Weekend Reading Round-Up: Leaving Neverland, Plant Care Tips, Amazing Building Projects, and a Cocktail Recipe for Spring
the best posts from my favorite blogs this week
I’m taking a break from DIY projects and home renovations to share some other goodies from around the web! Every Friday morning, come back here for a round-up of the things I’ve discovered online this week! From DIY building, home decor, parenting and recipe ideas, these blog posts are all the best of the best! I don’t want you to miss them.
There are a lot of blogs in the universe. Here’s how I keep track of my favorite ones, without needing some fancy app: Bookmarks! That’s right. I go so old-school. I have a Bookmarks Tab in my web browser that I’ve dubbed “blogs I love”. The I find a new blog that has content I like, I add their home page to the list. Then when I’m bored or have a spare five minutes, I like to pull up this tab and browse through each of these bloggers’ most recent posts. Here’s a screenshot of what my bookmarks look like. I have a lot of blogs saved, so this is just a sampling:
Now that you know the secret to my sauce, let’s get to it! Here are my favorite posts from the Blogosphere this week:
DIY Ballard Designs-Inspired Console Table for $35!
This DIY building project from Anika Gandhi at Anika’s DIY Life looks so good and the tutorial is easy to follow. I love the stain she chose but I’d really love to see this is a fresh pop of color for Spring! Or red! Go bold, people!
Lemon and Rose Cocktail Recipe For Spring
A decade ago, I made my best friend teach me how to drink whiskey. My reasoning? My pink cocktails didn’t look nearly as cool as her Jameson on the rocks. Now I’m older and I care so little about how cool I look so bring on all the pink drinks, please! This gorgeous cocktail from Mansa at This Is Simplicite is putting me right in the mood for Spring brunches. It’s super simple and can also be made without alcohol for those Wednesday afternoons.
Monstera Propagation and Care Tips From A Plant Goddess
It’s no secret that I’m a terrible plant mom. I do really try (see this post for proof) but I still have a lot to learn. Luckily, Carmeon at Cohesive Randomness is a legit expert and is now sharing her best tips and tricks for that plant life. I have dreams of a sun-filled space with all the houseplants and a monstera is one of my dream plants. I’m definitely bookmarking this post for the next house!
A Truly Genius Dog Crate Built Into A Bookcase (with a hidden doggie door for outside access)
I don’t currently have a dog and I know with certainty that any dog I ever do have in my home would never fit in here but that doesn’t stop me from being genuinely impressed with this. Brianna at Bloom In The Black had a vision of this idea while in the shower (where all good ideas come from, let’s be real). Then she sketched it out and brought her vision to life with the help of a pro. It’s also insanely beautiful, proving that pet mom life doesn’t have to be all ugly wire crates and chewed up dog beds.
How To Watch Leaving Neverland With An Open Mind and Heart
Sorry to be a bummer, you guys, but Christine and I watched Leaving Neverland this week and it’s been laying so heavily on my heart. When we hear stories of people who are suing celebrities for cash, we tend to assume they’re money-hungry. For me, that was absolutely the case with the boys and men who alleged abuse by Michael Jackson.
Then I watched the documentary and I heard their stories. I watched their body language. I noticed subtle cues. I saw myself in both of these men.
As a survivor of sexual assault and a victim of mental manipulation from a person in power (two very separate instances but both just as relevant), I heard my voice in the words they spoke. I felt them pulling the words from the pits of their stomachs. I connected with their loved ones’ explanations of the years of anxiety and self-hatred both of these men have experienced. They were telling their own stories but in the words of venerable Roberta Flack, I felt he found my letter and read each word out loud.
It’s so hard to understand the manipulation that survivors of abuse endure in order to ensure their compliance and silence. For that reason, I’m highly recommending you read this piece by Juliette Virzi for The Mighty. It’s a relatively short read but it casts so much light on the mental states of abuse survivors. If you plan to watch Leaving Neverland, or if you’ve already watched it and still don’t understand how something so atrocious could be kept secret for so long, please read this piece.
As for what we do with Michael Jackson – where we place him in the history of American pop culture – I really don’t know. Truthfully, I’m not even sure that’s relevant to the discussion. I think the real question is What do we do with ourselves?
We’re now forced to view our own complicity under a microscope and that’s the harder thing to do, isn’t it? To admit that we, as a society, allowed our desire to have a king override the protection of our princes. And, damn, that’s a hard pill to swallow.
xoxo
Teri
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