the take home folder vol 126

I’d say this week felt like the Dog Days of Summer. Heat wave, bad air quality (boo), our city’s celebration week, several baseball games, first locally grown sweet corn of the season, not watering the flowers enough, and late nights.

I hope summer has been treating you well and that you’re able to embrace the good.

What is something I can do for our home?

What is something I can do for/with our family?

What is something I can do for myself?

Today for me it’s deep cleaning our shower, watching a few episodes of Full House as a family before bed, and hopefully finishing my book.

here’s this week’s take home folder, enjoy!

We’re heading to Chicago in a couple of weeks and I’m doing the thing I always do before trips - challenging myself to “find” some spending money. This is mostly lighthearted, but knowing we have a trip in the near future always lights a fire under me to add some fun money to our wallets.

Money we’ve “found”:

returned a dress that I adored but hadn’t reached for a single time: +$138 (thank goodness for long return windows!)

Todd called our vision insurance company about a wondering we had about a paid invoice and they refunded us a portion: +$40 (never hurts to ask!)

Cancelled a summer day camp we had set for our younger son that overlapped a few days with our trip: +$192

Sold a couple bags of my clothes to Style Encore: +$57.60

the week before the trip I’ll try to spend as little as possible on groceries and instead we’ll eat the food we have on hand with the goal of getting to fridge zero before leaving.

This is super satisfying to me.

related - pls fill me in on the best Indie bookstores to support in Chicago!

Selling or giving away things as a lot gets multiple items out of your house at once and you only have to deal with one buyer/receiver. Chef’s kiss.

Things I’ve sold or given away in lots: kids clothing by size, books, my clothing, Yoto cards (I listed these cards my kids weren’t using anymore for $120 and had multiple people interested), toys, sports equipment., sports/pokemon cards.

If you’re not in your decluttering season right now - I’m not either - tuck this tip away for fall.

Last weekend we had friends over for a casual after-dinner hangout. We served a variety of cold beverages, traditional s’mores, and savory s’mores.

Traditional: graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate squares. Also had Fudge Stripe cookies because those are always a fun and tasty vessel to eat a toasted marshmallow.

Savory: Ritz Crackers, Baby Bell Cheese (easy to roast over the fire!), pepper jelly. You could also do salami, pesto, fig jam, different varieties of cheese and crackers, etc.

This was an easy/fun/budget friendly way to host.

heat + kids needing to be at baseball fields every night between 4:30 and 5 + cyclospora + zero grocery shopping schedule = uh, what is a meal plan? 😅

We’ve been living on any leftovers I can piece together, Uncrustables, frozen fish/chicken nuggets, smoothies, chicken apple sausage, burgers, tacos, chicken salad using rotisserie chicken from Costco, whatever produce happens to be in our CSA for the week, and an occasional 8pm McDonalds run for the kids’ second dinner after baseball.

So unfancy.

But it’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been dreaming of a veggie-laden soup simmering on the stove on a chilly fall day.

But for now, buying a box of Uncrustables every time I find myself at Target feels like the play.

What have you been feeding your fam this summer?

Friday should have been the day that my 75 Medium challenge1 was complete. Todd and I did the first 4 weeks with fidelity but the last 6ish weeks we’ve been ‘doing our best in our season of life’.

Many would see this as a big fail. My May 3rd start date self would see this as a fail. But it wasn’t a complete bust. I’d say we did an 80/20 approach to 75 Medium in the last 6 weeks. I didn’t suddenly transform into a swimsuit model. Life stresses haven’t dropped to zero. But I feel good, I have energy, I sleep well, I dropped a handful of pounds, my mental health is solid. I can’t be mad about this.

My biggest takeaway in attempting this challenge is that I’d like to be living somewhat 75-Medium-adjacent most of the time. It’s not going to be perfect, but I’m committed to prioritizing the habits that make me feel my best.

Also, constantly being hyper critical of my body is exhausting and trash for my mental health. I’m over it. I generally show up for myself in a variety of ways and am grateful for what my body allows me to do on a daily basis.

Cheers to aiming for consistency over time while living life and loving ourselves along the way.

see you right back here next week,

recent faves

If you happen to see this Neroli Blossom multipurpose spray at your TJs, grab one to try. It smells amazing!

Smoothies with Ka’Chava (code BEGINATHOME15), wild blueberries, handful of kale, PB2, flaxseed meal, scoop of Greek yogurt, almond milk. Tastes like a PB+J but loaded with protein and fiber.

Katie the Catsitter series - one of my son’s favorite graphic novel series of all time. Book 5 just released and I surprised him by having it waiting on his pillow one night this week. I saw this series described as the silliness and whimsy of DogMan with a splash of Raina Telegemeier reassurance and think that’s an excellent description. My son started reading these around 3rd grade and still happily picks them up as a rising 6th grader.

school supplies done and dusted - took advantage of sales and Target circle coupons. My end of summer self thanks me!

this buttery soft half zip - I bought it for my mom for Christmas and recently treated myself to one on sale. I’ve been reaching for it every time I’m heading to the ice rink this summer. Looks cute with wide/barrel leg pants, skorts, and jeans. Extended sizing available. Still love the Aerie Oh Snap sweatshirt but it’s closer to tunic length on me and much thicker.

Spectating all the baseball games. My mind will wander here in the middle of winter.

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links which means I receive a small commission from the retailer at no cost to you. Thank you for using them, it helps me keep the lights on around here and continue to provide free content.