Three Things I Learned Last Week (September 2026 #5)

Two of last week’s lessons were unexpectedly rooted in…well, roots. One involved a tree that refuses to quit, the other a podcast literally called Root of Evil. The third involved fried fish. Not every week produces a cohesive curriculum.

1. There’s a tree in our backyard called Benderson Beauregard. A few years back he wasn’t doing so well and I thought we were going to lose him. It broke my heart. I couldn’t bring myself to have him removed. Every spring he bloomed and that encouraged me to not give up on him. He’s not stately and ancient. He’s a scrappy little survivor. He got knocked sideways by life and instead of dying, he decided, “Fine, I’ll grow this way then. Hold my beverage.” Five years later, he’s made himself into a little living bench, strong enough for me to sit on while I sip my own beverage—coffee, tea, Alani Nu, depending on the hour—and contemplate life. And somehow, while spending hours last week pruning him and clearing out everything that had grown up around him, I realized I’d never really seen what he’d done. He didn’t recover by becoming the tree he was supposed to be. He adapted. He grew around what happened to him. The thing that knocked him sideways became part of his shape, but it didn’t stop him from growing. And somewhere along the way, what looked damaged became strong enough to hold me. Apparently last week I needed Benderson Beauregard to teach me that surviving something doesn’t always mean standing back up exactly the way you were before. Sometimes you grow sideways and realize you’ve become strong enough to hold things you never imagined you could. (Thank you for coming to my tree appreciation Ted Talk.)

2. At the risk of being a cliché, I’m a 45-year-old woman who loves immersing myself in true crime shows, movies, stories, podcasts, discussions, etc. as a way to unwind and distract myself from myself.  Unsolved Mysteries was my Mecca back in the days of my youth. I still listen to the Armchair Expert podcast every week and last week Dax mentioned a  podcast he had listened to which immediately piqued my true crime loving soul: Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia. I learned things about this case and this family that I can’t stop thinking about. 

3. There are some food items I’m on the hunt for out in the wild and will always order them if they’re on the menu because I have to know how that particular recipe tastes. Bread pudding, carrot cake, onion rings, chocolate chip cookies, and fish & chips are my top 5.  (I will gladly sit with you to discuss these and compare and contrast my studies). Last week I learned I’ve come to the conclusion that my local BJs Brewhouse offers the best fish and chips in the area. If you’ve never been to a BJs, their menu is a straight-up book. Close to 100 options available, and whenever I’m there I always end up ordering the fish and chips. I do a happy dance after the first bite every time. Leftovers also perfectly heat up in the air fryer. 

Three Things I Learned Last Week (September 2026 #4)

I learned three things last week. One cost me money, one made me question my vocabulary, and one kept me glued to the TV for two days. 

1.In September 2017, Apple released the iPhone 8+. I bought one that same month and up until a few days ago, I was still using it. I called him Dax. Nine years with the same phone is a long-term relationship. We traveled together, slept together, and updated together.  Nine birthdays, Halloweens and New Years. You get it; we were serious. When Dax stopped being able to update apps about 5-6 months ago, I knew our time together was ending. It was time to “upgrade my device”, as Apple calls it. So last week I purchased the newly released iPhone 18 Pro Max (also lovingly called Dax) and learned that the trade-in value of an iPhone 8+ is currently $150. 

2.”Bric-a-brac. What the hell is that?” That’s what I found myself asking when I read those words the other day. I had arranged a pick-up for a clothing donation and in the email confirmation I was informed that in addition to clothes and shoes, bric-a-brac was also a welcome addition to the donation. I read it again, trying to puzzle out what that could possibly mean and, more importantly, how I not know this phrase. I’ve since learned that bric-a-brac are simply knickknacks answering to another name. 

3.Apple TV really delivered with the show Widow’s Bay. I started it Friday evening and finished all 10 episodes by the following night. It’s described as a “supernatural horror-comedy” which created some high expectations and happily didn’t disappoint. Within the first few minutes I was laughing in every scene while also feeling pleasantly unsettled. Turns out I agree with the 14 Emmy Awards it recently earned.  

Three Things I Learned Last Week (September 2026 #3)

This week’s Three Things… features a purse that can hold approximately three chicken nuggets, an appliance that has apparently been quietly serving this household since the Clinton administration, and a movie I went into expecting good old fashioned heartbreak and instead found myself standing directly on an emotional landmine.

So, basically: tiny purse, ancient dryer, psychological damage.

1. Last week I shared my love of limited edition items, and this week starts with exactly that. I think I was on Pinterest when I came upon the news that Burger King had just released a limited edition Le Nugguette Purse. It’s a micro-sized purse, fashioned like a chicken nugget, big enough to hold approximately three nuggets and a sauce. And not everyone can have one. That’s the key to knowing your worth and this mini purse has big purse energy. 

2. Last week I also learned the dryer that came with our house was made in (wait for it… I’ll whisper this next part, so lean in close…) 1995. Our dryer was manufactured in 1995. Toy Story (the first one) hadn’t come out yet. Windows 95 was brand new. Friends was in season TWO. It survived Y2K, five presidents, the rise and fall of Blockbuster, the OJ Simpson trial, and predates Netflix. This appliance had been drying clothes since “Gangsta’s Paradise” was on the radio. If you just clocked that I used past tense to describe it’s life, well done. He continued to turn on and tumble his heart out, but starting last week he did it with no heat. So we had to say our goodbyes and thank him for his 31 years of service. Brad picked us up a new dryer that even has pet hair settings and frankly I’m overwhelmed by this technology.

3. The 2026 film “The Drama” was not at all what I thought it would be. I anticipated it being heartbreaking, on par with “Marriage Story” from 2019 (when our dryer was only  24 years old), and it turned out to be more of a mental/emotional landmine. Should have guessed that given it’s an A24 studio film.

Three Things I Learned Last Week (September 2026 #2)

This week: an apple with a rapper-adjacent name, the questionable things the universe reveals when you search “Limited Edition,” and the triumphant return of one of my favorite teenage Saturday-night experiences.

1. I flatter myself to think I’m a bit of an apple connoisseur. I love to take my time in the apple section of a grocery store to read about each one before always selecting either Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. In a blind taste test, I could probably correctly distinguish between 5-10 variations though. I was surprised last week to learn there’s a Ludacrisp apple, which is supposedly “crazy good”. First, the name – 5 out of 5 stars. Second, the description: Developed in Ohio from an open-pollinated Sweet 16 variety (with Honeycrisp lineage background). The flavor profile is sweet and tropical with distinct notes of pineapple, grape, and strawberry. 

2. Betty Crocker has a new offering: Harry Potter Chocolate (Flavored) Frogs. The packaging is irresistible to me and I must have them. The bigger lesson here is how I came about this information, and this is where I’ll fill you in on a little secret: I routinely search “Limited Edition” into my shopping apps then sit back and see what the universe has to reveal. Limited edish items are like catnip for me. Walmart generally returns with foods/beverages (where I learned about the frogs), while Amazon takes you on a ride. It’s there I learned Mr Beast and James Patterson wrote a book together, and that Old Spice sells a “Frankenstud” deodorant with vanilla and pistachio, should you be in the market.

3. Growing up in the 90s in central Florida, laser light shows at the Orlando Science Center were something I loved. I remember being in high school and having that as an option on a random Saturday night – a Pink Floyd cosmic concert in the old John Young Planetarium. “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” were the two shows back then and being 17-years-old, laying on your back in the dark, the music most definitely loud, the trippy lasers going… it was an experience that makes me glad smartphones weren’t around at that time in my life. Last week I learned the science center is bringing their laser light shows back this fall in a “retro” cosmic concerts series. Hell. Yes. 🙌🏼 I love a limited edition, retro experience. 

Three Things I Learned Last Week (September 2026 #1)

This week on the blog: put your legs up a wall, eat a freaking incredible sandwich, and figure out why your garage door sounds like it’s summoning the dead.

Is any of this related? No.

Will you leave healthier, hungrier, and slightly more paranoid in your own home? Possibly.

This is the kind of well-rounded journalism nobody asked for.

1. Laying on your back with your legs up against a wall at 90° for a few minutes each day is something I highly recommend. I’ve been doing this in the evening for the past couple of weeks and it’s so relaxing. When you were younger you probably found yourself laying like this naturally. I know I remember doing this laying in bed to talk on the phone (a landline phone🫣), or while watching TV. (I also remember getting yelled at by my parents for having my feet on the wall but that’s neither here nor there.) The next time you have the opportunity, treat yourself to this pose. 

2. Never underestimate the healing properties of a “basic” sandwich. I’ve been eating varieties of cold sandwiches lately: bread, meat, cheese, tomato, lettuce (I’m throwing caution to the wind on this one lately), and pickles for crunch. If you add potato chips- next level. A hot sandwich like a Philly cheesesteak or roast beef and cheddar are equally healing. And a classic peanut butter and jelly? I mean, it’s a classic for a reason. Sandwiches are the MVP of the menu. 

3. If your garage door isn’t reinforced the correct way, it will eventually declare its independence from the opener. We came dangerously close to the door free falling onto my beloved modern classic 2005 Mustang (the first model year of the S197 generation, with the major retro redesign that deliberately brought back styling cues from the 1960s Mustangs), all because the support bracket was installed about 2-3 inches off center from the track. Go check yours now. 

Three Things I Learned Last Week (October 2024 #5)

To start this off, 2/3 of the things I learned last week came from the same source: the book “Life After Life” by Kate Atkinson. It took me almost two weeks to finish because I liked it so much (that will only make sense to a few of you). So when I reference “the book”, that’s the one I’m referring to. 

1 Two undeniable facts are I love assorted boxes of chocolates and Cadbury chocolate is far superior to all other chocolates. For my whole long life these have been true but separate facts. 

Imagine my surprise when I was reading the book last week and came across “milk tray”. The book is set in England so I figured it was a British thing and I looked it up real quick. Stop the presses ✋🏼🛑 How have I existed on this Earth for 44 years and not known that Cadbury makes their own box of assorted chocolates called milk trays?! Even the name sounds lovely.

2 As I mentioned, the book was set in England during World War II. There were many phrases written in German that I was constantly looking up the translation for, as well as words from the lexicon of someone who was raised in England in the 1930’s – 1950’s (i.e. milk tray🥴, carriage clock, pelmet, sanguine, growlery, stalwart) meaning I’m wasn’t familiar with them. 

This past week, “shelter suit” was used often and very casually. I had an idea what I would find but just to be sure I googled “WWII shelter suit”. As expected, I found many responses, including a few “vintage suits” that are available for purchase on various websites like eBay and Blighty Militaria. 

First thing I learned was “shelter suit” and “siren suit” seem to be interchangeable. The one for sale on Blighty Militaria explains these suits as follows: They were produced in the build up to the Second World War and during the early part of the war and were made famous by Winston Churchill who was pictured on numerous occasions wearing a red siren suit. This design offered an easy to don, comfortable all in one suit which was both practical and popular as a garment to be worn when going to seek refuge in an Air Raid Shelter during a bombing raid. 

My brain has such a hard time comprehending a reality where “…the problem of modesty” was even mentioned in context with literal bombs falling from the sky let alone part of the advertisement campaign. 

3 Lastly, on the subject of fashion (which I suppose shelter/siren suits were), last week I learned that Stitch Fix and I are parting ways this month. After 4 years and 131 fixes together, I’ve been identified as a low-roller, small potatoes, a customer they do not benefit from. That last one was loosely how it was phrased by Hillary, the client support rep who kindly replied to my email asking for clarification on the upcoming change to my membership. 

Let me be clear- Stitch Fix didn’t send me an email saying they wouldn’t style me anymore. I can still be a customer of theirs if I choose to be. What they did do was send an email letting me know that they decided to not renew my individual “style pass” when it expires later this month. 

The style pass was $49 annually, charged to my card on 11/23. The style pass fee was also credited back to my account for future purchases. It was truthfully the thing that hooked me as a client, and if you’ve heard me talk about Stitch Fix over the past 4 years, you’ve probably also heard me specifically praise that membership option. 

That style pass charge covered unlimited “fixes” for the year, meaning I didn’t pay the $20 styling fee each fix, a fee that is also credited to any purchases you make in that specific fix, but not refunded or rolled over if you decide not to keep anything. 

I’ve seen many changes to Stitch Fix over the past year. I follow their new CEO Matt Baer on LinkedIn and have read the Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results in full (I’ll link the report at the bottom). Since he started at Stitch Fix in June 2023, he’s been aiming to stabilize financially and improve operational efficiency after a challenging period. The company saw a decline in revenue and active clients, with FY 2024 revenue dropping by 16% to $1.34 billion and active clients falling by 20% to 2.5 million. 

As Hillary explained to me in one of our recent email exchanges, they’ve been busy, ” …carefully reviewing current members as they approach their re-enrollment date, ensuring that the program continues to be beneficial for both you and us.”

This is a cost-saving measure on their part because I admittedly don’t spend nearly as much as I’m sure they would like me to be spending. I get that revenue is priority. It was almost even refreshing to have it so transparently shared with in that term “beneficial”. Best wishes to Matt Baer and Stitch Fix for returning to revenue growth by the end of their next fiscal year. 

Here is a link to that report:

https://investors.stitchfix.com/news-releases/news-release-details/stitch-fix-announces-fourth-quarter-and-full-fiscal-year-2024

Three Things I Learned Last Week (October 2024 #4)

1 I was reminded of the word “crotchety” while reading “Life After Life” by Kate Atkinson. I used to use this word a lot (best guess is between 1992-1994) and then I just – stopped. Last week I learned that I still really like this word because it’s so situationally specific.

2 Bless all the humans working overtime curating their gardens and plant collections and allowing them to thrive. 🙌🏼 I don’t have a green thumb despite my best efforts and intentions. Succulents are supposed to be low maintenance and I’ve just recently been able to keep them happy for longer than a month. 

Knowing this, Brad always chooses to present me with    orchids, notoriously very difficult to care for. I always try to keep them happy and I also always manage to kill them within 10 days. 

Last week my birthday orchids came with instructions I’ve never seen before for “simple” orchid care. I’ve seen variations of watering instructions before but never this specific treatment plan calling for a 1x per week, 1 minute soak.  Let’s go. 

3 There’s a little town about 40-minutes north of where I live called Cassadaga. Cassadaga is known as the “Psychic Capital of the World” and a place where psychics, mediums, spiritualists, and healers are abundant. Visiting Cassadaga is like stepping back to the past and genuinely feels like the spiritual vortex theory is accurate.  

I’ve visited Cassadaga a few times over the years but hadn’t ever stopped in the cemetery. Aside from being a very lovely cemetery, it’s also home to the most famous of all “Devil’s Chairs”- an oversized stone chair that is said to summon the devil himself when sat upon. Brad and I spent Friday evening for looking at multiple pictures and videos of it for a good 20 to 30 minutes and decided we’d visit the following day. (We were both undecided on whether we’d actually sit on it). 

We arrived at the cemetery the next afternoon with no issues and drove around for a minute before parking and confidently walking to a site where a crotchety (accurate, I promise) security guard was sitting close by in his car, seemingly keeping watch. We approached the stone chair and saw that it was completely enclosed in a low wall, so sitting on it was no longer an option. We accepted this as fate, took a photo, paid our respects to a few of the departed (one grave was a gentleman who fought in the Spanish-American War) and got back in the car to head to the spiritualist camp. 

Last night I pulled up the pictures I had taken and when I saw the one I had taken of the Devil’s Chair I IMMEDIATELY said, “That’s not the right chair.”  Like, it was so instantly clear that the chair we stood in front of and identified as The Chair a few hours earlier was most definitely not the chair we had spent 20-to-30 minutes looking at the previous evening. 

I can’t explain this other than some kind of phenomenon overtook our awareness and made us blind to this discrepancy the minute we entered that cemetery. I learned that some kind of Jedi mind- trickery cloaked the real Devil’s Chair from both of us and redirected us to a chair that barely resembles the real one yet absolutely convinced us both that it was the one we had studied the night before and had come to see. 

Three Things I Learned Last Week (October 2024 #3)

1 At 43-years-old, my eyes are slowly but consistently losing their ability to work as they always have. I needed glasses to see far distances since 4th grade, but up close (let’s call it anything 6 feet or less), they’ve been great. Until they weren’t. 

I look at a computer screen for 8+ hours a day for my job and over the last few months I’ve started to struggle with how small everything seems to be all of a sudden. After a quick search I learned that there’s a very easy solution to this. I now zoom in and zoom out my screen as needed throughout the day like a pro. 

2 Something else I hadn’t been aware of is the RF exposure info on my phone (which I’m also annoyingly having trouble seeing lately because why is everything so small all of a sudden?). Radiofrequency (RF) exposure is exposure to radiofrequency radiation, a type of non-ionizing radiation that includes radio waves and microwaves. I watched a reel about iPhone RF and  followed the steps to find more info on my own phone about it’s RF levels:

iPhone general->legal & regulatory->RF Exposure 

According to what I read, 5mm (about a pencil eraser) is how far away the phone should stay from the skin. Seems like common sense, what with all the warnings as a child about not squashing my face against the microwave, but also not something I’ve ever given much thought to recently. 

3 Rounding out last week’s Three Things was initiated by a Washington Post post about Halloween candy trends. Apparently, chocolate is on the way out and gummy candy is in. As an adult in her mid-40’s, I actually agree with what I read. I love chocolate (Cadbury milk chocolate will always be supreme) but I’ve been reaching for the sour gummy candy for movies and treats a lot more over the past couple of years. 

The post listed some “fresh takes” on consumer favorites that will be popular this Halloween. I hadn’t heard or seen any of them before but now that I’ve looked them up I want to try ALL of them. Immediately. 

Three Things I Learned Last Week (October 2024 #2)

1 In reference to the eye of Hurricane Milton, a local meteorologist said on Monday, “It will miss us by a whisker…” and since then that phrase has been living in my head rent free. I’ve been trying to find opportunities to use it organically in my own conversations since I heard it because it’s really fun to say. 

2 We did end up getting a cat 1 hurricane through Oviedo, so last week was a blur. Part of the hurricane prep was bringing all patio stuff inside. While I was doing that I noticed a pretty good sized spider web. I thought, “There’s no way that’s going to survive the wind.” Well friends, I was wrong. 

While I was returning things to the patio Thursday I saw that not only was the web still there – in perfect condition – the resident spider was also there and it looked like a crab. No other way to describe it. It was a crab spider 🤷🏻‍♀️ That’s what I googled and results came in as yes, definitely a female crab spider- otherwise known as a spinybacked orbweaver or Gasteracantha cancriformis. This gal built a web that survived sustained hurricane conditions for hours. I don’t particularly like spiders but that’s really impressive. 

3 If you know me you know I love scary movies. Last month I saw that the Terrifier franchise was releasing a 3rd movie this month so Brad did the right thing and bought us tickets. We went to see it Saturday afternoon, hoping to not be disappointed since we loved the first two so much. 

What I learned during and after watching this movie was there were almost no lines left uncrossed. Gone are the days when gore and violent acts are suggested but the details are left to the imagination. This movie left NOTHING to the imagination. After one particularly “eventful” scene, the entire row I was sitting in let out a collective exhale and a few small “Holy shit…”’s 😮‍💨 Brad was mostly silent on the drive home and through dinner. We were not prepared. 

*Bonus lessons* 1) I didn’t know parking was $30 at CityWalk until we got there and I said, “$30?!” and Brad said, “We won’t be seeing many movies here in the future..”. 2) The man taking our $30 to park told us that if you see a movie in the theater at Citywalk, the movie theater reimburses the $30 you have to pay to park there, and it turns out they reimburse you with cash. 

Three Things I Learned Last Week (October 2024 #1)

1 I ordered some Eucalyptus Peppermint Menthol Shower Bombs and hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed. I learned they really do elevate the shower experience and open the sinuses right up. One word of caution- there was some leftover residue on the bottom of the tub, and I happened to sit on that area one night for a relaxing soak. The butt cheek that was sitting on top of that spot promptly went cold, then numb and it stayed cold and numb for about a hour after I got out of the bath. 

2 I’ve been listening to a podcast this past week called “The Exorcist Files”.  Ironically, I happened upon this podcast because another podcast I listen to called “Made For This”, which is an extremely Christian podcast, (I listen to a wide variety of topics, beliefs and opinions) had one tiny episode about demons and spiritual warfare and I was like, “Ok then, lets try to find more episodes on demonology because that was interesting.” 

So – I found The Exorcist Files and started to binge listen to probably-too-many episodes about demons. The podcast is part interviews with bishops and priests and their personal experiences with demons, and part dramatic recreation of transcripts of real exorcisms. I don’t scare easily but while walking Magnus in my neighborhood one afternoon with my AirPods playing (transparent, not noise cancelling) an episode recreating an interaction with a particularly creepy demon who was refusing to leave, I hear a demon-like voice IN REAL LIFE beside me say, “Welcome to Hell! I want your soul…” That voice was overlapping with the actor in my AirPods recreating the transcript of the demon. I was all of a sudden an extreme believer in manifesting dark things by accident. 

I yanked the AirPods out of my ears and did a 360° turn and didn’t see anyone. THEN I noticed that by the front door of the house I was passing, there was an automated demon who must have a motion activation sensor and when he sensed Magnus and I walking by, he said what he said. I know that’s true because he repeated himself once more when we started to walk again. 

That afternoon I learned I genuinely thought I had summoned a demon by accident AND that I can’t listen to that podcast everyday but I will listen to it a few times a week because I’m learning a lot. 

I tried to take a picture of it the next time we walked so I could show Brad where I almost died. It’s surprisingly well hidden even during the day.

3 My lexicon expanded by one word last week. I learned the word “pedagogy” while listening to yet another podcast. Max Bennett was a guest on Armchair Expert and he used that word in a sentence  so casually and easily that I had to pause the episode to look it up. I could infer its meaning by how he used it, but it wasn’t a word I’ve ever used myself.