Freeform Friday

Happy end of the year to you! We're keeping it low key this New Year's Eve and plan on going out for a simple dinner at a fun, new spot. My biggest accomplishment this past week was watching five movies in four days and finishing two books, and I hope to keep the streak going into week two of vacation.

I hope you have a  lovely new year, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the past week.

A celebration of Stevie Wonder, and a reminder to appreciate those who inspire us while they're still around.

On a related note, have you heard Wonder's cover of "We Can Work it Out"? Damn.

Looking forward to #16.

A bromance for the ages.

This is my kind of stacked roster.

What's on the minds of 2.9 million Americans as 2016 comes to a close.

The 20 best films of 2016. I'm delighted to see Linklater at #15 , and I second their recommendations for #19, #10, #4, and the single best film I've seen in ages, #2; #1 is still on my to-watch list.

Smile inducing photos from 2016.

Good morning to you and you and you and you; thank you for the songs, Debbie.

Pimento cheese bites? Yes, please.

[Photo of Grace Kelly with a tall glass of bubbles.]

Eight Easy, Green New Year's Resolutions

These New Year's resolutions will help you put less rubbish on the curb each week, save money, cut your carbon footprint, and give you a cleaner conscience knowing that you're making little changes that can add up to a big impact on the environment.

Cloth napkins come in cute prints (which are also great for hiding stains), and they last for years. Use use them every day, although I do have one set I save for holiday dinners. My favorite sources are vintage sets picked up on Etsy and reuse/antique shops, and I like to get new sets from T.J. Maxx. I've also turned vintage tablecloths with holes in an isolated spot into napkins, like the ones pictured below, with the help of my super crafty mom. Pro tip: go for cotton over linen if you're not a fan of ironing.

We ditched paper towels in favor of cloth rags years ago. Once or twice a year I gather all of the grubby t-shirts in our house, snip off the sleeves, and cut them up the sides to turn them into two rags. I keep a basket under the sink with clean rags and another near the stairs for dirty rags (and napkins!) so they can easily get toted to the laundry room.

Our countertop compost bin is a simple way to keep compostables out of the trash and into the backyard heap or compost bin for city pickup. We picked up this one at our neighborhood Ace Hardware and have been super happy with it.

Glass and aluminum water bottles are an easy swap out for wasteful plastic water bottles. I like Life Factory and Klean Kanteen with sport tops, and they go to work and school, on trips, to soccer games, and playdates with the kids.

We also have a bunch of milk bottles with straws from Target's dollar section that my kids love; they will drink pretty much anything I put in front of them if I put a straw in it, and there are plenty of reusable straws out there.

I also say "no thanks" to plastic and paper shopping bags as much as possible, and I save and reuse any that do come come. These are my favorite reusable shopping bags to keep in my purse or the side door of the car; they are super light weight and have a snap closure so they fold up small. For a weekly shopping trip to the grocery, I like these sturdy totes.

Although babies in diapers are a thing of the past in our house (yay!), we did use cloth diapers for about five years. I still swear by their performance and ability to contain even the nastiest messes. We also used small flannel squares (my crafty mom made those, too) and a squirt bottle of Dr. Bronner's lavender liquid soap solution rather than chemical-filled disposable wipes. And, now that we're done with diapers, I still have great wet bags for swim lessons and dirty clothes that come home from sleepovers at Nonna's house.

What are your favorite ways to keep it green?

Freeform Friday

Happy vacation! We're spending our time off sleeping in, coloring, baking, reading, and visiting with family for the holiday. We also get to indulge in two of my favorite vacation activities: leisurely lunches out and weekday story time with the kids.

I hope you have a lovely holiday, and I hope you enjoy clicking through these links (when you may or may not be hiding from your family in the bathroom of your relative's house).

Looking for a great poem to read at the holiday table? How about this, this, or this.

Feminist books for good girls AND boys.

The perfect gift for someone on the (little bit) naughty list.

A tempting addition to bedtime stories.

Just in time for some holiday laughs: David Sedaris reads his essay "Santaland Diaries."

This feminist pirate song has perfect cultural commentary.

Must-read books for fans of film.

Eek! New details about Wes Anderson's newest film.

Tips for going to the Women's March on Washington.

A beautifully written essay on solitude by Donald Hall.


[Photo by A. Eldon of the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory.]

Freeform Friday

We had a four-day work week thanks to a Monday snow day (where I stayed in my pajamas until 4:00 and finished an entire book), and we have four days next week before going on winter break Thursday afternoon; that's a schedule I could get used to. This weekend we're looking forward to a holiday party with some of our closest friends and a visit to Santa with the kids. Hopefully they ask for a Totoro and Catbus because that's what Santa is getting them. I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the past week.

A stunning collection of perfectly constructed film shots.                      

Three short stories from the always impressive Sherman Alexie.

On that note, here are details about the plans for an Absolutely True Diary film.

Find a theater that is playing this documentary on street cats.

More reasons to watch Moonlight.

I adore this Lego lovin' family for so many reasons.

Check out these amazing auteurs.

Need a visual for trustworthy news sources? This is for you.

This. Exactly this.

The future is female.

A hilarious collection of laugh out loud essays.

My favorite Christmas read.

[Photo of a our backyard with a snowy Honey Creek.]

Freeform Friday

"Hey, Sally! You want me to trimma tree for ya?" 

-Holden from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. 

This weekend we're going to tim our tree, hope for several inches of snow to play in, and celebrate my husband's almost milestone birthday at a new French restaurant in town. I'm also planning on hunkering down in front of the fire to finish writing an article I've been working on and finally address the Christmas cards that have been sitting around all week waiting to go out in the post.

I hope you have a lovely, cozy weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the past week.

Baby, it's consensual outside. 

What romance scenes would look like if films were feminist.

On a related note, dialogue analysis of film scripts reveals absolutely nothing shocking about a lack of female voices in film. 

My gift to you, dear reader: NPR's Book Concierge guide to 2016’s great reads.

Sherman's Alexie's podcast on writing in the era of Trump. 

How to self-check the news and get the facts.

After looking at this analysis of Twitter, I now can literally see the damage the disappearance of newspapers is having on our country. 

Dorthea Lange's stunning, censored photos of Japanese concentration camps. 

Five hundred years of European women in art. 

The Power of Three Deep Breaths

I was talking to my students recently about tricks for calming down before giving a presentation, and one of my best tips is to take three deep breaths before starting a speech. I'm talkin' about all the way down to your stomach deep breaths.

I was reminded that it's a great tip for calming down in any situation, not just speeches. Few things can't be fixed or dealt with after taking three deep breaths.

Three deep breaths calm you.They force you to step back from the situation you're dealing with.They allow you to reset.

They may even prevent you from yelling, "Stop yelling!" at your own children or losing your cool when trying to reason with a Trump supporter. Maybe.

Holiday Gift Ideas

The first blustery days of December always gets me in the mood to finish off my shopping for the holiday season and looking for the next greatst hit. Here are some favorite gifts I've gotten and given, and I even doubled up from some stores because free shipping with a minimum order is no joke.

Gifts for bigs:

Your cocktail is going to look so good in these rock cups.

This classic vase looks great with or without flowers.

A banned books mug for the reader in your life.

A cute tote for our favorite elementary school teacher (or this one for high school).

Keychain and patch stocking stuffers for Wes Anderson fans.

Album cover frames for your vinyl lover.

It's hard to go wrong with a nice bag of beans like these or these.

The Dude abides by these white Russian ingredients.

Cozy slippers like these for her or these for him.

Gifts for littles:

The perfect gift for builders that my kids play with almost every week.

Game time is fun time with this and this.

This bag and mat is amazing for containing Legos.

A thoughtful bank that shows kids how to spend, save, and give their money.

This dinosaur set gets serious action in our house.

My son adores this Star Wars pillow that he carries all over the house.

This mug sleeve is great for identifying plain water bottles.

Gifts for everyone: 

I'm a big fan of classes and memberships as gifts, too. My favorites have been swim lessons, a membership to our Hands-On Museum, a membership to our historic movie theater, and amazing cooking classes.

Freeform Friday

This weekend we're celebrating my son's sixth birthday with friends and family, and we'll indulge him in all things Lego and dinosaur. Kid birthday celebrations are not complete without an incredible birthday cake, and this year the birthday boy picked out a strawberry and buttercream confection. I'm already dreaming of a cake-induced coma in front of a cozy fire. Somebody wake me up when the recount is over.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the last week.

Have you seen the new Stones music video? Extra love for the vintage fastback Mustang (which happens to the first car I owned as a fresh-faced sixteen-year-old). It's just as fun to drive as Kristen Stewart makes it look.

Wes Anderson's new ad featuring Adrien Brody. Hell yeah.

Sometimes I love fake Amazon reviews.

These are the only Bible quotes I want to see on the side of a Starbucks cup.

I listened to this song about 25 times at max volume today, and I've since developed a serious crush on this guy.

We saw this movie last weekend, and I can't stop thinking about it.

Offline streaming from Netflix? Yes, please.

Love the cozy slippers and simple jacket in this gift guide.

Thank you, internet!

You know Wikipedia is completely legit, right?

Spot-on movie recs for kids (and adults who may have missed them!).

One more Christmas movie you might have missed and need to see.

[Photo of my sweet boy on his fifth birthday.]

Freeform Friday

This weekend we're resting up, reading lots of books, marathoning High Maintenance, and trying to catch a couple movies in the theater (including one of my favorite film traditions). While I'm not a fan of big box Black Friday, I do love Giving Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to spreading the wealth with matching funds at my favorite gem of a theater. What non-profits are you giving to this year?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the last week.

A stunning, must-watch documentary.

A charming snowman short.

A true testament to the power of reading and books.

Educate yourself about fake, click bait-y "news" sources.

We're combating fake news with a print subscription for the first time in years (and our twice-weekly local paper is sadly not worthy).

If you haven't tuned in to Human of New York in the Mitten State, please do.

Cheers to this holiday Moscow mule.

Pudding pie, please.

Amusing rivalry antics.

[Photo from the charming "Snow" scene in White Christmas. Plus from fun trivia from the film.]

Thanksgiving Teacher Thank You

As a teacher myself, I know some definitive things about Thanksgiving break. One, it is a really long stretch from the beginning of the school year to late November, and even the most patient, seasoned teachers are worn out at this point in the year. Two, teachers have an often thankless job. Which brings us to number three. Teachers love a good thank you note.

So, on the eve of Thanksgiving break, my kids are both busy coloring pictures of turkeys and thinking of reasons they're thankful for their beloved teachers.

Here is the template I wrote this afternoon, and I paired it with a cute clipart turkey at the top of the page. Please feel free to use it and pass on the thankful sentiments to your favorite teachers.

Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs.______________,

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful that you’re my teacher.

Thank you for making me smile when…

Thank you for teaching me about…

Thank you for helping me with…

Thank you for being a wonderful teacher!

Hugs from your adoring student,

____________________

Freeform Friday

This weekend I'm looking forward to lunch with a dear friend and mentor; she retired several years ago, and we have a delightful tradition of taking each other out for a fancy birthday lunch. We're also gearing up at home for hosting Thanksgiving for 18; my mom, who really is the best mom ever, is amazing and volunteers to make the turkey, stuffing, and gravy each year, so that makes it all the more manageable. Also, like may Americans who are nervous about politics at the Thanksgiving table, my mom assures me that my cantankerous 89-year-old grandfather is mostly deaf and therefor might, possibly behave himself. We can always hope.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the past week.

A black and white movie marathon to lift your spirits.

Cold weather makes me want to buy scarves like this or this.

Everybody loves Uncle Joe.

You need to put Idiocracy at the top of your must-watch movie list.

A bunch of states just legalized weed (which is great 'cause we're gonna' need it now).

Speaking of weed, you should watch this great comedy.

HONY gets it every time.

No, lets not congratulate him. Not today. Not ever.

Don't be a dick.

I know what I'll be reading this June.

Dirty work mug vindication.


[Photo of my new hero, a Polish women's rights protestor who got it right.]

Freeform Friday

This week has been unbelievable. Literally. I've made it through the new stages of grief according to the Nasty Woman (thank you Pantsuit Nation!):

1. Be sad
2. Get pissed
3. Get shit done
Game on.

I'm vacillating between stages two and three, and after hosting friends for a brainstorming session tonight, I'm trying my best to get shit done. Here are some links from around the web that have been helping me not lose it over the last couple of days.

It's time for a big ol' pity party. Ours was tonight and featured three types of ice cream and two extra large Detroit style pizzas.

I'm ordering this pronto.

Love this mom's daily dose of wisdom in her daughter's lunch.

America elected a bigot (and other reasons I can't respect the president-elect).

The misogyny apocalypse.

Trump is the present, sadly, but he is not the future.

We will not mourn any more. We will organize.

Makin' Lemonade

There are plenty of times in life when things don't go the way I'd like, and I find myself grumbling about the turn of events. When I'm at my best, I suck it up and decide to embrace the expression "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."

When I couldn't sleep and took the dog on an early morning walk only to see a spectacular sunrise, I was makin' lemonade.

When my sitter couldn't watch my son and I had to stay home, we made cookies together. As I took a step back to see him vigorously shaking sprinkles over the baking sheet, I was reminded how important it is to make lemonade.

So many daily choices show that life is what you make of it. So, why not make lemonade?

Freeform Friday

This sunny autumn weekend we're getting together to celebrate the wedding of two near and dear friends, and as an added bonus we get to spend the weekend with some favorite out of town friends. I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through my favorite links from the past week.

This French email law is incredible.

Reveling in thin slices of joy.

Amazing kid art transformations.

I love these images of older fans getting rowdy after the Cub's victory.

These sad chairs of academia are so hilarious and depressingly relatable.

I'm loving this cultural shift of embracing powerful women.

I get a little weak in the knees for these gems.

Let's Party

Here are some party ideas I've been kicking around because dressing up and having drinks is a guaranteed good time in my book.

Wes Anderson party: This auteur's films are so highly stylized that it's easy to plan out all of the quirky hats, glasses, and vintage costumes required to take on the persona of your favorite character. For this costume party, invites are printed using yellow Futura bold, and food and drink mentioned in his films is served (with easy to find and print labels from the Internet). I want to give a big high-five to Jefferson and Val for inspiring this idea by showing up at a party once with Mendel's pastries they made using a recipe inspired by The Grand Budapest Hotel and my former student Sarah, who had a Wes Anderson themed birthday with a yellow tent and everything. 'Cause that's the kind of thing Wes Anderson fans do.

My film classes studied four of Anderson's movies, and we celebrated the end of the semester with a Wes Anderson party of our own; these are the menu items we came up with:

Rushmore

Something with honey (Rushmore bee keepers)

Sandwiches – tuna or pb&j

The Royal Tenenbaums

Cheeseburgers

Butterscotch ice cream

Dalmatian mice cookies

Candy cigarettes

Chips (not stolen)

Tic-Tacs

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Mrs. Bean’s famous nutmeg apple gingersnap cookies

Apples

Apple cider

Chicken (nuggets?)

Grape juice boxes

Blueberries

Moonrise Kingdom

Beef jerky

Bob Dylan party: Celebrate Dylan's Nobel prize by hosting a party where everyone dresses up as a character from one of his songs. We spent many a night out drinking with friends imagining what these costumes would look like. I found this and this that could help narrowing down the selection.

Throwback party: A happy hour with girlfriends this summer led us to uncover that one member of the group, during a particularly intense period of rebellion in college, had dreadlocks. We giggled, demanded pictures, and said how marvelous it would be to see Dreadlock Betsy. This inspired an idea for a costume party where you come dressed as a version of your former self. Bringing an inspiration photo of yourself at that age is highly encouraged. Now, aren't you glad you hung on to your favorite oversized J. Crew plaid shirt from 1995? I am.

Decade party: My friend Jenn had a costume party for her husband's milestone birthday by inviting everyone to dress up in clothes from the decade he was born. This party also gave me an occasion to wear an '80s warmup I bought from a fundraiser for my old field hockey team, and that is just plain rad.

Holiday charity party: Each Christmas we have a party with friends, and the huge gag gift parties we had pre-kids have been honed down to a small group of our closest friends; each couple gets spiffed up and brings a gift that is put into a silent auction, and bidding takes place during the first two hours of the party. All money is donated to our favorite local charity, so it's a win-win for all involved. Bidding gets hilariously competitive as the night, and number of drinks we've had, ticks away.

Pirate party: My last party suggestion is one that includes the kiddies. Each summer my mom hosts a pirate party at her beach house. Everyone dresses up, we hide a treasure chest on the beach that the kids have to find by following a treasure map, and we feast on a low country boil. Our kids are still little enough that they believe there are pirates who leave you toys on the beach, and we stifle laughter every time they see a boat on the horizon and think it's a pirate ship.

Feel free to add your own imagined or realized party themes in the comments.

Looking for more party ideas? How about a pop-up dinner party?

Freeform Friday

This weekend I'm focused on getting my children to at least one event where they can wear their Halloween costumes before the inevitable bad weather of Halloween night strikes. I'm also a stress baker, and I'll need to make several batches of Halloween cookie cutouts this weekend in an attempt to recover from several hours of work meetings on Wednesday.

I hope you have a  festive, spooky weekend planned, and I hope you enjoy clicking through these links.

A very Hitchcock Halloween.

Fun Halloween dinners.

A smile-enducing non-profit that creates Halloween costumes for kids in wheelchairs.

Horcruxes are real, and Trump's Walk of Fame star proves it.

When the going gets tough.

Eleven favorite dinners from Ina's kitchen.

Great career advice.

Looking forward to reading this read on the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking.

Mark your calendar for the 2018 and 2019 release dates of Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2.

[Photo from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 1958.]

Freeform Friday

This weekend we're soaking up the best parts of fall by checking out a favorite farm store, taking in the changing fall leaves, and taking it easy. The stretch from the start of school to Thanksgiving is a long one, and it's lovely to give yourself a much needed fall break.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I hope you enjoy clicking through some of my favorite links from this past week.

If you like Pixar (and what film lover doesn't!?), you must watch their new, dark short.

It's reassuring to know that Bob Dylan is still definitively Bob Dylan.

Stunning street murals that illustrate Detroit's artistic beauty.

What I look like when I exercise.

My favorite fall meal (that's easy enough to throw together on a weeknight).

#whyiwrite as a celebration of National Day on Writing.

This is not my beautiful house (and other observations on having what you think you want).

Trump book reports had me laughing. Bigly.

Seriously considering getting a nasty mug and/or bad hombres pin.

[Picture by A. Eldon of the bounty at Bill's Farm Market in the always charming Petoskey.]