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?