Oh hi, Friday Favorites bandwagon! I’m hopping onboard. Because books! Music! More books! All good things that I’m loving! And things that maybe you should love too.
So, here we go. An unsolicited list of five of my favorite things that you should totally know about.
1.This week’s Archibald Project podcast with Jamie Ivey. If you are considering adoption, you should listen. If you have adopted and you’re feeling a bit like “uhhh what have we gotten ourselves into because this is kinda really HARD,” then you should listen. If you have adopted and things are going along just swimmingly, you should listen. I love Jamie’s transparency and wisdom here.
2. Speaking of adoption, I just read Jillian Lauren’s Everything You Ever Wanted this past month and LOVED. IT. It’s a beautifully written memoir that’s centered around the adoption of her son from Ethiopia. I highly recommend it… particularly for any adoptive parent who’s feeling alone in the world of trauma and attachment issues. Read this, and you’ll find yourself nodding, “amen”ing, and tearing up. Because finally! Someone gets it!
3. Dear fellow book nerds, gather close as I fill you in on one of the best-kept book-lover secrets of our time. I’m not talking Amazon, people. Or Kindles. (Oh my gosh, I don’t even know how you Kindle people do it. Give me PAPER. All paper all day.) Y’all, these are the words you must learn to know and love: INTERLIBRARY LOANS. See if your library does this. Wake County does. And it’s magical. You see, our libraries here are great, but there are always books I want that they don’t have. I’m just greedy, I guess. And since I have real people to feed, I can’t buy every book that makes its way onto my wishlist. But here’s where it gets crazy: my library can borrow these books from other libraries all over our great nation! I just have to hop onto a website, click a few buttons, tell them my every bookish hope and desire, and boom. They ship them to my local library. For free. For me. Life-changing, people. (Also, if this is old news to you, you deserve a pat on the back. And maybe a punch in the arm for not filling me in on the secret earlier.)
4. THIS.
Neglecting important things like cooking and homework and clothes for better things like popsicles and bathing suits. The kids have thirtysomething days left of school which is just crazy-town. I’m looking forward to slowing down. Can’t wait for more laze and less hustle. Every year, I think I love summer more. Check back in with me in August though. We’ll reassess then.
5. Pat McGee Band. Y’all. It may be sixteen years old, but this album is the ultimate soundtrack to my spring. Every year. Only to be listened to on the sunniest of days. Windows down. Minivan overflowing with kids and crumbs. Oh wait. But really. It’s Friday. And it’s spring. Listen to this and be very happy. Oh, and while you’re at it, this, too, goes well with spring. Because, Dave Matthews Band. That’s all.
Happy Friday!