THURSDAY'S THOUGHTS

VIA MORGAN HARPER NICHOLS

FEELING: It's no secret that Max loves cheese. Unfortunately, Max's body doesn't always love cheese as much as he'd like and getting him to pace himself is difficult. I've tried to explain to him countless times why eating it so frequently is a problem, but because he rarely listens to me, I had no choice but turn to YouTube again to educate the kid on the digestive system. Now he's OBSESSED with watching videos about digestion and he references his esophagus, intestines, and rectum on the regular. Mission accomplished.

THANKFUL FOR: Monday was a doozy. We learned that our garage door needed to be fully replaced (for a cool $1800) after we heard the cable and spring snap on Sunday night. Woof! We had no way of getting either car out of the garage and the other places we called in the area were booked through Friday with other repair jobs. After talking to some family, we felt better about our decision to get it fixed, but paired with the falling trees and broken oven, being a homeowner has felt like a bit much lately. Argh! In an effort to shake off the sticker shock, Max and I went into town later that morning to get groceries at Safeway. We parked the car at our usual spot. We've parked in the same area for the past five months. It's at the halfway point between Target and Safeway—away from rolling stray carts and door bangers—and it allows us to hit up both stores if needed. But unbeknownst to me, sometime over the past week, Safeway got a locking system for their shopping carts and I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Yes, imagine yours truly, stuck in the middle of the street with a cart full of groceries in 90-degree weather, with a shopping cart that won't budge at all. It was so embarrassing! One of the employees finally saw us struggling, as cars drove around us, and explained that this cart change was fairly new. It took the the muscles of two grown men and me to lift the locked cart to a nearby sidewalk. With the assistance of a Safeway employee on her smoke break who agreed to watch our groceries, I grabbed Max and we retrieved the wagon. I threw on my hazard lights and shoved our groceries in the back of the car as fast as I could. I couldn't wait to hit the gas and get away from it all. Here's hoping no one remembers us, but Max will likely remind me of our Monday mishap for years to come.

THINKING ABOUT: Erin, a fabulously fun rep at Beautycounter, let me try the Satin Powder Blush in Raspberry. I've been using it for about a month now and it didn't take long for me to realize there wasn't a need for my go-to NARS shade anymore. This option is safer AND long wearing, which helps me feel a bit more awake as I attempt to survive the day with Max. The shade I chose is highly-pigmented, so you don't have to apply a lot, but looks very natural at the same time.

READING: I was under the impression I've read every book Brené Brown has to offer, but then Laura Tremaine mentioned I Thought It Was Just Me on her Instagram, and I hopped on Amazon immediately to hit purchase. After reading this brief summary, I'm already sold and excited to begin reading it this weekend: "We spend too much precious time and energy managing perception and creating carefully edited versions of ourselves to show to the world. As hard as we try, we can’t seem to turn off the tapes that fill our heads with messages like “Never good enough!” and “What will people think?”" Gulp! I may not need a therapist after I read this one. ;)

LISTENING TO: Last Friday, Max and I stopped by Produce Junction to pick out some fresh flowers when a mom pointed at my kid and asked her sons why they couldn't act more well-behaved like him. Internet, I had to look around to make sure she was really referencing my threenager. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Max was just really constipated from all that cheese and this is SO not the norm for us. Hehe! When we got back to the car after running our errand, I praised the hell outta my kid because this may be the FIRST and LAST time we ever get a compliment like this. Go us!! 
 

WATCHING: With the RHONY reunion approaching, I'm interested in your thoughts regarding Bethenny and Carole. Watching their friendship dissolve this season has been rough (they were one of my favorite Bravo duos), but I remain on Team B. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think there were ways in which Frankel could have taken the high road or times she should have shut her mouth, but Carole has changed. A lot. I don't think it's easy for Bethenny to let her guard down with someone and and I think she really trusted Carole, so she's genuinely sad that she's lost a once loyal companion. I'm honestly glad that this will be Radzi's last season. We don't have to talk about the marathon ANYMORE or pretend that she's wearing Beyonce's dress (yeah, NO!). Perhaps I'm being a little hard on her, but she seemed to be having an identity crisis after her breakup with Adam. Also, I don't see how someone who takes civic duties so seriously and was truly depressed about this past election can just up and forget about it all to become besties with the dingbat who forgets to vote but can get Carole exposure on a Coupin Cabin commercial????

EATING: Bring on your best peach recipes! The local orchard we frequent is having a Peach Festival on Saturday and we intend on bringing home a boat load. Aside from scarfing them down in their most natural state, I thought I'd ask and see if you know of any recipes we should try. I can't say I've tried making anything other than a peach cobbler and peach salsa.

LOVING: You guys! RUN! Don't walk. Snag Madewell's newest t-shirt for under $15. The Northisde Vintage Tee is perfection and doesn't cost an arm and a leg like its Rivet & Thread counterpart, which I own and adore. With a selection of snazzy colors (Hello, Light Petunia!), it comes as no surprise that the vintage crewneck top gets FIVE stars from reviewers.

Enough about me. How are you feeling today? What are you up to? Thanks for stopping by!!