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Howdy Doody + Happy Friday!
Weekend plans weekend plans, anything fun going on in your weekend plans? We're doing what we always do on the weekends these days, which is to go to brunch + go to birthday parties. (Sooo many birthday parties holy cow.) But! Something fun I'm looking forward to is our Saturday night standing date night. We finally got our act together and hired a sitter in advance for every Saturday night this winter, so that rain or shine, interesting movie or not!, no tables available be damned!, we're getting out, just the two of us. Already we've found ourselves scrambling for clever ideas, but last week we happened on a date night back up plan that seemed completely genius in the moment. In the absence of anything better to do, we take whatever book we're reading at the moment to the local pub, eat some bad bar food and watch whatever local team is playing on the TVs, and log away a few hours of quiet reading together. We hold hands. :) It's such an old person move, but it was a pretty lovely night. I'm already looking forward to the next time we prove too impressively boring to come up with anything better to do. :)
A few things that struck my fancy this week.
Have you heard of Lunaception? I'm considering trying it. Sleep mask here I come! (This one has good reviews.)
Related to the above--anyone tried Wild Yam Cream? It's all natural, and made from (obviously) yams, for hormone regulation. I'm so intrigued by the idea, I'm thinking of ordering myself a bottle, but I'm not sure. I tried progesterone cream when trying to get pregnant with Huck, and it was the worst. I hated the side effects. So I have my reservations. The testimonials are pretty intense.
Every David Bowie hairstyle from 1964 to 2014, animated.
This girl nailed the beauty look of my dreams.
Hermione as the real hero in the Harry Potter series (wasn't she already?).
In researching Uniqlo's ethical practices after a reader alerted me to their unsafe manufacturing practices, I came across The Good Guide, which grades brands on such matters as ethics and environmental impact. Interesting, and worth a browse.
The husband I love to hate. Hah! Surprisingly sweet.
Ayn Rand reviews children's movies in The New Yorker. This was fantastic.
Speaking of The New Yorker, I recently bought a subscription ($12 a year vs $7 a pop at newsstands, yeech!), and it's the best thing I ever did. The Shouts & Murmurs column completely makes my day, every time. These two cracked me up recently: Let's Get Drinks, and The Eight Serious Relationships of Hercules
"Diners are the best restaurants for planning murders, stick-ups, or other nefarious enterprises." -- Why Diners Are More Important Than Ever
These shoes. I realized I wanted them rather badly the other day, it was kind of a crisis situation.
Ready any good books lately? On Monday I downloaded Essentialism to my Audible app and then listened to almost the whole thing in one go while doing a paint-by-number. (Guys, have you done a paint-by-number lately?) It was the most restorative couple of hours, and really good food for thought. Our Girl Club* is discussing "Still Alice" this weekend, but I haven't even cracked the spine on it. (The subject hits a little close to home.) Is it worth the speed read? Or should I just show up for the cheese plate and stuff my mouth and keep quiet. ;)
*Remind me to tell you about Girl Club. It's kind of the best.
SEED CYCLING! I cannot sing its praises loudly enough. Some straight up voodoo magic, eating a different combination of seeds during the waxing and waning cycles of the moon. Completely changed my life.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like the BEST date ever. Apparently I am an old person too...
ReplyDeletehttp://kathrynlouisasutton.wordpress.com
When my husband and I went to Ireland we did all the touristy things and loved every single second of them, but my favorite memory is going to the same pub in this small town at the coast every night three nights in a row, bringing a deck of cards, and just drinking beer and listening to the live music. Sitting and relaxing with your dude is just the absolutely most romantic, don't you think?. (Lots of nothing means so much more than so many somethings, yeah?) ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your list. And I really like those shoes. I like that you just like stuff. Just like, stuff that you happen to like, not that other people told you to like or that you think you should like. I'm going to try that, I think. You are my inspiration!
This is kind of the best! I love this post, and hearing what you're reading about and thinking about. Please keep it up! And please do share about Girl Club soon. It sounds fantastic (cheese plates?!) and I can't wait to hear about it!
ReplyDeleteThat reading date sounds shockingly awesome and a standing date night sounds even better.
ReplyDelete♥ www.belgianandahalf.com
That sounds like the best kind of date. Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeleteExcelent books I've read recently by some kick-a women that I highly recommend. I think you'd love them as much as I did:
ReplyDeleteYes Please - Amy Poehler
I'm Not That Kind of Girl - Lena Dunham
Bossypants - Tina Fey
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy
And a couple untraditional pieces that totally blew me away:
Pride of Baghdad - Brain K Vaughn
Building Stories - Chris Ware
Blankets - Craig Thompson
U must read still alice. Must! Go forth and speed read asap!
ReplyDeletei second that! read it!
Deletenicole warne indeed the prettiest asian i ever saw..she's amazing!
ReplyDeletexo joselovincolors
www.joselovincolors.com
How on earth can I also get a $12 New Yorker subscription?! The link says $52/year, and I saw $69, too. So confused. Please share!
ReplyDeleteYessss, was wondering the same thing!!
DeleteWeekly date night is so cute! -Hanna Lei
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend has introduced me to the next best thing -reading to each other! I read to her in the car when she's driving and bored of the radio and the latest thing is reading to her in bed over skype; we basically put each other to sleep :) so anyway, don't feel bad, I'm only 22 and that's pretty much my idea of a good date!
ReplyDeleteMy mom is a natural/homeopathic nut and back in the day she SWORE by the yam cream (hated the pg cream) so you have her blessing. Don't you feel better now??
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea not he standing date night!! I am sort of embarrassed to say we haven't had one since our 13month old was in the NICU!! Getting on this babysitter finding business ASAP!
ReplyDeleteAs always, love getting the time to read your blog, so refreshing. xo
Natalie
Hello! I started using a contoured sleep mask about a year ago (the bf bought me one) and I swear by it! I like the contoured one because it doesn't rest on my eyes, but still blocks the light. It may have only been me, but when I first started wearing it, I wouldn't close my eyes - I just laid there with my eyes open in bed (but it was so dark)! Love (and recommend) it!
ReplyDeleteDude, be careful about putting extra/unneeded hormones in your body, even if from a natural or plant source. If you don't need it, it can really screw you up. Always talk to your doctor first.
ReplyDeleteThat Ayn Rand article had me in fits from laughing so hard. Thank you for sharing that and making my day.
ReplyDeleteBefore we had our daughter, every night was date night (you know what I mean?), and now I miss it! We're homebound for RSV season (she's a micropreemie), but after that you'd better believe we're reinstating date night!
ReplyDeleteThe New Yorker is soooo good !
ReplyDeleteThis is probably late, but I could not handle Still Alice and that was without it hitting especially close to home. However, I just finished reading Station Eleven and was surprised by how much I liked it--it's so very human.
ReplyDelete