Happy Weekend + Weekend Links!

Happy Weekend + Weekend Links – Kicking off 4th of July weekend with a few things making me happy.

Happy weekend, friend!

It’s a million little things, but I’ve found I’m having conflicted feelings about the 4th of July this year (maybe a little like this). I’m grateful to have a day with my family (alone because safety, y’all!) and a chance to continue finding ways to help my country.

Here are a few things making me happy this week…

National Ice Cream Month. July is national ice cream month! We’ve been using our ice cream maker (on sale right now!) and this book as a guide (it’s got traditional + dairy-free flavors!) to try as many flavors as possible this summer. Flavors we’re trying soon: roasted strawberry, snickerdoodle, and s’mores. (Don’t forget THE BEST hot fudge sauce!)

Here Wee Read’s Diverse and Inclusive Summer Reading List For Kids. Charnaie is the BEST. Love this book list and coloring page she’s offering for free right now! (If you’re able, I suggest saying thanking her for her work by sending her a donation on PayPal.)

Bunnies on Instagram. Michael finally joined (but loves his privacy real hard, so I won’t tag him), and he keeps sending me fluffy, cute bunnies. Our neighborhood is dotted with little desert cottontails that we love looking for on family walks, but these next-level fluffy buns give me all the heart eyes. On that note, we’ve also been collecting/curating a giant list of bunny names as a family so we can write a story–Smudge, Miffy, Snuffle, Hopscotch, and Waffle are a few on the list.

People using art for good. I’m always so amazed by how talented artists and creators use their art for good. Right now, I’m really loving @ohhappydani, @curious.parenting, and @introvertdoodles.

This tip for playing games when people feel competitive. We’ve been playing LOTS of games over the last few months inside, and we have one VERY competitive game-player in our house, so something like this might be super helpful!

“Window Shopping” for real estate in faraway places. I’m not traveling anywhere any time soon, but I’ve looked through French estates, LA mansions, Charleston beach houses, New York brownstones, London flats, and gorgeous Australian apartments. (If you could safely move anywhere right now–where would it be?)

Daydreaming about not being a bad plant parent. Similarly, I’ve been reading through indoor plant guides wondering what I might be able to keep alive as a perpetual “green-heart-but-black-thumb” kind of person. (I always overwater. Always. Every time.)

ALLLLL The Cherries. I just love summer cherries. I got my first box of Rainer cherries (my favorite!) and have been loving sweet cherries, too. I keep thinking I’ll get to bake something with them or toss them in my Cherry Berry Fruit Salad, but we never have any left to cook or bake with!

HAMILTON IS ON DISNEY+!!! Seeing this play a couple years ago was the best theater experience of my life, and TODAY we can watch it on Disney+ with the original cast!!!