LIFE BETWEEN WEEKENDS

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. Eleven years ago, I launched a series of Spotify playlists based on a simple premise (inspired by the oft-quoted Garden State proclamation that a song can change your life): The right melodies can change your entire day. Even an “I’m not ready for the week to begin!” Monday morning.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. Joanna Gaines is calling us to lead a life more ordinary—and relish in it. So much so that she devoted the summer 2026 issue of Magnolia Journal to the topic.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. If it seems like everyone you know is talking about the trad-wife-trapped-in-the-Wild-West mind-bender Yesteryear, you’re not imagining things. It’s a New York Times bestseller. It was Good Morning America‘s April 2026 Book Club Pick. And the Indie Next List top pick. When I went to borrow it from my local library, I was 466th in line.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. Spiralizers always seemed a little snake oil-ish to me. They promise to turn any vegetable into faux-pasta, but I just couldn’t believe it. Texturally, maybe, but taste-wise? Fuhgettaboutit. Then I received a handheld spiralizer.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. Thanks to paleo diets and spiralizers, zucchini has never been hotter. It’s popping up in all sorts of dishes, and while I’m a huge fan of my one and only zuke recipe (Can I call ’em zukes? Is that a thing?), I figured it was time to branch out. Enter: stuffed zucchini boats.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. Whether you’re a student, teacher or someone in need of a halfway-through-the-year fresh start, a mid-year or academic planner can be a game-changer.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. After spending all day in front of a screen, the last thing I want to do is gaze into another screen. Or two. And yet, I do.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. We’re living in an era of serious food nostalgia. We want the snacks we grew up with, the discontinued treats—the things that make us smile and harken back to a simpler time. So maybe that’s why I couldn’t resist making my own eight-ingredient riff on Pop-Tarts…and giving them the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids treatment.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. As much as I love craft projects, I’ll be honest: All too often, I finish them and…don’t know what to do with them (especially my freehand painting). That’s why I tend to stick to baking projects, where I can eat the finished result, or candle-making. It’s got to be useful, so it doesn’t feel like clutter.

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here. Last spring, I’d been feeling strangely tense, with these angry flare-ups the second anyone called my name. It could be my kids, my husband, a friend—and they could simply be wanting a hug or asking what I wanted for lunch. There was no reason for me to feel this sudden burst of rage. It made no sense.