Disclosure: This post is part of a yearly series in partnership with Netflix. As a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam, I’ll be sharing ideas throughout the year on some of the best Netflix titles to stream with your family. The content, as always, is whatever streams through my own mind! In addition, this post contains affiliate links. Hope you enjoy!
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m really, really good at coming up with ideas for blog post series, but not so great at following through with them. I’ve played around with different ways to do a monthly roundup post of the things I’m into, stuff that might not need an entire post devoted to them, but still worthy of sharing. I like these kinds of posts – both reading them on other blogs as well as writing them myself. I think that maybe, just maybe, I’ve found a way to incorporate my favorite things to share (things I’m loving, what I’m reading and watching, good stuff I’ve come across on the web) into a monthly roundup. That being said, let’s not get too attached, m’kay?
May is always a crazy month, with Mother’s Day, the end of school, our anniversary, upcoming June birthdays. Mike and I celebrated 18 years of marriage in the most romantic way possible: apart. It was almost as romantic as the anniversary a couple of years ago where we ate hot dogs for dinner. Mike was in Vegas on our actual anniversary, celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday. We celebrated in a small way when he got back, enjoying a middle-of-the-week day date while the kids were in school. I posted this picture on Facebook and Instagram on our anniversary:
There’s no one else I’d want to share this crazy life with. Also, life’s too short to marry somebody who won’t do the chicken dance.
As the Deflategate saga continues, I can say with all seriousness that I am DONE talking about balls. Still, I couldn’t resist sharing my new favorite t-shirt with some sage advice for Patriots fans who have their knickahs in a knot about the punishments and fines Goodell handed down:
(The shirt is from Nordstrom, by the way. I know you secretly want one, too.)
If Tom Brady’s four game suspension holds, his first game back will be against the Colts. In Indy. You know where to find me on October 18th.
Watching:
As you may know, I’m a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam. Oddly enough, I’m probably the person in the family that watches the least amount of programming on Netflix. If I watch something, it’s because we’re watching something as a family or I’m watching a show or a movie with Mike. That changed this month, when I discovered Netflix’s new documentary series Chef’s Table. The series takes you inside the lives and kitchens of six world-renowned chefs: Ben Shewry (Australia), Magnus Nilsson (Sweden), Francis Mallman (Argentina), Niki Nakayama (USA), Dan Barber (US) and Massimo Bottura (Italy). It’s fascinating, both seeing these creative geniuses at work in their restaurants, as well as seeing them at home and in their own kitchens. If you love food, cooking, travel, or really unique documentaries, you’ll love Chef’s Table.
Mike, Elena and I also finally started watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt together. We laugh so hard, and have to rewind over and over again because we missed something hilarious. So many one-liners, and Ellie Kemper is fantastic as Kimmy. I think my favorite line so far has to be “Hashbrown. No Filter.”
I’m also hoping to check out Grace and Frankie, a new Netflix original series starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The cast looks amazing, and I love the story line.
Reading:
I’m working my way through Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2015 Reading Challenge, and this month I’m tackling (pun totally intended) Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger in the category of A Book in a Genre You Don’t Typically Read. I’m hooked, and I think it’s going to make me start binge-watching the entire Friday Night Lights TV series when I’m done.
Elena and I started listening to the audiobook of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. We’re only on the 2nd of 9 CDs, but we’re both really liking it.
My library offers free audio and ebooks through Hoopla, and I’ve listened to several books while folding the laundry and washing dishes. I just finished The Vacationers by Emma Straub (with a lovely Spanish setting), and I started Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall last week. I’d definitely recommend The Vacationers as a light, by-the-pool-or-beach summer read. I’m not too far into the other one yet, but it’s a lot darker than I thought it would be. I guess the cheerful fair scene on the cover mislead me.
My nonfiction book at the moment is All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior and it’s fantastic. She talks about the modern paradox of parenting, and how our kids can bring us immense joy while at the same time draining us of energy and enthusiasm for our own life. She highlights each stage of parenting and how every season has its unique challenges. Really great stuff if you’re in the parenting trenches. Eli, however, was not amused with the title and premise of the book: “I’m ALL joy and ALL fun, Mom.”
Eli and I are reading Masterpiece by Elise Broach. We’re only a few chapters in, but we’re both enjoying it the story of a beetle and a boy in New York City.
Loving:
It’s no secret I’m a freak for anything coconut. I mean, when you have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to coconut …
I’ve been treating myself once a week or so to Amy & Brian’s All Natural Coconut Juice. I love the variety with pulp, which means I need a big, fat straw to get those chunky chunks delivered to my belly. I know that makes a lot of you want to barf, which means more coconuts for me! I wish it wasn’t so expensive. I tried a brand I found at Aldi’s, but it had added sugar, which I’m trying to avoid.
My last Birchbox had a sample of Number 4 Blow Dry Lotion. I’ve had a hair-volution over the last 6 months or so, and I’m only washing my hair every third day. It was rough at first, and by the third day my hair looked every bit like it needed washed. But as my hair and scalp have adjusted, I’m finding that my hair is so much healthier and I have more good hair days than I’ve ever had. The tradeoff is that I find I have to use good quality hair products or else my hair suffers and seems like it needs washed more frequently. I used to blow-dry my hair straight every time I washed it, but now I probably only do that once a week. The other days I let it air dry into a wavier style. It’s a pain to blow my hair out, as there’s a lot of it, and it takes work to get it straight. This Blow Dry Lotion not only cuts down my drying time by a good 5 minutes, but it makes it easier to straighten. But the best part is that my hair feels full and soft for another two days after I blow it out. I’ll definitely be buying the full-size when I run out of my sample.
Surfing:
There’s never been a safer time to be a kid in America (contrary to what the news and other parents want you to believe).
When life isn’t simple. I’ll be reading and re-reading this as we head into summer, when my simple and quiet routine gets all discombobulated.
To alleviate the stress of my discombobulated summer nerves: 8 rosé wines to drink right now.
What’s on your short list of favorite things right now?