5 Friday Favorites: January 28, 2022

 

It's time for my Friday link up with  A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals. 

On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.

Happy Friday, Friends! I feel like I'm back in the land of the living this week. My first errand on Monday after I was released from my quarantine was to the post office and you would have thought I was going to the North Pole to visit Santa, I was so excited. I was so happy to be out and doing regular life stuff. It was possibly a little much for the patrons of every place I showed up because I was a little more friendly and chatty than was likely reasonable for a Monday morning. 

Just this week a friend of mine posted this quote by Albert Einstein: "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." 

I think that kind of describes how I felt this week. Whether it's being under the weather for a little while or whether it's just, you know, JANUARY, it's like I had forgotten that everything is a miracle. The postal worker behind the counter, the boots that keep my feet warm on a walk with the dog, the parking spot close to the entrance, sitting across the table from a friend, the sun that shines defiantly bright even though it's bitterly cold? All of those mundane things are miracles. Every one of them. I just forgot for a few weeks. I'm so glad I finally remembered.

Anyway, here are some other favorite things from this week.

1. Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde

I'm not sure what it is, but until this week, I had not read an entire book in months - especially a fiction book. I have so many books on my "To Read List" that are non-fiction - things to help me improve certain routines, to change my mindset, to teach me something or inspire me to be a better person. And each time I set out to read one of those, I just felt tired. I needed something light and completely fictional that wasn't going to require anything of me. Allie and Bea was perfect. I read it in just a few nights. It's charming and funny and even though I wasn't looking for it, turns out I learned a little bit, too - about misperceptions, grace, compassion and belonging. Allie and Bea is a delight.

2. Kelly Corrigan Wonders: Episode 69 on Parenting

This podcast is the best 45 minutes I have ever listened to on parenting. By far. Hands down. I wrote pages of notes as I listened. Kelly interviews a former dean of students at Stanford. I felt like they both were living in my brain. Such a good listen.

3. Maid on Netflix

I couldn't stop thinking about these people after watching this series. It was heartbreaking and frustrating and so good. The performances are outstanding. My favorite part was how each character is fully drawn out - no one is just the bad guy, just the hero, just the pushover, just the crazy person. All of them have humanity and heart and serious flaws. Gosh, I loved this series. Bonus: the lead character is Andie MacDowell's real life daughter and she is phenomenal.

4. The Amazon Shacket

The Amazon Shacket I mentioned last week arrived and all I have to say is that it met every single hope and dream I had for it. I love it so much. The only problem is that now I think I need it in another color and that is not even close to true. I do not. Who needs more than one Amazon Shacket? No one does. But I like this one. And the green one. And also the yellow one. And the orange one. 

5. The Lotty Necklace

When I wore my shacket this week, I wore this Park Lane necklace with it. It's called the Lotty and it's half chain link/half pearls. I think it's so cool and unique which is awesome because I don't usually find myself very cool or unique. ;-) 

Now I have to hustle and wrap this up because we have an early appointment this morning that I've got to drive the kid to, so I think I'll keep it simple by repeating this whole shacket/Lotty situtation today. If I saw you earlier this week wearing this and you see me wearing it again today, just go with it. 

Y'all have a great weekend. I hope it's not cold and grey with an 80% chance of MORE snow where you are, but if it is, I hope you have a shacket as great as mine and I hope you remember to look for miracles everywhere you go. 

(FYI: If you're keeping track, I used the term "shacket" way more than any normal human should. My apologies.)

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