Sunday Collection 9.22.2024
Favorite items, Halloween picture books, and meal prep for a cozy fall season.
It’s been so long since I’ve shared a Sunday Collection—the random reads, products, and routines making my life better—and it might be awhile before I share another one. This weekend, I’m embracing a much-needed drop in fall temperatures with lots of last minute nesting, from the obvious stuff: freezing baked goods and soups, to the not-so-obvious: reorganizing my entire bedroom and bathroom for ease of movement during c-section recovery.
As a reminder, I’ve paused paid subscriptions for the next few months as part of my makeshift freelance maternity leave. I would love to share book reviews and any form of writing I can muster over the next few months, just for my own sanity and selfhood, but we will see how I’m feeling.
I hope you find something helpful, affordable, or fun on this list-of-lists today, and I welcome you to share your favorite fall things in the comments.
Work I’m Proud Of
Over the last five years, I’ve transitioned from English teacher to freelance writer to podcaster to all around content creator (I guess? I feel like I’m figuring this out but motherhood has taken over, career-wise). As of now, my main work—in addition to parenting—is with the Novel Pairings podcast. I’d like to get better at cross-sharing more of our content, so here’s a short update:
Over at
we’ve been working hard to plan a maternity leave that addresses many factors, including the time I need to adjust with my family, the content to keep things going in our paid community, the resources Sara and Kristine need to keep things running, the sacrifices we need to make while balancing our offerings and income … it’s a lot to figure out for a very small business—but we managed to put together a plan we feel good about, and our community has been lovely, so understanding and supportive. I feel good about closing my laptop and about maintaining a little bit of income while we all acclimate to a new normal. If I can brag a little more, planning around life changes and making tweaks to our content is something Sara and I do really well together; we attribute our nimble pivoting abilities to our combined years as classroom teachers. It feels important to mark the moment before heading into my leave, as the adjustments will continue well into the next year. I’m proud of us!Last week, we shared an annual favorite episode on our free public feed: Moody & Atmospheric Fall 2024 Book Releases with Backlist Pairings. It’ll be our last public episode for awhile, but in the meantime you can find us sharing classic and contemporary literature content in our Patreon community.
After planning out maternity leave content, we found a pocket of recording time for a special secret spring series. We wrapped up those recordings last week, and I am so glad we have them stashed away! I love having something to look forward to, it feels good to have an on-ramp to my return, and I think our listeners are going to be over the moon when they hear more (stay tuned for an announcement in…oh December? January? Patrons get to hear about it first).
Current Necessities
My body/brain doesn’t tolerate caffeine—except in the form of matcha. I’ve been making delicious at-home lattes as a special morning treat, and I’m excited to continue this routine through fall and winter. My must-have ingredients:
I ordered some expensive magnesium lotion for hip pain and sleep support, then decided I needed a quick fix from Target until the lotion shows up at my door (I am desperate!). A quick search led me to the Frenshe Soothing Serum Stick, and although I don’t love any of the scents, I do love the results. Immediately after application, my hip pain improved and I felt a sense of calm wash over me. Placebo effect? Who knows, who cares. After applying the serum stick to my hips and low back a few times before bed, I was able to fall asleep and get a five hour stretch before waking up to turn over like a rotisserie chicken.
Speaking of easing hip pain, swimming laps at our local recreation center is saving my life right now. Dramatic, I know. But it’s not just the physical benefits I need; the mental relaxation and quiet, steady focused time with no earbuds in, no sound but the sloshing water (and occasional senior aerobics class), no toddler needing me…it’s heavenly.
Have you seen the colorful glass beaded necklaces the cool mom influencers are all wearing these days? I loved beaded jewelry as a kid and something about this trend calls to me. I’m not a big jewelry-wearer these days, so I opted for an inexpensive option to try before purchasing something from a boutique or small Etsy shop. I love it!
Substack Saves
Saving for future reference: Things to do when you’re stuck (
)Oh, I felt this so deeply: Rebuilding my eroded sense of self (
)Love this, need to write my own list: 18 things I give zero f—s about since becoming a mom (
)Inspiring & encouraging: How we instill a love for reading in our kids (
)A deluge of fall reading guides & lists came out this week. If you have a fall reading list available, drop it in the comments! A few I saved on Substack so far:
Seasonal Picture Books
My toddler is SO into seasonal books this year, especially anything with Halloween costumes. We’re checking out most of our rotating reads from the library while building a small collection at home. Note: I prefer linking to Bookshop for these titles, but if they’re out of stock there, I link to Amazon.
Prepping for Postpartum
In addition to the many, many hygiene and health products one must amass in anticipation of postpartum, I’ve collected several seemingly random purchases I’m excited about for making my life easier and cozier in this upcoming season.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding-safe immune support for the whole family.
New slippers that won’t overheat my feet.
A new grip for my Kindle, which is sure to be my main reading source.
Enzyme laundry boost that effectively removes stains and smells from hand-me-downs.
An extra large, extra squishy back support pillow for nursing, snuggling, and c-section recovery.
Some of my favorite soup-starters for freezer meal prep: sausage and lentil, loaded potato, and chicken stew.
Just for Fun
Maybe someday I’ll write a full essay about our unintentional pumpkin patch, but for now here’s an update: we have an abundance of mini decorative pumpkins in our yard, and I adore it. My kid loves to share them with friends and visitors, and I love setting them around our house for easy decor. I dropped a bunch of zinnia seeds among the pumpkins, but the gourds quickly took over. I thought I’d have to give up my dream of fall bouquets for my table, but some of the zinnias have popped through! The bouquets are tiny but cheerful, and they look perfect nestled in between our variegated pumpkins.
A few weeks ago, Disney released an album full of pop-punk reimagined hits, and we love it! Our favorites are “I2I” and “A Whole New World”—and by “our” favorites, I mean mine and my husband’s—our kid has not expressed any preference, but it’s nice to listen to something other than the Sing soundtrack.
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To find out more about my current reads, favorite things, and life updates follow me on Instagram. If you’re interested in reading classic literature with accessible guidance and a cozy community, check out the Novel Pairings podcast and Patreon.
I'm so excited for you and and your family ... and as an OG Novel Pairings listener and patreon, I'm also VERY proud of how you, Sara, and Kristine have planned for your upcoming leave. Sending all my best wishes! I love that things I don't/do care about list and yes, you need to write your own (I'm in a new season of my own life and should make those lists, too). Wishing you all the good things, and a few more nights with a solid five hours of sleep!
Thank you so much for mentioning Distracted Chelsey. I so appreciate your support. ❤️