The Liz List - August 6, 2021
Image via AD.
We finally made it to Friday! 🥳 It’s been a doozy of a week over here, so I’m looking forward to a weekend with zero plans other than hanging out with family.
Lately my husband has gotten into cooking which I am LOVING, haha. He’s starting from the bottom as far as skill is concerned, but he’s already improving and seems to really be enjoying himself! Because of his newfound hobby, our routine the last couple months has been: date night on Friday, then grocery shopping on Saturday with Kate for all the ingredients we need to cook together on Saturday and Sunday night. It’s been so fun! This weekend we’re going to try our hand at this herbed chicken recipe to go along with some fresh ravioli (Mission Fig, Walnut, & Mascarpone 🤤) we picked up at a local pasta shop.
The only other real update is that I’ve finally worked up the courage to design a space all by myself! The back patio! I’ve never had enough confidence in my abilities to put together an entire space on my own before, but I feel like I’ve got this one. 💪🏻 This week I started researching online to find some inspiration and have been working on my design plan. There’s no timeline for when I’ll finish, so I’m just going to take it slow and work on it when I can. I’ll keep you guy posted on my progress!
Without further ado, here’s what I’ve been into lately:
BOOKS: I recently picked up this book by meditator and writer Yung Pueblo. Some of you may be familiar with that name since he runs the popular @yung_pueblo account on Instagram. I kept seeing his quotes pop up on my feed, almost always resonate with them, and eventually decided to give him a follow. I always appreciate his insights! Anyway, the book is essentially a compilation of thoughts related to personal growth, connection, and relationships. I’ve enjoyed reading a few pages each night before bed.
CELEBRITY HOME TOURS: Two celebrity home tours caught my eye as of late. First, it’s the Austin home of former Gilmore Girls star Jared Padalecki. I love the mix of old and new, the playfulness of the kid’s spaces, and the overall casual “homey” vibes of the design. Also, give me that chicken coop! The next is Behati Prinsloo & Adam Lavine’s LA home. I was a little shocked it wasn’t some palatial celebrity estate, but rather a smaller one-story home. What really struck me the most about this home isn’t the interior (although it’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong) but rather the home’s stunning landscape design. It’s so dreamy and lush and not uber-manicured or too “perfect”. It’s just as nature intended.
HOME DESIGN: How darling is this little girl’s nursery?! Ugh… I love it so much. The color scheme is perfection, and I just adore all the texture and layers. It’s stunning. I’ve pinned it as inspiration in case there’s a baby #2 at some point in the future!
MIND: I loved this article from Camille Styles that serves up advice on how to ask better questions to spur great conversations. It’s full of solid advice + sample questions you can carry with you to your next get together with friends, coworkers, or acquaintances. The bottom line… in order to be interesting, you have to be interested.
PODCASTS: One of my friends recommended to me this podcast series about an influential evangelical church in Seattle that was founded in the mid-90s and collapsed in 2014. While I haven’t listened to every episode, I listened to Episode 5, titled “The Things We Do To Women” (at her suggestion), since it’s about purity culture and highlights some of the toxic messaging we experienced growing up in church. Whenever I’ve mentioned purity culture on Instagram before, I always get lots of messages about your experiences, so I wanted to pass this podcast along to my readers! While this preacher’s approach was more graphic and certainly harsher than the language I was exposed to, the content of what’s being taught (about things like gender roles and purity culture) is essentially the same. I’ve already gone through my own process of rejecting this type of extremism, but it’s still helpful for me to hear about other female experiences with it. Especially when they call it out for what it is… misogynistic, sexist, and abusive.
SKINCARE: Did you know blue light from our devices penetrates into our skin more than UV light? 😳 Read more about blue light… what it is, how it’s damaging our skin, and how to prevent the damage in this article from esthetician Renee Rouleau.
SOCIAL MEDIA: The head of Instagram stated a few weeks ago that the platform would no longer primarily be an image sharing tool but was instead shifting its focus to video content. They’re trying hard to compete with TikTok, I suppose! Users can expect to see subtle shifts in the algorithm that will favor creators who publish video content + encourage users to explore video content like reels and IGTV. As a user, I’m a little bummed by the news. I know change isn’t always bad, but I personally use Instagram as a creative outlet by both finding and sharing beautiful photos. Not to mention, I don’t have the time to consume all these videos! What do y’all think?
Have an amazing weekend!
Liz