I’ve mentioned before that one of the biggest blessings of my whole life is that I get to hang out with some darlin’ teenage girls every single week. They make me laugh and keep me young and are basically my only hope in terms of staying remotely fashionable (along with Melanie, of course).

I don’t write about the girls well, ever, since it’s always seemed like a good idea to keep their stories and issues and whathaveyou far, far away from the blog. But when it comes to gift ideas, I definitely share their opinions. I think it’s super-hard to know how to buy for girls / young women from, say, middle school- to college-age, and I figure that I can’t be the only one who thinks that. So I make a point to ask lots of questions and listen carefully when the girls are talking about what they think is oh-so-sassy. And then I make a list.

Just FYI: there aren’t any affiliate links in this list. Not that there’s anything wrong with affiliate links. But if I’m going to eavesdrop on a bunch of 17 year-olds, I figure it’s better if I don’t make a commission off of my nosiness. Call me crazy.

1. Silipada Dream Sign Bracelet – My sister-in-law gave me one of these for my birthday (granted, I am not in fact a teenager, but this is a bracelet that works for all ages), and I haven’t taken it off since. It’s so lightweight that you don’t even know that you’re wearing it, but I can tell you that I look down at it several times a day and smile. Dreaming is sort of counter-intuititive to my personality, so in a strange way, this bracelet encourages me. Delightful.

2. Silipada Simple Blessings Bracelet – I love this one, too!

3. Key to Kindness necklace

4. Dangle Stone hoops in brown

5. Write Everyday Agenda – I know that we have calendars on our phones and our computers and whatnot, but I am still so partial to a calendar that I can carry around with me and write in with Sharpies. Old school, you know.

6. Emi-Jay hair ties

Listen. I haven’t worn my hair in a ponytail since 1988, so I didn’t even know what an Emi-Jay hair tie was until the girls told me. But according to them, these particular hair ties are ALL THE RAGE – and the headbands, too.

7. Kate Spade iPhone 5 Paisley Hardshell Case – If you’re buying for a girly-girl and present her with this phone case, you will be THE HIT OF CHRISTMAS. No doubt about it.

8. Landlord of the Dance Slipper Socks

9. Country House Earbuds in Nesting Dolls

10. Micah 6:8 Typography Poster – I may get this for my own house. And since it’s a standard size, it’s easy to pick up a frame at Target or Hobby Lobby and create a gift that looks completely custom.

11. BDG Convertible Glove

12. Boot Cuffs with Buttons

13. Freeset Farmhouse tote bag with sari trim – Everybody needs tote bags, and these particular ones have a greater good attached. Plus, they’re super-roomy and durable, too.

14. Small Flap Crossbody Bag in gold – The crossbody bags are big – HUGE – with the 21-and-under set. So if you happen to run across one that you think is cute, I can almost guarantee you that it will be well-received by the lucky girl who gets to keep it.

15. Nick & Nora Vienna Woods Pajama Pant

16. Mr. Boddington’s Penguin Classics, Pride & Prejudice

17. Perfectly Unique: Praising God from Head to Foot by Annie Downs

18. Graceful: Letting Go of Your Try-Hard Life by Emily Freeman

19. Smashbox Studio Pop for Eyes – Because playing around with eye make-up is fun. I don’t care how old you are.

20. Crabtree & Evelyn Citron, Honey, & Coriander Mini 60 Second Fix for Hands – I think scented stuff is a super-personal gift, and I usually shy away from it for that reason. However, this particular Crabtree & Evelyn scent seems to be universally adored. It’s light, lemon-y, and just a tiny bit herb-y. Delightful.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

Earlier this week PamB left a comment and asked if I’d put together a list of books for kids. Since I happen to know a nine year-old boy who loves to read and who keeps his mama in the know about all of his favorite books, I figured I was up to the task. There are stacks of his books all over this house, and while sometimes I sigh a little bit when I move the piles from room to room, I am always tickled to hear the little guy mention how much he’s enjoying whatever he happens to be reading.

So. Here are twenty books that A. has enjoyed a whole bunch this past year. Lots of these books are part of a series, so if you do a little clicking on Amazon, you’ll see the other books in the series, too. I tried to make a list that goes beyond the normal favorites (Narnia, Harry Potter, etc.) and that’s very much geared to the older elementary / middle school set. As a mama I like to see A. reading a mix of classics as well as books that are just flat-out fun to read, but I definitely think that this list errs on the side of fun. Christmas is coming, after all.

Just FYI: these aren’t affiliate links. These are just links for books that I wanted to share. So there you have it.

1. The Action Bible (I’m putting this one first because it has hands-down been Alex’s favorite this past year. I’ve lost count of how many times he’s read it. And oh, has it ever prompted some interesting conversations. It’s a FANTASTIC resource for adventure-minded kids.)

2. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

3. Darth Paper Strikes Back

4. The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

5. The Third Wheel

6. Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure: Amazon

7. Justin Case: Smells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom

8. Big Nate Makes the Grade

9. The Hardy Boys (Starter Set)

10. The Name of this Book Is Secret (and the rest of The Secret Series)

11. Herbert’s Wormhole: The Rise and Fall of El Solo Libre

12. A to Z Mysteries Series

13. Through My Eyes: A Quarterback’s Journey, Young Reader’s Edition

14. Who Was Neil Armstrong? (this whole series has been a big hit in our house)

15. Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy: Amazing Voyage

16. Calvin and Hobbes

17. Wonkenstein: The Creature from My Closet

18. Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark

19. The Great Rabbit Rescue

20. Garfield Fat Cat 3-Pack

If you have any additional suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments!

1) So. Ever since we’ve lived in Birmingham, a Popeye’s that isn’t really close to our house but is at least within reasonable driving distance has been the source for most of our fried chicken needs. We’ll usually go with Zaxby’s if we’re looking for chicken tenders, but for some fried chicken on the bone, Popeye’s has been our go-to.

(As you may know already, I have loved Popeye’s since I was a freshman in college and ate the 2-piece spicy dinner with fries, red beans and rice, and a large Dr. Pepper at least three times a week.)

(Once I was finished with my 2-piece spicy meal, I usually liked to sit around and wonder why none of my clothes seemed to fit anymore.)

Anyway, D texted me this AM to let me know that our closest (albeit not really close) Popeye’s has closed.

I assume that the sun will still come up in the morning, but at this point the grief is so strong that I can’t really be sure.

2) Last night I had a whole bunch of work-related work to do, so I threw all caffeine caution to the wind and hopped over to Starbucks for some coffee. I knew it was going to be a late night, so I figured that I might as well summon up some fake energy.

I was in the drive-thru line at Starbucks when I realized that I haven’t told y’all about something that has truly been a momentous discovery for me over the last few months. It’s something that one of our friendly baristas told me about when I was craving a specialty latte’ drink one night but not wanting to deal with all the sugar that often accompanies the seasonal latte’ drinks (and I don’t really care for any of the sugar-free syrups).

The barista suggested that I order a seasonal (or specialty) latte’ with half the pumps of syrup. For a grande that means you get a two-pump latte’ instead of a four-pump latte’. I thought it might taste weird or strange or whatever, but can I just say? DELICIOUS. The drink has a stronger coffee flavor for sure, but you still get the flavor of the syrup without quite so much sweetness.

But wait! There’s more!

Last night my friend Erin, who used to work at Starbucks, told me that the one-pump short latte’ with a shot of espresso is also an excellent option if you’re looking for less sugar.

I do hope that this information enriches your next Starbucks experience.

3) My favorite show on TV right now? Scandal.

Don’t tell me about last night’s episode. I was busy drinking my two-pump grande gingerbread latte’ and plowing through the aformentioned stack-o-work, but I cannot wait to see it.

4) If I could only pick one Christmas song to listen to for the rest of my earthly days, it would be Daniel Renstrom’s arrangement of Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. At my current pace I will listen to it approximately 416 times before Christmas gets here. LOVE IT SO MUCH.

5) All righty. I’m about to turn off this computer and head to the grocery store (we can’t watch the SEC Championship game without appropriate tailgating appetizers, you understand). Hope y’all have a wonderful weekend!

Lately I’ve been looking around my house and realizing that somewhere along the way I gradually started adding yellow stuff into the decorative mix. It wasn’t part of any plan; for the longest time, in fact, it seemed like everything I had was black, red, taupe, or green, and I was fine with that. Those are good, honorable colors in my opinion. Dependable. Easy to work with.

But one day about five years ago, I found a lamp in a thrift store that caught my eye. It was yellow. And while I couldn’t think of one other yellow anything in my whole house, I thought it might be a nice pop of color against our living room walls. So I bought it for ten American dollars. And I have loved it to pieces.

And then, I don’t know, about three years later, I ran across this painting. The yellow in it made me smile, so I bought it and hung it in our foyer. No strategy, no plan – it was just something that I liked.

Not too long after that I was at an estate sale in my hometown and saw a sofa that could only be described as muted gold. But I thought it was kicky and fun, perfect for our playroom, and the price was right. So I brought it home.

And then I topped it off with a $25 painting from who-knows-where – a painting that, as I’ve mentioned before, is so bad that it’s fabulous (at least according to my friend Ben).

Listen. Every room needs a little bit of 70s in it. And if the 70s shows up with some questionable gold flowers, then maybe we should all embrace our inner Brady and run with it.

This vase, which is technically more lime green than yellow, came next. I was powerless to resist it when it called my name in Home Goods.

And speaking of powerless in the Home Goods…

…well, the big yellow ottoman immediately captured my heart when I saw it this past summer.

That “it” refers to the ottoman, by the way, and not to my heart. Because I imagine that it would be a little weird to see my heart in the Home Goods, though there’s not a doubt in my mind that they would display it beautifully. Maybe on an easel right there in the middle of the serving pieces.

ANYWAY.

Big yellow ottoman led to new pillows for my living room.

(I know. Chevrons and birds. It’s a lot of trendy. But the pillows make me smile, and that is really my only decorative criteria, as evidenced by the fact that I have a very large dark brown and gold painting from the 70s in our playroom.)

So. After five years of gradually getting to know the yellow, I think that it’s safe to say that yellow and I have developed a friendship. We started slow, but we’ve gained momentum.

We may even exchange presents this Christmas.

What about you? Do you like to decorate little by little? Or are you a major overhaul person? Do you gradually bring in a new color, or are you full-out, full-on from the second that a new color catches your fancy? Do you like change in your house (you may have picked up on the fact that I tend to err on the side of YES, I WOULD LIKE SOME CHANGE, PLEASE), or would you be perfectly content to live with the same furniture and accessories for the next twenty years?

As you can see, I am very curious.

The yellow and I will eagerly awaiting your answers.

Well, we had a lovely Thanksgiving – lots of family, lots of food, lots of laughs, and no shortage of shopping. The last of our company left this morning, and I have spent the better part of this afternoon watching The Cooking Channel / napping / catching up on the DVR / napping / resolving DVR recording conflicts for Sunday night programming / napping.

I’m trying to sidestep the usual post-holiday letdown, and part of my strategy is watching tonight’s Downton Abbey special on PBS. Because when all other coping skills fail, I find that it’s helpful to immerse myself in all manner of behind-the-scenes details about the pretend lives of a pretend family and their pretend staff.

Amen.

Anyway, I just wanted to relay a couple of pieces of information fairly quickly, and then I’ll be on my way to the Abbey.

1. For the four to six of you who are interested, I wrote a post about Christmas music over at Ree’s blog.

2. A few people asked for my grandmother’s chocolate pie recipe after I posted a picture of the finished product on Instagram. Here is the recipe for the chocolate custard – and then you just pour it into a baked pie shell, let it cool, and then add merengue. I make my merengue with 3 egg whites, 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. I whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until the egg whites are stiff, and I add the sugar during the last couple of minutes. Brown in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes.

See? Magic.

I hope y’all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,
Sleepy McNapperson

*at least until Wednesday

For the last eight or nine years, my mama has made a habit of walking into my house, putting away her things, and then relaying the latest news for approximately seven and a half minutes before she starts looking around for something she can wash.

I will be honest. She has never had to look very far. Because if there is any consistent trend in this house, it is that the laundry is always – always – on the verge of total mutiny. I’m convinced that it creeps out of the laundry baskets and to the edges of our closet doors while we sleep, and it’s only the sound of our alarms that makes it retreat.

But make no mistake: one day it will overtake us. Something about the laws of mass and whatnot.

Anyway, Mama LOVES to “make laundry” (seriously. two lightly used dishtowels = full load of laundry.), but over the last couple of years, I’ve started to feel guilty about that. So lately, whenever she’s at our house for a visit, I try to intercept the laundry basket from her. I say no, sit down, rest, hang out with Alex, let’s go get a pedicure – leave the laundry alone.

When Mama and Daddy pulled up to our house yesterday, they found me way, way behind on my Thanksgiving schedule. I’ve been sick for two days, and I haven’t done any of my normal prep work. It’s fine, really; I enjoy a culinary challenge, so I’ve been kind of tickled that today’s cooking pace has been fast and furious. But in the midst of running some cheese through the food processor around 7:45 this morning, I realized that there is a child in this house who doesn’t have so much as a clean pair of blue jeans.

So I looked over at Mama and said, “Hey – if you want to tackle the laundry in Alex’s closet while I’m cooking – well, it’s all yours.”

Now listen. If someone said that to me, I would probably think of some not-nice words – and I might even feel a little insulted.

But my mama? Apparently I dialed right in to her love language. She lit up like a Christmas tree. Popped straight up out of her chair.

And I realized in that moment – after years of trying to modify Mama’s tendency to wash, dry, and fold her way through her visits – that it’s not about the laundry.

It’s about being needed and loving her family.

I can be a tough person to love sometimes. I’m independent, stubborn, and I am always quick to say that I like to tackle things on my own. I like to call it self-sufficiency, but really it’s some hard-core control.

That’s why seeing Mama’s face this morning got my attention. It reminded me that maybe I should be a little bit less mindful of what I think Mama should want to do – and a little more mindful of giving the grace of being needed. Because what feels like a chore to me may feel like service to someone else. And service is almost always a way that people show their love.

I don’t want to take that away from somebody, you know?

So if you were at my house right now, you’d find me elbow-deep in sweet potatoes – and you’d hear the washing machine running like a playlist on repeat. Mama has laundered, bleached, and mended just about every item of clothing in a certain nine year-old’s closet.

It’s still hard for me to understand why in the world tending to the laundry has put such a spring in my mama’s step, why it’s put such a smile in her eyes.

But it has. There’s no doubt about it. And I’m grateful.

So I reckon I learned something today. Only took eight years for it to sink in.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.