the Father’s Day winner with all of the recipients!
we bought a fire pit cover and I couldn’t be happier to not have ash flying at me this year. praise be.
destroying my children in wall scrabble, especially the one that put, “your worst nightmare,” as her player name.
next month I’ll be hosting my first reading retreat with 16 phemenonal women. jealous? join the club so you can join me next time!
Top Ten Most Visited Articles in June
- 3-Ingredient Instant Pot Ribs
- Easy Burlap Wreath Tutorial
- How to Make Quinoa in the Rice Cooker
- How to Make a Homeless Care Package
- How to Make DIY Fluffy Slime
- How to Dye a Faded Pair of Jeans
- Fruit-Infused Water Recipes
- 7 Things I’ve Learned that Save Us Serious Money
- DIY Kool-Aid Slushies
- DIY Outdoor Movie Night
Top Ten Most Purchased Items in June
- Rocketbook Reusable Notebook
- Cat Petting Guide T-Shirt
- Scrabble 2-in-1 Message Board
- Political Pottery
- Crepe Pull-On Shorts
- Orch Dork T-Shirt
- Boom 2 Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
- Supersoft Jersey Jumpsuit
- Dressweights
- Introverted But Willing To Discuss Books T-Shirt
- The Girl He Used to Know
- Finding Dorothy
- No Exit
- The Things We Cannot Say
- Moloka’i
- I Found You
- I Think You’re Wrong, But I’m Listening
- Where the Forest Meets the Stars
- The Orphans of Race Point
- Be Frank With Me
I hope you enjoyed this month’s round-up of June fun. I hope my month of happy brings a month of happy to you too! If this post doesn’t convince you my newsletter is fun, I’ve got nothing. Sign up over here to get this fun weekly in your inbox.
*this post may contain affiliate links- I only recommend what I love though. Check out past editions of It’s the 3 Little Things!