Feel Good Friday 106

Hello and happy Friday! With just a week and a day until Christmas, this week has been a whirlwind of tying up loose ends so that this weekend and next week I can just savor the moments with my kids. I took next week off from work and I won’t be posting here either. Instead, I’ll be knee deep in a Barbie gingerbread house, having a date with my teens, stuffing my face with cookies and milk wine, strolling in beautifully decorated neighborhoods (including the nicest place in N.C.), watching all of the Christmas movies I can and enjoying the last week of holiday magic. There was a moment this week when I was getting Wilder’s Trader Joe’s chocolate advent calendar piece for him as he giggled in anticipation of what is the world’s tiniest piece of chocolate. But it gave me pause. Here I was, stressing about all of the things I needed to do, when truthfully, we don’t need to do much but enjoy all of the little things before they pass. I want to experience the holidays with the excitement of a toddler getting the teensiest tiniest little treat. And that’s just what I’ll be doing next week.

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Rollin’ with it

This week, Wilder and I attended an outdoor cookie swap with his buddies from school last year and their moms. This little crew has become my boy-mom squad and we try to get together once a month. This month, one of the moms suggested a cookie swap and we were all in. I mean, why wouldn’t we be? I decided to try something new and made these cinnamon roll cookies. All things considered – i.e. making them with a three-year-old wanting to help every step of the way and having to carefully watch the little sugar thief – they were pretty easy to make and are delicious! Emmy and I especially loved them! Mine aren’t as neatly rolled and sliced as the ones seen on the recipe link, but I was going for more rustic. Ok, you got me. They’re accidentally rustic, but I prefer the term artisanal. 😉

Swap it like it’s Hot

Of course, after the cookies were made, there was the actual swap itself. We met up with friends at my favorite downtown park because it was safely outside . . . and there happens to be a little cafe that serves wine, beer, hot cocoa and coffee drinks. Hot cocoa was Wilder’s pick and I had Matcha latte. Don’t you just want someone to be as happy to see you as Wilder is to see whipped cream?

We swapped cookies, the kids ran around and played and the moms chatted and we just enjoyed a beautiful evening outside. We did that because of Covid, but honestly, I would do it again that way in non-pandemic times. It was perfect and no one had to deal with a messy house afterwards.

Favorite Things Exchange

Last weekend, my friends and I got together to do a favorite things exchange. Last year we did Secret Santa, but this year, I suggested it might be fun to buy everyone else one of our favorite things for around $15 each. There are six of us, so we’d each be purchasing five gifts for the others. I bought these oracle cards and here they are all wrapped for everyone!

I came home with several fun goodies:

• A fern in a planter hand-painted by an incredible local artist (whose planters I had been eyeing!)
• A Luscious League mug, which is our group name that comes from an inside joke
• A sticker with a sweet message & incense
• Special seasonings (I accidentally put in my pantry before taking this pic)
• A red scarf with gloves, because we’re all obsessed with Taylor’s 10-minute “All Too Well”
• Beautycounter’s Girl’s Night red lipstick for the same reason as above

I’ve never considered myself a red lipstick kind of girl because I don’t care much for my teeth, but I’ve always wished I was one. Well, let me tell you, this truly is the perfect red. (Pardon the weird photo, but I was trying to block out the background of my blinds.)

And it matched my red nail polish (this brand in ES)  and the red gloves. (For the record, I am not biting my nails again, but the dry weather has not been kind and they’ve all been breaking.)

I couldn’t stay too long because I had purchased tickets to an event that night (see the next topic!), but it was so wonderful to see my friends and I loved doing this swap with them. I love that it tells our friends a little more about ourselves. 🙂

Sincerely, me

That’s right, I bought tickets for Emmy and I to see the off-Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen, which debuted after all this time off from the pandemic here in Greensboro.  The show was absolutely beautiful and moving although the story did frustrate me at times. I’ve been playing “Waving Through a Window” and “You Will Be Found” on repeat here all week. Forget the Christmas tunes for now. I was waiting to see the film adaptation until I saw the play, so now I’ll be ready to stream that and relive it. I’m going to another off-Broadway show the week after Christmas, so I’ll be sure to share thoughts.

Speaking of Musicals

After hearing so many wonderful things about Tick, Tick . . . Boom – currently streaming on Netflix – I decided to give it a go when I had a free night. This musical film adaptation tells the story of Jonathan Larsen, the genius behind Rent. It was beautifully told with fabulous music (after all, this is his autobiographical play!) and I felt it gave a real look at what it’s like to be an aspiring playwright. Check out the trailer here, but if you love musicals, it’s a must see!

My Blown-up Christmas Wish

Lastly, I just had to share this tree created by Hip Hip Hooray that was at an outdoor market I attended last weekend. I am blown away (pun not intended, but hey – it works!) by the incredible creations that can be made with balloons.

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!