For this year’s warm weather spring break pursuit, our family roadtripped to St. Simons Island, one of Georgia’s barrier islands and part of the Golden Isles. It’s adjacent to past destination Jekyll Island and similar in feel to last year’s pick Hilton Head, but it had a charm all of its own. I’d love to tell you about it and share a few photos, if you’d like to see!

How we chose St. Simons, in short:

1) John is committed to a warm weather spring break trip.
2) We generally try not to fly all five of us unless it’s necessary because of the expense.
3) Over the years, we’ve found that lower Georgia is a reasonable road trip that reliably delivers warm, beachy weather.

After casting about for something new, we landed on St. Simons!

Sunday was our day of departure, and mostly spent en route. We listened to The Mona Lisa Vanishes audiobook for free through Libby and the big kids and grown-ups all enjoyed it. (I suspect Annie liked it a little less than last year’s pick, The Wild Robot.) We also stopped for lunch at old favorite Lowcountry Produce, and I only mention it because I had one of the best salads of my life at their table: chopped romaine, lemon dijon vinaigrette, warm red potatoes, bacon, goat cheese, tomatoes…! Must recreate.

Upon arrival in Georgia, we unloaded the car, toured the house, did a little unpacking, then drove over to Ember for our first dinner. Though in a strip mall, it’s a low-lit, fancier vibe inside. We split several wood-fired pizzas, which were very thin-crusted but yummy.

Monday morning dawned beautifully sunny (a theme, as you will soon see!). We slept in and let the kids watch part of 101 Dalmatians on the TV in their bunk room after they woke up — the height of luxury. Lest you think I’m completely anti-screen, they did this every morning, and it was a highlight of the trip :)

Our big adventure of the day was biking to the eleven public “Tree Spirits” around the island. Carved into live oak trees by a father-son duo, these fanciful pirates, mermaids, and faces were fun to spot as we criss-crossed the island on our bikes.

Our route was a 12-mile round trip (!), though we stopped along the way to watch small planes land and take off on the airstrip, to tour the St. Simons Island lighthouse, and to eat lunch at Porch, a chicken emporium.

Porch got two thumbs up from the whole family; my spicy fried chicken sandwich with pimento cheese, pickles, and coleslaw was especially delicious. (It might have been my favorite meal of the whole trip.) We also lingered to play a few rounds of corn hole and giant connect-four on the lawn before hopping back on our bikes.

As for our other midday stop, the lighthouse was beautiful and the visitors center looked brand new. A fun feature of this lighthouse as compared to others we’ve visited: we got to tour the keeper’s house, which was outfitted with period furnishings. There was also a 10-minute movie playing on a loop with the history of the lighthouse and keepers that we watched before we climbed to the top.

The whole adventure was enjoyable, but I will admit it was not the most relaxing for me. This was Annie’s first vacation riding her own bike versus riding in the trailer or a bike seat, and while she is an excellent bike rider (especially for a four year old!), she is nowhere near as reliable as the big kids: she’s more likely to get distracted, to stop short, to zig and zag when she shouldn’t, or get rattled by a pot hole. Plus, she takes up about one-quarter the visual space of John, so I felt the need to be right on her at all times to make sure that cars could see us both. Needless to say, I was on high alert the entire time.

That being said, the route was essentially completely flat, which made us feel we could bike for miles – and we did! There are multi-use paths throughout the whole island (which was the only way this worked), but just as a heads up I felt that they were a little closer to the roads, or the roads were a little busier, than in either HHI or Jekyll Island. 

After finding all 11 Spirits (and playing some hoops on the basketball court in the park near the last one), we triumphantly rode back home. We swam in the backyard pool for about an hour before quick showers and changing for dinner.

Even in our fancier clothes we ended up biking to dinner (one of my favorite parts of vacation!), which was just up the road at the Georgia Sea Grill. This was definitely a fancier restaurant, with some older gentlemen in jackets. (I love a clientele that’s not afraid to dress up!) Service was leisurely and our kids were ready to go by the time the check came, but the food was delicious and they did a great job keeping a lid on things. Once home, the kids quickly got into pajamas and I read a few chapters of our current readaloud before lights out, though Annie fell asleep a few paragraphs into the first chapter :) It was a big day for little four-year-old legs!

On Tuesday we followed a blueprint that we perfected last year in Hilton Head: beach, pool, cookout at home. We began the SSI version by biking to town for breakfast at Palmer’s Village Cafe, which was delicious but had a very long wait. (We browsed in the nearby library to kill some of it.)

Then we packed up our beach cart (our rental house had come with a rental credit, which we used for the cart, two adult bikes, and a skimboard) and walked to the beach, which Shep calculated at 149 steps from our rental’s front door. We played for a few hours, building sand castles, throwing the frisbee, trying the skimboard, and wading out to a sandbar. 

Once back at the house, we hopped in the pool and enjoyed some poolside snacks we’d picked up at the Winn-Dixie earlier that week: Croc Bites cheese, crackers, salami, grapes, and baby carrots. Later, John fired up the grill and we ate hot dogs and chips poolside. We ended the evening with a short bike ride to Moo Cow for ice cream cones, then it was showers and a Tuesday-edition family movie night viewing of Zootopia 2, which we all enjoyed. We have very few photos from this day, which we’ll take as a sign of a good time!

Wednesday morning started early. We ate breakfast at home, then drove an hour south to St. Mary’s, the port town for Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Longtime readers might remember that Cumberland holds a special place in our hearts: John and I first visited this barrier island the spring break of our senior year in college. We returned many years later with June and Shep, in 2021, but since Annie had never visited, we decided to tack it onto this trip, too. It’s something of a liminal space for us, shifting effortlessly between past and present.

All rocking our M22 gear! We can’t wait to go back this summer!!

We took the 9:30am ferry over. It was another beautiful day, which made the 45-minute ride through the marshes a delight. Our four hours on the island were spent walking along the beach (we found three sand dollars and a giant blue whelk!), eating our packed picnic lunch beside the Dungeness ruins, and exploring the live oak forest luxuriously draped in Spanish moss. And all along the way, we saw wild horses — more than 20, including some babies.

Though they tell you to stay at least 50 feet away, the horses aren’t shy about coming quite close to visitors, as you can see below :)

We also got to see a sea turtle rescue in progress! This gal was being carted off the island after being found with too many barnacles on her shell. They were taking her to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which we’d visited!

Several kids napped on the hourlong drive back to St. Simons, charging us up for a quick bike over to Southern Soul BBQ for dinner.

We were really looking forward to it, as we had biked by the day before and it had smelled so good, but… we were disappointed. However, I think we’re liable for some of the blame — as good North Carolinians, we ordered pulled pork with vinegar sauce, and it was pretty flavorless. Maybe we should have ordered the brisket, or their signature sweet sauce? However, the coleslaw and potato salad were also pretty flavorless, so I don’t think the blame rests solely with us.

We biked home, stopping by St. Simons Sweets for ice cream cones before an evening dip in the pool and showers before turning on Survivor. 

As our last full day, we had kept Thursday’s itinerary purposefully open so that we could revisit favorites from earlier in the week if we wanted. We started with breakfast at Palm Coast, which ended up being everyone’s favorite breakfast spot. (We were seated right away, which probably helped!) Then we biked our way over to the World War II Home Front Museum. 

Housed in the original Coast Guard station for St. Simons Island, it’s operated by the same group as the lighthouse museum, the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. Both of these museums were beautiful, impressive, and really well done — they must have some generous benefactors!

The kids truly enjoyed the Home Front Museum. You know how sometimes you go to a museum and the technology is pretty cruddy? This was not that. Everything was custom, responsive, clever, and so well done. We completed radar training, navigated airships, learned to tie knots, built Liberty ships, sent code, and more. We spent about two hours at the museum before biking over to lunch at Fiddler’s, which won top marks from all of us for vibes. Our food was great, too!

And then we were off for a final beach visit. It started out great: Annie and I sculpted a mermaid in the sand, June and Shep worked on a sand barrier at the shoreline, and John perfected his skim boarding technique. Inspired by his progress, I gave it a few more goes… only to crumple to the sand in pain on my third try. To make a long story short, the pain worsened throughout the afternoon and evening (including through dinner at Coastal Kitchen, which was otherwise very nice) – I even made John carry me out to the car because I didn’t feel I could walk on it. After ice, elevation, pain meds, and a night of sleep, I was feeling much better in the morning. We still went straight to the urgent care orthopedic clinic once back in Raleigh, where they confirmed I had a midfoot sprain (but thankfully no fracture!).

A week later, I am out of my boot, mostly pain-free, and almost walking normally. I trust the happy memories from our trip will far outlast the hiccup at the end :)

One more tiny detail to share! Throughout the week we worked on a Magic Puzzle, and it was the perfect interstitial activity. We did one for the first time last spring break after borrowing it from my sister and liked it so much we decided to buy a different one and bring it along. They’re really well done, complete with intricate illustrations, novelty-shape pieces, and a shape-shifting surprise at the end. Highly recommend!

As always, thank you for letting me share! I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about St. Simons in the comments!

On my calendar:
— Spring sports! Annie is playing soccer at the fields in our neighborhood, June is playing town soccer, and Shep is trying baseball for the first time. June and I are also enrolled in a four-week JUMP ROPE CLINIC starting later this month. Pray for my knees!!
— A one-night campout with our church CG family. Fingers crossed for a warmer night and for the pollen to have washed away!
— A bike ride with a dear friend on the American Tobacco Trail. We’re planning to bike the full length and then meet our families for dinner at the American Tobacco Campus before driving home!

What I’m loving right now:
— Is it weird to say my own podcast interview? I can’t say I really love listening to my own recorded voice – it will never not be weird – but I am so grateful to have been a guest on my friend Katelyn’s podcast and hope it’s helpful to anyone who chooses to listen!
— I am super late to the game but I’ll go ahead and mention it anyway: I am loving Olivia Dean’s album The Art of Loving. Smooth, jazzy, fun – it’s my nightly dinner-making accompaniment.
— I’m out of time to write a blog post about this year’s Easter baskets, but I did want to share some of the goodies I’ve collected! As always, it’s a mix of new, consignment, and hand-me-down finds. I’ve linked everything I can here and am especially fond of the floral embroidered cross. Last year’s baskets here!

As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!

What you’re loving right now:

This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!

— Annie’s colorful patterned socks. (Florals! Stripes! Dots!) So soft and fun.
— These tiny gold hoop earrings from my Christmas wish list. They look so good with every outfit!
— The Summersalt Ruffle Oasis one piece. Mine has finally bit the dust after 5+ years and I love the style so much I rebought it (in this berry + melon combo!). Order 1-2 sizes up!
— The tanning drops I mix into my face lotion each night. A bottle lasts me a year! More current skincare here.
— My giant sun hat, because we all know skincare won’t go too far without physical sun protection.

Last month on The Connected Family:
— Wait, you have a landline?! | Our review of the screen-free, kid-friendly Tin Can landline phone
— 5 very practical things we do to have free-range kids | And not panic all the time.
— In good company | Everyone needs identity, belonging, and purpose.
— Care creates contentment | Tiny actions that can help in a few different categories.

What I read in March:
— Writing Creativity and Soul | This is Sue Monk Kidd’s book on craft. I think she is a magical writer, and though I don’t currently write fiction, I enjoyed getting a peek behind the curtain at her practices. Likely not that relevant if you’re not a writer or SMK super fan.
—Theo of Golden | Let me start by saying — I love this book! I love the characters, I love the quiet pacing, I love the fact that it’s a word-of-mouth smash hit, and most of all I love that a book that so clearly honors the concept of Imago Dei (the idea that all humans are created to reflect God’s nature, possessing inherent dignity, worth, and a divine imprint) has such visibility. That being said, my expectations were through the roof based on the universal effusive reviews, and the reality didn’t quite meet them – I’d have tightened the narrative a bit in a few places. But Theo is still 100% worth your time!
— Liturgy of the Ordinary | My main takeaway from this book: Tish Harrison Warren walked so Justin Whitmel Earley could run. Tish’s book is very similar to Justin’s The Common Rule (and equally lovely!), but I have to say I think I preferred Justin’s just a bit – the latter is a little more practical and structured. However, if you’re looking for ideas to infuse faith practices into everyday life, and to notice the extraordinary in the ordinary, I’m confident you’ll enjoy Tish’s book.
— The Covenant of Water | The adjective “sweeping” was made for books like this. Here’s the description: “Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, Abraham Verghese’s masterful novel follows three generations of a Christian family in Kerala, South India, that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning. As the novel opens, a twelve-year-old girl is sent by boat to her wedding, where she meets her husband for the first time. She joins a prosperous household and becomes known as Big Ammachi, the matriarch of an extraordinary family that will endure hardship, celebrate triumph, and witness unthinkable changes over the coming decades. An exquisite modern classic, The Covenant of Water is an unforgettable and stunning epic of love, faith, and medicine.” The characters! The plotting! Truly incredible and I highly recommend it. (If you love the Pillars of the Earth series, you will love this one.) Just know it is about four inches thick, ha.

My reading list for 2026! I’m 5 / 24 so far.

Revisiting my March goals:
Make final decisions and orders for our master bathroom and built-in projects (Work is underway!)
Hang string lights in our backyard (Didn’t quite get to the backyard but we did hang them on our porch!)
Tag clothes for the consignment sale
Complete final prep for and enjoy June’s birthday trip
Host an Easter potluck and egg hunt for our neighbors (I couldn’t quite get it together to host this this year – planning on next year!)
Nail down camping dates with the Rays and our small group (Small group: )
Shop for donation Easter baskets with the kids
Prep my own kids’ Easter baskets
Tend to this month’s clutter spot: Shep’s bookshelf

April goals:
— Write the first draft of my Sunday service. I’ve once again volunteered to lead a service at our Island this summer. (The last time was — *checks notes* — four years ago.) I’m excited to do it, as it’s one of my very favorite traditions and I want to do my part to support it, but in order for it not to become stressful I plan to start and finish it far in advance. I already have a concept!
— Film Annie in April
— Hang string lights in our backyard
— Research outdoor movie set-ups and choose date for first movie
— Tend to this month’s clutter spot: the third floor bookshelf
— Choose a new wallpaper for the bathroom and otherwise continue to manage our renovation projects

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2026 PowerSheets goals!

Grateful for you, friends! Please feel free to comment on anything I’ve mentioned here or anything else on your mind!

Affiliate links are used in this post!

As some of you might remember, we were on the cusp of doing a master bath renovation in our old house until a stalled contractor and then our move changed our plans. I’m so grateful that the timing worked out as it did, both because we saved money we didn’t need to spend at our old house and because we’ve already done a bunch of thinking about bathrooms that’s served us well in our new house. And in a full-circle moment, we’re using the same contractor.

The plan, in short: we are taking out the tub, enclosing the toilet, moving and enlarging the shower, and moving the vanity — plus switching out the tile, adding millwork and wallpaper, and replacing the fixtures. I am excited and grateful. A peek at the before:

Here are a few inspiration photos. None are exactly what we have planned, of course, but they should give you an idea of the direction we’re headed:

Credits, top to bottom and left to right: unknown, unknown, Erin Gates, House Nine Design, unknown, Wind the Key

And here’s a look at some of our materials!

While the crew is in our house, we’re also having them add built-ins to our main room. Since this space is so central to the downstairs, I hope this change will really set the tone for the whole floor and make our next steps clearer. It also will give us a mantel (yay stockings!) and of course much more closed and open storage for books (so many books!), games, and toys. Again, I am excited and grateful. 

Here’s a rough mock-up of the plan I made with ChatGPT. It’s not quite right, but gives you an idea of what we’re going for!

Will try to share more as we go! Let me know if this was enjoyable — trying to push myself to share shorter posts so I can publish a bit more frequently :) 

So – here we go! My morning and evening skincare routine in my late-30’s.

Rise and shine! Here’s my morning routine:

1. Splash my face with water and pat dry. I’ve found there’s no need to cleanse in the morning. I’m hoping this retains more moisture in my skin!

2. Apply vitamin C serum. Vitamin C serum supposedly has antioxidant and ant-aging properties, and is supposed to give your skin a brighter, more radiant, and more even appearance. It’s one of the two products (along with retinol) it seems everyone recommends in your 30’s, and so I figured it would behoove me to try it. Even though I’ve used it for several years I’ve never really seen any positive effects from it I can isolate, but maybe it’s meant to be more of a protectant than something you see noticeable results from? I do think it gives me an extra layer of moisture, which I appreciate.

I have used many different vitamin Cs over the years — Mad Hippie, Timeless, Biossance, Barefaced — and have never really been able to tell a difference between them. I tend to try something new each time I have to restock. Whatever I’m using, I apply a few drops with my fingers and blend it in all over my face and neck, then wait for it to dry before putting on the next layer…

3. Apply sunscreen. I converted to Elta MD almost a decade ago and I predict it will be a lifelong love affair. It is not inexpensive, but to hear any skin expert talk, the absolute best thing you can do for your skin is wear sunscreen daily. I use one pump all over my face and any extra on my neck (amount shown below!). The Elta glides on smoothly, leaves no white cast, has a nice (very light) smell, and layers well under makeup. It’s also nice that it’s moisturizing enough that I don’t need to use a separate moisturizer, which helps justify the price!

I happily attribute the health of my skin at almost-40 to consistent daily sunscreen on my face since I was 20.

4. Apply deodorant. Like serums, I’ve cycled through natural deodorants over the years. I’ve used Wild for the last year or so and really like it!

5. Brush my teeth. I think doing this step at this point in the routine gives everything a chance to sink in before applying makeup. I use this toothpaste which I’ve raved about before – it actually does seem to whiten without causing pain!

6. Swipe on lip balm. Aquaphor for the win!

Time for bed! Here’s how I end the day:

1. Wash with charcoal soap. Almost a decade in, this product continues to be a slam-dunk winner for me! You cannot beat the price, and I feel like it continues to do so much to balance out my oily/dry skin. I’ve even turned John onto it! After I rinse, I’ll wipe my face all over with a clean, wet wash cloth, which serves as a gentle exfoliator. I am really weird about using an actual clean wash cloth every day, so I bought a cheap pack of 12 for $4 and just toss them in the wash with our whites!

I’ll also gently swipe my eyes with the Makeup Eraser to remove eye makeup at this point.

2. Swipe on toner with a cotton round. I was so sad to see that one of my ride-or-die products, a REN toner I’ve repurchased more than ten times, was discontinued earlier this year. It was the only thing that made a difference for the dry, flaky skin on my forehead, and I didn’t want to go back. After consulting the internet, I gave this Pixi toner a try. A month in, it seems to be working really well. I squirt a quarter-size amount onto a reusable cotton round and swipe it all over my face and neck.

3. Moisturize. This Neutrogena moisturizer was a lucky drugstore find — it’s light and sinks so effortlessly into my skin, yet is SO moisturizing and balancing. Every other day I add a drop (literally one drop!) of this tanning liquid to my moisturizer and mix them in my palm before smoothing it over my face. I find that a little more color on my face helps balance out any redness and makes it easier to wear lighter makeup.

On my body, I use the very unfancy Jergens Ultra Healing lotion, which is very moisturizing but sinks in well and doesn’t leave me greasy. In the spring, I’ll sometimes use the Saltyface tanning foam on my legs to give me a little more color.

4. Brush my teeth and swipe on more Aquaphor. Obviously :)

I’ve rounded up everything in this post right here for ease.

And that’s it! I’d love to hear the MVPs from your morning or evening skincare routine! I’m also interested in trying retinol – maybe once I turn 40 :) – so leave a note if you love yours. And I also have a beauty routine in the works if that’s of interest!

Affiliate links are used in this post!

On my calendar:
— Spring break! We are road tripping to St. Simon’s Island, adjacent to one of our perennial favorites: Jekyll Island.
— The fourth annual Articles Club retreat! We have plans to play Mahjong, exchange AC-themed favorite things, eat good food, make goal punch cards, chat, walk, read, craft, maybe cold plunge, and so much more.
— June’s tenth birthday weekend getaway in Charlotte! The itinerary is finalized and we’re all so excited. I’ll be sharing more about it on TCF in the weeks to come!

What I’m loving right now:
— I’ve long been a fan of the Birds & Bees ladies — John and I took their course a few years ago and I highly recommend it — and I really enjoyed this recent episode with them on the Raising Boys & Girls podcast.
— My Summersalt Ruffle Oasis one piece has finally bit the dust after 5+ years and I love the style so much I’m going to rebuy it (likely in this berry + melon combo). I also have the Sidestroke and though it seems like it’s ubiquitous on the internet I get compliments every time I wear it to the pool. I recommend ordering 1-2 sizes up!
— Speaking of summer: I bought this oversize sun hat last year when I was ready for something new in the sun protection game. It’s giant and I love it.

As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!

What you’re loving right now:

This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!

— This navy sweater jacket, my new favorite thing to wear. Sometimes I’ll layer a white tee underneath, but it can also be worn as-is, buttoned up. Ladylike but also somehow casual enough for weekday mom life?
— These tiny box cutters. They come in a four-pack so you’ll always have one within reach.
— Annie’s colorful patterned socks. (Florals! Stripes! Dots!) So soft and fun.
— These tiny gold hoop earrings from my Christmas wish list. They look so good with every outfit!
— The unfancy-but-workhorse detangling brush that has been handling my girls’ hair forever. (Paired with this conditioner and this spray, which I need to reorder.)

Last month on The Connected Family:
— Who are we trying to impress? | “It is nice to be praised and admired, and I can’t help saying I like it.”
— A day in the life of The Connected Family | The winter, workday edition with a 10-, 7-, and 4-year-old
— My personal guidelines for sharing my kids online | Big-picture thoughts, practical concerns, and the rules I follow to keep things safe + sustainable
— Sharing kids online: five friends weigh in | And their perspectives cover a range of approaches.

What I read in February:
— Little Women | Epic. I’ve wanted to do read this book for quite some time (at least since the 2019 movie adaption came out!) and I’m very glad I finally made time for it. It is so good and pure and delightful and wise and just makes you want to be a better mom and sister and friend, in the most gentle and loving way. This might have been my first time reading this classic but it will not be my last.
— Come On Home | Eh. I agreed with most everything in this book, but what I loved was mostly the quotes from other books which she used liberally throughout. I’d skip it and read the books she quoted instead: The Lifegiving Home; Hold Onto Your Kids; Habits of the Household; and Hunter, Gather, Parent, to start. Or just read Little Women and get your parenting advice from there, ha!
— Small Things Like These | Claire Keegan’s slim novel (novella?) is set in 1985 in a small Irish town. Bill, a coal merchant and family man, makes a discovery one morning which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. A “deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy,” this one feels like falling into a well, and then surfacing a short time later, blinking in the sun. I read it in one sitting.

My reading list for 2026! I’m 4 / 24 so far.

Revisiting my February goals:
Finalize the itinerary for June’s tenth birthday trip (Done! We can’t wait!)
Finish learning the jump rope routine (No progress on the routine with my knee issues but I have been ending every strength session with some jumping.)
Diligently complete daily exercises to help with my knee pain
Record June’s birthday interview
Finish going through my phone screenshots (So happy to have completed this!!!)
Attend to February’s clutter spot: our “library” on the first floor
Enjoy celebrating my birthday
Prepare well for my very first TCF podcast interview (I gave practicing my all and I’m pleased with how it went! Will let you know when it’s live.)

March goals:
— Make final decisions and orders for our master bathroom and built-in projects – scheduled to start in April!
— Hang string lights in our backyard
— Tag clothes for the consignment sale
— Complete final prep for and enjoy June’s birthday trip
— Host an Easter potluck and egg hunt for our neighbors
— Nail down camping dates with the Rays and our small group
— Shop for donation Easter baskets with the kids
— Prep my own kids’ Easter baskets
— Tend to this month’s clutter post: Shep’s bookshelf

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2026 PowerSheets goals!

Grateful for you, friends! Please feel free to comment on anything I’ve mentioned here or anything else on your mind!

Affiliate links are used in this post!

On my calendar:
— The Olympics! I anticipate having it on in the background for much of the month and turning up the volume when figure skating is on. I’m especially excited to watch this guy. (gift link!)
— Valentine’s Day! It’s on a Saturday, but I’m planning to welcome the kids home from school the day before with a little surprise tea spread laid out on the table (likely store-bought, no shame there). Any excuse to use all those Southern Weddings cake stands ;) And the mailbox is still going strong!
— My birthday! I’ll be coming off a weekday work trip to Texas and so want to give some thought as to how I can help it feel special and restful amidst the chaos of travel and returning home.

What I’m loving right now:
— You’ve probably seen me mention jump roping a few times recently. I am attempting to get into it as a cardio option, and it’s been fun to do it alongside the kids! We have this rope for me, this rope for June, this rope for Shep, and this rope for double dutch.
— I shared these tiny gold hoop earrings on my Christmas wish list and ended up getting them for myself after trying them on in person at the Gorjana store in California. I LOVE THEM. I didn’t think anything could replace my beloved pearl studs (which I still wear!) but these just look so good with everything.
— Some friends recommended the podcast Dogood Detectives and our kids are obsessed. We listened to every episode on a long drive recently and all three were locked in.

As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!

What you’re loving right now:

This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!

— This navy sweater jacket, my new favorite thing to wear. Sometimes I’ll layer a white tee underneath, but it can also be worn as-is, buttoned up. Ladylike but also somehow casual enough for weekday mom life?
— This eucalyptus + rosemary counter spray that continues to bring us all joy.
— The Amazing Generation, once again. No surprise, it’s a no. 1 NYT bestseller (YAY!!!).
— These very fun, very colorful shadow text notepads. I love a new notepad to start off the year.
— My beloved window candles. They’re a great weight and the dusk-to-dawn sensor works perfectly. Ours are still up in every window even though John thinks I’m a loon :)

Last month on The Connected Family:
— My tech-related goals for 2026 | 5 things I’m working toward this year
— The 2026 Annual TCF Screen Report | Our personal tech stacks, screen time numbers, struggles, wins, and more
— Why does a low-screen childhood matter? | More importantly, why does it matter to you?
— Our year in family traditions | Joy, gratitude, and service > performance and perfection

What I read in January:
— My Oxford Year | Good not great. My biggest takeaway was that I’d like to visit Oxford!
— Wild Dark Shore | Now this one – wow. “A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.” I will be thinking about these characters – each so exquisitely drawn, including the landscape, which seems a character of its own – for quite some time.
— Romney: A Reckoning | This book which, among other things, is a walk through the last two decades of politics, was moving and so, so sad.

My reading list for 2026! I’m 1 / 24 so far.

Revisiting my January goals:
Finalize details and selections for our master bathroom and built-in projects (Made a lot of progress here! I have a meeting this week to make a few final decisions.)
Set up our 2026 budget (Done! We are trying out Monarch Money. It has been a learning curve, but I am committed to giving it a fair shake.)
Print 2024 + 2025 Instagram photos and photos for our Christmas album
Finalize the itinerary for June’s tenth birthday trip (A tiny bit of progress but mostly rolling over into February)
Brainstorm my affirmations and phrases for each family member
Learn all of the first jump rope routine (Learned half!)
Register Annie for kindergarten
Buy new glasses
Attend to the first clutter spot: the piles in our bedroom
Finish going through my phone screenshots (Some progress but not done yet.)

February goals:
— Finalize the itinerary for June’s tenth birthday trip
— Finish learning the jump rope routine
— Diligently complete daily exercises to help with my knee pain
— Record June’s birthday interview
— Finish going through my phone screenshots
— Attend to February’s clutter spot: our “library” on the first floor
— Enjoy celebrating my birthday
— Prepare well for my very first TCF podcast interview. I AM TERRIFIED. I have been practicing answering questions with John on our daily walks and it is so easy to feel discouraged. I prefer to write rather than talk, you know? I am believing I can get better with practice, however, so practice, I shall.

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2026 PowerSheets goals!

Grateful for you, friends! Please feel free to comment on anything I’ve mentioned here or anything else on your mind!

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In the midst of a full life, I have found that the very best way to make time for reading together is to choose books that we can’t wait to return to each night — books that make us start dinner prep on time, work together to clear the table, bathe efficiently, and eagerly bounce onto whatever bed we’re gathering on. To help with this, I put in some effort each year to plan out of titles for the months ahead. (Just like with my own reading list!) We’ll almost certainly deviate from this plan, but it’s a good place to start. In case it inspires your own year of reading…

Quarter 1 | January, February, and March

The first three months of the year tend to be some of our best for readalouds: our schedule is quieter, and we’re (I’m) fired up from yearly planning. Knowing that June would want to start the fourth Harry Potter as soon as she received it for her early-January birthday, I wedged in a shorter-but-beloved favorite from my childhood right at the beginning. (Both kids loved it.) I’m currently deep into the fourth HP while John reads Prince Caspian to Shep (he hadn’t joined readaloud when John and June read it the first time). From there, John will read the final Narnia book and then I’ll crack open the first in the Wingfeather Saga, which June has been desperate to read. (All her friends have read it, apparently, which delights me no end.)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Wingfeather Saga Book 1: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Quarter 2 | April, May, and June

Next we’ll return to another beloved series we’re making our way through. Shep hasn’t read the first three, but they’re easy to pick up midway. From there, we’ll read one of my favorite books of all time, with attendant nerves that they’ll enjoy it as much as I do. We’ll round things out with a classic and the second book in the Wingfeather series. This quarter is a little “girl heavy,” but Shep continuously surprises me by how much he loves even books I’m unsure about. (For example, he loved Anne of Green Gables last year.)

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Wingfeather Saga Book 2: North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson
Heidi by Joanna Spyri

Quarter 3 | July, August, and September

When June heads to summer camp, Shep and I will dig into Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (I don’t know what we’ll do when Shep goes to camp, too, but right now June’s two-week absence aligns well with his birthday!) John will read them the third Wingfeather before Annie joins read aloud upon her entrance into kindergarten (!). With the newest member of our crew, we’ll circle back around to where we started our readaloud journey: with the first book in the Little House series (it’s been four years since June read them) and with Charlotte’s Web, a book I think every child should have read to them at least once.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Wingfeather Saga Book 3: The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Quarter 4 | October, November, and December

Between travel, holidays, and activities, these months are notoriously slow for readalouds around here. Realistically, I’m hoping to fit in just three: a beloved classic from my childhood, the next Little House, and the final Wingfeather installment. (Not sure what I’m going to do about the fact that Annie will have only joined for number four, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Maybe she’ll sit that one out and she and I will catch up on something else?)

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Wingfeather Saga Book 4: The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson

We are also reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Island of the Blue Dolphins with June’s school book club! For Shep’s, I plan to start with Mr. Popper’s Penguins and The Mouse and the Motorcycle in the fall.

This year’s list skews heavily classic, and there are so many more books I wish we could squeeze in! First up if we have more time, or for next year: Number the Stars, A Place to Hang the Moon, All Thirteen, and Because of Winn Dixie.

Friends, I’d love to hear: What books have you enjoyed reading with your kids recently? What books would you be most excited to introduce your kids to?

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