weekend mélange

Hi friends, it's been a while hasn't it? Mélange are usually my favourite to write since I get to cover as many topics as I'd like, and share them with all of you with relative ease (it's not my writing, after all!), and I love the discussions that often result in the comments or over on Instagram. And I won't kid myself into thinking they're difficult to write. I save all of my favourite blog posts from the previous weeks over on Feedly (which reminds me, I do you read this blog via Feedly? Blog Lovin'? I've also added an option to receive my posts by e-mail if you're prefer - you can find the signup on the margins of the website), and a mélange posts is just be editing them and sharing them. But it's been ages!

You know a lot about our days after I've shared our summer schedule, so you probably know that there's little time to write at the end of the day. I made a point of writing most of my free-lance articles before the kids were out of school so I could really be present with them this summer, but there are a few left to go and I'm giving my writing energies to them and kind of neglecting my beloved blog. Thankfully, today permits me some extra time (thank you Brad for taking all of the kids to Costco on your day off)!, so here we go!

source: Simple Bites

• I bought a bundt cake pan at the thrift store and I'm so excited to put it to use. I'm going to make Aimée Bourque's Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake this week and I can't wait! Also super helpful were these two articles about baking with bundt cakes, since I know next to nothing - How to Properly Grease a Bundt Pan and 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking a Bundt Cake. I'll post my results on Insta!
• I've been loving my new black shorts and striped muscle tank from Frank & Oak's Style Plan. I had a blast trying on tons of tops in my stories the other night and having all of you comment on which ones I should keep. Every Frank & Oak piece made the cut, because their shirts are the softest and most flattering cuts! Use this link to get $30 off your first month of Style Plan!
• The Pros and Cons of Sharing Baby Items. Alison writes from both the desire to save space in a small home and wanting to reduce her ecological footprint while being generous. Love her and her thoughts.  

source: 600 sq ft

•  Lately I'm reading The Help for the second time (and loving it just as much as the first) and I just finished Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which was so interesting and funny (and confirmed: I'm not a tiger mother, lol). For my daily devotionals, I'm in the Psalms (one per day) as well as reading an entry from New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp and Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids by Nancy Gutherie. Highly recommend them all!
• I'm going to be packing for all five of us as we head to Switzerland and Austria in a few days (eee!) so I've loved following Hailey's packing advice as she travels the world with her little family. 
• It's wedding season! Ways to keep that spark alive + 6 surprises every premarital counselor should cover. Fun fact: did you know that Brad and I do premarital counseling for many couples? One summer we walked with six couples who all were married by Brad in successive months. Such a learning experience for us, and it always makes our own marriage stronger!

• Make time to be bored!
• I started watching The Handmaid's Tale while I was in Ontario a few weeks back and it's mesmerizing. It's haunting, and disturbing, and violent, too - so not my typical fare, but the writing and acting are unmatched and the story is an important one I think.  Thankfully I found out that my pal Rachel loves it too so we've been taking turns buying episodes on iTunes and hosting one another to little foodie soirees. Last night's was epic!
• Dying to try this Sangria!  

source: Modest Marce