Many stores are already starting to release their Halloween goodies. Michael's has some on their website and it sounds like many stores will be putting some things on the shelves this weekend! At Home, always the first to put out their Halloween decor, has the lead again, with people spotting items at many locations.
There's a video of an abandoned McDonald's restaurant from the 1980s going around TikTok right now. Hundreds of thousands of viewers have watched it, but why? Perhaps they're just curious about what an old McDonald's looked like. As a child of the 80s, I can tell you that it featured lots of brown.
There are so many cute cat scratching posts around today that it's hard to not buy them all. My favorite deal on a cat scratcher was when we used our flu shot gift cards from Target on one last year! It was a Halloween house and very cute. I also love the houses that Aldi sells for Halloween and Christmas, although they always sell out so fast.
Last minute party games for kids in a pinch is a cinch. You can make any game out of who can do it the fastest, slowest, silliest... I've also tied a string to a spoon and had kids race to see who can make the biggest line by threading it through their clothes, had kids try to get clothes pins into a cup by standing over it and dropping them from their nose height, and even seen who can blow the most wet paint with a straw across a piece of paper. Oh to be a kid and easily pleased again!
Most people know what they like when it comes to a good cocktail. Some people love a fresh garnish. I know I love most of my cocktails ice cold, so I like to shake a lot of them. I also know where to get lots of flavors without added sugar or calories to make just about any flavor I want. Lots of people have tips and tricks they swear by.
One of the best TikTok comedians is known for his prowess in the kitchen. B. Dylan Hollis is a hilarious TikToker who scrounges up old recipes from the 60s and beyond to create for our viewing pleasure. He finds the most obnoxious desserts to make, often resulting in a giant fatty mess, a gelatinous blob or even something that's actually palatable.
Aprons aren't my thing, especially while gardening. I had to wear them in multiple jobs and never enjoyed them so I tend to just let myself get dirty when I garden! Sometimes I'll use a tote (my dad is a carpenter and he taught me the trick of putting a toolbelt around a five-gallon bucket and using it for my tools) but honestly it's usually just my trowel and me. If I'm lugging around a lot, I might even stick it in the flat I bought plants in, an empty soil bag... you name it. I'm even known to use my shirt front as a sling to carry eggs in!
This week's poem from The Guardian is one that I'm absolutely in love with. "A Nocturnal Reverie" by Anne Finch is exactly how it sounds--a love letter to the night. Written back in the 1600s, it still fits to this day, which is the most magical aspect of the poem. No matter how things have changed, no matter how much tech we consume, we can all still appreciate a beautiful night full of owl sounds and starlight.
In honor of Family Guy's Emmy nomination for outstanding voice-over character performance, the show's Twitter account has asked fans this question. So, what is your favorite Seth MacFarlane quote?
My water company sent me an email with tips on saving water, and I'm all about doing that. We use a far lower rate than our neighbors and there was a time when I was even trying to use grey water. But a sentence in the email made me panic: At least 40 states are expecting water shortages by 2024.
Rumors about Sammy Hagar being invited to join The Grateful Dead have spread but the rockstar denies them. Hagar says that Jerry Garcia indeed invited him to jam once, saying that he really dug Sammy's music, which must have been a pretty incredible experience. Following the performance, Mountain Girl told him that he owned the song "Loose Lucy" now and that he should be in the band. There was some joking but it never got farther than that.
I'm due for a new bathing suit, and as a nonbinary person I tend to prefer trunks and a swim shirt. That said, if I found something I liked well enough, I'd try it out, and the idea of frogs on my swimwear makes me so happy! Do you have any suggestions for froggy swimwear?
There are so many great deals and finds this week, including a few Halloween goodies or hints dropped by Target and Bath & Body! Here are some others:
Powerful Nutrition has a new loyalty program where you can earn points as you shop to get rewards. I love their powerful bites as snacks and am going to look into it.
The sandwich is one of the simplest concepts, and it doesn't take much to make one. Stick just about anything between two pieces of bread and you've got one. But some people have elevated the sandwich into something truly special, moving beyond the standard PB&J or turkey on wheat--both delicious in their own ways!
