Feel Good Friday 53

Hello, my friend!  How are you? Have you begun stringing lights and spreading Christmas glitter everywhere yet?  I typically don’t decorate until the day after Thanksgiving, but life is about to get a little extra interesting here, so I decided to get a jump start.  Plus, let’s be honest, we can all use a little early festive cheer!  Just think of early decorating as the pre-game tailgate… all of the fun, and none of the pressure yet! Actually, if the holidays are anything like college football, I’m honestly just here for the pregame, then I’ll go home and take a nap.  You can wake me up when it’s 2021. Who am I kidding?  There’s no time for a nap. Pour me a coffee with a shot of Bailey’s and let’s get this season rolling. Today I’ve got some holiday cheer and finds, plus a podcast that spoke directly to my soul, and there was something else… OH YES, big news!

A sneak peek of my first Christmas tree of the season!  (First of two, so it’s not gonna be too crazy in here.) I will be sharing all of the details on Monday.

An Inspiring Podcast Episode

Last week I told you that I have taken somewhat of a  hiatus from entrepreneurial and motivational podcasts as I was feeling burnt out.  Something compelled me to tune into Cathy Heller’s recent episode featuring Christi Wright.  To be honest, I’d actually subscribed to Christi’s a while ago, but unsubscribed as it was a little too faith based for me. (There is nothing wrong with that, just not what I wanted to listen to).  For some reason, I was feeling the itch to press play on this one and I am so glad I did because she said exactly what I needed to hear.  She said, “Say yes before you know how.”  As you will see at the end of this post when I share my big news, I listened to that message and said yes, even though I don’t yet know how, but I feel confident that I will figure things out as I go.  This episode was full of tips and wisdom and worth the listen.

Supporting Independent Artists and Makers This Season

Image from Ore & Wool, who I interviewed last week.  Click here to shop.

Last week I mentioned some ways we can help our local businesses make it successfully through this holiday season. It’s also important to remember the artists and makers whose livelihood is this season of giving.  Many of them have done pop up shops and fairs in the past, and even had merchandise in stores, but this year is different. Some have shifted to only selling online, and they’re coming up with all sorts of creative wares and ideas so be sure to check in with your favorites and help support them this year.  I’m sharing interviews with some of my favorite makers every Thursday on IGTV for the next few weeks.  You can check out the first two here and here.

Moving Holiday Ad

The holiday ads get me every year.  Oh, how they toy with my emotions!  I have to turn away when I hear Sarah McLachlan’s Silent Night come on, or else our house will quickly be filled with rescue pups. This year, Amazon created an ad that shares the strength of the human spirit, the power of community, and beautiful snowy imagery.  I am crying just typing this, recalling how much the ad moved me when I watched it.  I need a moment please, so just watch this while I pull myself together.

Fun Christmas Movie

Now that I’ve got you crying, let me help you rediscover your laughter.  Emmy and I couldn’t wait to watch the new Netflix film starring Emma Roberts, Holidate. It’s your feel-good romantic comedy of the season. From the very beginning, you know what’s going to happen, but isn’t that we watch these movies?  We want to see people fall in love and witness their happy ending. Check out the trailer here. (Note: Emmy is almost 14, and this movie had a couple of raunchier scenes, so if your kids are younger, I recommend just checking the parental guide.)

Christmas Craft

If you studied my tree in the image at the top of the post, you may have noticed chunky yarn tassel ornaments.  They were ridiculously inexpensive and easy to make! My friend Shelley created a tutorial 4 years ago, and I used it to create my own colorful version in a burnt orange/terra cotta. Find her step by step guide here.

Seasonal Song of the Week

Last week I promised you a new Christmas craft and song each week.  Craft, check!  Song… here we go! One of my crazy dreams in life is to own a Christmas Tree Farm.  I would love to witness all of the families coming, excited about the upcoming holiday, picking out the special tree to take home. I don’t know that it will ever happen, but one can dream!  Did you know that Taylor Swift actually grew up on a Christmas tree farm?  She shares glimpses of it in her video from the song she released last year, Christmas Tree Farm.

Bonus Thanksgiving Song

There aren’t many Thanksgiving songs out there, yet it’s always been a favorite holiday of mine.  I realize it’s based on terrible actions by our country’s founding fathers, but for me it’s always been about gathering with family and expressing gratitude for all of our many blessings. I recently heard an interview with Ben Rector on the Rise Together Podcast, and it left me feeling the need to listen to his music. The first song I played was his newly released track, “The Thanksgiving Song.”  It’s a beautiful and moving song, and I found myself tearing up… “We made it through I do believe, the longest year in history, Thank God that it’s Thanksgiving Day.” We are making it through, my friend, and there is still so much to be grateful for.

My Big News

Be honest, you skipped ahead to read about my life-changing news, didn’t you? Just promise me you’ll go back and read everything else, OK? Well, first of all, we are not having a baby, not adopting a child, and no, I am not getting a divorce. What I did do that I didn’t expect to is that I went and landed myself a job!  I’ll have to tell you the entire story of how this job came to be in another post one day because I truly believe that I manifested it, and that it was meant for me.  What is this job, you’re wondering.  Well, I am going to be a digital content creator at a local magazine, O. Henry!  I will be focusing on their O.Hey branch, which is all about local happenings.  If you’re local and want to keep up to date with it, you can subscribe to O.Hey here and find us here on instagram. I was not looking for a job, but this one seemed to come to me, so I decided to follow the fenceposts and take it, even if I know that it will be a bit of a learning process. Remember what Christi Wright said to me in that podcast, “Say yes before you know how.”

And with that, I wish you a happy weekend to all, and to all a good night!