Five Things: Issue 115
A newsletter by someone who has had oysters now
Once more, I’ve open the door
Not really on purpose, I have more than one sort of step-by-step thing this week. It’s fall, I’m in a teacher mood. My October continues to be fun, in an otherwise wackadoo year, it’s a joy to celebrate so many weddings and baby showers and birthdays.
This sentence now has links to the 100th issue master spread sheet, my instagram, my Outdoor Voices referral link, and old issues of the newsletter.
Number One: Find old pictures of old houses in Kansas City!
A couple months back my friend Becca posted about finding an old photo of her client’s new home in the Tax Assessment archives, and I immediately logged on to find my house. There are photos of every house in Kansas City, Missouri from 1940 WPA project. And if you don’t live in a pre-1940 KCMO house, congrats on your plumbing, but you’re missing out on a fun dig. I printed out a photo of the house for my roommate Abby, she moved out because she got married, but this house just feels like her house, like up until a week ago I didn’t know Kansas City without Abby living here.
To find your house, or your crush’s house:
Go to the kchistory.org, select “digital collections” then “1940 Tax Assessment Photographs”
Scroll down, click “browse,” then on the menu on the lefthand side select “houses”
There will be 376 pages of results, so my advice would be to try to find the nearest cross street or neighborhood from the menu on the left side.
Once you’ve narrowed down the results, try to find the description that best matches where the house you’re looking for is, in my experience you will have to look through 3 or 4 blocks before you find the right one.
Click on the block and then get to zooming in and trying to match the features of the house.
You can request a scan of an individual photograph through the link at the bottom of the page, it’s $10, but you’re supporting your local library, which we are all about. The photos are old, and for tax purposes, so not exactly artsy, but still way cool.
Number Two: I’m ready to talk about my stimulus purchase
Here’s the deal: everyone needs to add to their prayer list that the man, God-willing, I one-day marry is a saver, because if 2020 has revealed one thing, it is that I am a spender. Or maybe add to your prayer list that I confront my materialism in a healthy way.
Back in March when the promise of a $1200 check seemed like a fun way to cap off the three week vacation we thought we would have, I decided I wanted to splurge on a new hair dryer. At first I wanted the $400 Dyson model, but I decided to settle for this number by Drybar. And after seven months, I am ready to give it the 5 Things Seal of Approval. (For what it’s worth, I used the rest of the check to pay off a student loan.)
My keys to success for a shiny blowout that looks breezy and lasts a day or two:
Letting my hair grow a little past my shoulders - it was not as fun, and only made my hair more flippy when it was still shorter
Letting my hair air-dry for about 15 minutes, if I don’t have 15 minutes I’ll use my ole faithful Revlon hair dryer to get some of the excess moisture out
Using Drybar clips to dry my hair in sections
Taking it slow, slow, slow and starting at the root
Number Three: This Sherpa Jacket
I bought this sherpa jacket from Amazon on a full whim, and I so did not need any more jackets, but I love this one and think you will too. It’s quite soft and fits a little slouchy, but not too slouchy. The brand is literally Amazon Essentials - just like the iPhone charging cords that don’t work. I will say, I have not washed it yet, and that is always the true test with fuzzy jackets. But dollars per wear, we’re already moving towards the pennies with this guy.
Number Four: Country of the week
A fun fact about me is that I won Deerfield Elementary School’s Geography Bee back in Sixth Grade. The winning question was something along the lines of, “Name the country that borders the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and is the world’s leading exporter of olive oil…” And I knew that it was Spain, and Taylor Beals did not. I have always loved geography and maps. I love decorating with maps, I find looking at them very soothing. There’s something about knowing the orientation of a space that makes me feel so safe, even if I’ve never been.
And my new favorite way to pass time while I’m waiting for an answer at work is to go through The New York Times Country of the Week feature. It turns out I don’t know that much about Myanmar, but it’s fun to learn!
Also, if you have a random childhood accomplishment, I would love to read about it in the comments section.
Number Five: Nonstandard McDonald’s
This is just a fun twitter account full of McDonald’s that are a little different.
I spent too much of my post-toddler life poo-pooing McDonald’s. The Don’s rocks. Get any size drink you want for $1.09? I’ll say it, I’m lovin’ it.
As promised, here’s the link to Ticket to Ride. Stay Blessed.
That photo of your house is very cool! It hasn't changed much.