Weekly Roundup

It’s Friday already, so I’m back with a list of things that have been on my mind and what’s been inspiring me on the internet in the past week.

We’re at our final days with our foster dog, Baxter. I’m taking him back to the shelter on Monday for him to get some dental work before he becomes available for adoption. So, we have this weekend together which we’ll fill with long walks and belly rubs. You can count on me to cry and feel lonely come Monday - I’ll miss that guy and stay up at night worrying that he won’t find a forever home. :( If you need me, I’ll be binge watching The Great British Baking Show - my ultimate feel-good comfort show.

Speaking of long walks, I’ve been burning through audio books over the last few days while Baxter and I get our steps in. I finished Becoming, Little Fires Everywhere, Calypso, and I just started Educated. A BIG thanks to everyone that listed their favorite reads in this Instagram post. I’m going to keep making my way through them! I linked to Audible, but did you know that you can download audiobooks from your local library for free? It isn’t available in my region, so instead I use Libro.fm which supports my local bookstore.

Adam shared a house tour of his grandmother’s home and I’m smitten. It’s so dated (in the best way) and full of charm and history. There’s a bunch of folks that would see this home and want to rip it all out and modernize it, but I adore it just the way it is. And I love that Adam loves it, too. I want to see more house tours like this! This also gives me pause when I think about how much I change out my house - this homeowner hasn’t redecorated for 6 decades!

This cracks me up because it’s just so true.

You can see in the above photo that I FINALLY got the tea kettle that I’ve had on my personal wish list for ages. It has come in handy so much lately! I use it to heat the water for my morning coffee and evening tea, I used the thermometer to make homemade yogurt, and I use the tea strainer for my kombucha brews. So handy.

I just poured myself some homemade kombucha from my first batch! It’s soooo good and SOOOOO economical compared to store-bought. Would you be interested in me sharing how I brew kombucha or would you like me to leave recipes to the food bloggers? You can be honest, it won’t hurt my feelings.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the food we eat, how we store it, and how much we spend on it, so this slideshow of families around the world with their grocery haul was interesting!

I was introduced by @the1924house to @studiobythetracks, a non-profit org providing art studios, supplies and social and professional opportunities for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Birmingham, AL. They sell the artwork by their artists and I’m in love with several pieces!

Did you catch my Q&A blog post? I opened up and answered ALL of your questions.

If you’re looking to travel on a budget, I have a hot tip for you! Throughout 2018, Ross and I had the Southwest Companion Pass which meant that whenever he flew, I got to fly with him for FREE! This pass is hard to earn (you have to fly a lot or spend a lot) but there’s a special promotion right now where you can get the pass by opening a credit card. I’m not normally one to recommend credit, but if you pay it off monthly and never pay interest, this is such a deal! It does require a $69 annual fee (that you can obvi cancel in 2020) and you need to make $4,000 worth of purchases in first three months. But, if you can swing it, you get free flights and extra points! So, I recommend it to anyone looking to travel with a pal in 2019.

That’s enough rambling for this week. Happy Friday!