Friday Things #578

1. It has been HOT here this week, as it seems to have been in many, many other places! I reaaalllyyyy don’t like being in extreme heat or humidity, but Isabelle had a classmate’s party on Sunday and luckily we were mostly in the garage or under a tent with misters, but wooo it was hot! Then on Monday night, Joseph had a summer league basketball game and when we walked into the gym, I could not believe that it wasn’t air conditioned. It was 8pm, but goodness, it was a sauna! I’ve been happy to stay mostly in air conditioning ever since 🙃
2. All three kids did a soccer and basketball camp this week, and they have had so much fun! They’ve all done some different things since school was out, but it’s been so nice to have them be able to do this together.
3. Do you have any special food planned for the 4th of July next week? If you need some inspiration, check out all of my 4th of July recipes. I’m partial to the berry trifle and flag cake!
4. Can we talk about Dock and Bay beach towels? Does anyone have these? I’ve seen a couple of friends rave about them for the pool/beach, so I ordered one and love how thin it is, but I have admittedly not even used it yet because the material feels so weird! It was listed as “microfiber” but the material feels like… a flag? It’s so strange!
5. From a recent James Clear newsletter:
Novelist Robert Louis Stevenson on living one day at a time:
“Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down. And this is all life really means.”
6. I finished reading The Wedding People this week; I liked the overall message of the book, but was really expecting more given all of the fanfare it has received since last year. It was good, but wouldn’t end up in one of my favorite lists. I’ve since started Funny Story by Emily Henry; I’m early into it, but will let you know what I think of it!
7. I came across this article on how to build a travel capsule wardrobe with the 54321 packing method, and oh my gosh, I can’t wait to put this into action the next time we go away! I feel like I pack (for myself) very willy-nilly and am excited to give this a try.
8. Really enjoyed this >> Why the French Don’t Obsess Over Purpose
9. When you think doing just a little bit doesn’t matter >> The Cumulative Effect of Daily Actions
10. TGIF! The big guy has a birthday coming up on Monday!!




Love #8.
Hi! I have two of the Dock and Bay beach towels and love them. Great to pack too! My daughter bought a beach cover up from there for my two year old grandson.
I liked the IKEA towels that has the waffling design. They’re not made where they used to be anymore.
But they’re all cotton and huge.
Got those at the Pittsburgh IKEA store.
Despite the crazy temps, it sounds like your summer has settled in to some nice memories. Thank you for sharing both the quote from Robert Louis Stevenson and th3 article about French way of enjoying life. Good reminders.
I love my Nomadix beach towel! Similar price point…
Hi from Germany. Love reading your website.
Could not stop myself from making a comment regarding the beach towels. Microplastics are petroleum based and contribute to the plastic pollution in a bad way. Every time you wash these items they shed many, many plastic fibers into the waterways. The particles are so extremely small they even spread through the air. Please for the sake of our planet stop using microplastics and fleece products. Wishing you and your family all the best.
Aafke Heinz