Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

Good morning, friends! Yesterday was a beautiful holiday, but I confess it felt like Saturday all day, so now I feel like I should be headed to church! I look forward to my bonus day off (this actual Saturday) and hope you have a great day ahead as well!

I often run across suggestion lists for slow or cozy living, and sometimes I like a few of them, but usually I feel like the bulk of the list isn’t practical for me (either time or budget constraints, usually). But I thought this list was pretty great! Most of the things on the list felt normal/budget-friendly/interesting. In this summer where I’m trying to find the balance between productivity and slow living, I appreciated finding these suggestions!  

I’m putting this one on the suggestion list more for a reminder for myself, but feel free to eavesdrop! Ryan, if you’re reading this, I know this DIY is labor-intensive, and I don’t think we would have to do THIS exact thing. But I love the idea of making some sort of pretty surround for the air conditioner unit. At our house, this is one of the first things you see if you drive up from one of the sides of the road. It’s a bit unsightly. We’ve never talked about covering it, but I think this would be a good project to file away for a future year!

Ryan and I grew up in an area where flavored Cokes were absolutely a thing. Vanilla Cokes, Marshmallow Cokes…you name it. I’ve noticed since moving to this county (under two hours from our original home) that people don’t seem to drink flavored Cokes. Well…until my mom moved in. She loves a chocolate Coke and always has. I remember getting them with her when I was a kiddo, and she’d sometimes make them at home, too. She’s now taught the entire dining staff at Swiss Village how to make them so she can have them with her dinners. I have pretty much given up soft drinks – something that I’m both proud of and simultaneously sad about. They say you get to the place where you don’t miss it. It’s been almost two years for me, and I still miss it. Now and then I have a sip of Ryan’s just to have a treat, but otherwise I’m out. But if you want to learn to make a chocolate coke, here’s a proper, old-fashioned recipe!

If you have kids at home (or visiting your home this summer) and you need some great book lists or educational ideas, check out this list of free homeschooling resources. There are some great things in here, but even if you aren’t homeschooling, you might find something that could help provide learning moments in fun ways! (BONUS: Here are some fun staycation ideas if you need some budget-friendly things to do with kiddos this summer. Some of them would work even if you don’t have kids!)

It is just really sad that I do not live close enough to the How Novel Co traveling bookstore! IT IS SO CUTE!!!!! This popped up on my feed this week, and I absolutely drooled all over it. It’s a 1973 horse trailer that has been given new life as a bookstore. It’s cute as a button, and I absolutely love the concept. In retirement, I’m thinking Ryan should open a coffee cart and I should open a bookstore trailer, and we could travel around together with our twin businesses. How cute would that be??!?! (BONUS: Speaking of trailers, check out this Airstream renovation. SO CUTE!!! I love all the colors in it! )

SIX. There were a handful of things in Kaitlyn’s post that stuck out to me. I am convicted to work hard to invest in the future for others, and I’m convicted to appreciate those who invested for my future. I’m also convicted to make room in my days – even the super busy ones – to see others and reach out to them. Great food for thought in here. I encourage you to read it!