Hello, Sunday.

I hope that you’re all doing well. I’m doing my best to not doom-scroll myself to sleep every night and have varying levels of success of that through the week. 

HBU?

Yesterday we got a bit of snow, so it was a good excuse to stay in, tuck in with a book and tune out – and it’s exactly what I did. See photo above for my happy place.

The world still feel heavy, and while I’m trying to focus too hard on it, I’m finding it very hard.  Below provides a little bit of distraction, and hopefully you can find a little bit of joy out there too.

I won’t be watching the Super Bowl tonight since…I don’t really care who wins.  But I am so proud of my guy – Josh Allen. And how cute are they?  Do Good. Be Good. God Bless. Go Bills.

If you’re wondering, work has been pretty stressful lately.

But in other news, there’s an asteroid heading our way?

I may be just be #influenced here, but I’m not lying when I say I’ve been daydreaming about putting a sauna in my basement…good idea?

Anyone else feeling a little weary of flying these days?  You’r not alone – let’s all get over it together!

Come the f*&k on, Bridget!  YES. Cannot wait!

I mean, nature’s gonna nature.  Go Beavers! And of course they’d do it better than humans would. 

I feel like all we hear about these days are microplastics. Can we really avoid them?

And finally, if you are watching the Big Game tonight, here are some of my fave game day eats!

Have a good week!

Hello, February. Glad to see you.

January was the longest, but is there any promise February will get any better?  Sorry to be doom and gloom but the news every day just….

It’s getting harder each day to find that little bit of JOY that I promised myself a month ago.

This post was a lot more Debbie Downer than it was on the first draft, but let’s shake it off, and try and focus on what I’m looking forward to this February, k? I hope you have fun things to keep that North Star bright!

wishing: lots of wishes.

hoping: i make it through cold and flu season unscathed. 

thinking: it’s a busy month- i better make sure i get my rest.

counting: down to Disney at the end of the month, because if i ever needed some magic healing, it’s now.

praying: for a miracle.

planning: summer travels for these tennis tourists- back to the UK we go.

dreaming: i dreamed a dream…

reading: outlive: the science and art of longeivity.

watching: a lot of disney movies.

eating: this tuscan bread soup on repeat.

wearing: my new ugg knock-offs – so cozy! and on sale!

finding: comfort in crawley snuggles

I hope you have your own crawley to take comfort in as well. have a good month.

XO

Hello, Sunday.

Damn, what a week?

Even though I’m thousands of miles away, I can’t help but watch the fire coverage unfold out in California. Having been through and evacuated for so many hurricanes in my day, natural disasters have a pull on me.  It’s a mixture of disbelief, horror and empathy.  In any case, I haven’t been able to look away.

To distract myself, I’m sort-of-secret packing for Norway – I leave tomorrow. Generally, I’m not an overpacker. I have a pretty consistent “uniform” which means I can throw together a carry-on suitcase in about 20 minutes with a high level of confidence that I haven’t forgotten anything. This trip is a little different.

It’s been ages since I’ve packed for a cold weather trip, and with so many outdoor activities planned, under a variety of temperatures and weather conditions (think rain, snow, sleet) – it’s got me going back and forth on the essentials. All this means that I can’t put it off until the last minutes, and while I haven’t had my suitcase out yet, Crawley ain’t stupid. He knows what’s up, and spent most of the morning and afternoon giving me the side eye. He’ll be giving me sad eyes tomorrow once the suitcase comes out.

That being said, I know that there are so, so many resources out there to helping those out in California (and any natural disaster that hits) The ones that always hit me in the feels most are those that are stepping up to help the animals. In this instance, Pasadena Humane society has taken in over 400 animals that were either lost, or that evacuees dropped off because they couldn’t take them along.  With Crawley sitting here finally snuggled on my lap, I can’t imagine having to drop him off not knowing if I’d ever see him again.  I also feel like insurance and the government and whoever will help people with the people stuff- I wanted to contribute to the animal stuff. The whole thing is just a reminder to me to count my many, many blessings and not take anything for granted. If you can help, here are some ways that you can.

I can’t wait to share my Norwegian aventures this week! Catch me on insta to follow along. 

Otherwise, here’s what we’ve got this week.

Friday coziness is a thing! While this is my usual end of week routine, it’s nice to see that an entire nation is embracing it, rather than having us all feel somewhat shamed for being so lame on a Friday night.

Reminding you of this most delicious pizza for a cozy Friday! Or this one!

Taking another page out of the Nordic book, a few tips on how to be content.  This is sort of in line my JOY for this year, so I’m into it.

Animals dressed in clothing fighting crime? It’s a thing, apparently.

Don’t blame the waitstaff!  As a former waitress, I get annoyed when I’m out with others and they complain how slow the waiters are. Before you also raise your fist, here are some things to consider. A good reminder.

Did you see the newly discovered dinosaur highway?? How cool!

We are becoming more and more isolated- and it’s definitely changing us.  Um…guilty.

Feeling sick? Put onions in your socks.  It sounds odd, but when I sent this to D, she said her mom uses Chinese hot mustard. I’m not going to crap on home remedies!

And finally, specific, really to only me, but Notre Dame is heading to the national championship!  Let’s gooooo Irish! Guinness  for good health to celebrate!

Let’s try and have a better week, shall we?