I know. We didn’t expect to record a new episode this quickly, either.

But our football coaches are no longer our coaches. And we found out this morning that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged.

As you might imagine, we needed to talk about these things.

Please do enjoy.

We’d love for you to subscribe on iTunes, and we’d be honored if you’d leave us a review.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

You can also listen on Stitcher.

And if you’re on the Facebook, well, we are, too.

Here’s where you can get more info on the stuff / products / places we mention:

– The targeting call on Deshazor Everett (aka the targeting thorn in Melanie’s side)

– Prince Harry & Meghan Markle talk about their engagement

– Melanie’s favorite picture

– Closing Song

When Melanie and I decided to do a Christmas Gift Guide for the podcast, we thought we’d pick five gift options a piece. Ten total. Easy breezy.

Here’s how many gifts we actually discuss: EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY NINE.

That might be a slight exaggeration, but have mercy we talked about all manner of Christmas gifts and chased all manner of Christmas gift rabbits, so to speak. We had the best time talking about fun things to buy for your favorite hostesses or teenagers or husbands or friends or parents, and we hope our suggestions make your gift buying a little easier. And if Christmas shopping isn’t your thing, we hope you enjoy our commentary. Because clearly we have SO VERY MANY THOUGHTS about various gift options.

Links for everything we mention are below. Enjoy, y’all!

We’d love for you to subscribe on iTunes, and we’d be honored if you’d leave us a review.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

You can also listen on Stitcher.

And if you’re on the Facebook, well, we are, too.

Here’s where you can get more info on the stuff / products / places we mention:

– Teddie Organics rosehip oil (not on our list, but always worth mentioning)

– Leslie Odom, Jr.’s Simply Christmas – Deluxe Edition

– Baker Stripe Dish Towel Set (on sale for $15)

– 5-Word Prayers by Lisa Whittle

– Two Funny Girls’ Personalized Styrofoam & Coffee Cups

– Pioneer Woman casserole dishes

– Pioneer Woman batter bowl

– Pioneer Woman Christmas measuring set

– Heather Gauthier canvases, tea towels, and prints (Heather designed the cover for Melanie’s Church of the Small Things)

– Letterpress prints from Old Try

– Waterproof Birkenstocks for men and women

– Lash Stash Gift Set at Sephora

– Stila Star Studded All Day (8) Liquid Lipstick Set

– Joy Susan Brushed Mini-Convertible Wristlet

– May Designs – folios, agendas, and personalized stationery

– Glitter Gel Pens

– Lucy Perfect Core Leggings (just an FYI – not the gift guide)

– Lucy Final Rep top in long sleeve and short sleeve

– JoyLab Women’s Performance Leggings Confetti Print in women’s sizes and plus sizes

– Grippy Socks Stocking Stuffer

– Feetures Socks Stocking Stuffer

– North Face Apex Bionic Windproof and Waterproof Jacket

– North Face zip-up fleece – Cap Rock fleece jacket

– Rechargeable Waterproof LED Headlamp

– LED Light Bulbs

– Surefire Sidekick Ultra Compact Triple Outlet Keychain Light

– GAP stripe ribbed sleep leggings

– Gilligan & O’Malley pajama pant joggers

– Pup Socks

– 3-in-1 Wireless Speaker Cooler

– All in All Journaling Devotional

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

So, full disclosure – we recorded this podcast episode over a week ago, but then I went out of town last weekend for speaking stuff and this past week was jam-packed and I just now got around to editing and recording the sponsor stuff and etc. Better late than never, I guess. And for your sake it’s probably better that we recorded before my Alabama / Mississippi State heartbreak. What a game that was.

As far as this episode goes, we have A LOT OF THOUGHTS about November heat, social media, the anger that results from wearing Spanx (Melanie has a fantastic term for that), and college football. There’s also some talk about a cat with a jar on its head.

Enjoy, y’all!

We’d love for you to subscribe on iTunes, and we’d be honored if you’d leave us a review.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

You can also listen on Stitcher.

And if you’re on the Facebook, well, we are, too.

Here’s where you can get more info on the stuff / products / places we mention:

– Will Ferrell’s bellybutton

– Tasty video for Halloween treats (this video made Sophie irrationally angry)

– our friend Jamie who used to make cake pops

– “Oh, Happy Day” video that Sophie has watched an excessive amount of times

– the Next Door app

– OPI You’re Blushing Again

– Bobbi Brown Plum Brandy lipstick (Sophie’s new favorite)

– Hummingbird Farms Big Boo Box (you won’t see the $49 price until you enter the coupon code mentioned during the podcast)

– Hummingbird Farms Big Boo Too Box (you won’t see the $49 price until you enter the coupon code mentioned during the podcast)

This time around we discuss the Mississippi State / A&M game, the Astros’ win in the World Series, and the glory of a redemptive sports moment.

(For example.)

(This is the GIF Melanie texted Sophie during the State / A&M game.)

(This is the GIF Melanie tweeted after the Astros’ victory.)

(You can see the contrast.)

We also talk Sol Dance (edited to add: pretty sure that I said Selena Gomez instead of Demi Lovato, but that is understandable since I am 104 and had also just read news that Selena and the Biebs are back together), the reality of life with our high-maintenance dogs, and Sophie’s simmering jealousy about the fact that Melanie has calves that will fit into any boot. There might also be about ten minutes where we look at the Free People website and talk about the stuff that we like. 

So. You know. Super important, deeply serious things.

Enjoy, y’all!

We’d love for you to subscribe on iTunes, and we’d be honored if you’d leave us a review.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

You can also listen on Stitcher.

And if you’re on the Facebook, well, we are, too.

Here’s where you can get more info on the stuff / products / places we mention:

– Carlos Correa’s post-game proposal

– Melanie and Sophie at Houston’s First Baptist The Gift of Christmas: A Women’s Gathering on November 30th

– GAP striped sleep leggings – Melanie’s fall and winter ministry

– Sam Edelman “Camellia” boots – a boot unicorn

– Your Girl tunic at Free People

– One Interlaken Tunic at Free People

– We the Free So Fresh Tee at Free People

– We the Free Blossom Thermal (the shirt Sophie loves but doesn’t think is long enough)

Happy Weekend, everbody!

We are all over the place in this podcast episode – from an exercise class that I recently tried to pajama leggings to hypothetical situations that would make us sprint to kombucha to football to mascara to essential oils to our feelings about scarves. BUCKLE UP, PEOPLE.

Also, I sound more quiet than usual on this episode, and after troubleshooting to the point of utter frustration, I have come to the conclusion that my USB microphone wasn’t plugged in and I was recording using my computer’s internal microphone. Please forgive this latest technical difficulty. Unfortunately, I think we all know that it won’t be the last. It’s sort of how we roll.

Finally, we continue discussing our disagreement about booties but try to find some middle ground. We would appreciate your prayers.

Enjoy, y’all!

We’d love for you to subscribe on iTunes, and we’d be honored if you’d leave us a review.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

You can also listen on Stitcher.

And if you’re on the Facebook, well, we are, too.

Here’s where you can get more info on the stuff / products / places we mention:

– Sol Dance

– Teddie Organics Rose Hip Oil

– Natural Grocers

– Immune Activator Supplement

– GAP sleep leggings

– Croft & Barrow Whispery Clouds Long Sleeve Pajama Top (in plus sizes, too)

– Sonoma Pajamas Essential Long Sleeve Tee (plus sizes, too)

– GAP sleep shirt

Last night I helped chaperone the Homecoming Dance, and in between talking to kids and checking on the weather and trying to convince my hair to behave in humidity so intense I was convinced I could wring water out of the air with my bare hands, I told a friend that I really needed a day off from work so that I could do super exciting things like wash clothes and fold clothes and maybe even put away said clothes. BEHOLD MY FANCY GOALS.

Well, this morning we woke up to the news that morning services at our church had been canceled (what was once Hurricane Nate is now making his presence known here in Birmingham), so I seized the unexpected time and started washing clothes – lo, with all manner of enthusiasm. I have a feeling that I’ll be folding clothes for a good chunk of the afternoon, but that is just fine with me because I will no longer feel like the laundry basket in my closet is threatening to swallow me whole. It seems like there’s a point in every “fall” (and I use that term loosely because while yes, it is October, there is nary a crisp gust of autumnal wind to be found here in Alabama), there’s a point where I look at all the stuff on the calendar and think, WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY. So I’m grateful to be able to hit the reset button today. Because this is basically how I feel about a whole day where I have nowhere to be and no good reason to change out of my pajamas.

via GIPHY

And speaking of pajamas.

(Transition!)

(See what I did there?)

On the most recent podcast episode, Melanie mentioned how much she loved the GAP ribbed sleep leggings. I was so intrigued that I ordered a pair for myself WHILE WE WERE STILL RECORDING THE EPISODE (thank you very much). Well, now that I have worn said sleep leggings, I can vouch for Melanie’s claim that they are in fact made from angels’ wings. They are the softest, most comfortable ANYTHING I have ever worn, and I don’t ever want to be without them ever again in my whole earthly life and preferably not even in heaven.

SO. A little while ago I decided I would order another pair (I have the blue and white striped, so I thought I’d get the gray and white striped), and I made the most exciting discovery.

The ribbed sleep leggings are on sale for $29.99, and you can use the code FORYOU for 40% off and free shipping.

This means that I just got a new pair of blessed, beloved softness for less than $20.

It also means this.

Here are a few other fun things that I’m loving right now.

– Ree’s recipe for black beans –

Oh, y’all. These are so delicious. For the record, though, I do two things a little differently: I saute’ the onion, garlic, and peppers (no green peppers for me – I think they’re bitter-ish, so I use red and yellow) first, then put them in a bowl and set them aside. I add them into the black beans about an hour into the cooking process. And then, about 20 minutes before the beans have finished cooking, I stir in about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. These beans are so good with roasted sweet potatoes, diced avocado, and some lime – one of my favorite meals.

– Maeve Matilda Buttondown –

I am typically a Nordstrom Rack shopper – I like myself a bargain – but every once in awhile something turns my head and I splurge a little. This shirt was one of those splurges. Plus, I had a $45 return to make at Anthro, so I did that weird (and flawed) shopping math where I thought, Well, technically I am only paying $30-ish dollars for this shirt because I am about to get a credit. It’s not at all logical (or, you know, accurate), but I’ve been on the lookout for a pretty, comfy shirt to wear for speaking stuff this fall and winter, and this shirt fits the bill. I think all of the designs are so cute, and in general Maeve is one of my favorite brands.

– Anthropologie Monogram Pendant Necklace –

I think this necklace is adorable – modern, feminine, fun – and such a great gift, too.

– Dirty John by Christopher Goffard –

MY GOODNESS this is some extraordinary true-crime storytelling. It’s a long read, but it’s also available as a podcast (compelling listening if you have a long drive in your near future). I wish I’d written this line: “Where other people saw red flags, she saw a parade.” Riveting. Heartbreaking. And just FYI: definitely not for kids.

– Melanie’s new Church of the Small Things Bible study –

HOW COULD I NOT BE EXCITED ABOUT THIS?

Yes, there’s a book, and it’s wonderful, but there is also a Bible study, and I think it is perfect for a small group of women – especially a group that wants to get to know each other better and put down some roots for deeper community. And it probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: I am so proud of Melanie. It is the biggest blast to watch her walk her road.

– Baked Bacon Cheese Dip from She Wears Many Hats –

Seriously. Click on over and have a look at the pictures that accompany this recipe.

I rest my case.

Hope y’all have a wonderful week!