Fall Favorites
A fall good list, links, and life lately ramblings
Hello friends, Happy Monday/ End of September/Almost October! A non-exhaustive list of life lately, good things going into fall, and my ever-evolving personal journey to de-center my work/career and emotionally detach my value from my performance and productivity as an overachiever/people pleaser/ person with high functioning anxiety :)
Good things~
- Ordering Back to school photos/picture day. Messy morning hair, smiles with missing teeth , picture day at school is just the sweetest! I let my kids pick their own clothes/outfits (less stress for them and me and I want the photos to be representative of their personalities at those ages)
-One of my sisters and my 3-year-old nephew 8 week old niece came to visit. It is a lot chaotic WFH with 4 kiddos 10 and under but a blast to have family time nonetheless.
- 10th bday party/ arcade trip /sleepover for our oldest. All the fun with all the kids! lol
- Community writing class on Monday nights, attendees ranging from ages 17-age 70, all of us brought together by a common interest/love of writing.
-My youngest started a weekly gymnastics class :)
-Impromptu parents only trip to the pool on a weeknight after work thanks to a visit from gma and gpa <3
-Rings of Power is back on Amazon and the husband and I finally have a middleground show to watch to together again :)
- The countdown is on to a very big and stressful intense worktrip/work event. I am currently trying to hold it together but have come such a long way from this time last year, and not letting this swallow up all the other good things happening in my life and family. Here’s to progress over perfection ( and please send all the good vibes/prayers my way <3)
Friendly Reminder to take the PTO/Plan the trip!
*Shared a recent and somewhat impromptu late-summer/early fall road trip and my first National Park Stamp for my passport over here.
Discovering new fall flavors: *Gasp as a lover of all things pumpkin I think my favorite fall drink this year isn’t a PSL, but the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato is creamy, spiced, and sweet but not too sweet and since so many foods have been betraying me since mid 20’s/ chronic illness issues ( sadly dairy, almonds/ tree nuts and super sweet/gluten heavy products), this is a win. I will still enjoy pumpkin flavored coffee grinds or creamer, and pumpkin bread and muffins etc. but 10/10 recommend if you haven’t tried! Also as someone who loves chai and pumpkin, a local coffeeshop of ours has an iced pumpkin chai latte (I normally lean towards hot coffee >iced but again 10/10). On this note try the new Ollipop flavor: Crisp Apple. It tastes like a spiced apple cider without you know the spice. Has been my evening companion for sunset walks with my kiddos and reading on the back porch. I get mine from my Kroger but you can buy them online!
Making space for connection: This past week I met with a friend for coffee (I know some people do this weekly but in my current season of working full time as a parent of two school-aged kids my current goal has been to aim for once a month) and scheduled childcare for our kiddos so my husband and I could do/ have a date-night! ( IYKYK) We also had a once-a-month goal for this, but with family living out of town, no babysitters on speed-dial, and you know… the cost of living in 2024 (YIKES) the last one was about three months ago at the beginning of summer.. :/ Shout out to our summer camp hosting a parent’s night out this fall! ( sidebar if you know parents and a night out/ night off is always greatly appreciated)
Shows/ Inspirations: Have fallen in love with the two episodes of Three Women on Amazon with Shailene Woodley based off the book by Lisa Taledo. "Three Women" is an intimate, haunting portrayal of American female desire, in which three women are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives. Some quotes from the show that stopped me in my tracks. “Outsized desire we have to hide from the world”. “But they all had the audacity to believe they deserved more.”
Wearing:
Alot of my favorites I’ve had for several years, thrifted or bought on sale. I am not a “must-have” fashion girlie but this brown spandex-like bodysuit by A new day at Target for $15 has been saving me. With a built-in brami it reduces the need for a bra+tank top for cardigan button-downs etc. (Also- finally a bodysuit with full coverage in the back!)
Currently reading/ TBR stack:
Tell me everything by Elizabeth Strout
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Pre-order Que:
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Reiger out October 29th
Womens Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
Submission Opportunities:
Sad Girl Diaries Fall Poetry Contest
Substack favorite reads lately:
A pep talk from Maggie Smith (Excerpt below- read the whole thing!)
I think you can see why “Live like today is your last” is not my mantra. I’m more a “Trust this isn’t the last canvas you’ll get to paint” kind of person. If you believe you have more days—and more chances—coming, you’ll play more, experiment more, take different risks. Whatever you’re doing now doesn’t have to be perfect, because there’s always tomorrow. You’re free to make mistakes, free to fail, and free to try, try again.I stumbled across this podcast this time last year during a very intense season professionally and personally ( coming up on the anniversary of a work event that caused panic attacks and catapulted my journey into therapy/anxiety meds- still processing) but going into it with better tools, support systems and coping skills. Take a listen to 6 ways to soothe your nervous system by Nicole Gulotta from @Wild Words.
I love reading “5 Quick Things” series from
.Another series I enjoy reading is Morning Person by
. This interview was gripping! - You write, "Every morning, I wondered if this would be the day I would admit that I could no longer work at the pace I had been conditioned to believe was my baseline."What would Anne Lammott do? Thanks for this
!
What are you reading, watching, celebrating, enjoying lately? Please share below!