Five Things: Issue 251
As requested
Coast to Coast, if I may boast
Since last I wrote you, I have stepped foot in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Really it was the Gulf. Gulf of America? Don’t get me started. Won’t go there, won’t be tempted to.
It was both delightful and disorienting to get almost all of my planned 2025 travel behind me before Valentine’s Day. I love my routines. I love seeing the sun. The dichotomies we live with.
Three soon-to-be-first-time-moms reached out to me and said they really resonated with what I had to say about being annoyed with ourselves with how much we think about baby things. It’s nice to not be alone, it really is.
Kind of a pizza-centric few months. I do have to recommend the stuffed crust pizza at Pizza Hut if you haven’t had it recently. It’s pretty good.
I just am abundantly grateful for this season and the people I get to do life with.
Anyway, I hope today is beautiful for you!
Number One: A heartwarming real estate story
I normally find The Hunt column in the New York Times to be sort of like, “okay, you have a $800,000 budget and you wanted a second bathroom on the Upper West Side? Good luck to you.” But I loved this Nashville edition featuring a single mom who works Able. It just made me smile to see all the people that had helped her out along the way. And a $200,000 budget as a first time home buyer? That I can relate to!
I love and hate being a home owner. Crack in the ceiling? My problem. Checking the Zestimate against how much we owe in principal? I love. I’m so grateful for our house. And love talking to single women who want to buy on their own; you can totally do it! Let me talk you into it!
Number Two: Fly into Long Beach if you can
Long Beach Airport is truly such an easy airport and if you are traveling to LA, I must commend it to you. So quick and easy, and not overly old.
Punta Gorda is fine. I think it only services Allegiant, and the whole place kind of has Allegiant vibes.
Number Three: Severance
I don’t know if I recommend the show Severance as much as I just need to write about it for a minute.
I saw enough hubbub on social media about the flash marketing thing the show did in Grand Central Station, that I was compelled to watch the first season. And now Chris and I are hooked on the second.
Things I like: brilliant acting. Show that makes you think. Incredible sets/music/production value overall. Fun to keep up with the culture.
Things I don’t like: not an up-lifting time. Show that makes you think. Leaves you with more questions than answers. At times really frustrating in that way.
So if you are in the market for a thinker, Severance. I need a good companion podcast to go along with. I’m not live, laugh, loving the one with Adam Scott and Ben Stiller, so if you have one, let me know.
In other news, Survivor 48 starts February 26. It’s never too late to become a Survivor watcher. I do think you need to watch three episodes to really get into the show, otherwise it’s just a group of goobers on the beach. But once you’re in, you could watch any episode at any time and have a deep appreciation for what’s happening.
Number Four: The maple brown sugar butter from Trader Joe’s
Makenzie told me about this butter, and one thing about me, I love butter, and I love this butter. It’s delightful. It just adds a little palate-sparkle to your morning toast. If you are a sourdough-er, it’s truly scrumptious.
Number Five: JANE EYRE
We are reading Jane Eyre for book club, and because I’ve been a flop of a book club member for like the last six months, I was like, “I actually have to give this one a go.” And one of the great things about old books is that they’re public domain so it is no-prob-bob to find a free audiobook version.
I LOVE IT. I am truly upset that I didn’t read it earlier in life. I thought I knew the story, and I did, but I didn’t. Like even with some of the twists already in my mind, I am just soaking it up. It’s so beautifully written. Jane is such a compelling woman.
Bonus: Unbox the Dress
I can’t remember where exactly I first heard about turning a wedding gown into a baptismal gown, maybe Mary Elizabeth? Was that you?
Wherever; for a few years now, I’ve had the dream of wanting to one day get married, turn my dress into a baptismal gown, and then have a baby that gets baptized. I love infant baptism, what can I say?
Then I got married, and haven’t taken my dress out of the dry cleaning box, but I just feel unwilling to give it up just yet. I will be 33 weeks pregnant on our anniversary and something tells me it’s not going to zip up easily, but it might be fun to wear again, I don’t know.
Growing up, my mom was so generous with her dress: she tried it on for my parent’s anniversaries, she let us play dress up in it. I’m pretty sure I wore it once in a play. And my mom generously let me ship off her dress to be made into a baptismal gown, and a few other keepsakes by Unbox the Dress. It was a bit of a Severance situation where there were things I loved (baptismal gown turned out beautifully) and things that were left wanting (we sent back handkerchiefs for more lace to be added because they were kind of blah at first). But overall a good experience.
I kind of think that your local seamstress could do the same thing for cheaper, Unbox just has a way of streamlining the process, which was nice. It is really tender to give my mom’s dress even more life in our family. And mom, I really am so grateful for your generosity!!