Currently

Spreading the word about this Kickstarter that launched last week! It’s for our church band’s latest album — Mike Crawford and the Secret Siblings. (Shhh, I’m a secret sibling, and sing on a few tracks.?)   My friend, Mike, and the 50+ musicians in our church have been working on this album together for about four years, so we’re all excited for it to finally be released! If this sort of music is your jam, I’d totally encourage you to check it out. Because I always tell people that one of the many things that I love about our church is that we sing mostly original music. And as such, these songs — goodness, these songs — hold such a special place in my heart. Week after week, month after month, season after season, my friends and I have sung them through the best of times. And, we’ve also stood side by side with one another and sung them through tears in the worst of times. And through it all, they have been this safe place to be real with ourselves and with God, and also an incredible reminder of hope. So, anyway, I’m so excited for these songs to finally escape our little church walls and get out into the world. Because good music always makes the world a better place. (If you want a little sample, this song is one of my faves.)

Loving this new wine saver that a friend told me about. It’s a bit of an investment, but if you tend to have leftover wine, I think that this keeps it much fresher than the vacuum bottle stoppers that I used to use.

Falling more and more in love each week with This Is Us.  Oh my goodness, are you guys watching? I feel like I finally have a replacement now for Parenthood. ? Loving the characters and the storylines so far and, of course, crying the ugly cry just about every week.

Listening to the new Johnnyswim album on repeat. Goodness, those two have the most beautiful voices. (And heads up, since December is just around the corner, their Christmas album is sooooo good.)

Teaching myself how to make homemade tamales. They’ve been on my “cooking bucket list” for years, and I think I’ve just about got them mastered. Look forward to sharing a foolproof recipe with you for how to make them (plus some good tips I’ve learned!) very soon. And in the meantime, I’m happily eating tamale-testing leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. ? Do you have anything on your cooking bucket list that you’d like to try soon?

Drinking too many freaking Pumpkin Spice Lattes this year. Good grief — I’ve always avoided the craze in the past. But ever since Postmates started delivering them each morning and afternoon this autumn for free (yes, the drink and delivery are FREE – you just tip your driver a few dollars), I mayyy have accidentally gotten hooked. (P.S. If you’re not already hooked on Postmates, here’s a promo code to get $10 off your first restaurant delivery — FPRTS.)

Looking forward to a quick weekend trip to D.C. with Barclay this weekend! We’re headed there for an exciting meeting to do some brainstorming for The Wash Project. And then Barc and I are looking forward to revisiting some of our favorite restaurants and sights from our trip there last year (Oyamel, The National Portrait Gallery, and Old Ebbitt are definitely happening again!!). We’re also really hoping that we might be able to visit new African American History & Culture Smithsonian, but it sounds like tickets are super hard to come by right now — fingers crossed. If any of you D.C. lovers have any other great recommendations for places to visit, lemme know!