5 Things I'm Loving in September

How can we be halfway through September already and only a few days from fall? Seems wild, but there you go. Hope you're all staying healthy and safe and are wearing your masks.

In this COVID world it's often hard to find the happy. Here are five things that have brightened my day over the last six weeks or so.

Amazing Totes

First up, I want to tell you about Rush Order Tees, a custom T-shirt and apparel company that reached out to me to do a collaboration. I was thrilled to be picked and am happy to report a totally positive experience with this company, which gave me the opportunity to pick an item to customize with my blog's logo (an old book illustration). My first thought was aprons, which would fit very well with my Weekend Cooking posts, but once I saw these canvas book totes, I knew that's what I had to get.

The design process was dead easy: I uploaded my image, placed it on a mock-up of the tote, and then added text. If you're feeling less than techy, no worries, Rush Order Tees offers design help, via email or an online chat. Once I was satisfied with my tote, I went through the simple checkout process and then sat back and waited for my bags.

I can't say enough good things about the quality of the book totes. The canvas is heavy, the handles are a great length, and the printing is clear and perfectly centered. This tote may be listed as a book bag, but I plan to take it to the farmer's market and grocery store as well as the library, bookstore, and even the beach.

Check out the site for all the different kinds of items they offer: shirts, hats, towels, aprons, hoodies, duffels, and more. They have sizes ranging from toddler to adult. Oh and new item is face masks!

Think of Rush Order Tees next time you plan a reunion, are hosting a club or business event, or need some swag. Thanks again to Rush Order Tees for the collaboration.

Abrams Dinner Party 2020-2021

Talking about Weekend Cooking, I am so excited to let you know that I'm once again a member of the Abrams Dinner Party. That means I get to tell you all about every fabulous food and drink title that Abrams will publish over the coming year.

As always, you can expect my honest opinions of the titles I receive through this program. I was looking over the list of the fall books, and I can tell you I'm already excited and I haven't even gotten my first book yet: drinks, pie, Christmas, vegan, home-style cooking, and Chinese regional dishes are in my future . . . and yours! Thanks so much to Abrams inviting me back. I'm looking forward all the great cooking ahead.

Blogging Matters

This week (September 13, to be exact) marked my 12-year anniversary writing here on Beth Fish Reads. When I hit publish on that first post, I figured the whole venture would last about a month, if I were lucky. I had no idea how book blogging would change my life.

Never mind the BEAs, the book festivals, the panels, the movie set visits, and being picked as the Audio Publishers Association's 2016 Audiobook Blogger of the Year. The real joy of blogging has been the enduring friendships I made over the years. I've been blessed in that I've been able meet so many of you in person, but one of the miracles is how close I feel to my fellow bloggers, cooks, and photographers, even though we've never seen each other in real life.

As I slow down my posting schedule here on the blog, remember that I still post to Instagram and GoodReads and follow Twitter. I'm just a message away.

Vegetables!

In my last favorites post I told you all about Butcherbox, a meat-delivery service, which we are still very pleased with. As the COVID cases increase in our area, thanks to returning college students (we live a few towns away from a major university), we need to do even more to stay away from the public. We decided to start a Misfits Market subscription, which delivers organic and GMO-free produce directly to our door on a weekly basis for less than we would pay locally. The "misfits" part reflects the fact that the produce is--for various reasons--unfit for the grocery store. The food is completely fresh and delicious; the issues are along the lines of the potatoes may be a funny shape, the onions may be too small, or the plums may have freckles. Um, who cares?

The boxes come in two sizes. The Mischief box will feed 1-2 people and the Madness box will feed 3-4. We chose the larger box, because we love our veggies and I have no problem with freezing or preserving whatever we can't get to. The cost of the smaller box costs $22 and the bigger box is $35. You can totally customize your box, pause for a week or two, switch between the big and small box, and pick your day of delivery.

Misfits Market also offers add-ons, which include additional fruits and vegetables, snacks, cereals, coffee, tea, spices and herbs, and more. Our produce arrives on time, fresh, and unbruised. I'm so impressed with this box. I love it more than our old CSA because I can customize and thus know ahead of time what kinds of fruits and veggies we'll be getting. This makes meal planning easy.

They deliver all over the east and south and into the Midwest. Check them out. If you decide to give Misfits Market a try, you can consider using my code: you get 25% off your first order and I get a credit as well. Here's the code: COOKWME-WN6SIH.

Public Service Announcement: Vote!

The fifth thing that makes me happy these days is working to register voters, help voters obtain mail-in ballots, and encourage people to vote. Here in America, it's never been more important to make your voice heard and to defend democracy and our civil rights. Our most powerful right is the right to vote. The people who serve in our government, from local to federal, are picked by we the people.

Even though I don't feel comfortable working the polls or going door to door, I can still do my civic duty--and so can you. Mr. BFR and I have written hundreds of postcards over the summer, and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. We signed up with Postcards to Voters, but I'm sure there are other such organizations.

Stay safe, wear your mask, and if you live the United States VOTE!