It’s Friday. We just had the first snowfall of the season. Last night, I turned in a book manuscript for a client (this book is going to be huge, ya’ll, I can’t wait to tell you more about in the spring when it comes out). All I want to do is eat chips and binge watch and then maybe go to Nordstrom Rack. So this post are the things that I am currently loving and my way of keeping it chill. Hope you find something you love in here too. =)
9 Things I’m Loving Right Now
1. Puzzles. We just finished this 750-piecer of a New Yorker cover by Roz Chast (love her too!). I love the way doing a puzzle occupies the chatter-spewing part of the brain so that quieter, more creative thoughts can rise to the top. My son Teddy had a brainstorm while working on the puzzle where he developed a really cool logo for himself that includes all the letters of his name yet makes its own unique shape.
And I saw that putting a puzzle together is a lot like writing book—sometimes you’re working on the structure (the outline/edge pieces), sometimes you claim an area and dive in deep until its done, and sometimes you’re just fumbling around, trying to combine some pieces even though you have no idea yet where they go. Also: We finished this 750-piece puzzle in 6 days. I see puzzle pieces and books with faces on them whenever I close my eyes, still.
2. Theo dark chocolate and sea salt bars. I am loving these perhaps a little too much.
3. This article about being a woman and having the confidence to do your best work that I read months ago in the New York Times. It has stuck with me. It interviews three female indie pop stars and how they quickly put an album together by pretending they were boy geniuses. “We were just talking about boys and men we know who’ve been told that they are geniuses since they could hear, basically…and what type of creative work comes out of that upbringing.”
4. Good and Mad, by Rebecca Traister. I heard her speak, I read her book, I’m in love with her; I’m also good and mad about how women have been treated through the ages.
5. Home-cooked food. Sometimes it just tastes better than other times. Now I would so much rather eat something I threw together at home than go to a restaurant. Maybe it’s the cold weather. Everyone in my family is enjoying these chicken lettuce wraps, except with red peppers instead of water chestnuts (the kids don’t understand water chestnuts at all…yet).
6. Getting one-on-one coaching. Coming off a year in a group mastermind, which was great in so many ways, it feels awesome to have some focused, personalized support. Ahhh. I hung up the phone after my first call and noticed myself singing the Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston song, “It Takes Two.” (It takes two, baby, to make a dream come true…)
7. Watching The Voice as a family. Somehow we all fit on the couch—the dog too—and it just feels delicious.
8. This new astrology book, Astrology for Happiness and Success by Mecca Woods who breaks it down in a way that really helps you get what you want—she gives affirmations, journal prompts, relationship strategies, and ways to reduce stress for every sign. And so much more. And because Mecca and I share a publisher, I’ve got a copy to give away free! Check out my post on Instagram or Facebook about it to enter (today, 11/16, only).
9. Anne Ortelee’s Weekly Weather Astrology Podcast. Speaking of astrology, this podcast is soooooo good. Helps you understand the energies everyone’s exposed to (including you, of course) so that you know what’s up—the equivalent of knowing if it’s going to dump rain later in the day so can tuck your umbrella into your bag. VERY helpful and insightful! I used to read her long-ass blog posts when long-ass blog posts were the thing; love being able to listen on a dog walk now.
What are some things you are currently loving to help you relax and chill out?
