Happy Friday! I hope you had a wonderful week. I'm counting down the hours until 5 p.m., and then I am unplugging EVERYTHING and relaxing. All to prepare for next week...my birthday week! My actual birthday is on Tuesday, which is an awkward day for a birthday. I'm making up for it by celebrating ALL WEEK. Lots of fun stuff planned. Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Ready Player One: Ok, I checked this book out from the library almost six weeks ago. It's terribly overdue, and I just received my second my second notice to...ahem, return the damn book. I've only read three pages. So...it's time to turn to page four. I can't wait to dig deeper into this science fiction novel.

September issues: Please tell me I'm not the only person who drools over the September issues of fashion magazines? I'm gonna scoop up an armful, plop myself on the sofa, and get lost in style fantasy for a few hours.

Barbecue: Not that my family needs an excuse to hang out together, but we're meeting for an end of summer/ celebrate my birthday/ meet my cousin's girlfriend backyard cookout. My uncle will make his famous margaritas, my cousin will play the best dance music, we'll all eat too much, and we'll have so much fun, maybe the neighbors will peek their heads over the fence and ask if there's room for one more. There always is.

Cold brew coffee: I'm no-fooling-guys-this-is-really-a-problem addicted to my morning coffee. I FINALLY tapered off my daily Starbucks run to just once or twice a week, but I've replaced it with having cold brew coffee at home. I've tried a bunch of ready made drinks: Stumptown, Stok, Chameleon, Calita Farms and Starbucks. I'm not picky; I love 'em all. Last night, I ordered a coffee maker/infuser to make the brew at home, and I'm already stalking the delivery progress. A grown woman maaaaaaaybe shouldn't be so excited about a coffee maker, but I am.

Horchata: Speaking of coffee, the last time Paul and I were in Savannah we had a latte made with horchata (a cinnamon rice milk). And I've become obsessed with finding the drink near me. So far, I've had no success, and I've searched in every grocery, specialty, drugstore, and farmers market in a 20-mile radius. BUT! Last week, a lovely woman in Trader Joe's gave me a recipe for making horchata at home. I was so excited that I giggled the whole time she jotted down the instructions. And so it will happen....now is the time. This is the moment. Horchata WILL happen this weekend.

What's happening with you? I hope you're having a lovely week!

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