I wrote this post before the school shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday, but I came back afterward to acknowledge it. What happened Wednesday was beyond tragic, and it saddens me to my core to see this same thing happening over and over again in our country with no real push for change. While praying is always a good thing, prayer isn’t going to be the only thing that solves this problem that we have in this country. Our leaders need to step up and demand change, and they need to do it now.
Those kids were babies. Babies, y’all. And now their lives (and the lives of their families, friends, and others in the community) are forever changed. My heart goes out to the entire community… know that we are mourning with you, and I pray that we see the day where real change finally takes place.
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Happy Friday, y’all! What a week! I feel like Taylor Swift has been single-handedly lifting my spirits these last few weeks – first with the announcement that she was going to be on the New Heights podcast, then with the announcement of her new album, and just when we thought things couldn’t get more fun, she and Trav announced their engagement this week! Whew! It has been quite a month for us Swifties, and I think it’s so fitting that it all happened in August… one of my favorite songs by her ever on my all-time favorite TS album, Folklore. To live for the hope of it all…
Today I’m sharing some favorites from the week, and I’m sure you already know one of the things that’s going to be in here…
O N E – Simplified
Planners for 2026 are Here!
I have talked about my Simplified Planner approximately 241,224 times here on the blog, so it’s no secret how much I love mine. The new planners for 2026 dropped this past Wednesday, so I’ll be grabbing mine ASAP. The SPs come in a daily option (monthly calendar spread + one page for each day of the year) or a weekly option (monthly calendar spread + two-page weekly spread), so there’s a layout that works for everyone. I have always purchased a daily as I love the hour-by-hour schedule, the to-do list and the blank box at the bottom of each page to write down meal plans, exercise, water intake, etc. I use this planner every single day of the year, and it houses all the things. You can see more about how I use mine in this post here. It went viral several years ago on Pinterest and I still use this same method to stay organized to this day.
I wanted to ask your opinion since I’m having trouble deciding… which cover should I get? Typically, I wouldn’t hesitate to get the floral cover, but I had a similar floral cover the year before last, so that’s the only thing holding me back from that one. The bold, wavy stripes also speak to me because I love the color palette, and I also love the gold foil between each of the lines. Which one should I get? Floral or stripes?
T W O – Fall/Halloween
Puzzle
I realized the other day that while we have a fall puzzle, we don’t have a Halloween puzzle, so I grabbed this one and I wanted to share it because it’s soooo cute. It’s such a fun scene (I love that it’s a good mix between fall and Halloween and that’s it’s not too over the top Halloween-y), the ghosts are precious, and y’all, the gold foil accents are on the actual puzzle pieces! It is SO beautiful and so unique and we’re looking forward to starting it over the long weekend.
T H R E E – Fall Temps
And speaking of fall, one of my main favorites from the week were the temps here in Georgia! Y’all, we have had a cool front come in and it has been just incredible weather-wise. We woke up Wednesday morning to 59 degrees and I couldn’t believe it (I didn’t get a picture until it changed to 60). It was so chilly that I had to pull out my grandma sweater to throw on over my tank top. And the weirdest part was that it was sunny Wednesday. Typically, we don’t have temps this low in August at all – but if they do get lower than the norm it’s usually because it’s raining – so we were able to enjoy low temps, very low humidity, AND sun… in AUGUST. August is usually brutal here, so we are soaking it up. As a matter of fact, the highs tomorrow and Sunday are only in the 70s… whaaaat?! Granted, there is a chance of rain this weekend, but I’m here for it.
I meditate every evening before bed, and I love Daily Jay with Jay Shetty on the Calm app. He provides an 8-minute meditation every single day that starts off with a little bit of wisdom followed by a guided meditation. His meditation the other day discussed how we often focus on the bad things that happen since they stand out so much to us, but we fail to recognize when things are going smoothly since that’s just what we expect in life. He used this meditation to encourage everyone to make sure to notice when things are going right rather than just noticing when things are going wrong. It’s such a simple, obvious thing to do, yet most of us probably don’t do it. So, I just thought I’d share this today – focus on the smooth sailing – like for starters, you woke up this morning. There was running water when you turned on the faucet to shower. Your car started and took you where you needed to go. And so on…
F I V E – TAYLOR AND TRAVIS ARE ENGAGED!
Well, if you thought this wasn’t going to make it into my top five for the week then you don’t know me but at all. Haha. Just when I thought I could stop barraging y’all with TS things, she and Travis went and announced their engagement on social media this past Tuesday!!!! To say that I’m excited for her is an understatement… I actually cried when I saw the news (yes, I know – ridiculous to some of you I’m sure), but I am an empath, I love her, she has been searching for true love for so long, and at age 35 she has finally found it. There’s so much pressure on women (still, in 2025) to marry and have kids, and I just love that she refused to settle until the right one came along. I think they are both so lucky to have each other, and I have literally never been this happy for two people who I don’t even know. Hahahaha!
Friday Funnies
On the Blog This Week
I vote for the striped planner! So pretty!
ReplyDeleteI like the striped planner. I leave my planner open on my desk so I never see the cover! I love the site of the engagement - I heard it's at Travis's house, which is likely very close to where I live!!
ReplyDelete