Thursday Things #142

The one where we talk about tattoos and towels.

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!

Hello from here, where everyone is hunkered down for a “severe winter event” after losing their minds stocking up on randomness at the grocery store yesterday. This is probably just a regular January day for our cold-weather friends, but here in the south things get a little wild before they get really still (we definitely don’t salt the roads here and I don’t know anyone with snow tires, so until this storm passes over the weekend, basically everything is closed/canceled).

If you need me, I’ll be working / writing / reading / creating from this exact spot for the foreseeable future.

My first social media post of 2026 = my beloved tree forests + a reflection on when words are few + a hunch about not growing weary in doing good. (You can read it/see a few pics of the new house here.)

The lights on the tree don’t work, but the mantle covered in tiny trees slowly collected over many years (and the mini-forests in other rooms… ahem) is enough of a beautifully ordinary view for me, tucked in with a cozy robe (linked below), several blankets, and a book that waited patiently on my TBR list for four years.

I’ve spent the last many evenings creating something new—and free—for all my fellow book lovers, and it’s inspired by my “Read the TBR list” goals for 2026.

Stay tuned… :)

For now, here are four (random) good things for your Thursday:

Hands-free bag holders.

It’s been a hot minute (2022) since I shared this nifty invention¹ in a Thursday Things round-up, but I still use and gift it on a regular basis. Just this weekend I gave a set to a friend and she was delighted, saying it would make things so much easier.

It will. It does.

It’s super simple but will drastically improve your food prep/freezing leftovers game—especially if you’re ladling and freezing soup.

And ‘tis the season for such, right?

Hair towels.

I started using these a couple months ago and while I can’t say I see a difference in my hair (microfiber is supposed to be more gentle/reduce damage), if you have long hair and don’t dry it right away, this is an actual game changer. It’s much lighter than a longer, heavier towel, and it’ll keep your hair up and out of the way until you’re ready to dry/air dry it.

For extra coziness.

I have my lightweight spring/summer robe… but in winter? This one. This one every single evening cozied up with a thick blanket, a good book, a flickering candle and the tree forest I love so much.

Plush, two pockets, and it’s not too heavy—but it really does keep you warm. Depending on the color you choose, some are currently $13 off.

Tattoos.

I tend to (and like to, honestly) stay behind the times and late to the trends when it comes to my own social media accounts. But there’s a trend that caught my eye and a bandwagon I’m jumping on — a couple weeks late, because hashtag #ThatsWhoIAm, but joining in nonetheless.

Just for kicks and giggles, in the midst of everything that 2026 has already held, apparently we’re all momentarily going back to 2016 and sharing a collection of photos from that year.

I’ll share my round-up of 2016 images over on IG tomorrow, but one of them reminded me of something else I’ve been meaning to share here in Thursday Things! If you’ve read my first book, then you know the story behind the tattoo I got in 2016. I still plan to get another one but for now I’m designing my own temporary tattoos and working my way through a set from Dwell. I say working my way through because each design goes with a specific Scripture, and they’re intended to help with memorization.

This is something I was great at growing up (AWANA, anybody?) but truthfully have not prioritized as much in recent years. These have helped, though, because I see the visual all throughout the day.

P.s. I can’t vouch for the quality of similar items from other companies—I’ve only used these from Dwell—but Google can point you to others with a variety of additional designs. FWIW, Dwell also has keychains, jewelry, and stickers if that’s more your thing!

P.p.s. For a while I used a Sharpie pen to write out the first letter of each word—that totally works too, it just washes off/fades much more quickly.

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Several of you commented on Thursday Things #141, and I really appreciated hearing from you. (I’m actually working on a post that’s directly inspired by some of your words!)

Are you up for joining in again? On the theme of 2016 → Leave a comment sharing: What was one of your favorite moments/memories from 2016?

(My answer: Going to Israel for the first time! Best believe pics from that tip will be in tomorrow’s IG carousel.)

P.s. As always, I’d love to hear one of your current faves or recent finds! You can click the comment bubble below to share! And if you’re willing, please tap the heart to give this post some love. It’s an easy (free :)) way to help readers find their way to this corner of the internet, and as a writer I appreciate each heart-tap so much.

1. I’m not an Amazon or DaySpring affiliate, so all items in #142 are just regular ol’ links!