5 favorites / stuff big catholic families like

Just got back from a week at Lake Taco (as Gussie calls Lake Tahoe) and I'm procrastinating on buying all the school supplies.

1 / the catholic card game

WHAAAAAT. Funded by a Kickstarter campaign, this just-released knockoff of Apples to Apples features all the moderately off-color and campily Catholic cards you could ask for. We had a group of seven adults (three couples and one priest from the good ol' Gonzaga days) who played this last week, and it was a hit. As proof of this, the small army of our combined children who were camped out watching a movie in the other room asked us repeatedly to PLEASE KEEP IT DOWN BECAUSE WE CAN'T HEAR OUR MOVIE, THANK YOU PARENTS.

Turn down for what, ehh.

2 / lake tahoe

California's got taxes and incredibly bad politicians and yeah, all the rest. But it's got (half of) Lake Tahoe. So I'm staying.

3 / actually eating all the food we order at in n out

I have notoriously skinny kids with elusive appetites, and it's the worst when they tell me they want all the foods, then the foods all come, and they don't eat the foods. Now we're finally consuming most of what comes in the blessed red plastic trays. Pass the ketchup.

4 / book backlog

My queue is getting longer and longer and the books sit in such close proximity to my dish rack that they're getting rather watermarked. But I like my mini kitchen library.

Right now I'm working on
- A Postcard from the Volcano
- Boundaries
- The Gospel of John (in the Ignatius Study Bible)
- The Little Oratory
and getting the month of August ready in my Blessed Is She liturgical planner.

5 / better homes and gardens 5-shelf leaning bookcase

You know me, always a sucker for a good piece of Magnolia lookalike furniture from Walmart. $99, heeyyy-yo.

Linking up with Ashley at The Big White Farmhouse.

7qt / what I'm loving at walmart vol. 3

Could also be titled: here's a post that matters very little in the grand scheme of things (heck, as most of my posts do, heh)! But it's Friday, and it's hot, and online shopping for fun/cheap items is a lot more fun than online shopping for school uniforms.

1 / essential t-shirt dress

I saw this on my way to the self checkout (read: I spied this on the clothes rack placed strategically close to the self-checkout so mothers who must take FOUR SMALL CHILDREN to the grocery store during the summers will get a spark of hope that they could buy a cheap item off the rack at a grocery store and that by magic, it might work). I love it. It's 100% cotton, long enough to not scandalize the neighbors and perfectly loose in the fit. I think I have a medium and paid $10.

2 / classic three piece bamboo cutting boards

Ordered these and am waiting for them to arrive. We haven't gotten new cutting boards since... yikes, our wedding? Overdue. I wanted to get smaller, bamboo ones like these that could also be used as serving platters and table trivets. $13.99 for the three.

3 / toddler flutter sleeve t-shirt & shorts

Carter's makes this adorable line of clothes for Walmart, and for every season they come out with some matching toddler sets that are super cute. $9-10 for two-piece sets.

4 / swiss dot embroidered tank top

I didn't snag one of these before most of the sizes sold out online and I'm regretting it. 100% cotton and would be such a great summer shirt. $11.86 in four colors!

5 / striped ruffle sleeve top

This is another one I regret not grabbing, which is also all cotton. (Can you sense a theme?! I get twitchy wearing rayon and the like.) $11.98 online and also comes in a black stripe.

6 / essential short sleeve v-neck t-shirt

I picked up these in blush pink, white and blue when they were on clearance at my store and probably paid between $3-5 for each. They've been great, lightweight summer shirts. And when they invariably get stained and splotched from my kids, I shed no tears.

7 / glass pitcher

Ok this is just a non-Walmart bonus, but had to share my best frugal find of the week--this glass pitcher I scored for $4 at my favorite local thrift store! It's the perfect size to keep on the table for ice water during dinner. And again, when someone drops it on the floor... I'll only cry a little.

Linking up with Kelly for quick takes!

laughing inappropriately during phone interviews / 7qt

I need to stop it--but people are so darn FUNNY. Click the names to listen.

And don't miss the new Coffee & Donuts with John & Mary episode (number 17!!). John and I play Catholic Balderdash. We're very bad at it.

1 / Anthony Ryan, Marketing Director for Ignatius Press
How can you not laugh when Tony Ryan ends his stellar interview (about a book on Sts. Louis and Zellie Martin, so awesome) with a note that "there's no "o" in the "Ignatius" of "Ignatius press dot com." Like, people really put an "o" in it? Ignatios? Ignotius?

2 / George Weigel, The Fragility of Order
Me beginning the interview: "He's the prolific author of many consequential books, including the official biography of John Paul II---"

George: "NO no no stop it right there, I've said this so many times, I am NOT the official papal
biographer. I wrote the authoritative biography of John Paul II."

Me: *dies inside*

God love this man, he put up with my questions, and after the call, he talked to me for another 10 minutes, which rank up there with my wedding and births of my kids as one of the best moments in my entire life. Sorry if that's creepy for you, George. I waxed on about it on instagram, and I wonder if he knows just how many people count him as a cultural influence that changed their lives. Very grateful for him for, as they say, taking my call.

3 / Leila Miller, author of Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak
WOW. This book. Leila is on the front lines of fighting the culture lies on divorce, the LGBTQ juggernaut, and abortion. She's a tireless advocate for children, for family and for marriage. Praise hands, thumbs up and high fives, Leila!

4 / Tyler Blanski, author of An Immovable Feast
Hello, my name is Mary, and from now on I will include a reference to An Immovable Feast in every conversation I have. It was so good. Read it cover to cover, dog eared it, underlined it, read it out loud to Sean, still quoting lines around my house. ("I came across more theological issues, and I ordered more and more books to study them. And then Brittany reminded me of the budget.")  A great guy and a great interview.

5 / Karlo Broussard, Catholic Answers apologist and author of Prepare the Way
I prepare for Karlo's apologetics interviews by reading chapters of his incredibly well-written book, and then talking to myself in the mirror, saying "You can do this. You can talk with a Catholic apologist about the St. Thomas Aquinas' existential arguments for the existence of God and NOT SOUND LIKE AN IDIOT... .I mean, at least you can try. No guarantees." Karlo, God love him, keeps putting up with me.

6 / Tom Hoopes, The Rosary of Saint John Paul II
Is there anything Tom Hoopes can't talk about? No, no there is not. The man has done everything and done it well, and this sweet book he wrote on JPII's apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae is a treasure, for kids, adults and family use.

7 / Michele Chronister, author of The Catholic Field Guide
Sweet Michele wrote and illustrated this book which will be extremely useful for any parent who has felt that tug on their shirt during Mass by a kid who is pointing at a cruet/vestment/gold thingie/you-name-it, and whispers "Mom, what is that??"Also, she compares her home life with little kids to the rhythms of monastic life. "We eat at certain times, we work at certain times, we get up during the night..." it's not to pray though, unfortunately! Ah, mom life. She cracked me up.

Linking up with Kelly for 7 quick takes.