Well hello there, happy Saturday!

The past week has truly served up an abundance of goodness. Our oldest came home last Friday - Monday for the long weekend and we got SO much time “regular life” time together (much of it with her on the couch studying for her EMT course) ~ grocery shopping, pedicures, little walks with the dogs. The stuff we haven’t done together for MONTHS due to our whirlwind traveling adventures.

I also treated her to a private Pilates session last Friday afternoon with me and a friend so she could learn the basics before attending a regular class with me on Monday ~ she LOVED both sessions, and we have been scheming to find her a Pilates studio in Madison to attend regularly! And speaking of Pilates, one of my best friends, the one who got ME hooked and then moved away, was in town for the week and we got to go to TWO classes together, and BONUS, we brought my sister (also in town for work) to a class. My cup truly overflows.

Also, on Labor Day we continued our family tradition of walking in our local Labor Day parade ~ my husband and our youngest daughter with his Teamster crew, and me with my school association. #UNIONPRIDE

This weekend I’m across the state on a musical and crafty adventure with family ~ I can’t wait to tell you about it next weekend!

Staying Nourished On the Fly

Whether I’m traveling or just living my regular life of driving MILES AND MILES for all the things, I always need small nourishing snacks that I can eat on the go for little bursts of energy to tide me over. They can’t require refrigeration, can’t melt in a hot car, and have to have some fat, protein and/or fiber to hold me over for a while. That’s a pretty tall order!

NOTE: This is one of the new premium subscriber features as I transition to a lighter fall publishing schedule ~ you can upgrade on a monthly ($5/month) or annual ($40/year) basis to see the full content!

Some Lighter Fiction

The last fiction book I told you about was a heavier historical fiction read, and the book before that was a stellar nonfiction title. Today, however, I bring to you some juicy contemporary fiction that will surely help you escape whatever stressors you are existing alongside. I read both of these in the past few weeks and thoroughly enjoyed them!

Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West is West’s second adult novel after her jump out of the YA market, and I loved this one just as much as I did We Met Like This. These books aren’t a series, so definitely jump in wherever you’d like to! Stranger Things Have Happened is a romance that I was at first wary of, since the plot involves deception and shenanigans, but I was swiftly drawn in to the mature characters, instant chemistry, and caregiving side story. If you like your romance stories to have originality, characters with depth, and a strong sense of place, definitely give these a try. West has another adult title coming in April 2027 ~ Trust Issues - yay!

Next up is Elin Hilderbrand’s second installment in The Academy duo, and for these books, you DO have to read them in order. The Thoroughbreds (on shelves September 15th!) picks up during the sixth form year at the exclusive Tiffin Academy prep high school, and is just as juicy and gossipy as the first book. I enjoyed escaping (twice!) into this oh so dramatic rarefied world, but I’m not entirely sure that the series will or should continue? We’ll see what Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham decide to do, but they did a great job with these school stories releasing right during back-to-school season! These are technically adult books, but set in a high school ~ definitely blurred audience lines.

And that’s it for this week! I hope you all have a delightful weekend packed with yummy snacks and adventures ~ I’ll be back next Saturday to fill you in on more books as well as what I got up to this weekend.