Big Little Lies, Weekend Plans, and Links of Note

Are any of you watching Big Little Lies on HBO? Reese Witherspoon is one of my favorite actresses/business women, so when I saw a while back she was starring in and producing a new HBO series I knew I’d need to check it out. When Seth was out of town last week I watched the first couple episodes. Totally sucks you in. I have to admit though, I’m not sure I’m up for it. The relationships are so complex, some are toxic, I’m not sure I’ve got the emotional bandwidth to enter into the weeds with the characters…but I can’t stop thinking about it! I’m just hoping the social drama around my boys’ schools pale in comparison.

Inspired by the show’s Monterey, CA setting, I took the boys to the Monterey Bay Aquarium earlier this week. Monterey never disappoints. So, if you’re in the area, take a day trip to Monterey and check out some of the show’s filming locations. One of which is the Open Sea Exhibit at the Aquarium! However, the epic driving scenes weren’t shot in town, but about an hour further south on the Pacific Coast Highway between Carmel and Big Sur. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that we live so close to places like this…

Here are some places I’ve been online this week that have inspired me in one way or another:

-Speaking of Reese Witherspoon, did you happen to see the Vogue 73 Questions video profiling her a few years back?  I became obsessed with finding the skirt she wore in the video when I first saw it. I think I finally found a good knock off at J. Crew Factory. Hello Easter outfit!

Also note in the video (released in 2014) she says the last book she read was Big Little Lies…;) 

–Audrey Smit’s home tour: Way more color than in my own house, but this clean, playful space made me want to add some spring-time color accents.

–A barn turned house: Those beams! All that light! Currently scanning real estate for horse barns in the countryside I can convert into my dream house…

-Speaking of places I’ve been online…I’ve seen a lot of people talking about this bill over the past couple of days. I’m not a techie in any way shape or form, but I’m thinking I may need to get more serious about protecting my online habits. I tend to be of the mindset that I don’t have anything to hide, but I definitely don’t want people profiting off of my actions without my knowing it. Any of you take precautions to protect your online practices? Any suggestions for how I can increase my protection online? I don’t even know where to start…

-And, check out my friend Bethany’s review of Patrick Kingsley’s The New Odyssey. I’ve recently been reading up on the experiences of refugees and how to get involved in addressing the issues faced by the millions of people who have been displaced. This book is next on my list. More to come on this topic…

Hope you all have a great weekend! We’ve got friends coming over to eat pizza, a Habitat for Humanity project, church, and hopefully a trip to the coast.