A few things I'm loving lately:

1. I think it's possible that I've tried nearly every natural deodorant on the market, and none of them have really stood the test of time. Until now. I know nothing about what makes this one special, I just know that it works for me. And smells fantastic (Rosy Pits and Sunny Pits are my two favorite scents.) Which is really the point, right?

2. One of my great loves in life is to travel. My lifestyle, however, doesn't always align with taking the kinds of (or amounts of) trips I'd love to take. I realized - sometime at the start of this year - that I didn't necessarily need to actually go anywhere to enjoy travel: sometimes reading about other's adventures and paging through pictures of places near and far can be joyful and fulfilling. A subscription to Afar magazine has added destinations to my growing list, inspiration to my imagination, and a cultural (and logisitical) education to my life. It turns out armchair travel really is a thing.

3. I first heard the band Little Feat as a kid (who could ever forget a lyric like "If you'll be my Dixie chicken, I'll be your Tennessee lamb?") but didn't really listen in earnest until college and beyond. When I stumbled upon their tour calendar very randomly last month and saw a show happening a couple of hours away, I snagged last-minute tickets the evening of the concert and drove up with my 16-year-old music-loving daughter. We were definitely the youngest fans in the audience, and it was a delight to see and hear such incredibly talented musicians live. A long-time groupie (who explained he'd been catching Little Feat shows since before we were both born) stopped us after the show and exclaimed how refreshing and encouraging it was to see a teenager appreciate that kind of music. On our way out, my daughter scored a setlist from the band's sound technician (no doubt because she was the youngest person there by a solid 40 years,) and I think it secured her appreciation of the band forever. Our latest Shopify playlist features some Little Feat favorites among other loved tunes - new and old.

4. I have become obsessed with Yemeni coffee. It happened purely by accident one Saturday morning when I decided to reward myself for getting up early to ship orders from my local post office branch, rather than waiting until Monday. I knew there was a coffee shop called Bayt al Mocha about which I'd heard great things next door, but I had no idea what a discovery I'd make there. (Good news, Kentucky and Michigan friends, they have locations in both states!) I loved reading about the rich history of coffee in Yemen and throughout the Middle East while I waited for my drink, and the coffee itself (I had the Mufawar) was transformative. 

5. Who doesn't love a good hang? And with Amy Poehler at the helm of this new favorite podcast, it's a marvelous mix of fun, funny, down-to-earth, self-deprecating, easy-going gab. And her guests are pretty great, too.