Feel Good Friday 104
Hey there, friend! Hope you’ve had a wonderful couple of weeks and a Thanksgiving full of food and gratitude (if you’re here in the States.) We’re on our way to feeling good here. The kids all got colds and Sawyer got it so bad he had to go to the doctor. (Turns out he has pneumonia again. And no one has covid, thank goodness.) And thankfully, whatever they got doesn’t seem to affect adults. (Hear that? It’s the sound of me knocking on my dining table.) As T. Swift once said, “‘Tis the damn season.” But things seem to be looking up, thanks to antibiotics. Here’s to hoping! Now let’s get to all the goods this week!
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Apple crumb pies and salads with dressings,
These are a few of my favorite things
Let’s start with my favorite topic of discussion: Food. I’ve got recipes and a little pie porn for you today. For Thanksgiving, I was in charge of the salad and I opted to make a shaved Brussels sprouts salad that was lightly dressed with a lemon vinaigrette and featured toasted pine nuts and dried cranberries. Chris bought some purple sprouts to add a little color (and he was really proud of that for some reason, so I felt I should mention it. Way to go, Chris. Buy those purple sprouts.) The rental house didn’t have great knives, so Chris, who works in the restaurant industry and cringes at my knife-wielding skills, took over and shaved away. The salad was light and refreshing and a great complement to Thanksgiving dinner.
A friend of mine gifted me with a couple of jars of her homemade cranberry sauce, which was out of this world delish. Sorry, I don’t have that recipe for you, but I do have a great way to use leftovers of any cranberry sauce. I made a salad last weekend with lettuce, arugula, apples, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and used this dressing recipe. I’ve since made it again because I loved it.
Lastly, when we returned from Thanksgiving, my professional baker neighbor texted and asked if we’d like leftover pie. As if she had to ask. She sent us a full plate with pumpkin, apple crump and pecan. All were delicious, but we loved the apple the most! Emmy ate most of it, and she’s never been a big pie eater. So that’s saying something.
Christmas PJs
With a crazy year behind us and teenagers under our roof, I’ve given up on many things, like life matching Christmas pajamas. However, when I saw these adorable Disney Christmas pajamas, I had to get them for Wilder. I’m not a huge Disney fan, but at Christmas time, it’s another story, as you’ll see next.
Sharing Childhood Favorites
When I was a wee one many, many years ago, my favorite Christmas special that came on TV – before we had streaming, if you can remember those days – was Mickey’s Christmas Carol. I loved this classic story of someone finding the true spirit of Christmas, told in a sweet and humorous way through Disney characters. This past week, I introduced it to Wilder, who loves it also now. We’ve since watched it once more. I do have to cover his eyes at the Ghost of Christmas Future because he’s a little scary for a three-year-old. BTW, it’s currently available on Disney+.
New Etsy Shop
My friend’s daughter Grace just opened her own Etsy jewelry shop. I love these fun rainbow earrings she’s created! She’s got wire-wrapped crystal necklaces and beaded pieces as well.
Vintage Inspired Santa Mugs
This past week, I was invited to a little influencer event put on by our local shopping center and the new Pottery Barn store there. Each of us who attended received a gift guide goodie box, featuring items from Friendly Center’s gift guide. (BTW, if you’re local, now through December 19, text SPARKLE to 444-222 and you could win a gift guide box, valued at $500!) I used to collect vintage Santa mugs and eventually sold them all because, as cute as they are, I wasn’t sure they were safe to drink from. Well, in my box, there was a set of 4 vintage-inspired Santa mugs from Pottery Barn! As you can see, Wilder is thrilled. And honestly, they’re the perfect size for him.
MCM inspired Wrapping paper
We needed to wrap some Christmas gifts to take on our Thanksgiving trip and I came across this midcentury inspired paper that reminds me of my entry. I loved it so much and the black and gold . . . yes, please! I paired it with pink ribbon and am so into it. (They don’t have the exact paper online, but this is really similar.)
Willie Wisdom
This week, I tuned into Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast and listened to her episode with Willie and Luke Nelson. (Side note: her new book came out this week and I have it in my cart! Just waiting until I have more time to read.) These two men are so insightful and wise. I loved most the discussion they had around manifestation. Willie said, “Imagine all you want then get out of the way.” And he and his son both shared how that idea has helped them get what they want out of life. It was a beautiful conversation. Listen here.
Handy Man: Will Work For Free
Last weekend, a friend messaged on our group chat and was asking about lighting her gas fireplace as this is her first winter in her new home. I asked Chris to explain it, then texted her back. He then said, “Does she want me to come over and do it for her?” She said yes, so I said, “Great, Chris will come over and light your fire and maybe stoke the flames.” We had a good laugh and then she sent me the above photo of Chris by her fireplace. BTW, I have to say, Chris and I are in the weeds right now, but he’s been great about helping people out when I ask him to. He and I also painted the fireplace of a neighbor last month. She lives alone and I didn’t want her on a stepladder alone in her house, so I volunteered us to do it one weekend. Chris is always a good sport. And we both agreed that weekend that it just felt really good, no matter how busy we are, to stop and do something nice for someone else with no expectations in return. We actually had so much fun, painting together and chatting with her. Plus, there were no kids around. 🙂 I could have painted her fireplace all month if it meant peace and quiet!!!
Thanksgiving Snippets
We traveled to Salem, SC to an AirBNB with my parents and my brother’s family for Thanksgiving. I thought I’d just share a few little snapshots.
On Thanksgiving morning, I headed out for a run in my favorite lululemon top. (I looooove love love their swifty top! I bought this one on clearance. For reference, they tend to be fitted so I go a size higher in the top than I do my bottoms from them.) When I returned, I poured myself a cup of coffee and noticed that my nails and top and AirBNB mug all coordinated and it felt like a total vibe, so I had Emmy take a photo.
My niece is 4 months older than Wilder and these two were peas in a pod. They spent their entire time there together and even slept in a bed together, which was the cutest thing I’ve seen. The best part of the entire time away was watching these two get along so well.
I hadn’t seen my brother’s family in almost 3 years, so it was awesome to spend time with them. We are matching with our grays. 😉
My sis-in-law makes one helluva cheese board and I think I ate 50% of what you see there. And that’s only because I don’t eat meat.
It’s rare for Chris and I to have a photo together that isn’t a selfie I’ve forced upon him. (Thanks to my sis-in-law for capturing us.)
And with that I leave you. We’re off to see Christmas lights, hopefully get a tree, bake some cookies and have make some freaking merriment. XOXO
PS: Don’t forget to check out my Christmas home tour this week!
