Anyway, here's a little list of things that I've really been enjoying/benefiting from lately. Maybe you'll like them, too!
1. The Piano Guys. Gosh, I love them. Particularly this song. It's all beautiful and inspiring.
2. This article written by one of my very most favorite professors (and people, in general) from Union, Dr. Hal Poe (as in, closest living relative to Edgar Allan Poe). Seriously. C.S. Lewis and secret agent work? Does it get any better? Give it a read! And also, while I'm on the topic of Dr. Poe and Lewis, if you're a fan of Lewis or any of the other Inklings, might I recommend the annual Inklings Retreat that Dr. Poe facilitates at Montreat College in Black Mountain, NC? Brad and I went to our very first one last April, and WE LOVED IT. It was fabulous. Excellent speakers/topics, great time of fellowship with some wonderful thinkers, and a beautiful setting. We won't be going this year, as I will be very close to my due date, but I highly recommend it (although it's getting kind of late to register for this year)! Additionally, if anyone will be in England this summer (Mrs. Tidwell??), he's doing the first one in Oxford! Here's the info. If you go, tell him I recommended it. You won't get a discount, but maybe he'll have fond things to say about me. :)
3. If you like strategy board games (or have a loved one who does), you should try out Splendor. It's a fun one that's not technically a board game, as there is no board but rather cards and coins. Come visit, and we'll teach you to play! My friend, Breanne, also introduced us to Qwirkle. She described it to us as a cross between Scrabble and Dominoes. That's about as accurate as a one-sentence description can get for this game. We loved it so much that we gave it to my brother-in-law, Tim, for Christmas. We've played it with several other friends and family members and really like it. It's a good one for traveling, too (assuming you get the travel version), as it's lightweight and can be played pretty easily anywhere.
4. Two of our Durham favorites up and moved away from us back in December. :( We miss them very much and are still sad about it. BUT. They moved to Saudi Arabia for Eric's job and have a super fun and interesting blog that you should check out! Here's the link. They both served with the same SBC organization I did around the same time I did, Ashley in Poland and Eric in South Asia. They're a super fun, well-traveled pair, and I wish you could all know them. Reading the blog = next best thing.
Eric, Ranger, and Ashley with Bearsy right before they left. Yes, Ranger moved with them. And yes, Eric hails from Texas. Thus his hat and his dog's name.
5. In the vein of interesting reads online, here are a few others:
Aspiring Kennedy. I found this gal on Instagram and then began reading her blog. She lives in London with her husband and children and curates trips around England, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Iceland. She's a great read (and her Instagram is full of fun travel-y things.
Davymade. This is a gal that Brad and I overlapped with at Union (and who came to Ukraine with a Union group to work with me one spring break) who has been learning to sew. I know that doesn't automatically sound fascinating, but she's been teaching herself quite a bit, creating fun projects, and has designed a course load of sorts for herself. I love following a good project, and she is up to her eyeballs in projects!
Fun, Cheap, or Free. I discovered this blog last April when I was researching ideas for roadtripping by myself with a toddler. Hers was one of the most helpful posts I found, so I started reading her blog fairly regularly. Her primary focus is everyday frugality for moms. Perfect for my life. She shares a lot about her family, everyday tips, and has some interesting series of posts (like doing a cruise with little kids). Her instagram is also pretty fun.
She Reads Truth. This is an online devotional for women (there is also a He Reads Truth; I mentioned them a few weeks ago.). They do studies every few weeks, either on a theme or on a book of the Bible. I particularly like their Advent and Lent studies (Lent study going on now). You can order physical copies of the studies, or you can follow along online (or on their app) daily. I highly recommend it!
Unfancy. I discovered this gal last spring and was intrigued by her foray into the world of capsule wardrobes. Amiee and I started implementing some of these changes into our lives and really enjoyed reading her blog/following her Instagram account. At the beginning of last summer, she took a sabbatical from writing, which made me quite sad, but she just started blogging again! I'm not usually one to follow fashion bloggers, but I love this gal.
6. Seeds Family Worship music. Some friends gave us this one when Claire was born, and we've added a few more since then because we all like them. They're scripture songs geared toward children but are definitely catchy enough for adults to enjoy, as well. I find myself singing or humming them regularly. I recommend them as gifts for folks with littles!
7. Of course, the money-saving/rebate sites that I've already mentioned: Ebates and Ibotta. I wrote about them here and here. They're still saving us/making us money, and we really appreciate them. (I linked to my referral codes, in case you want to go for it!)
8. Following @meredithtoering on Instagram. She's a 20-something gal who lives and works in China. She works for an organization called The Morning Star Project and manages really important details for babies who have severe heart defects and need lots of medical attention. So much of her work is super serious and really hard, but her outlook on life is fantastically encouraging and unbelievably funny. She spends her days in a house full of adorable babies. I promise you will enjoy following her, if Instagram is your thing.
9. And, here's a soup recipe that we love.
10. Oh! I also have learned that I can regrow green onions with THE GREATEST OF EASE. If you buy a bunch of green onions, save the bottom two inches (including the root) after using them. "Plant" the root in a bowl of some sort (I actually use a couple of jelly jars with some fake rocks in the bottom to help stand the roots upright), and fill in about 1.5 inch of water. Put in sunlight. Those suckers will grow back in no time. Best part: you can get a few generations of green onions out of the same roots. I regrew one set of roots 6 times before needing to start over. Such a money saver...and you know how I like to save money.
Those are just a few of the things I've been loving recently. Maybe you will, too? Let me know if you do!
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