The weekend is here once again, filled with potential and to do lists. I have pretty modest hopes for it--read some good books, bake some things, and maybe take a good sunset hike. Nothing too fancy but just what I need. 

My to-do list includes cleaning all the things, unpacking some more of our garage of never ending boxes, stocking up our pantry for some good food, and maybe getting some writing done.  But first (I love this part),  a few gems from the internet, chosen just for you:

Interesting article about the town that decided to send all its kids to college (!)

This crockpot cashew chicken was a winner for us this week (I used chicken thighs, doubled the recipe, and added more cashews)

Loved Glennon's back-to-school pep talk for her kids: "we don't send you to school to become the best at anything at all...we send you to school to practice being brave and kind."

I've been craving a little artistry in my life lately so I've been doing an online calligraphy class with Maybelle Imasa. I love her!

I also invested in her Etsy calligraphy kit which came with everything I needed--ink, nibs, practice sheets, instruction, pen, paper--and included a little wooden inkwell/pen rest with my name on it and a little personalised note to me.  I noticed she just got picked up by Anthropologie and I'm not surprised! They're selling her starter's kit here.  (As usual, no sponsorship--I just really like her!)

A prudent college path: do an honors program/college at a public university. (It's not the only option nor the best for everyone but I'm probably partial to this because this is what my M decided to do for many of these same reasons. I think it's going to be a great fit for her.)

Denver Public Library has been knocking it out of the park lately: starting sunrise concerts, hiring a social worker to assist the homeless onsite, starting a tool library, doing a phone-a-story for kids of different ages. I love this kind of innovation! (Disclosure: my brother-in-law works at the library. Hi, Frank!). 

This Onion article rang so true beneath the funny: Mom's Fears about Daughter Leaving for College Channeled into Fight about Storage Bins. Doesn't emotion and the stress come out in the most bewildering ways??!

Have you been listening to the Mystery podcast? My friend Melissa suggested it to me when I was in Boston and we've been enjoying it in our family ever since. Starlee Kline solves little nagging mysteries that can't be resolved through Googling them. I suggest you start with the Belt Buckle and then go to Source Code ("Jake Gyllenhaal was becoming my Snuffleupagus"). Put in your earphones and let Starlee entertain you while you take a walk or a drive or do a blitz cleanup around the house.

Photographer Luca Zordan has a fun & poignant series of daily shots of his teen daughter leaving for school, with a quick little summary of the day--the lunch in her lunchbox, what she's listening to. I think it could be an easy documenting project this school year.  (I posted his photos with my One is Not Two post last week--I love how he captures life with kids and teens.)

Listening: I made an off-you-go playlist for Maddy, which is (as you might predict) half sentimental, cathartic farewelling and half peptalky celebration (that old nest and launch duo) with a nod to a few favorite moments and memories. But I confess I've probably been listening to it more than she has. (By the way I highly recommend this exercise even if you don't send it along to anyone--so therapeutic!)

Reading: For a beachy fun read, try The Royal We, which is basically Will/Kate fan fiction if Kate were American and they met at Oxford. It was just the thing for me between weightier reads and I slurped it right up. If you're in the mood for something compelling but more serious, I've just started Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (Iceland, 1800s, murder mystery) and so far so good there, too.

What's in the wings for your weekend? Enjoy!