Hi there, everybody! We hope that you had a great holiday with your families/partners/friends/pets/selfs/whomever and that you got a chance to relax! I know that I ended up with some really thoughtful things this Christmas, and I’m very thankful for the people that I got a chance to spend the time with. Now that the chaos is over, though, it’s time to focus on the new year! Walter and I have NO plans for NYE - how about y’all? Enjoy the weekend, we will have a little more time off before ya know it! Now on to this week’s Faves!
Ally:
My wonderful Mother-in-Law (I talk about her constantly on OSG, she’s the absolute BEST and most FUN person ever) got me a weighted blanket for Christmas! I almost cried. Caroline’s mom told me that Care and her sisters were getting one for Christmas and I was so jealous (excited for them, but also definitely jealous - LOL). Walter was cracking up because he knew that I was already getting one. What a game changer! I deal with serious anxiety, especially at night, and it has already been so helpful.
I also got this rainbow art ball for Christmas and it is the coolest. It is such a stress reliever. It is like one of those tangle toys, that twist and shape any way that you want them to. These balls can make sculptures, or just keep your hands busy during a panic attack (hi!). They are all wooden and painted beautifully.
Here’s a big secret (NOT) - I LOVE KACEY MUSGRAVES! Care and I are gearing up to see her at the end of January courtesy of Walter for our Christmas/Birthday presents. She is coming right inbetween Caroline and my birthdays, so it is perfect for a little girls’ trip! I think it’s only appropriate to show some love to her latest album Golden Hour, not only because I have been bumping it more than usual in anticipation of seeing her, but because the album is nominated for FOUR GRAMMY’S including Album of the Year! Give it a listen. It’s not just a country album, though there’s definitely country influence there. There’s a lot of 70’s vibes and vocoder work. Plus, she’s just an incredible songwriter.
Walter is a board game addict, and we are always looking for fun two player games. This is almost like air hockey, but controlled by magnets. We have already had so much fun with it!
At least once a month, I like to make a charitable donation. Whether it is a family that needs help on a crowdfunding website, something that I have researched, or even just a jar contributing to a charity that I trust at the gas station. This month, I gave money that I had put aside from my Christmas bonus to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Obviously we love Dolly around here, and part of that is that she’s just plain good. Her family could never afford books, and her parents wouldn’t let her bring home books from school because between 12 children, her father was worried that someone might damage a book and they wouldn’t be able to pay the school back. Dolly developed the Imagination Library to send a book a month to each child in the program from the age of their birth until they start school, free of charge. Millions of children are a part of this service, and all that you have to do is sign up. In the words of Miss Dolly herself: “there can never be enough books in the hands of enough children.”
Caroline:
If you have been following along with our Instagram then it is no surprise that I am deeply in love with everything Cleo Wade says. I read Heart Talk pretty much every night before bed and bought 8 copies of it for all the important women in my life for Christmas. I love this TED Talk she did. She is so pure and wise and just incredible. “Be good to as many people as possible”.
My soon to be sister-in-law got me one of these bracelets with Grace and Violet’s names on it and I am absolutely in love with it!
We have had an Amazon Echo Dot for a while but I somehow just realized that you can create ‘routines’ on it and it has been GAME CHANGING. In the morning I now say “Alexa, good morning” when I get into the kitchen and it tells me the weather, any events on my calendar, reminds me to take my medicine and then plays my breakfast playlist. In the evening I can say “Alexa, goodnight” and it turns the volume down to level 2, turns off our living room light and says “goodnight I will talk to you tomorrow” (the last one isn’t necessary but I find it hilarious).
My mom got me a face cupping set (similar to this one) and OH MAN. Let me tell you, it feels fantastic. I apply some of my Herbivore Botanicals oil to my skin and then suction-away. It feels like the most amazing massage for your face. Also, FINGERS CROSSED the anti-wrinkle effects they claim are true!
This Talkie by Toymail was my oldest daughters main gift for Christmas and it is the COOLEST thing and makes me so jealous that I didn’t have it as a kid. It connects to our wifi and she can use the buttons on the back to select a family member that we have added, record and send a voice message to their phones and then receive them back! She has been messaging back and forth with my sister and Mom non-stop and it is the cutest thing ever! Also, she is able to message my husband when she wakes up and tell him she misses him while he is at work and seeing her little face light up when he responds is the cutest thing in the world.
That’s all for this week! Let us know in the comments what some of your favorite/most meaningful gifts you received were!