🤸 Midterm Grains of Salt, Cornbread Crisps, & The World’s Oldest Gymnast: Lil Treasures #336

Erin MoonOct 30, 2026

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🤸 Midterm Grains of Salt, Cornbread Crisps, & The World’s Oldest Gymnast: Lil Treasures #336

Plus coffee treats, what I’ve read this month, and drinking smoothies on 8th Ave

Erin H Moon

Oct 30

Hello beloveds, and welcome to the first installment of the new and improved, super-sized monthly version of Lil Treasures. If you missed it, earlier this month I announced that Lil Treasures will be monthly (and as always, free), but slightly more robust than the weeklies you’ve become accustomed to. And if you’re a paid subscriber, starting in November you’ll get three somethings from me. I’m currently working on an essay about my eff you/tuck me in relationship with God currently, a recap of my Boomer trip to Greece, maybe a little something on the Carl Lentz of it all, and a Co-op piece on grief that’s more self-serving than anything else. Everything takes a long time for me right now, but I’m working on my stamina and fortitude. If that interests you, you can become a paid subscriber by clicking the button below.

Also just so you know, this email is too long for Gmail and most email clients, so just make sure you click over to Substack for the full meal deal. I don’t want you to miss any of this goodness.

I’m getting ahead of myself. Without further ado, let’s get to the treasures.

As we head into the midterm elections next week, I’ve tried NOT to get my hopes up, but unfortunately for me, my perpetual interior fortitude refuses to be squashed. I’m taking this interview with Nate Silver [gift link] with the largest of salt grains, but it’s also just a great look at possibilities and what’s making this election feel so momentous (other than a general feeling of impending doom or hope, depending on the outcome).

Dancing with the Stars has become load-bearing for my mental health, and while I originally did not have any opinions on Connor Wood aka Fibula previously, he has in fact won me over with his charming little fake facial hair and “I saw you drinking a smoothie on 8th Avenue and you paid me no mind.” If you’re a DWTS person, I need to know your top five! For me, it’s Ezra (give it to him), Amber (or her, we all know the Mirrorball belongs in the Pashkov household this year), Tatyana (adore her, never want Jan to shut up), Connor (just for the vibes), and Harry.

This past month, I’ve read a couple of books I really liked and some I did not. I chatted about them at length on Shelf Respect, but I wanted to mention them here as well. I wasn’t really a fan of Jodi Picoult’s Hollow Bones, but I loved Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel, The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon, and Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson. If you’ve read any of these and liked or disliked them, tell me about it in the comments. If you want to hear us talk about our recent reads, head over to Shelf Respect. I’m in the middle of An American Girl: How a Billion-Dollar Doll and Its Unlikely Founder Changed Girlhood Forever, about Pleasant Rowland, the founder and creator of American Girl. I’ll report back next month.

It’s Halloween week, which means I am legally allowed to make chili, which no one in my family likes. There’s only one chili recipe I use and it’s Bri McKoy | Recipes for Keeps Harvest Chili. Please do yourself a favor and make this, especially if your family happens to love chili and you don’t have to only make it one night a year. My personal addition to Bri’s Harvest Chili is to add the Trader Joe’s Cornbread Crisps as a topping.

Just reading this made me so tired [gift link]. Good for her, but the other day I pulled a muscle in my neck while reading in bed.

If you’re in Birmingham, can I tell you about this super fun business that just opened? It’s called FriYay Coffee and it’s delicious coffee delivery every Monday-Friday. You could snag an order for your workplace and make everyone extremely happy! Check them out here and support a fantastic local business!

One of my favorite authors (and friend) Robert Callahan wrote a BANGER of an article for the Baptist News Global about Josh Howerton and Jack Graham calling my favorite Texas pastor (and friend) Zach W. Lambert a heretic. Josh Howerton and Jack Graham can honestly eat my shorts.

It’s dark at basically 2pm now in Alabama and I’m doing anything I can to make it more managable.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, let’s get to the MEMES.

Alright friends. I hope you have a great weekend full of chili and Halloween and all the best candy from your children’s buckets and parties and whatever your heart desires. I hope you’ve enjoyed this super-sized version of Lil Treasures. Please also share your treasures and plans for the weekend. See ya later, October!

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