Friday Favorites-7/31/2026

HOLLIE

We took a family getaway to Big Bear, so this week revolved around wrangling three five-year-olds. Heather snuck away for a night to join us and surprise the girls, but we made it back with a few Friday favorites.

The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson

Two of this week’s favorites are true crime documentaries (shocking, I know). One has been on Netflix for a while, but I somehow missed it. Heather said we talked about it after she watched it, but I have zero memory, so in my mind it didn’t happen.

The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson is an intimate look at the life of Moriah “Mo” Wilson, whose life was cut short by a shocking murder. If you didn’t closely follow this story (and I didn’t) you might have heard the soundbites. “Jealous ex-girlfriend murders new girlfriend.”

But when you watch the documentary, you realize how truly unhinged this crime was. It’s one of those stories that if I wrote a script for it, I’d get told it was too far-fetched.

Moriah, or Mo as her friends and family called her, was a stellar athlete. She dreamed of going to the Olympics in downhill skiing, but multiple injuries made that dream impossible. Looking for a new goal to conquer, she got into gravel bike racing and started making waves. A former coach said Mo was a once-in-a-generation talent.

Sadly, Mo had the misfortune of meeting Colin Strickland, a fellow gravel racer who, at the time of their meeting, was in a relationship with Kaitlin Armstrong, his business partner. At some point the couple broke up, but still lived together.

When Kaitlin learned that Colin was seeing Mo, she began stalking him and learned he was going on a date with Mo. Kaitlin proceeded to stalk Mo and killed her at the house where she was staying. After being questioned by the police, Kaitlin went on the run and evaded authorities for over 40 days before being captured in Costa Rica (the way she was caught was brilliant and reminded me of something that a writer would pitch in a room and have everyone excited about how clever it was.) Or maybe how stupid the killer was.

As a mom to three amazing girls, watching this documentary broke my heart. Mo’s parents share family videos and stories about her, and there’s a moment where Mo’s mom says that when her daughter was little, a Shawn Colvin song began to play, and she had this feeling that she would one day lose Mo. Just unimaginable.

The filmmakers also did an amazing job showing the impact losing Mo had on her family and friends. I wanted to hug Caitlin Cash, Mo’s friend who discovered her body. I can’t imagine coming home and discovering something like that and how it would change you.

While the true crime element is what hooks viewers, the filmmakers paint a vivid picture of how much Mo loved life and racing and how she was on a path to achieving greatness. What is so infuriating is that Mo wasn’t even in a serious relationship with Colin. Yes, she liked him and was hoping for more, but this wasn’t some epic love story. In fact, it appeared that Colin was playing both of them. It shows just how twisted Kaitlin was to go after the woman instead of the man who was lying and manipulating them both. While I was curious about Kaitlin’s past and mental history, I was glad that they didn’t give her too much space.

I also thought of Karen and Eric Wilson, Mo’s parents, who endured so much but showed up in court day after day to ensure their daughter’s killer was punished. After Kaitlin was sentenced to 90 years in prison for Mo’s murder, Eric Wilson spoke about how lies and manipulation never lead anywhere good. He said there are no winners, and it’s true. As much as I disliked Colin Strickland, even the brief interview they did with him showed just how much this tragedy cost him.

From a filmmaking standpoint, this is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a while. Yes, the subject matter will keep audiences invested, but it’s the filmmaking that stood out. It’s beautifully shot and edited and serves as a love letter to Mo and to her family.

HEATHER

The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare

After reading the incredibly well-researched and heartbreaking book, The Idaho Four : An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward focusing on the murders of four University of Idaho students, Kaylee, Xana, Ethan, and Maddie, I didn’t think I needed to watch the new Netflix documentary. I was swayed after hearing that many of the victims’ friends and families participated in it. I decided to watch the first episode and then proceeded to watch all three.

Before I talk more about the docuseries, I have to say it’s disgusting that just this week Brian Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to all four murders just over a year ago to avoid the death penalty, has been allowed to file a claim to withdraw his guilty plea because of “coercion.” He’s now blaming his lawyers for various lies he claims they told in order to get him to plead guilty. If you’ve followed the case you know he was a criminology PhD student so it’s not hard to imagine him sitting in his cell, stewing and plotting and looking for any way to try and one up people. I pray that this stunt is dismissed for what it is, a sad and desperate last attempt at freedom.

Back to what makes this new series different from the many others focused on this case. There is newly released footage from police bodycams that shows exactly how the aftermath of the crime unfolded in the hours before, during and after the murders, the 911 call, police arriving and the discovery of the bodies.

The footage is redacted but the audio is not. It’s chilling and terrifying, but the hardest part to watch are the friends’ reactions. It made me think of how hard it is to lose a friend when you’re young and how much it changes you.

I didn’t lose friends to violence, but in our twenties, Hollie and I lost two people who had a profound impact on our lives. Our high school friend Dominique died in a car accident and our college best friend, Diane died by suicide. Those were truly the hardest times of our lives. When someone dies that young, you realize how fragile life is. It feels like a before and after. I can’t imagine the added horror of wrapping your head around your friend or loved one suffering such a violent death. What’s even sadder is how the roommates were blamed for not calling the cops sooner and another student was suspected of being the killer because his ex-girlfriend was one of the victims. The documentary does a good job of showing how toxic social media is when trying to solve a crime like this and how it traumatizes the families and friends even more.

I read some fair criticism about why we still watch shows like this, comparing it to watching the same car crash over and over. I get why some people feel like this but my takeaway after watching the three episodes is that it gave family, friends and even the police and first responders a chance to speak and to honor their people whose lives were cut short.

I remember when I lost my two friends, all I wanted was for them to be remembered, to be loved as much as I loved them. I thought this documentary allowed friends and family to share how much Ethan, Xana, Maddie, and Kaylee meant to them.

A crash course in creativity: Tina Seelig at TEDxStanford

As a bit of a break from the darkness, I want to share a YouTube video I stumbled upon on Threads that inspired me. I wasn’t planning to join Threads, but I fell for the thing Instagram does where it suggests a Thread you might like. Despite being Meta-owned, I’ve found it to be a supportive place and fortunately my algorithm has delivered great insights on creativity and writing.

Someone suggested a video called A crash course in creativity and I loved it. It’s from a TedxTalk by Tina Seelig, a Stanford researcher who got her PhD in neuroscience, as well as an entrepreneur, educator and novelist, having written over 18 books on creativity and innovation.

She urges people to think about creativity in a different way and offers up unique ideas on how we can tap into our creativity. The video is only eighteen minutes long, and it reminds me that we need to turn off the devices and do some deep thinking.

I feel like there are very few moments when I’m not consuming something either on my phone or listening to a book or podcast. What I love about this video is it was posted 13 years ago, when the world of technology was very different and the words “artificial intelligence” were something that us regular folks only saw on TV and in movies. This video is almost more relevant now than it was back then.

Here are just a few ideas she mentions that stood out to me.

Go to places you’ve been many times but look at it with fresh eyes.

Our ‘knowledge’ is our toolbox for our creativity -- our ‘imagination’ is the catalyst for the transformation of the ‘knowledge’ to new ideas. Our ‘attitude’ is the spark that gets this going.

If you’re an individual, you can start by building your ‘knowledge’ or your passion and ‘attitude’, you can start anywhere.

Everyone has the key to their innovation engine, but it’s up to them to turn (use) it.

I also discovered that Seelig has written several books about creativity, luck and innovation, including her latest What I Wish I Knew About Luck which was released this past April. I’ll be heading down the rabbit hole to check out more of her works and will report back.

I’m excited to rewatch this video and think about how it can help me with my own creative projects and blocks. If you get a chance to watch, I’d love to hear what you think.

Have you checked out any of our favorites? What are you watching, reading and listening to? Let us know in the comments.