The Saturday Six

One.

One of my favorite cabinets in our kitchen is the corner cabinet that spins around and has tons of storage inside. We already owned some mini lazy Susans that I put all our spices on inside that cabinet so I can find things more easily. But if you don't own any, I found this hack for making your own with dollar store items!

Two.

A lounge-wear capsule wardrobe? Now THIS is my style! Working from home for the win!! (The post is old enough that not all the links still work but the pictures do. I want some of those shirts!!)

Three.

Those of you who know me well know that I joke about my parents being professional mourners. I realize mourning is no joke, and I don't intend to make light of that, but I've just seriously never known any other people in my life who go to as many funerals and viewings as the two of them. And it's always been that way. I had been to about a million before I even went to high school. So even though I'm only 40, I have gotten to know a lot of funeral home people over the years. And while it's probably straight up weird to have a "favorite" funeral home, I would have to say mine is the one over in Marion that I've been to the most often. And this week they were featured on the news because of their grief therapy dog! I don't know if this is a common thing or not, but Nero is quite the hero in Marion! Here's the link to the article about him.

Four. 

One of my Facebook friends shared this post this week. I don't know any of the people involved in this story, and I will warn you right now this is pure tragedy. But this woman's raw faith in raw grief is nothing short of inspiring and convicting.

Five.

I'm typically not a fan of sponsored blog posts, because they start to feel (just my personal opinion) like the random shameless advertising that gets crammed into movies. BUT! That aside, I do love this post's date crate idea. THAT is something I can get on board with. I may have to figure out a way to put one together and begin coming up with ideas for it!

Six.

Source

This Irene Hannon's Sisters and Brides series. I just so very dearly loved this series of books. Thanks, Shari, for introducing me to them! If you missed my previous posts about them, I'll catch you up!

week I read the third and final book in

This is one of Irene's earlier trilogies, and collectively, the series tells the story of three sisters (A.J., Clare, and Morgan) whose aunt passed away, leaving them a chance at a sizeable inheritance. Before they can take home the money, each sister has to fulfill a stipulation set forth by Aunt Jo, and none of the requests are particularly convenient for the girls. Each one requires a significant sacrifice of time and activity.

The final book of the series, The Unexpected Gift, is Morgan's story. She's the only one of the three sisters whose career is everything to her. She's a rising star in the advertising world, dedicating (and sacrificing) everything to gain a top seat in the firm for which she works. Every moment of every day, stretching into weekends and even holidays, is reserved for working.

Aunt Jo's stipulations for Morgan is that for six months, she must serve on the advisory board for the Good Shepherd Camp in Seaside, Maine, and for four weeks at some point during that six month period, she must also reside in Maine at a cottage aunt Jo owned. At the end of the six months, she'd gain not only the money, but also half ownership of the cottage - if she fulfilled Jo's request. The other half of the cottage ownership would fall to a gentleman named Grant that apparently meant a great deal to Aunt Jo, even though Morgan had never heard of him.

As much as Morgan wanted to just bypass the entire thing, the financial benefit on the back end of the six months was significant enough that she felt compelled to at least try. Traveling from Boston to Seaside - especially in the winter - wasn't going to be easy, and she certainly wasn't happy about it, but she said she would try.

I love stories of coastal cottages, so this book contained much beauty (even if Morgan was usually moving too quickly to fully appreciate it). I loved the faith story woven in, as Irene always does with her books, and it was good to catch glimpses of the other two sisters at different points in the story too!

And though I'm sad to say goodbye to these three, I appreciated the ending of the book and the thorough conclusion to the series. (I do adore something tied up with a neat bow!)

All three books in this series make good leisurely reading, so if you have a vacation coming up and need some good books, check them out! And thanks again, Shari, for bequeathing me your copies!