Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

We’ve made it to a long weekend, and I am so glad. I finished up my final paper for my class this week, so unless the professor sends it back with things to address, I think I’m done with this class! I have a couple weeks off before the next one begins. I’m hoping to catch up on some scrapbooking and blog reading in the interim! And today I bring you some things I stumbled upon recently. Ready?

I AM SO TEMPTED to get these faux mums for our exterior. I’m generally not a fake flower person for the outside, but I have the worst time with mums. They are great…until they’re not. They are gorgeous until the blooms die and then it’s just over. I don’t ever feel like I get my money’s worth, so it intrigues me to think of the endless bloom offered here. But then I would have to store them from year to year. But would it be worth it to not have to buy new ones every year? Oh the conundrum!

I am a big advocate of writing notes and try to do it often. I know it isn’t everyone’s thing to do, but I regularly find that those who receive them really love them. So I wasn’t surprised to read this piece and the impact the author’s handwritten notes have had on their recipients. If you have even a couple of minutes to give it a try, do it!

I love voting on options – don’t you? KariAnne posted ten years of porch décor (she changes it up each year), and I had to scroll through them to see which was my favorite. Before I tell you mine…which was yours? My favorite is based on what I could envision on our porch. I really liked some of her other ones, but they wouldn’t fit here. My favorite for what I could imagine working at our house? 2016.

Hard times hit us, don’t they? And we compare our hard times to the hard times of those around us so we can classify who really has it better or worse. But this post about Psalm 23 reminds us that “the valley of the shadow of death” can be about many different scenarios. (When I took GriefShare, I observed that many of the things I learned applied to hard life seasons, even if they weren’t the death of a person I knew and loved. Job loss. Friendship betrayal. Those things and more can feel like a death.) If you’re in a dark season, read these words and let them comfort you!

Two years after my year-long-capsule-wardrobe adventure, I still love having a minimal number of choices in my closet. While I don’t stick to the hard core capsule like I did that year, I still try to buy things that mix and match easily. (And I’m sure I have more combinations in my closet than I even realize.) I got the whole idea for the year-long adventure from the Penny Pincher Fashion site, and while they do have a 2026 capsule for your perusal, they’ve also put together this smaller version for fall. If you need some outfit combo inspiration, check it out!

If you’re a grandparent and don’t live close to your family, here are some great ideas for staying connected across the miles. I always enjoy seeing what grandparents do to establish and maintain relationships with their grandchildren, and this piece offers great insights on that!