Hey friend,
We just finished our second week back to school after the summer break, and our kids are SO happy to be back. Isn’t that wild? I think they’re the only children I know who love school this much. I know I certainly didn’t enjoy it when I was their ages, but as a parent, I must say, I’m happy they look forward to the start of the school year because we do, too. We love getting back into the groove of a routine after months of not really following one. Plus, there’s the start of fall and the weather cooling off (and baking!) and all the possibilities that come with the beginning of a new season. Everything feels so exciting during this time of the year. I know it’s technically still summer, but since our kids are back in school it’s basically fall for us. Augtober, if you will.
In other news, it’s been a difficult week for our family as PJ’s dad passed away. He wrote about his complicated feelings in this week’s newsletter, which I shared down below if you missed it. He loved his dad, but just as I wrote about three years ago when my dad died, it’s so difficult when you were treated a certain way for so long by the adult who was supposed to love and take care of you, and they pass away, and you’re left with these feelings of wondering how to feel. We both wanted to thank you for every comment, DM, email, and gesture of love you’ve sent his way. Knowing he’s not alone in his feelings and that you have been through similar situations is such a comforting feeling. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your love and support. It means the world to us.
Hope you have a good one, and here are a few good things from the week.
After 18 years of using the same hair clay, I finally switched to one I like even better and I fear I may never go back. When I don’t use some sort of product in my hair, it’s naturally kind of flat and frizzy, but this Jack Henry hair clay gives my hair so much volume and makes it look like I don’t have anything in it because of the matte finish, which is the look I always go for. What do you put in your hair to get it the way you want it?
When we planted this garden on the side of our house at the beginning of summer, we weren’t sure if it would produce anything, especially since we were at the beach for two and a half weeks in July. But it has given us quite a few yummy veggies, like cucumbers and jalapeño and bell peppers, but by far my favorite thing it’s produced are these gorgeous tomatoes. We picked them last week and made a delicious red sauce with rigatoni pasta and sausage, and it will definitely be on repeat at our house. I’m not sure if we will do as many vegetables next year, but we will absolutely be planting tomatoes again.
What do you have in your garden?
At the end of a long day, we love nothing more than curling up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and a good show. We haven’t fell hard for one in a while, but that all changed when PJ suggested we watch Furious on Hulu, and now we’re hooked. Starring Emmy Rossum as an FBI agent who is recovering from PTSD from a previous relationship, she’s also in the middle of tracking down a female serial killer who is targeting powerful men in New York City. It’s a fun, thrilling game of cat and mouse and we look forward to the new episodes every week. Highly recommend!
How good does this grilled cheese recipe (NY Times gift link) look? As fall is approaching (and can’t come soon enough tbh), I want to eat nothing but this dipped in a warm, rich tomato soup. My mom’s tip for the perfect grilled cheese? Mayonnaise instead of butter on the bread. It makes it so perfectly crispy and gives it the best flavor. Try it! I know you’ll love it.
A dear subscriber named Kaileigh is a teacher who’s returning to school this year, and sent us her classroom wishlist on Amazon. Back to school is hectic enough, so I thought, why not share it with our Okay McKay community and see what we can all do to pitch in together and help her out?!
Says Kaileigh, “I’m returning to the classroom this next school year and I am so excited! Although, I have loved staying home with the twins this first year, I know my second purpose is to help little minds in the classroom! I gave away a good chunk of my classroom essentials to prepare for the twins! I put together this list to help ease the transition back into the classroom! Thank you for your help!”
Good luck this year, Kaileigh!
Every Friday on the blog, we share the 14 items we linked from the week that you loved, and you can shop this week’s Friday Fourteen (which include a lip sleeping mask, PJ’s favorite underwear, delicious pumpkin candles, collagen, and more) below!
If you want to start receiving emails for Keep & Delete, our daily journal, you can do so by following the instructions below:
1. Go to your Substack account
2. Click on the publication you want to subscribe to (Okay McKay)
3. Click Manage Subscription
4. Find the Subscriptions section
5. Slide the toggle next to each section you want to receive notifications about (Keep & Delete)
6. Save your changes
If you want to see all the Keep & Delete’s so far, you can tap the link below. We also end each one by asking you to share your own Keep & Delete for the day, if you feel up to it.
What about you? What have you been up to lately?
PS: last week’s good things
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