The Friday Post

It has been weeks since I posted on a Friday. The One Room Challenge required all my time and focus, and I still feel like I’m in the middle of a long exhale now that it is over.

Also, I’ve been taking on some freelance writing projects lately. In other words, I’m side hustling. Hustle is the word-of-the-day on letter boards and coffee mugs, but all I ever think of when I hear that word is The Hustle by Van McCoy. I wish I could unhinge my hips and move like the dancers in that video. (Those outfits too!) Anyway, all that to say that I have been writing elsewhere and getting paid. I’m not mad about it.

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Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Have you started your holiday shopping? For some reason, this year, I have been super motivated to finish my shopping early. I’m not much of a Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopper. I usually take a look at the deals, but there are very few items that catch my eye. However, I also do not have a lot of gifts to buy. Only my side of the family celebrates Christmas, and outside of our nuclear family, we just exchange presents with my sister, brother-in-law, and my mother. My family is tiny.

I often have a hard time shopping for my sister, and we do a funny thing where we sometimes end up getting each other something very similar. One year it was socks. Another year it was small travel bags. We have also swapped jewelry. Unrelated to the holidays, we once bought the same sweater but in different colors. We live 950 miles apart, but apparently we are telepathic.

She is better at finding unique items than I am, but this year, I saw something that I can’t wait to send her. (Since I am pretty sure she does not read the blog, I feel confident letting the cat out of the bag.) It is this Zion National Park scented candle. She and I grew up in Zion National Park, and I am very curious what that candle smells like. Exactly how does one come up with a scent for sandstone and rabbitbrush? If I recall correctly, rabbitbrush smells terrible. Maybe the creator leaned more toward desert sage. Scented candles always feel like a risky purchase, but I’m going for it.

Andy and I moved here to BHH from a little town just outside of Sequoia National Park in California, so Santa might have to bring me the Sequoia candle.  I hope it smells like pine, damp earthy moss, and a hint of smoke. I used to tell Andy that I wanted to bottle the smell of the Sequoia National Park forest and make perfume. Pouring candles never crossed my mind.

If you are a national park lover like us, other candles in the line include Yosemite, Yellowstone, King’s Canyon, Ranier, Denali, Crater Lake, Acadia, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, Big Bend, and a few more. I’ve linked all the choices below. They are on sale right now and selling out fast. Scroll through to see all the choices. (Be advised that these don’t ship immediately. I hope they will arrive by Christmas. I’m taking a chance.)

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Made by Good + Well Supply Co., these candles:

• Are made from soy
• Are Inspired By National Parks
• Burn for approximately 80 hours
• Petroleum, GMO, Lead, & Phthalate Free
• Vegan, Eco-Friendly, Recyclable, Ethically Sourced & Produced
• Come In a Small Paint Can With Lid (A DIY delight!)

Other Things:

1. The Origami Holiday Tree at the Museum of Natural History in NYC –  The history of this tree is so interesting. Every year, my good friend Talo helps plan the project. Although my son, the true Origami artist in our family, and I have not had a chance to see the tree in person yet, we sure would like to. I wish NYC was a hop, skip, and a jump away, but instead, it is a car, bus, and subway, or a plane, bus, and subway ride away. It’s close, but not that close.
2. I am fascinated by John Derian and everything in his store. I keep returning to the tour of his Sea Captain’s house from A Cup of Jo. John’s home was also recently featured in The Observer.
3. Andy and I saw Hamilton (on tour) last weekend, and I loved it. Truthfully, I went into it afraid that it would not live up to the hype. However, within the first five minutes, I was hooked. Andy and I both agreed that we liked the first act better than the second, but the whole production was impressive.
4. On Wednesday, I shared this short documentary about William “Snowflake” Bentley with my beginning Origami students. They were fascinated. There is a sweet children’s book about Snowflake Bentley too. My kids used to ask me to read it to them over and over when they were younger. Now that we live in a winter wonderland, we occasionally do see complete snowflakes on our mittens or gloves. It always delights me.
5. I read the book Logom this week, and now Andy and I want to move to Sweden. Last year, we read the The Little Book of Hygge, and we wanted to move to Denmark. Perhaps Logom is the new Hygge? Stay tuned. We will only know if Pinterest and Instagram tell us it’s true.

What’s Next For BHH?

This morning, I asked Andy to write down his top five projects for BHH. Without looking at his list, I did the same. Here’s what we wrote:

Andy:

1. Downstairs Hallway
2. Drainage
3. Chimney
4. Laundry Room
5. Floors

Stacy:

1. Refinish floors
2. Fix the front door
3. Upstairs and Downstairs Hallways
4. Chimneys/Fireplaces
5. A’s bedroom

We overlapped on three projects, so that’s where we will put our focus. Well, I already have a project in the works that I will tell you about next week, but after that, I’ll focus on our lists.

I hope you have a good weekend. What’s on the docket at your house? Hannukah starts at sundown in two days, and we are ready with fresh candles and our Menorah.