5 Quick Things #218 đŻđŻ
Sourdough cookies, Mary's conception, Hugh Grant's Scrooge, & Hallmark movies
Hey there,
Ever have those mornings when you wake up and your body is fairly certain it should sleep for at least two more hours? Thatâs me this morning. Instead, Iâm sipping on my second cup of coffee and willing my brain to catch up with the clock. Time zone-wise, Iâm pretty sure itâs still somewhere over the Pacific near HawaiiâŚ
Iâve got two stacks of high school essays to read and grade (one on Frankenstein, one on Pride & Prejudice), which means itâs near the end of our schoolâs session â hallelujah! Another week of cultivating young minds, and then Iâm strapping on my apron and baking All The Holiday Things while watching All The Movies. So very here for it.

5 Quick Things âď¸
1. đ New episode of A Drink With a Friend! đ Itâs hard to remember the simple beauty around us, so in this episode, we continue practicing the habit of noticing the gift of everyday beauty. Our choices arenât purely holiday-specific, but there is a bent toward that which we enjoy this time of year.
2. When Iâm confused about the idea of the Immaculate Conception, it helps to have a fellow former evangelical do some explaining. Mark Galli, former editor-in-chief of Christianity Today and Catholic convert, unpacks the reasons to scratch our heads â as well as reasonably trust the Church.
3. This is beautifully relatable: âI now have to go one or two sizes up in my jeans, because the old ones canât contain me and who Iâve become as a mother. This tree trunk has grown a couple extra rings.â
4. I really want to try these.
5. And finally, this is fantastic: âVery little in real life is actually solved by buying a failing candy cane factory. If you want to get into manufacturing, it would be better to purchase a factory with goods that can be sold year-round â like paper clips.â
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening đ
A Christmas Carol audiobook, read by Hugh Grant
Quotable đŹ
âIf you donât get everything you want, think of the things you donât get that you donât want.â
â Oscar Wilde #
Two Reminders đ
In case youâve forgotten (ha!):
I wrote a book for Advent. Itâs never too late to start.
Iâve curated a holiday gift guide with ideas that make fantastic gifts and support good businesses and makers. Finish your shopping in plenty of time!
For Commonplace Subscribers đ
Note our Pride & Prejudice live chat â itâs next week!
Also, ICYMI, I wrote a thing about the weird trend of calling everything on the internet âmembershipsâ and âcommunitiesâ:
âSomehow by following someone on Instagram, unbeknownst to you youâve become âpart of their community.â Internet creators become so desperate for people to follow them that they feel the need to brand themselves as community leaders: a veritable digital PTA president or scout leader or sorority president. And because theyâre aware of the competition, they want people to stick around and feel part of something, so they call their followers members. Part of a community.
(You know, a cozy little comment section on a photo in an app owned by a billionaire.)
I know I sound snarky, and I guess I am. Yet I donât hold these people (many who I consider friends) ill will. Iâm annoyed at the system, the platforms, the tech giants, not these otherwise well-meaning creators. And Iâm annoyed at the culture weâve created that tempts and pressures creative people with the false idea that they need to lead something online in order to matter.â
Elsewhere đ

Question For You to Ponder⌠đ¤
Is there a 2021 goal of yours you could potentially accomplish in the next few weeks? (You never know, crazier things have happened.)
Have a good weekend!
xo, Tsh
p.s. Who did this, indeed.