Thursday Things #119

Summer faves: a playlist, blog post, Instagram post, $5.88 earrings, and free meals delivered to the front door.

Every other Thursday, I share a handful of good things I'm loving, reading, watching, listening to or just discovered. AKA the random good stuff we’d talk about over coffee or text if we had one another’s phone number. I'm glad you're here!

I’m headed to a new-ish local coffeeshop to meet a friend, each of us ready to use our lunch break to sip iced lattes and share stories, filling up on “how is ___ going? and “catch me up on ___”, volleying summer favorites back and forth. Last weekend included a “Friend, thought of you yesterday and just wanted to say I missed seeing you at church!” message that led to actual plans.

Did it take a dozen messages to figure out a time and place, yeah, and the “lunch coffee” is slipped into a quick hour window between work projects and meetings, but “we should get together!” became actually getting together and somehow that feels like a modern day miracle.

I kid, but also not because #LifeHappens.

As I opened my computer to begin writing #119, I realized that really, I just wish you could meet us there to share and listen, to laugh and nod with understanding, to drink every sip of a large iced latte and suddenly realize the hour sped by but there’s still, always, more to say and hear.

The next best thing today is sharing a few summer favorites below and hoping you’ll join in the comments with your own.

One of my favorite playlists from this summer.

You could argue, and you’d have a very fair point, that summer is still here.

Fake Fall arrives in Birmingham for all of 5 days in October. We all rejoice and wear our cozy sweaters and try to forget that we actually know better. Then Second Summer shows up and we sweat in our sweaters because we’re in full-on denial. For Real Fall makes her brief but glorious appearance Thanksgiving week and then, bam, Christmas. I’ll stop here and try to save most of my lament for the It’s Still Summer But It’s Also November?! days, but let’s just all agree to pretend September = summer is coming to a close and we’re ready to declare some of our seasonal favorites.

I stumbled upon the Mezzo Piano Maverick City (Vol 3, Pt 2) album and I won’t be quitting it any time soon. (This instrumental album was the soundtrack in the background while writing a new article coming your way later this month, but it’s also lovely just flat out throughout the day. I’m generally for less noise, less notifications, etc. But this is a calming addition.)

One of the best blog posts I read this summer.

Who among us doesn’t need this? → For the One Feeling a Little Tired Today

One of the best Instagram posts I read this summer.

It begins like this and I could say a heck of a lot but instead I’ll just say this is worth a moment of your time:

If I ever get married, I’ll walk down the aisle toward a good man surrounded by good friends and my hair will have gray in it.

melissazaldivar

A post shared by @melissazaldivar

One of the best unexpected things from this summer.

If you listened to any Christian podcast in the last five months, the odds are real good that you’ve heard about Factor. Their ads are seemingly everywhere and after hearing approximately thirty of them, I figured I’d take advantage of the 50% off discount during an extra-busy month.

Factor is a ready-made meal service (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Dessert/Snacks). You log-in, look over the 35 chef-prepared meals for the week, select the ones you’d like, and they’re delivered to your door. There’s no prep, no mess, everything heats up in 2 minutes, everything is fresh (never frozen) and many of the options are Keto, Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, or Vegan + Veggie friendly.

Y’all? Y’ALL.

I’m about to say Some Words before sharing a $150 code, but mainly it’s this:

I honestly don’t understand how they do it. To get the most bang for my buck with the 50% discount, I opted for a larger box (I mean, half off thankyouverymuch) to try a bunch of options. The pastas weren’t my fave, but every single meat and veggie were legitimately delicious. Zero percent of me gets how chicken can be cooked, shipped, and reheated but still ridiculously flavorful and tender—but apparently it’s possible? ANYWAY. With summer international travels, I decided to order two small boxes so I could skip cooking + grocery shopping the week before and the week after.

It’s not cheap, so there’s that. But each one was super filling, flavorful, and the ease of it kept me from spending $$ running through a drive-thru in between work meetings (or just straight up skipping meals). (Also: I know this doesn’t apply to everyone but the singles are going to say a big AMEN—The portion size is: one. One! You won’t be stuck eating the same leftovers four more times! You don’t have to buy full size of everything, only to split a recipe in half and be left with too much of X and Y but not enough Z in the pantry to make it again! It’s just… done for you. Incredible.)

I’ve now said waaaaaay more about a meal service here than I ever have before, and I know it’s not in all the budgets (heck, it’s not in mine except for when they offer discounts or if it can replace groceries during travel), but after trying a bunch of the meals, I really would recommend it.

Once you sign up, there’s a referral option, and that discount is substantially better than any podcast ad I’ve heard. So: I’m sharing it here! → THIS referral link will give you $150 OFF your first box. Order via that link (select the meals you want and the date for delivery), then pause your account/skip a week/cancel completely!

A couple friends tried it (each one raved about Factor) and just last week, I received this message from an All The Things friend who won¹ a box:

“I finished my Factor Meals. You are so correct that the meats are so good. They are delicious and so tender. I skipped a week then they offered 8 at 50% off so I’ve ordered them for the week after next. I’m not sure if there will continue to be deals but they are very convenient. Two minutes to cook is amazing!”

It’s free food and it’s delicious. This feels like an obvious yes to me, at least for the first box right?!

One of the best inexpensive things from this summer.

No one was more surprised by this than yours truly… I am, after all, the girl who has worn pearl earrings or my favorite thin gold hoops (I think I’ve shared them 3 times in TT so I’ll spare you the redundant link) nearly every single day for, oh, two entire decades… but I’ve apparently entered my “small gold hoops era.” That’s not a real thing but we’re pretending it is because I bought these on a whim this summer and haven’t looked back.

(I realize this is not any kind of actual breaking news, but I’ve literally never worn small gold hoops so this, silly and strange as it is, feels worth sharing.)

When I tell you I went back and purchased another set in case I lost a pair, or for when they’re no longer shiny because honestly how much can you expect for $5.88, I’m not kidding in the slightest. And then I stumbled on this set and yeah, I got that one too.

I’m still me, obvi, so the pearls and the larger thin hoops make an appearance at some point every week, but most days I reach for these because they just go with absolutely everything.

One of the best quotes I read this summer.

File this under “things I’m thinking about” and “things that made me want to shout amen”:

Healing happens when we weep with those who weep, rather than preach at those who grieve. Healing happens when we see a hurting person as a human in need of hope rather than a problem to be solved.

Katherine Wolf, Treasures in the Dark

---

From instrumental music to chicken showing up at your doorstep to good words and earrings that cost all of $1.96 a pair — what a wild time of a Thursday.

Your turn → Click the button below to add one of your summer faves and kick us off, or peruse the comments from others:

Can’t wait to see what you share!

P.s. In case you missed it: A new post for you…

---

Note: A bookshop affiliate link is used in this post.

1. We have giveaways all throughout the year in All The Things because 1) giveaways are fun and 2) I like giving or mailing things to friends. Legitimately, for years I’ve had a running Note on my phone of birthday/Christmas gift ideas for all my people. :) My last Factor box included a code with a one-time discount that could be shared with/used by one person, different from the $150 to anyone above. That wasn’t going to work for Thursday Things, so it remained within All The Things! I’d love for you to join ATT for the giveaways, Zoom calls, gifts in the mail, private Instagram, prints, etc… it really is a joy to me to bless them back for their support that pays for medical appointments each week… But I hope this $150 off code is a blessing to MANY, and that Thursday Things consistently gives a lot for free. <3