Greeting friends. It's August 1st! The day of the return of Diet Coke. I'm already anticipating that tingly, refreshing goodness. Other than that, I'm hoping for a productive weekend. I finally got all of my drapes up in the living room, but they still need to be hemmed, and I have a tall pile of books to plow through -- a task I'm greatly looking forward to. Just a handful of weekends left before school takes over, so let's seize the day! Also, could someone make my house look like the picture below? Thanks in advance.

The New York Times has an article that addresses anxiety in teens. It focuses primarily on brain development and is fairly scientific (rather than anecdotal), but it's a worthwhile read if you feel your teen is struggling in this area.

A great collection of New Yorker stories. We only have three months to read them! And then a pay wall goes up. (I detest pay walls.)

I'm ruminating on this idea of nothing as actually being something. Hey, it's time to try new things. "Summer holidays and the tao of doing nothing."

Are you guys following the Ebola epidemic in Liberia? It's heartbreaking and scary.

I'm working on (in my mind) a roman shade for a small window at the back of my kitchen. This tutorial looks good for the full monty, but I don't really need it to be operable . . . so I'm thinking about attempting this no-sew version.

Photo clipboards: I like the idea of hanging these and then changing out pictures.

I'm 43, and still I'm a sucker for a friendship bracelet. These look quick and do-able.

That's it, folks! Happy weekending.