Life Between Weekends

Category: Fun

Add a little more joy to your weekday with posts designed to bring out the fun in your life, featuring things to do, easy party ideas, games and more

  • The Two-Month Novel-Writing Challenge

    The Two-Month Novel-Writing Challenge

    Confession: For the past four years that I’ve been writing down my annual goals, “complete a novel” has been one of the first things listed. Yet I’ve never actually completed one.

    I’ve come close, sure, but I always let other projects (or work, or binge-watching Netflix) get in the way, and before long, I’ve lost all interest in the story or stopped and started so many times that the story itself is so disjointed it needs to be rewritten completely.

    This year, I’m set on crossing that one off my list, and I’m inviting anyone and everyone to join me. Over the next 60 days, Aide Sierra (she wrote the Frontiers guide to Dallas) and I will be challenging ourselves to write an entire novel. That means:

    (more…)

  • How I Spent 30ish Hours in Nashville, TN

    How I Spent 30ish Hours in Nashville, TN

    Some cities are great to visit, and you can’t wait to go back again and again. Certain cities, though, make you come alive. They’re places you could see yourself living in one day; or at the very least, regularly vacationing to. You just feel good there, like you belong; like this place gets you.

    At least that’s how I felt in Nashville. (And, okay, in Sydney and Austin.)

    Something about the city felt like home, even if I’m not big on country music — save for a quirky obsession with the show Nashville and old Shania Twain songs — so I was psyched to spend a weekend there while Nate prepared for a conference.

    Armed with Carly Stewart’s guide to Nashville, we set out to visit as many hotspots as possible. We didn’t hit them all (Barista Parlor is a must next time!), but here are some of the highlights:

    (more…)

  • 9 Websites for Creative Gift Ideas

    9 Websites for Creative Gift Ideas

    Inevitably, every holiday season, there’s someone on your list who stumps you. Maybe even multiple people (eek). If you’ve exhausted all of your usual haunts, and you’re still stuck on gift ideas, these sites may help. They’re some of my favorites for coming up with fun, unexpected-yet-awesome gifts.

    For the girly girl: Draper James

    If you have a friend who loves a touch of sparkle — and all things Kate Spade — you need to check out Reese Witherspoon’s lifestyle/ecommerce site.

    (more…)

  • 20 Questions to Kickstart Conversation

    20 Questions to Kickstart Conversation

    The holiday season is upon us, which can make for some awkward small-talk — particularly at parties where you don’t know a soul. I asked around, and here are some fun questions that can get anyone talking.

    And if they don’t? Move along to the next person you see — you’re probably just dealing with a curmudgeon. Or talking to a cardboard cutout. (Yeah, that’s why Britney Spears was at your old roommate’s party and was remarkably unchatty…and looked like she hadn’t aged a day since her “Oops…I Did It Again” days.)

    (more…)

  • 11 Signs You’re Watching an Early 2000’s Music Video

    11 Signs You’re Watching an Early 2000’s Music Video

    Sometimes you just need an impromptu dance party. NEED one. You just have to shake off the craziness of the day — or maybe add an exclamation point to the end of an already incredible one.

    In the midst of one such shut-up-and-dance moment, I found myself mesmerized by early 2000s music videos. The songs are just so easy to dance to — and get completely cheesy while lip-syncing. Or real-singing.

    After a few songs, though, I realized there were a few common threads throughout most of the jams — and they had nothing to do with the lyrics. Like, for example…

    (more…)

  • 5 Movies to Watch on Netflix This Month

    5 Movies to Watch on Netflix This Month

    Some nights, you just want to veg out and mindlessly enjoy some quality entertainment — preferably without paying movie theater prices. Or having to put on pants.

    We get it.

    Here are some great shows and movies to catch on Netflix over the next few weeks:

    (more…)

  • Frontiers: 9 Reasons to Be Obsessed with Portland, ME

    Frontiers: 9 Reasons to Be Obsessed with Portland, ME

    Portland, Oregon, may get all of the attention for being the birthplace of the flannel-rocking, Warby-Parkers-and-beard-bedecked hipster, but there’s another Portland you need to have on your radar. This one’s a little less rainy, but every bit as awesome.

    I spent a weekend there to cover the city’s Harvest on the Harbor food festival for Delish.com, and I immediately fell in love with its waterfront downtown area and unbelievable hospitality (seriously — Holiday Inn By the Bay serves complimentary hot cocoa and provides free shuttle service to/from the airport and the surrounding area! No need for a taxi or Uber here).

    Though it was a quick trip, I ruthlessly chatted up everyone I met to get their must-see destinations and restaurant recommendations, then hit up as many as I could. Here are the ones I really loved.

    (more…)

  • Are You Taking the NaNoWriMo Challenge?

    Are You Taking the NaNoWriMo Challenge?

    Writing an entire novel in 30 days sounded borderline impossible — or at the very least, completely insane — to me when I first heard someone mention it. And yet, tons of people accomplish that task every November, as part of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.

    The goal is to write 50,000 words over the course of the month (roughly the length of a 175-page novel). The deadline gives you a sense of urgency, making it easier for some people to discipline themselves into punching away at the keyboard, rather than putting off that story they’ve been dreaming of indefinitely. While some argue that truly great novels can’t be written in such a short time frame, at the very least, the challenge gets you to push past writer’s block, getting into the act of writing, writing, writing — no matter what. Sometimes, the hardest part is just getting the words out.

    (more…)

  • A Fun Way to See the Most Popular Halloween Costumes Near You

    A Fun Way to See the Most Popular Halloween Costumes Near You

    At this point, you’ve probably guessed that we get really into Halloween. Really into it. Even if we don’t have particular plans for the holiday, we’ll come up with some…just because we (or, okay, maybe just I) love any excuse to dress up ridiculously for a day.

    The downside? When half the people at the party are wearing your totally creative, completely ingenious costume. (Everyone who’s ever dressed up as Heath Ledger’s Joker in 2008 knows exactly what I’m talking about here. Ditto for Captain Jack Sparrow in 2003, 2006, 2007 — and maybe even 2011.)

    Google Frightgeist has got your back. The All Hallows Eve-inspired twist on Google’s annual trend forecaster, Zeitgeist, shows you which costumes are most popular in your area. You can also search by costume and see how likely it is that you’ll run into someone dressed just like you this Oct. 31st, and search for costume ideas that are less common.

    (more…)

  • The Most Comfortable, Last-Minute Halloween Costumes You’ve Ever Seen

    The Most Comfortable, Last-Minute Halloween Costumes You’ve Ever Seen

    Wearing skimpy, skintight costumes you have to constantly tug and readjust all Halloween night (while shivering, since it’s Oct. 31st and all) is just one school of thought.

    You could be totally, ridiculously comfortable. These costumes are pretty much like wearing pajamas, and you only have to buy one thing to nail your entire look. Halloween has never been easier; it’s the perfect last-minute, lazy person’s costume.

    Here are just a few ideas:

    (more…)

  • Emily Henderson’s Secret for Choosing the Right Wall Color

    Emily Henderson’s Secret for Choosing the Right Wall Color

    Choosing the right paint color always seems much more straightforward than it is. Go to the store. Pick a color you like. Boom! Done.

    Only paint colors never look quite the same on your walls as they do on the swatch, and the color you love, love, LOVE one week you can absolutely loathe the next. That’s why almost every designer or decorating show will tell you to paint a sample on your wall and live with it for a day or two, so you can test your tolerance or the color and see it in your home’s light throughout the day. (A mauve, for example, could look dusty rose-ish during the afternoon, and in the evening light, turn a hideous shade of Pepto Bismol, for example.)

    In the past five years of covering interior design trends, I’ve heard that advice in almost. Every. Interview. But it wasn’t until I read Emily Henderson’s book, Styled (out today!), that I uncovered a piece of advice I’d never heard before — nor did I expect:

    (more…)

  • Reclaiming Mondays: The Test Kitchen Playlist

    Reclaiming Mondays: The Test Kitchen Playlist

    Whether we’re in the middle of a photo shoot or testing recipes, when we’re in the Delish test kitchen, we’re always playing music. It’s part of the office’s fun vibe — after all, we’re making tater totchos and homemade Hot Pockets here, not splitting atoms — so I’m always on the lookout for new songs to add to our list.

    (more…)

Optimized with PageSpeed Ninja