Things I’m Loving

Each month, I share three things I’m loving in my goal update posts. I’ve organized them a little more neatly here so you can easily find what you’re looking for from a past post! Click into the post date for more context!

Things to Read:
What Losing My Two Children Taught Me About Grief (November 2023)
The Misunderstood Reason Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church (August 2023)
Over the Fence (June 2023)
The Moral Case Against Equity Language (May 2023)
American Christianity is Due for a Revival (April 2023)
Archiving the Teen Self (March 2023)
Steve Martin on His Late Career Surge (October 2022)
The Nasty Logistics of Returning Your Too-Small Pants (July 2022)
Parenting Against the Spirit of Fear (June 2022)
The Everyday Patriotism of Diverse Democracies (May 2022)
Your Bubble is Not the Culture (April 2022)
Will We Return to Church? (March 2022)
Parents, Take Note of the Spiritual Practices Common to Kids Who Flourish as Adults (August 2021)
You Won’t Remember the Pandemic the Way You Think You Will (June 2021)
Emily Oster’s newsletter (March 2021)
NieNie Dialogues, for a peek into intentional parenting of older kids (January 2021)
Our Shared Unsharing, on 2020’s effects on our Instagram habits (January 2021)
Raising a Free-Range Child in 2020? Try a Smart Watch (September 2020)
If We Had a Real Leader (June 2020)
Research Shows Daily Family Life is All the “Quality Time” Kids Need (December 2019)
Twelve Tips for Parenting in the Digital Age (May 2019)
What I Gave My Kid Instead of a Smartphone (April 2019)
The ‘Busy’ Trap (February 2019)
The Fashion Magpie blog (November 2018)
What Do 90-Somethings Regret Most? (October 2018)
— John McCain’s farewell letter (September 2018)
How to Make This the Summer of Missing Out (August 2018)
The Dangers of Distracted Parenting (July 2018)

Find more books I love here!

Things to Eat:
— Heavenly Hunks oatmeal chocolate bites (February 2023)
Pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes (November 2022)
— S’mores with Fudge Stripes (August 2022)
— My favorite Chicken Pot Pie (October 2021)
— Charcuterie boards from Boards & Bites (August 2021)
— A warm Betty Crocker brownie + Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp ice cream from your freezer aisle (April 2021)
Beach Street Linguine (April 2021)
Sheet pan pancakes (May 2020)
Sweet Potato Burritos (April 2020)
— Fast-casual Mediterranean chains Mezeh or CAVA (March 2020)
— Raleigh local hero Mediterranean fast-casual spot Neomonde (March 2020)
One-Pot Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken and Orzo (March 2020)
— Alton Brown’s Shepherd’s Pie (April 2019)
Sesame Beef Tacos (March 2019)
Baked Chicken Meatballs (January 2019)
— Magnolia Power Balls (October 2018)
Peach and Blackberry Crumble (August 2018)
Chicken Souvlaki (July 2018)
Chocolate Cream Pie (June 2018)
— Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants – in the freezer section (June 2018)
Chopped Chicken Taco Salad (May 2018)

Things to Wear:
— A pretty cream embroidered daisy sweater (November 2023)
— An easy breezy summer striped dress (August 2023)
Nipple covers (yep) (August 2023)
— A blue-and-white embroidered dress (June 2023)
— A smart little straw hat (April 2023)
— This chunky sweater in sage green (February 2023)
— The perfect v-neck white shirt (December 2022)
— The perfect breezy white shirt (March 2022)
An updo for people who can’t do updos (October 2021)
These shoes or these shoes for your guy, that look like dress shoes but feel like sneakers (September 2021)
Cali Demi-Boot jeans if you’re trying to figure out what pants you’re supposed to wear (September 2021)
— A Nap Dress (August 2021)
— The gold and pearl earrings I wear every day (April 2021)
— The coziest slippers (December 2020)
— Magic under eye brightener that makes everything better – only two colors to choose from! (August 2020)
— A seersucker face mask (ships fast!) (July 2020)
— The One Short for your favorite man (June 2020)
Woven top that looks way more luxe than it is (May 2020)
— Mint ruffle midi dress (February 2020)
— Cream animal print sweatshirt (February 2020)
— Anything from Rose & Lee Co., an ethical clothing shop near me (February 2020)
— Striped pocket tee (March 2019)
— Allbirds Tree Skippers (November 2018)

Things to Do:
— Use the most comfortable wireless earbuds (January 2023)
— Play Dutch Blitz (September 2022)
— Mix these tan drops into your moisturizer (June 2022)
— Wear my favorite natural deodorant (April 2022)
— Use these genius conversation cards (December 2021)
— Switch to the Overcast app for your podcasts (December 2021)
— Take a Bogg Bag to the beach, to the pool, to… wherever! (September 2021)
— Follow This Is Like Magic for “endless ways to make someone’s day” (July 2021)
— Take on-the-go photos with this pocket tripod (July 2021)
— Use this toner, which has totally smoothed out the dry, flaky skin on my forehead (February 2021)
— Paint a DIY keychain (August 2020)
— Brush your teeth with this whitening toothpaste (that doesn’t cause sensitivity!) (July 2020)
PowerSheets! (December 2019)
— Exfoliate with a washcloth (November 2019)
— Have a mini family photo session with Anagram (October 2019)

Things to Listen to:
— The Psalms set to music (October 2023)
— This Morgan Housel episode on the power of staying put (September 2023)
“At the Table” by Josh Garrels (September 2023)
— The perfect dinner party playlist (June 2023)
“I Thank God” by Maverick City (May 2023)
— The album Seven by Brooke Ligertwood (March 2023)
— This FDP episode on “otherness” as a Christian family (December 2022)
King of Kings by Hillsong Worship (November 2022)
Kids and Media Trauma episode on RBG (October 2022)
You’re Wrong About Martha Stewart (September 2022)
— This Honestly episode on the haves and have nots (April 2022)
— This episode on “time anxiety” (March 2022)
— The Risen Motherhood social media series (February 2022)
— The Live No Lies mini podcast episodes with Jon Tyson and David Brooks (November 2021)
— The Honestly podcast (November 2021)
— The intro to the Modern Parents, Vintage Values season of RBG (October 2021)
— The Feel Good Classics playlist (“happy tunes from the ’50’s, ’60’s, and ’70’s”) (May 2021)
— The Walk in Love podcast, even if you fast-forward through 50% of it (February 2021)
Lenore Skenazy, free-range parenting expert, on the Armchair Expert podcast (December 2020)
— Jess Ray’s Mission House album, especially “Never See the End” (November 2020)
This deliciously 80’s playlist (October 2020)
Six black intellectuals discuss the 2020 racial crisis (August 2020)
— Nancy’s episode on growing the faith of your kids (July 2020)
— Economists answer the question “what’s the most useful idea in economics?” in this Planet Money episode (February 2020)
— The live album People by Hillsong United (August 2019)
— The Freakonomics episode “The $1.5 Trillion Question: How to Fix Student Loan Debt?” (July 2019)
— The Work & Play with Nancy Ray podcast (June 2019)

Things to Watch:
The Mole (January 2023)
Top Gun: Maverick (June 2022)
Reacher (May 2022)
Only Murders in the Building (April 2022)
Nate Bargatze specials (January 2022)
The Great British Baking Show, Collection 9 (November 2021)
Ted Lasso (March 2021)
Knives Out, a movie to please a group over the holidays (November 2020)
Cobra Kai (October 2020)
The Last Dance (September 2020)
— An exquisitely beautiful episode of Modern LoveWhen the Doorman Is Your Main Man (January 2020)
— A sweet rom-com, Always Be My Maybe (August 2019)
— This low-key but poignant reminder about kiddos and the fleetingness of time (April 2019)
— The Jeopardy! All Star Games (March 2019)
Bodyguard Season 1 (December 2018)
— Netflix’s Stay Here (November 2018)
The Great British Baking Show (September 2018)

Things for Your Home:
Painter’s Palette tulip mix and butterfly daffodils (September 2023)
— Blue and white floral paper snack plates (April 2023)
Souper Cubes to make freezing soup easier (March 2023)
— Gorgeous faith-inspired and kid-friendly art (February 2023)
— A beautiful wall clock (September 2022)
— An actual printer (July 2022)
— Dimmer switches for your overhead lights (January 2022)
Acrylic frames to hold oddly-sized mementos, like an ultrasound photo (May 2021)
— The cutest orange-patterned pot (March 2021)
— The pale blue flower pot we have in our bathroom (March 2021)
Wipeable leather tablecloth in the prettiest stars pattern (October 2020)
Cutest raffia pumpkins (September 2020)
— Gingham cork placemats (May 2020)
— Super Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes to grow in your garden (April 2020)
— The lovely Threshold by Shea McGee Collection (April 2020)
— Blue floral sheets (December 2019)
— True warm white Christmas lights (November 2019)
— Mini flocked Christmas tree (November 2019)
— Block print blue floral tablecloth (October 2019)
— Be Thou My Vision canvas (September 2019)
Inspiration from a Maine cottage (September 2019)
Inspiration from a grand lakeside home (May 2019)
— Silver frames (February 2019)
— Ceramic salad bowl (January 2019)
— External hard drive (June 2018)

Things for Your Kids:
— A set of the tiniest Squishmallows (December 2023)
— An audio track of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (December 2023)
On the Night Train, a story podcast perfect for road trips (November 2023)
Slim ice packs for lunch boxes (October 2023)
— The best swim goggles (July 2023)
— An FDP episode on “otherness” as a Christian family (December 2022)
Waterproof pads for transitioning out of pull-ups overnight (October 2022)
— The Along for the Ride podcast (August 2022)
— A road trip activities and travel journal (July 2022)
— The perfect coloring book for 3-4-year-olds (May 2022)
— A modern school years memory book (January 2022)
— A patriotic seersucker dress I bought in multiple sizes (June 2021)
— Cheap conditioner that works wonders on tangles (May 2021)
— The Kazam balance bike (February 2021)
Seagull swim trunks (January 2021)
— The cutest pink mailbox and melamine heart bowls for Valentine’s Day fun (January 2021)
— The perfect tan pants for a skinny toddler boy (November 2020)
— Set of 20 linen hair bows for a steal (October 2020)
— A sweet floral face mask to match with mama (July 2020)
Diverse books to add to your library (June 2020)
Peloton Family classes (May 2020)
— Basic components for homemade Halloween costumes from Primary (October 2019)
The Circus Ship, a delightful picture book (July 2019)
— Sweet baptism gift (June 2019)
— This low-key but poignant reminder about kiddos and the fleetingness of time (April 2019)
— Crew + Co Advent cards (December 2018)
Puffin Rock, the sweetest animated show (August 2018)
— Celery heart art project (May 2018)

Affiliate links are used on this page!