Good Things List No.86: Silver Falls, Another Reason to Shop ThredUp, 8 Books Reviewed and More

Good things to do, buy, read, and watch – in this month’s list we visit an iconic Oregon park, discuss why Thredup is not just for saving money, review 8 books and more!

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Ah, Oregon summers are the best! My sister was telling me that she’s so sad that they have to plan their travels in the summer because of school and she misses all the best of the PNW’s summer months. I agree – this summer we are sticking close to home and exploring some of the places in Oregon we’ve wanted to visit (or revisit) – like the state park below.

I think we may travel further afield in the fall, but we’ll see. So far I’m enjoying being in the garden, watching the flowers hit their stride, and planning what lakes we’re going to paddle around. How about you?

Good Things List

Hiking the Falls at Silver Falls

Brian and I took a mini-vacation 1.5 hours up the road to Silver Falls State Park, one of the most beautiful parks in our state. There are numerous hiking paths, including a full 11-mile loop, and all of them feature waterfalls.

We took trails that ended up being about 7 miles and we saw 7 waterfalls – everything from cascading falls on the river to huge double falls that are breathtaking.

One of the most popular falls is the Middle North Falls because the trail takes you behind the falls.

We went on a Monday morning and by the time we left, the parking lots were already full with cars circling – I can’t imagine the crowds on the weekends. So if you’re visiting I highly recommend this park, but do try to plan a weekday hike if you can!

And if you’re in the area, plan a meal in the super cute small town of Silverton. We hit up a few antique stores and enjoyed walking around the downtown area.

Shopping ThredUp for More Than Savings

I’ve mentioned ThredUp before (in this early Good Things), which is like a huge online thrift store for clothes, but I wanted to highlight why I still use the site even though it’s not always 100% when I get the items in the mail (most items are returnable free for store credit, though).

Obviously, like I listed previously you can save money and buy higher quality than you may be able to afford with new. It’s also great for people like me who don’t really like shopping and buying used is good for the environment. But let me tell you what I REALLY like about it:

When I am looking for something specific I can go to ThredUp and search just for that one thing. Can you imagine that it real life? You’d have to wander stores to see where they might’ve put what you want and then go to multiple stores when you can’t find what you like.

As an example, I wanted short, summery sweaters to wear with strappy sundresses. I searched for “short sleeve sweaters” and filtered by all cotton or all natural fibers and the two sweater “shrugs” in the photo above came up. One is Old Navy and the other is Sonoma and they are 100% cotton and were about $10 each. (The denim skirt is Tommy Hilfiger and was $14).

I have no idea if these are even in style anymore – probably not, so it wouldn’t have been easy to look for them in the stores, so I’m so glad to have this option!

That is probably my #1 reason for trying ThredUp first when I need something specific like that.

The other thing I’m coming to appreciate more and more is that I can filter searches for dresses to not only length, style and sleeve, but also fabric. I am trying very hard not to buy any more polyester (washing it releases microplastics into our water), and this is a much easier way to find only cotton or linen options.

The two sundresses above are 100% cotton and in an a-line style that suits my shape (which is easy to filter for, too). I paid $13 for the Chaps black floral dress and $25 for the lime Boden dress – which brings me to my next point: I was able to afford Boden, which is a brand I like, but is usually way out of my price range. Pact is another all-natural fabric brand I like that I often search for to save at least 50% off new.

Oh, and that white short sleeve sweater? That’s Banana Republic and I did spend $30 for it, but I knew it would go with ALL my dresses – and I love it.

Want to know my biggest success so far? A long sleeve black velvet maxi dress for my daughter’s wedding for…$15.19!! I wasn’t planning to go so cheap – it was my only daughter’s wedding after all – but it was perfect and looked great when I tried it on so…yay!

So here’s my encouragement to shop ThredUp or give it a try again if you have and think about specific things you’d like to add to your wardrobe, filter by fabrics, and look for the brands you love. And just like any thrift store, visit often to see what’s new!

June Books Read

Here One Moment, Liane Moriarty. Believe it or not, this is the first Liane Moriarty book I’ve read – and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t know much about the plot going in and kind of had a sense of dread throughout the book because I wasn’t sure if something bad was going to happen, but the ending was perfection. And the whole story was so good, it had me thinking about that whole “live life like you were dying” concept. I listened to the audiobook and I couldn’t wait to go water the garden or cook so I could listen some more!

Same Time Next Summer, Annabel Monaghan. This was another book I listened to while gardening and it was a perfect “beach read” kind of book that also hit on some hard things and life transitions. The heroine was a bit clueless (I guessed the success of her first love right away and she seemed to miss the many, many clues…), but it was still a fun, light read to pass the time.

Just Haven’t Met You Yet, Sophie Cousens. This was just okay, though I did love the setting and descriptions of the Channel Islands (I’d love to visit!). The main character got on my nerves with her obsessive devotion to the idea of finding “the one” through only the contents of a stranger’s suitcase she mistakenly took from the airport. She just seemed more like a teenager in some of her beliefs and it grew old. The love interest was much more interesting and seeing his transformation in the story made it worthwhile to me. Of course, a happy ending too, so I was good! (This one is a little open door – like a crack, lol.)

Chasing Fireflies, Charles Martin. Like most of Martin’s books, this had a lot of tender and heartrending moments, with (almost comically) defined good guys and a bad guy. The story held my interest and even though some things weren’t quite believable, I wanted to know how it would end. And while it was a satisfying ending, there was a twist that I didn’t understand at all, especially as a parent.

Say You’ll Remember Me, Abby Jimenez. I’ve enjoyed all the previous books Abby has written – she seems to be emerging as the summer beach read queen of romance. She’s got a good way of juxtaposing lighthearted banter and love with real-life serious moments and situations. However, this book got on my nerves, big time. I sort of raced through the last part because if I heard one more time how the long-distance relationship wasn’t going to work and they’d be separated “forever” I was going to tear my hair out. Ugh. I understand how getting lives to mesh when firmly established in separate towns is a big deal, but please NO ONE would make it go on so long in real life. And of course they did find a way to be together – I just wish it had been many pages earlier, lol. (Note: This author’s books are open door.)

The Canary Girls, Jennifer Chiaverini. Brian and I listened to this historical fiction book together and we both really enjoyed it. It’s the kind of historical fiction I love with a real-life timeline of the first world war in London, how it ratcheted up and affected every part of life, and what the women working in the munitions factories was like – all based on fact. This is told through the fictional account of three women from all socio-economic levels to show how the war affected everyone equally (and it fact, ushered in more equality). The biggest surprise to Brian and I was the fact that the women working in the wartime factories participated in football (soccer) games and leagues. The women’s teams drew thousands of spectators and the proceeds went to charities. We had no idea! The author’s note at the end discusses how the women’s league was effectively outlawed when the men’s league thought it would draw people away from the men’s games and wasn’t brought back to England until the 1970s.

Praying Like Monks Living Like Fools, Tyler Staton. If you want to supercharge your prayer life, read this book! I took many, many notes in my book notes journal of points I wanted to remember as well as the concrete actions the author provides to help guide you in making prayer a priority. Some of his stories are amazing (I’ve never met a 13-year old who would walk his school every morning, praying – in the summer!), and all were encouraging to me that it’s not just about getting my “answer.” Highly recommend.

Becoming Madam Secretary, Stephanie Dray. Some of my favorite historical fiction books have been written by this author (America’s First Daughter, My Dear Hamilton) and this book will be added to the list. I simply had NO idea that the first woman cabinet member was back in FDR’s time and that she was instrumental in creating and pushing through Social Security. This was completely fascinating – you could see how witnessing the horrors of child labor and long working conditions of women (she also pushed through a 52-hour work week in NY) as well as the destitute during the Great Depression shaped her desire to see a national “insurance” for the elderly and infirm. I appreciated her long author’s note sharing what was fact and where she took liberties with the storyline. Reminds me why I enjoy this genre!

Watching

DEPT. Q, Netflix. This new show set in Scotland was SO good! The characters, the storylines, the mysteries (and the accents, ha!). The series follows one main case of a “cold file” missing person, but how it gets to this is fresh and interesting There’s an overarching mystery, too, surrounding the events in the first scenes of the first episode and I hope there’s a second season so we might get answers to that.

That’s it for another addition of the Good Things List!

If you’d like to see more of what I’m enjoying, you can check out all the Good Things Lists here. I’d love to know what you think – if you’ve tried any of these or what you’d recommend. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

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